EP0826512B1 - Matériau pour l'enregistrement par transfert thermique ayant une couche intermédiaire adhésive - Google Patents

Matériau pour l'enregistrement par transfert thermique ayant une couche intermédiaire adhésive Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0826512B1
EP0826512B1 EP19970114863 EP97114863A EP0826512B1 EP 0826512 B1 EP0826512 B1 EP 0826512B1 EP 19970114863 EP19970114863 EP 19970114863 EP 97114863 A EP97114863 A EP 97114863A EP 0826512 B1 EP0826512 B1 EP 0826512B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
adhesive layer
thermal transfer
heat
ink
intermediate adhesive
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19970114863
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0826512A1 (fr
Inventor
c/o Fujicopian Co. Ltd. Shinohara Tomohiro
Takao c/o Fujicopian Co. Ltd. Arimura
Kenji c/o Fujicopian Co. Ltd. Kurokawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Fujicopian Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Fuji Kagakushi Kogyo Co Ltd
Fujicopian Co Ltd
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Fuji Kagakushi Kogyo Co Ltd, Fujicopian Co Ltd filed Critical Fuji Kagakushi Kogyo Co Ltd
Publication of EP0826512A1 publication Critical patent/EP0826512A1/fr
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Publication of EP0826512B1 publication Critical patent/EP0826512B1/fr
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used
    • B41M5/40—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers, e.g. for thermal transfer dye-donor or dye-receiver sheets; Heat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layers; combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
    • B41M5/42—Intermediate, backcoat, or covering layers
    • B41M5/44—Intermediate, backcoat, or covering layers characterised by the macromolecular compounds

