JPS63173693A - Decoratiing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To impart a desired image on the surface of an article of an arbitrary shape, by a construction wherein an image is formed on an image-receiving layer of an intermediate transfer medium releasably provided on one surface of a sheet-form substrate by a thermal transfer method, and the image-receiving layer is retransferred through a fusing sheet to an arbitrary article to be transfer red. CONSTITUTION:An intermediate transfer medium 10 is laid over an article to be subjected to transfer 30 through a fusing sheet 10 so that an image- receiving layer 2 with an image 3 is opposed to the article 30. After these three materials are contact-bonded, a sheet-form substrate 1 is released together with a low-tackiness layer 4. In this manner, an image-receiving layer 2 with the positive image 3 and a protective layer 5 protecting the image-receiving layer 2 are transferred on the article to be subjected to transfer 30. Therefore, in the transfer, the need for previously forming adhesive layers on the surface of the image receiving layer 2 and/or the surface of the article to be subjected to transfer 30 is eliminated ; thus, the image can be directly heat-fused on the article to be subjected to transfer 30, such as a plastic molded item, cloth, and metal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a decoration method, and more specifically, an image formed with a heat-transferable dye (sublimable dye) can be transferred to an arbitrary transfer target article. It provides a decoration method.

(Conventional technique vR) Conventionally, thermal transfer of fabric using heat transferable dye (sublimation thermal transfer)
This method has been used for a long time, and involves forming a reverse pattern layer of a dye carrying a heat-transferable dye on a thermal transfer sheet, and then placing this layer on a fabric and heating it to cause the dye to transfer to the fabric. This is a method of forming a positive image on fabric. Utilizing this technology, combined with recent developments in imaging technology such as precision thermal printers, a method has been developed to form images as precise as photographs on plastic films from thermal transfer sheets containing heat-transferable dyes. Various proposals have been made.

According to this recent method, for example, it is possible to easily make a hard copy of a camera, image, television image, computer graphic image, etc. on the surface of a transfer material such as paper having a polyester layer, and it is possible to easily make a hard copy of a camera, image, television image, computer graphic image, etc. It has reached a level where it can fully compete with technology and precision printing technology.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The thermal transfer technology as described above has the advantage of being able to easily form any image, but the transfer target is a material that can be dyed with heat-transferable dyes such as polyester. On the other hand, the shape of the object to be transferred is limited to a sheet-like object such as a film or a sheet with a smooth surface, for example,
Images cannot be formed on woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, paper, wood, metals, glass, ceramics, etc. with rough surfaces, and even plastics such as polyester cannot be imaged. The problem is that it is difficult to form images on three-dimensional molded objects other than sheet-like objects even if the surface is curved, has uneven shapes such as rough textures or stitches, or is flat. There is.

One way to solve these drawbacks is to attach a sticker with a picture of the desired image to a desired location on the desired article. However, in this method, the sticker material is relatively thick, so the attached portion protrudes and There is no sense of unity between the sticker and the object being decorated.
It also has the disadvantage of being easy to peel off.

In addition, as a method that does not cause such defects, there is a method that uses a thermal transfer method such as a hot stamp method, but this method has the disadvantage that a heating means is always required when transferring the image, and it also has the disadvantage that it does not cause complicated unevenness. Similar to the above-mentioned shape, there is a problem in that thermal transfer is difficult.

Therefore, there is a need for the development of a technology that can easily apply a desired image to the surface of an article made of any material, have any shape, and any surface shape, and that can integrate the image and the transferred article. has been done.

(Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the present invention forms an image by a thermal transfer method on the image receiving layer of an intermediate transfer medium, which is composed of an image receiving layer removably provided on one surface of a sheet-like base material. This is a decoration method characterized in that the image-receiving layer is then retransferred to an arbitrary transfer target article via a fusing sheet.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which schematically show embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a basic aspect of an intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention. , FIG. 3 is a diagram showing still another preferred embodiment used in the present invention, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams schematically showing the decoration method of the present invention.

The basic configuration of the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention is as follows:
As shown in the first figure, a peelable image receiving layer 2 is provided on one side of an arbitrary sheet-like base material 1, and an image 3 is provided on the image receiving layer 2. This image may be either a normal or reverse image, but if the image is a character or the like, it is preferably a reverse image. This preferred example will be explained below.