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium. More particularly, it relates to a thermal transfer recording medium which does not cause the so-called "ink-falling" and is capable of providing printed images with high definition.
  • thermal transfer recording system has been widely applied because thermal transfer printers used therein have characteristics such as easy maintenance, availability of small-sized and lightweight ones and low-cost.
  • respective plural heating elements (dots) of a thermal head are allowed to selectively generate heat in response to picture signals, thereby selectively transferring the heat-meltable ink layer of a thermal transfer recording medium in dots to give a printed image on a receptor. Therefore, improved dot-reproducibility is required to obtain printed images with high definition.
  • This dot-reproducibility refers to the coincidence of the shape of dots of the transferred heat-meltable ink with that of the heating elements.
  • Measures for improving the dot-reproducibility include selection of a heat-meltable material showing a sharp peak in its DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) curve for the vehicle of the heat-meltable ink layer.
  • a heat-meltable material showing a sharp peak in its DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) curve for the vehicle of the heat-meltable ink layer.
  • carnauba wax penetration: 1
  • a heat-meltable ink layer containing carnauba wax as a vehicle thereof offers printed images with improved dot-reproduction because the wax shows a sharp peak in its DSC curve.
  • the term "ink-falling” refers to a phenomenon in which, during traveling of the thermal transfer recording medium, which is loaded in a cassette, in a thermal transfer printer, portions of the heat-meltable ink layer are peeled off from the foundation when the recording medium comes into sliding contact with guide members of the cassette, the thermal head, etc. and, hence, is subjected to external force.
  • the ink-falling phenomenon is remarkable in using the recording medium in low-temperature environments.
  • the ink-falling phenomenon is undesirable because portions of the recording medium wherein the ink layer is peeled off cannot be used to form printed images and the generated ink powder is accumulated in the thermal head, resulting in a decrease in image quality or contamination in the inside of the printer.
  • Conventional measures for preventing the ink-falling phenomenon include (1) a method wherein the content of a resin component in the heat-meltable ink layer is increased to improve adhesion of the ink layer, and (2) another method wherein a wax having a greater penetration is used in combination with carnauba wax to impart flexibility or softness to the heat-meltable ink layer.
  • the method (1) involves a problem that the viscosity of an ink coating liquid is increased with increasing content of the resin component and, hence, the application property of the coating liquid becomes poor, resulting in failure to form a uniform ink layer.
  • the method (2) involves a problem that during exchange of the recording medium in using it in low-temperature environment, the ink thereof sticks to the hand.
  • EP-A-0 363 929 discloses a thermal imprint ink sheet having a film substrate, an adhesive layer formed on the film substrate and an ink layer formed on the adhesive layer wherein the adhesive layer comprises a mixture of a first polyester resin and a second polyester resin, the first polyester resin having a first glass transition temperature (Tg) higher than environmental temperatures at which the ink sheet is used and the second polyester resin having a second glass transition temperature (Tg) lower than said environmental temperature. It is mentioned that a single polyester resin in the adhesive layer is not practically usable.
  • EP-A-0 410 724 discloses a heat-transfer image recording medium comprising a support, a heat-transfer layer provided on the support and a non-transfer layer which is interposed between the support and the transfer layer.
  • the non-transfer layer comprises a mixture of two thermoplastic polymers selected from specific structural classes.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording medium which causes no ink-falling in low-temperature environments and exerts excellent dot-reproducibility to form printed images with high definition.
  • the present invention provides a thermal transfer recording medium comprising a substrate (also called foundation) having thereon a heat-meltable ink layer, and an intermediate adhesive layer provided between the substrate and the heat-meltable ink layer, the intermediate adhesive layer comprising 20 to 80 % by weight of a resin component consisting of one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C, and 20 to 80 % by weight of at least one component selected from a pigment and carbon black.
  • the polyester resin has a glass transition temperature of not higher than 0°C.
  • the heat-meltable ink layer comprises a coloring agent and a vehicle, the vehicle comprising not less than 40 % by weight of caranuba wax.
  • the vehicle comprises not less than 50 % by weight of carnauba wax.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer comprises 40 to 70 % by weight of a polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C and 30 to 60 % by weight of at least one component selected from of a pigment and carbon black.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a measuring device for examining the ink-falling of a thermal transfer recording medium.
  • the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention is characterized in that between the foundation and the heat-meltable ink layer is provided an intermediate adhesive layer comprising 20 to 80 % by weight of a resin component consisting of one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C, and 20 to 80 % by weight of at least one component selected from a pigment and carbon black.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer maintains flexibility or softness even in low-temperature environments wherein the temperature is lower than normal temperature because one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C is used as the resin component and, hence, serves as some type of a buffer layer between the foundation and the heat-meltable ink layer, thereby causing no ink-falling even in the case that the heat-meltable ink layer is relatively hard.
  • the use of the polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of higher than 20°C as the resin component for the intermediate adhesive layer results in ink-falling because the polyester resin crystallizes in low-temperature environments and the function of the intermediate adhesive layer as a buffer layer is lost. From the viewpoint of retaining the flexibility or softeness of the intermediate adhesive layer in low-temperature environments, a polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 0°C is preferable.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer is incorporated with at least one of a pigment and carbon black (hereinafter, in some cases, referred to as "particulate material") in addition to the polyester resin.
  • a pigment and carbon black hereinafter, in some cases, referred to as "particulate material”
  • the incorporation of the particulate material produces fine unevenness on the surface of the intermediate adhesive layer to increase the contact area between the intermediate adhesive layer and the heat-meltable ink layer. As a result, the ink-falling can be more sufficiently prevented.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer in accordance with the present invention contains 20 to 80 % by weight, preferably 40 to 70 % by weight, of a resin component consisting of one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C, and 20 to 80 % by weight, preferably 30 to 60 % by weight, of a particulate material.
  • a resin component consisting of one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C
  • 20 to 80 % by weight preferably 30 to 60 % by weight
  • the contact area between the intermediate adhesive layer and the ink layer is not increased due to the lower content of the particulate material to fail to sufficiently exert the effect of preventing the ink-falling and the so-called "layer-like transfer” which refers to the phenomenon wherein an excess portion of the ink layer that is not heated during the thermal transfer is also transferred, is prone to further occur, resulting in deterioration of the dot-reproducibility.