By having the above-mentioned intermediate transfer medium 10 with such a basic configuration, a positive image can be easily transferred to any transfer target article by the retransfer method from the intermediate transfer medium 10, and the drawbacks of the prior art as described above can be avoided. is basically solved.

That is, although the image-receiving layer 2 mentioned above is limited to materials that can be dyed with heat-transferable dyes, it is possible to once form a reversed image 3 with these dyes and then reprint the image 3 together with the image-receiving layer 2 onto the transferred article. By transferring, it is possible to freely transfer a normal image to an article made of any material such as glass, metal, wood, or plastic materials that are difficult to dye with heat-transferable dyes.

Furthermore, the image receiving layer 2 having the image 3 transferred from the sheet-like base material 1 is very thin and has sufficient flexibility, so even if the surface shape of the transferred article is a curved surface or an uneven surface, the image receiving layer 2 is very thin and has sufficient flexibility. Since it is possible to sufficiently follow the surface shape, the transfer is not limited by the surface shape of the object to be transferred.

Furthermore, since the image-receiving layer 2 having the image 3 is very thin, unlike conventional stickers, it is easy to integrate with the transferred article, and there is no bulge in the transfer area, making it a so-called sticker-like adhesive. It does not give a feeling of wearing.

In the intermediate transfer medium 10 described above, since the image receiving layer 2 alone is thin, various handling is difficult;
The presence of the sheet-like base material 1 is necessary.

Furthermore, since the image receiving layer 2 provided on the sheet-like base material 1 is required to be easily peelable from the sheet-like base material 1 during transfer, the image-receiving layer 2 and the sheet-like base material 1 are strongly adhered to each other. It is preferable to provide a weak adhesive layer 4 so that it can be easily peeled off (Fig. 2).

Therefore, "weak adhesion" as used in the present invention means that the image-receiving layer 2 or the sheet-like base material 1 having the image 3 can be easily peeled off from the other side by hand or other means without being destroyed. It means. However, if the material relationship between the image-receiving layer 2 and the sheet-like base material 1 allows for easy peeling as described above, the weak adhesive layer is not necessarily necessary.

Further, in the example shown in the third figure, the space between the base sheet 1 and the image receiving layer 3 (
1) or an example in which a protective layer 5 is provided between the weak adhesive layer 4 and the image receiving layer 3. Intermediate transfer medium 10 of this embodiment
When the image-receiving layer 3 is re-transferred to the transferred article 30 using
Various physical properties of the transferred image, such as scratch resistance, stain resistance, light resistance, and chemical resistance, can be improved.

Further, although not shown, a release layer may be provided on the surface of the image receiving layer 2 of the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention.

The release layer is used to transfer heat between the thermal transfer sheet 20 and the image-receiving layer 2 when the image 3 is formed on the image-receiving layer 2 by transferring the heat-transferable dye from the thermal transfer sheet 20 using the heat-transferable dye as shown in FIG. This is to prevent adhesion caused by the heat transfer sheet 20, and is unnecessary if such adhesion does not occur or if such a release layer 22 is provided on the surface of the thermal transfer sheet 20.

Further, in the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention, it is necessary to separate the image receiving layer 3 and the sheet-like base material 1, so in order to facilitate the separation, the intermediate transfer medium 10 is
(not shown)
It is preferable to include By providing such a cut, the image receiving layer 3 or the base sheet 1 can be easily peeled off by bending the cut portion.

The intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention as shown in the first to third figures above will be explained in detail later, but basically has the same structure as the one shown in the first to third figures except that an image is formed thereon. This is obtained by directly thermally transferring and forming a reverse image using a normal thermal transfer sheet 20 having a heat-transferable dye layer on an intermediate transfer medium 10.

Next, the decoration method of the present invention will be explained. The decoration method of the present invention is mainly characterized by using the intermediate transfer medium 10 and the fusing sheet 6 as described above.

The basic mode will be explained using the method diagrammatically shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

In the examples shown in Figures 4 to 6, first, as shown in Figure 4, a thermal transfer sheet 20 having a heat transferable dye layer 21 is transferred to an intermediate transfer medium 10 (in this state, an image 3 has not yet been formed,
A dye layer 21 (corresponding to a transfer sheet) is coated with a dye layer 21 (releasing layer 22
) are stacked so as to face the image-receiving layer 2 of the intermediate transfer medium 10, and a desired reverse image is formed on the image-receiving layer 2 by preferably applying thermal energy (arrow) from the thermal transfer sheet 20 side according to the image signal from the thermal head. form 3.

FIG. 5 shows the process of re-transferring the image receiving layer 2 having the positive image 3 onto the transferred article 30 using the intermediate transfer medium 10 and the fusing sheet 6 shown in FIG. 3 above.

The intermediate transfer medium 10 is stacked with the image receiving layer 2 having the image 3 facing the transferred article 30 via the adhesive sheet 6, and the three are pressed together, and then the sheet-like base material 1 is stacked together with the weak adhesive layer 4. By peeling off, a positive image 3 is formed on the transferred article 30.
The image-receiving layer 2 and the protective layer 5 protecting it are transferred. Therefore, in this transfer, there is no need to form an adhesive layer on the surface of the image-receiving layer 2 and/or the surface of the transfer object 30 in advance, and it is not necessary to form an adhesive layer on the surface of the image-receiving layer 2 and/or the surface of the transfer object 30 as it is. It is possible to carry out heat fusion.

The fusing sheet 6 used in the method of the present invention is a material that exhibits adhesive force when heated or pressurized, and a material that exhibits adhesive force by being softened by heating is particularly preferable. When the material is woven fabric, non-woven fabric, silk fabric, paper with a rough surface, mesh fabric, etc., the fusing sheet softens and fills the pores of the weave, etc., and the surface of the transferred object becomes a flat transfer surface, making it easy to receive images. The effect is that the layer 2 can be easily and flatly transferred.

On the other hand, if such a fusing sheet 6 is not used, it is not easy to transfer the image to a target object such as a coarse woven fabric, and even if it is possible to transfer the image, the image receiving layer 2 is very thin. This causes problems such as distorted images and insufficient adhesive strength.

Although the decoration method of the present invention has been described above using a basic example, the same applies to the case where the decoration method of the present invention is carried out using an intermediate transfer medium of another embodiment of the present invention (not shown).

Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail from the viewpoint of the main materials and construction method used in the decoration method of the present invention as described above.

As the sheet-like base material 1 of the intermediate transfer medium 10, (1) synthetic paper (polyolefin type, polystyrene type, etc.), (2)
High quality paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper, backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex impregnated paper, synthetic resin internally added paper, paperboard, etc., cellulose fiber paper, (3) polyolefin, polyester vinyl chloride, polyester, polystyrene, polymethacrylate,
Any of the various plastic films or sheets used for conventional transfer sheets, such as polycarbonate, can be used, the shape is not limited at all, and the thickness is generally in the range of several μm to several tens of μm. In addition, the above (1
) to (3) can also be used in any combination.

The material constituting the image-receiving layer 2 receives a heat-transferable dye, such as a sublimable (heat-transferable) dye, transferred from the thermal transfer sheet 20 having a heat-transferable dye layer 21, and the image 3 formed by the reception. It is intended to hold. For example, the following synthetic resins can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Polyester resin, polyacrylic acid ester resin, polycarbonate resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride
Vinyl acetate copolymer resin, styrene-acrylate copolymer resin, vinyltoluene-acrylate copolymer resin, polyurethane resin, polyamide resin, urea resin, polycaprolactone resin, polystyrene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, etc.

Among the above synthetic resins, polyester resins are particularly preferred.

In any of the above cases, a white pigment is added to the image-receiving layer 2 for the purpose of improving the whiteness of the image-receiving layer 2, further increasing the clarity of the transferred image, and preventing blurring of the transferred image. Can be done.

Further, in order to further improve the light resistance of the transferred image, an ultraviolet absorber and/or a light stabilizer may be added to the image receiving layer 2.

The image-receiving layer 2 made of the above materials can be formed by any conventionally known method such as a coating method or a transfer method, and its thickness is generally in the range of about 1 to 50 μm.

The intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention has a release layer formed on two surfaces of the image-receiving layer or an image-receiving layer in place of this in order to improve the releasability from the thermal transfer sheet 20 during image formation. Layer 2 may contain a mold release agent. Examples of the mold release agent include solid waxes such as polyethylene wax, amide wax, and Teflon powder; fluorine-based and phosphoric acid ester-based surfactants; and silicone oil, with silicone oil being preferred.