  • polyester resin there can be used linear saturated polyester resins which are obtained by polycondensation of a dibasic acid and a diol compound and have a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C, preferably not higher than 0°C.
  • dibasic acid examples include adipic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, phthalic acid and Het acid (chlorendic acid). These dibasic acids can be used either alone or in combinations of two or more species thereof.
  • diol compounds examples include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1, 4-butanediol, 1, 6-hexanediol, 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydrogenated bisphenol A and dibromoneopentylene glycol. These diol compounds can be used either alone or in combinations of two or more species thereof.
  • pigments as the particulate material are silica, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium sulfate and aluminium silicate. These pigments can be used either alone or in combinations of two or more species thereof.
  • the pigment and carbon black may be used either alone or in combiantion as the particulate material.
  • the particulate material preferably has an average particle size of 0.5 to 10 ⁇ m.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer may be incorporated with a small amount of a dispersing agent or the like in addition to the aforesaid ingredients.
  • the thickness of the intermediate adhesive layer is preferably from 0.3 to 1.0 ⁇ m from the viewpoint of the adhesiveness and the transfer sensitivity.
  • the intermediate adhesive layer can be formed by applying onto a foundation a coating liquid which is prepared by dissolving or dispersing the polyester resin and the particulate material into an appropriate solvent, followed by drying.
  • the heat-meltable ink layer in accordance with the present invention there can be used conventional ones without particular limitation so long as they are one-time type heat-meltable ink layers each comprising a coloring agent and a heat-meltable vehicle as main ingredients.
  • a heat-meltable ink layer whose vehicle component contains not less than 40 % by weight, especially not less than 50 % by weight, of carnauba wax to form printed images having excellent durability with excellent dot-reproducibility as well as to prevent the ink-falling in combination with the aforesaid intermediate adhesive layer.
  • the content of carnauba wax in the vehicle component is lower than the above range, the dot-reproducibility is prone to be deteriorated to fail to produce printed images with high definition and the durability of printed images is also prone to be decreased.
  • waxes other than carnauba wax and/or resins are waxes other than carnauba wax and/or resins.
  • waxes there can be appropriately selected and used those conventionally used in this field, such as paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, oxidized wax, ester wax, candelilla wax, rice wax and montan wax.
  • resins there can be appropriately selected and used those conventionally used in this field, such as polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate resin, polyamide resins, polyester resins, epoxy resins and acrylic resins.
  • Carbon black as well as usual pigments and dyes can be appropriately selected and used as the coloring agent.
  • Suitable ranges for the contents of the foregoing ingredients in the heat-meltable ink layer in accordance with the present invention are as follows: Ingredient % by weight Carnauba wax 40 to 95 (preferably 50 to 90) Other waxs 0 to 40 (preferably 10 to 30) Resin 0 to 40 (preferably 10 to 30) Coloring agent 5 to 20
  • the heat-meltable ink layer in accordance with the present invention can be formed by applying an ink of the foregoing formulation onto the aforesaid intermediate adhesive layer by means of a hot-melt coating method or a solvent coating method.
  • the thickness of the heat-meltable ink layer is preferably from 1 to 5 ⁇ m from the viewpoint of the optical density of images and the transfer sensitivity.
  • an overcoat layer may be provided on the heat-meltable ink layer.
  • the overcoat layer is provided for the purpose of preventing smearing or the like.
  • the overcoat layer is an uncolored layer comprising a wax as a main ingredient.
  • the foundation in the present invention are highly heat-resistant plastic films such as polyethylene terephthalate film, polycarbonate films, polyimide films and nylon films, and cellophane, parchment paper and condenser paper.
  • the thickness of the foundation is usually from 2 to 10 ⁇ m, preferably from 3.5 to 6 ⁇ m. From the viewpoint of good adhesion to the intermediate adhesive layer, polyethylene terephthalate film is especially preferred.
  • a heat-resistant layer comprising one or more resins selected from silicone resins, fluorine-containing resins, acrylic resins, epoxy resins, phenol resins, cellulose resins, and the like.
  • Each composition for heat-meltable ink layer of the formulation shown in Table 1 was sufficiently kneaded by means of a 3-roll mill to give a heat-meltable ink.
  • the ink was applied in a coating amount of 3.0 ⁇ 10 -3 kg/m 2 onto the intermediate adhesive layer by means of a hot-melt coater to give a heat-meltable ink layer.
  • Each of the thermal transfer recording media was used to form a printed image under the printing conditions mentioned below.
  • the printed image was observed with a metallograph (XF(U)NR, trade name made by NIKON CORPORATION) at a magnification of 50 to determine the ratio of the area of one dot of the image to that of one dot of the heating elements (area of one dot of the image/area of one dot of the heating elements).
  • the dot-reproducibility was evaluated according to the following criterion: Printing conditions: Thermal printer line printer (B-30 made by TEC Corporation Thermal head line head type Head pressure 0.7 kg/25.4 mm (1 inch) Printing energy 19.0 mJ/mm 2 Printing speed 0.102 m (4 inches)/second Receptor paper TPKB trade name (Bekk smoothness: 200 seconds)
  • the degree of ink-falling was examined in a low-temperature environment (dry room at 0°C ) with use of a measuring device as shown in Fig. 1.
  • This test is a substitute for a test for examining the degree of ink-falling when the thermal transfer recording medium is squeezed through a thermal head.
  • a glass plate 3 was fixed to a support member 2 which was mounted on a table 1 with projecting out from an edge of the table 1.
  • a ribbon-like thermal transfer recording medium 4 (width: 12.7 mm) was arranged so that it lay upward on the ink layer side and was brought into contact with the end surface of the glass plate 3 on the back side thereof.
  • a weight 5 was attached to one end of the recording medium that hung down and a movable member 6 was attached to the other end of the recording medium.
  • the movable member 6 was moved at a speed of 0.0217 m/s in the direction indicated by the arrow to examine whether the ink-falling occurred. This examination operation was repeated while successively replacing the weight 5 with a heavier one by 0.05 kg within the range of 0.05 to 0.3 kg.
  • the ink-falling was evaluated according to the following criterion:
  • the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention does not cause ink-falling when used in low-temperature environments and exerts excellent dot-reproducibility to give printed images with high-definition and excellent durability.
  • a thermal transfer recording medium which causes no ink-falling and is capable of providing printed images with high definition is disclosed which comprises a substrate having thereon a heat-meltable ink layer, and an intermediate adhesive layer provided between the substrate and the heat-meltable ink layer, the intermediate adhesive layer comprising 20 to 80 % by weight of a resin component consisting of one polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20°C, and 20 to 80 % by weight of at least one component selected from a pigment and carbon black.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Thermal Transfer Or Thermal Recording In General (AREA)