As the adhesive forming the weak adhesive layer 4, any adhesive used in conventionally known adhesive tapes and stickers can be used. For example, polyisoprene rubber, polyisobutyl rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butane Rubber resins such as gen-acrylonitrile rubber, (meth)acrylic acid ester resins, polyvinyl ether resins, polyvinyl acetate resins, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resins, polystyrene resins, polyester resins, polyamide resins , polychlorinated olefin resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, etc., and a suitable tackifier, such as rosin, dammar, polymerized rosin, partially hydrogenated rosin, ester rosin, polyterpene resin, modified terpene. , petroleum-based resin, cyclopentadiene-based resin, phenol-based resin, styrene-based resin, xylene-based resin, coumaron-indene-based resin, etc. are added in appropriate amounts, and if necessary, softeners, fillers, Anti-aging agents and the like can also be added. All of these adhesives are commercially available and can be easily used.

An organic solvent is added to such an adhesive as necessary to adjust the viscosity, and the sheet-like base material 1 is coated by a conventional coating method such as roll coating, die coating, knife coating, or gravure coating.
The weak adhesive layer 4 is formed by coating and drying the adhesive on the surface of the adhesive. The weak adhesive layer 4 formed in this manner may have any thickness, but is generally preferably formed to a thickness of about 1 to 50 μm.

The protective layer 6 improves the abrasion resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, etc. of the image receiving layer 2 having the image 3 retransferred to the transferred article. For example, the materials forming the protective layer 6 include:
Plastic films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyester, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyacrylate, etc. can be used, and particularly preferred are polyester films with excellent physical properties such as transparency and abrasion resistance. Further, in place of these film-like protective layers 6, solutions or emulsions of the above-mentioned resins, epoxy resins, alkyd resins, phenol-modified alkyd resins, amino alkyd resins, phenolic resins, urea resins, melamine resins, Thermosetting resins such as silicone resins, thermosetting acrylic resins, thermosetting polyurethane resins, room temperature curable resins, and other active energy ray curable resins such as ultraviolet ray curable resins and electron beam curable resins are used. A coating solution or ink dissolved in a solvent may be prepared, and the coating may be formed using the coating solution. The thickness of such a protective layer 6 is generally about 0.5 to 20 μm.

The intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention is formed from the above-mentioned materials. For example, in the case shown in the first and second figures, an image-receiving layer is formed on the sheet-like base material 1 or on the weak adhesive layer 4 formed thereon. A composition for forming an image-receiving layer obtained by dissolving or dispersing the material forming the image-receiving layer 2 is applied and dried by a known coating or printing method to form an image-receiving layer 2, and if necessary, a release layer is provided, Alternatively, the image-receiving layer 2 is once formed on a temporary carrier different from the sheet-like substrate 1, and then the weak adhesive layer 4 is applied again.
This may be carried out by a method of forming an image by transferring it onto the sheet-like base material 1, which may be provided with a.

In this case, if the weak adhesive layer 4 is previously formed on the image-receiving layer 2, the weak adhesive layer 4 does not need to be formed on the sheet-like base material 1.

In the case of the intermediate transfer medium 10 shown in FIG. 3, the protective layer 5 may be formed from the material after forming the weak adhesive layer 4 in the above method, and the other steps may be the same as in the above method.

The above method is just one example, and the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention can be obtained by any other method.

Further, the intermediate transfer medium 10 as described above may be provided with another release layer, intermediate layer, or other layer as necessary.

The above is the structure of the transfer sheet 10 used in the present invention, but a preferred method for forming the desired reversed image 3 is to apply a heat-transferable dye (sublimable dye) layer 21 on a sheet-like substrate as shown in the fourth figure. This method uses a thermal transfer sheet 20 provided. The thermal transfer sheet 20 itself and the thermal transfer method used in this method are both known, and both of these known thermal transfer sheets 20 and thermal transfer methods are useful in the present invention. Further, by such a thermal transfer method, both monochrome and full color images can be easily formed.

For example, a conventionally known thermal transfer sheet 20 is stacked on the intermediate transfer medium 10 (corresponding to the transfer sheet since it has not yet been imaged), and any conventionally known thermal transfer device, for example, a thermal printer (for example, manufactured by Hitachi Co., Ltd.) is used. , video printer, VY50), etc. 5 to 100 mJ/m
A desired image 3 can be formed in the image-receiving layer 2 by applying thermal energy of nf.

Retransfer of the image-receiving layer 2 on which the image 3 as described above is formed is preferably performed using a weak adhesive layer 4 between the image-receiving layer 2 and the sheet-like base material 1.
is formed, so it is very easy to create the desired image 3.
It is possible to form a thin film having the following properties and retransfer it to any desired transfer object 30 via the fusing sheet 6.

The adhesive sheet 6 used in the method of the present invention is a sheet or film made of a thermoplastic resin (heat-sensitive adhesive) used for forming the weak adhesive layer 4, and is heated to a temperature of 100 to 250°C. It softens and becomes sticky at a certain temperature, and adheres to both the transferred article 30 and the image-receiving layer 2.

These fusing sheets 6 generally have a thickness of 1 to 200 μm, and are selected and used depending on the surface condition and material of the transferred article. If the surface of the transferred article 30 is smooth, a relatively thin sheet may be used, but if the transferred article 30 has a rough texture such as woven fabric, non-woven fabric, knitted fabric, mesh, etc., a relatively thick sheet 6 is used. It is preferable to do so.

As described above, the decoration method of the present invention uses a specific intermediate transfer medium IO and the fusing sheet 6, and except for retransferring to the transferred article 30, the image forming method and the transfer method for the transferred article are Any conventionally known method may be used, and the material and shape of the transferred article to be subjected to the wrapping method of the present invention are not particularly limited. For example, a carton,
Packages such as containers, bags, cassette cases, cassette halves, floppy cases, wrapping paper; stock certificates, checks, bills, securities, certificates, passbooks, train tickets, cars and horses, stamps,
Stamps, gift certificates such as appreciation circles: cash cards, credit cards, membership cards, greeting cards,
Cards such as postcards, business cards, and IC cards; other forms, envelopes, tags, stickers, calendars, posters, pamphlets, passports, pop-up items, coasters, displays, name plates, keyboards, cosmetics, accessories (watches, lighters) ), stationery, building materials, radios, televisions, speakers, calculators, automobile meter panels, emblems, keys, clothing, footwear, devices, OA equipment, etc., and may be made of any material or shape.

In particular, the transferred article 30 that preferably exhibits the advantages of the method of the present invention is a coarse woven fabric or the like as described above.

(Operations/Effects) According to the decoration method of the present invention as described above, three-dimensional molded articles, articles having surfaces such as curved surfaces or complicated uneven shapes, on which it was previously impossible or difficult to form and apply images; Furthermore, images formed with heat-transferable dyes can be freely applied regardless of the material of these articles.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, unlike the conventional so-called picture stickers, the image receiving layer 2 having the image 3 in the present invention is very thin, so even if it is transferred to the transfer target article 30, the image receiving layer 2 is very thin. It is integrated with the material, does not give a sticky feeling, and has a natural aesthetic appearance, functionality, and durability.

In particular, the method of the present invention is suitable for decorating articles with rough surfaces such as coarse woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, mesh fabrics, etc., and good transfer can be achieved regardless of severe surface irregularities. It becomes possible.

Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples. In the text, parts and percentages are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 Polyester film (thickness 5
Apply amino-modified silicone (KF-393, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., KF-393) to the surface of the 0 μm) at a ratio of Ig/rn, perform a mold release treatment, and then apply the following adhesive composition to the surface after drying at a rate of 10 g/rn. A weak adhesive layer 4 was formed by coating and drying at a ratio of m''. A UV-curable acrylic resin paint was applied to the surface of the weak adhesive layer 4 to a dry thickness of 10 μm and cured according to a conventional method to form the protective layer 5.

Next, an image-receiving layer forming ink having the following composition was applied onto the weak adhesive layer 4, and the image-receiving layer 2 was formed by coating and drying so that the weight after drying was 7 g/rn''. A transfer medium 10 was obtained.

Grade Gokoku dish bottom crushing polyacrylic ester resin (Made by Block Chemical Industry, Nisudyne A-206) 100 parts water
100 parts polyester resin (Toyo Dogen, Vylon200)
lo o part amino-modified silicone (Shin-Etsu Chemical Source, XF-393)
5 parts epoxy-modified silicone (Shin-Etsu Chemical Source, X-22-343) 5 parts solvent (methyl ethyl ketone/toluene/cyclohexanone 4/2/2) 900 parts On the obtained image-receiving layer 2, heat transfer of cyan was performed. A thermal transfer sheet 20 carrying a color dye with a binder resin was placed on top of the thermal transfer sheet 20, and thermal energy was applied by a thermal head connected to an electric signal of a cyan component obtained by color-separating a facial photograph to obtain a cyan image. Next, thermal transfer was performed in the same manner using a thermal transfer sheet using a magenta dye and a thermal transfer sheet 20 using a yellow dye to form a positive image consisting of a full-color photograph of the face and other characters and figures.