Claims (5)

  1. Support d'enregistrement par transfert thermique comprenant un substrat sur lequel se trouve une couche d'encre thermofusible et une couche adhésive intermédiaire disposée entre le substrat et la couche d'encre thermofusible, la couche adhésive intermédiaire comprenant 20 à 80 % en masse d'un composant résinique consistant en une résine de polyester ayant une température de transition vitreuse qui n'est pas supérieure à 20°C, et 20 à 80 % en masse d'au moins un composant choisi parmi un pigment et le noir de carbone.
  2. Support d'enregistrement par transfert thermique selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la résine de polyester a une température de transition vitreuse qui n'est pas supérieure à 0°C.
  3. Support d'enregistrement par transfert thermique selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la couche d'encre thermofusible comprend un agent colorant et un véhicule, le véhicule comprenant au moins 40 % en masse de cire de carnauba.
  4. Support d'enregistrement par transfert thermique selon la revendication 3, dans lequel le véhicule comprend au moins 50 % en masse de cire de carnauba.
  5. Support d'enregistrement par transfert thermique selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la couche adhésive intermédiaire comprend 40 à 70 % en masse d'une résine de polyester ayant une température de transition vitreuse qui n'est pas supérieure à 20°C et 30 à 60 % en masse d'au moins un composant parmi un pigment minéral et le noir de carbone.
EP19970114863 1996-08-28 1997-08-27 Matériau pour l'enregistrement par transfert thermique ayant une couche intermédiaire adhésive Expired - Lifetime EP0826512B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP22678596A JP3825842B2 (ja) 1996-08-28 1996-08-28 ワンタイム型熱転写記録媒体
JP22678596 1996-08-28
JP226785/96 1996-08-28

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0826512A1 EP0826512A1 (fr) 1998-03-04
EP0826512B1 true EP0826512B1 (fr) 2000-03-22

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EP19970114863 Expired - Lifetime EP0826512B1 (fr) 1996-08-28 1997-08-27 Matériau pour l'enregistrement par transfert thermique ayant une couche intermédiaire adhésive

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EP (1) EP0826512B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP3825842B2 (fr)
DE (1) DE69701496T2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19820779A1 (de) * 1998-05-08 1999-11-11 Pelikan Produktions Ag Egg Thermotransferband
GB2343756B (en) * 1998-11-11 2001-06-20 Ricoh Kk Thermal image transfer recording medium
JP2001341431A (ja) 2000-05-31 2001-12-11 Fujicopian Co Ltd 感熱転写記録媒体
US7745065B2 (en) * 2005-06-02 2010-06-29 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. Volume hologram transfer foil, and volume hologram multilayer structure

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS60212393A (ja) * 1984-04-06 1985-10-24 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写記録用インクシ−ト
JPS61169283A (ja) * 1985-01-22 1986-07-30 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写インクリボン
JPH0673982B2 (ja) * 1988-10-11 1994-09-21 富士通株式会社 熱転写インクシート
JPH02141286A (ja) * 1988-11-24 1990-05-30 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写インクシート
JP2776903B2 (ja) * 1989-07-26 1998-07-16 コニカ株式会社 感熱転写記録媒体

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH1067184A (ja) 1998-03-10
EP0826512A1 (fr) 1998-03-04
JP3825842B2 (ja) 2006-09-27
DE69701496T2 (de) 2000-08-24
DE69701496D1 (de) 2000-04-27

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