Next, the image receiving layer 2 side of the intermediate transfer medium 10 is coated with a thickness of 10
The ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer film 6 is layered on a card base 30 made of a white opaque hard vinyl chloride resin sheet with a thickness of 100 μm and pressed with a heated roller at 200°C. Material 1 was peeled off together with weak adhesive layer 4 to obtain a card on which image-receiving layer 2 having display image 3 was transferred.

The surface of this card was smooth as a whole, and there was no bulge in one image area. Furthermore, even in an accelerated test in which the image on this card was kept in an atmosphere at 40° C. for 3 months, no image disturbance or delamination occurred at all. In addition, when we conducted a JTS light resistance test using a carbon arc lamp, the results were as follows:
It was IS grade 4-5 and showed good performance. It also showed good resistance to scratches on the surface.

Example 2 A transfer sheet was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, and a full-color facial photograph was thermally transferred as a reverse image to the sheet to obtain an intermediate transfer medium 10 as shown in the third figure.

The surface of the image-receiving layer 2 of this intermediate transfer medium 10 is
) was placed on the surface of a coarse cotton woven fabric, heated and pressed at 150° C., and then the base sheet 1 and the weak adhesive layer 4 were peeled off. The thus obtained transferred image had a smooth surface and excellent surface properties.

On the other hand, when similar transfer was performed without using the fusing sheet 6 in the above method, the transferred image had severe unevenness according to the weave of the woven fabric, and the adhesive force between the image-receiving layer 2 and the woven fabric was insufficient. However, it peeled off easily.

Example 3 An intermediate transfer medium 10 having a reversed image as shown in the third figure was created by the same method as in Example 1, and then applied to a polymethacrylate plate 30 whose surface had been roughened by sandblasting in the same manner as in Example 2. Thermocompression bonding was performed via the adhesive sheet 6, and then the sheet-like base material 1 was peeled off together with the weak adhesive layer 4. The image surface obtained was smooth even though the non-transfer surface was roughened. The images also had excellent durability.

On the other hand, without using the above-mentioned fusing sheet,
Similarly, the transferred image had severe surface irregularities and distortion of the image was observed. Moreover, the adhesive property was insufficient and it peeled off easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a basic aspect of an intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the intermediate transfer medium 10 used in the present invention. FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams schematically showing the decoration method of the present invention. 1: Sheet-like base material 2: Image-receiving layer 3: Image 4: Weak adhesive layer 5; Protective layer
6: Fusion sheet 10; Intermediate transfer medium 20:
Thermal transfer sheet 30: Transferred article patent applicant Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. Uta...Toni! 225 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) An image is formed on the image-receiving layer of an intermediate transfer medium consisting of an image-receiving layer removably provided on one side of a sheet-like base material by a thermal transfer method, and then the image-receiving layer is transferred to an arbitrary layer via a fusing sheet. A decoration method characterized by retransferring onto an article to be transferred. (2) The decoration method according to claim (1), wherein a weak adhesive layer is formed between the image-receiving layer and the sheet-like base material. (3) Claims (1) or (2), wherein a protective layer is formed between the image-receiving layer and the sheet-like base material or between the image-receiving layer and the weak adhesive layer. Decoration method. (4) The decoration method according to claim (2) or (3), wherein the region between the weak adhesive layer and the image-receiving layer or between the weak adhesive layer and the protective layer is removable. (5) The decoration method according to claim (1), wherein the image-receiving layer is formed of a material that can be dyed with a heat-transferable dye, and the image is formed with a heat-transferable dye. (6) The decoration method according to claim (1), wherein the image-receiving layer is made of polyester. (7) The decoration method according to claim (1), wherein the adhesive sheet is made of a thermofusible resin. (8) The decoration method according to claim (1), wherein the article to be transferred has a non-smooth surface such as woven fabric, non-woven fabric, knitted fabric, etc.