JPH02215569A - Glossing device for printed surface - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a respectable gloss on a printed image face without reducing gloss even in high density or to record a uniform and beautiful matte part on a print by providing a first roller for heating an image face at a predetermined temperature, a gloss forming film formed with many fine uneven part at least at part of a face in pressure contact with the image face, and a second roller for pressing the print. CONSTITUTION:A print position is so adjusted that a matte face 27b is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of an image face 24, and a gloss film 16 is superposed thereon. Then, an elastic roller 12 is rotated clockwise, and a film unit 26 for holding a print 23 is inserted between a heating roller 11 and the roller 12. In this case, since the image face 24 of the print 23 is pressurized while being heated by the roller 11 via the film 16, an uneven part generated by recording an image is smoothed at a center corresponding to a glossy face 27a to be glossy. A peripheral edge corresponding to the matte face 27b is formed with a fine uneven part corresponding to fine protrusions to be uniformly treated with matte, and the face 24 is finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an apparatus for glossing the surface of a print, and particularly to a glossing apparatus that is advantageously applied to prints on which images are recorded by a video printer.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a thermal transfer printer, as is well known, records visible information by heating a heat-sublimating dye with a thermal print head and transferring it to a transfer medium such as paper.
The heat sublimable dye is applied to a ribbon or sheet, the dye-coated side of the ribbon or sheet is brought into contact with a transfer or image receiving medium, and the opposite side is heated by a thermal print head.

A thermal print head has a heating element array in which a large number of heating elements are arranged in a linear manner, and each of them generates heat according to information to be recorded. This causes the dye in the heated portion of the ribbon or sheet to sublime and transfer to the receiving medium. Such thermal transfer printers are effectively applied to video printers, for example.

When a ribbon or sheet of dye is transferred to a transfer medium in such a thermal transfer printer, the dye does not completely soak into the transfer medium, but rather forms a layer on the transfer surface of the transfer medium.

In this case, if the dye is layered on the transfer surface of the transfer medium, the fixation of the dye to the transfer medium will deteriorate, and there is a possibility that the dye will be inadvertently retransferred from the transfer medium to other articles. occurs. In addition, layering of the transfer surface can also change the covering power of the dye, giving the dye an undesirable metallic golden sheen, which can be unsightly.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-7979 discloses a prior art technique for reducing the layering of dyes, which are image dyes, by using a dye-donor element for thermal transfer that includes areas that do not contain image dyes.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, although the above-mentioned method can eliminate unnecessary metallic shine, on the other hand, the minute irregularities formed on the surface of the ink ribbon are transferred to the transfer surface of the transfer medium, causing the transfer Surface gloss may also be reduced. Especially in high image density areas, the head becomes hot, so
This tendency increases when the image-receiving layer resin of the transfer medium is softened by this heat. Furthermore, imprint marks are likely to be formed on the transfer surface of the transfer medium. In other words, when the head heats dye on an ink ribbon and transfers it to the transfer medium, the heat of the head softens the image receiving layer of the transfer medium. As a result, a depression corresponding to the shape of the head is formed on the surface of the image receiving layer. In the high image area, these depressions occur for each line, so that a lattice-like unevenness is formed on the transfer surface. In this way, when the lattice-like unevenness and the minute unevenness on the surface of the ink ribbon are formed on the transfer surface, the gloss of this surface is significantly reduced, resulting in an uneven and unsightly finish.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention solves these deficiencies of the prior art, and provides a print that does not reduce gloss even at high density, gives a gloss that is not unsightly to the print image surface, or records a uniform and beautiful matte area on the print. The object of the present invention is to provide a surface brightening device.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print surface glossing device that gives gloss to the image surface of a print, including a first roller that heats the image surface of the print at a predetermined temperature; A gloss forming film is provided with a large number of regular or irregular asperities on at least a portion of the surface to be pressed, and when the print is fed at a predetermined speed, the image surface of the print is moved by a first roller. A second roller is provided which presses against the gloss forming film through the gloss forming film.

[Effect]

According to the above, the print is heated by the first roller and pressed against the gloss forming film by the second roller while being fed. Therefore, depending on the unevenness formed on the gloss-forming film, the portions of the image surface corresponding to the inner unevenness are finished with a uniform matte surface, and the other portions are finished with a glossy surface. In addition, this makes it possible to record a desired shape as a matte surface depending on the arrangement shape of the unevenness, and to apply matte processing to the entire image surface as necessary, providing variations in surface processing for the image surface. be able to.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

In FIG. 3 showing a print surface glossing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the glossing apparatus 10 includes a heating roller 111, an elastic roller 12. A felt 13 disposed in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the heating roller 11 and a support 14 for this felt 13
It consists of

The heating roller 11 has a cylindrical shape that is slightly longer than the longitudinal length of the glossy film 16 and has a diameter of about 50 mm or less, and is supported rotatably about its longitudinal axis. A heating element 17 such as an infrared lamp or a halogen lamp is disposed inside the heating element 17. The heating element 17 has a length approximately equal to that of the heating roller 11 so that the surface of the heating roller 11 is evenly heated. Similarly, a metal core 19 is disposed around a heating element 17, which is a heating element having, for example, a cylindrical shape, with a gap 18 interposed therebetween, and forms the outer periphery of the heating roller 11.

The metal core 19 is a heat radiator that evenly radiates heat from the heating element 17 to the outside, and has a cylindrical shape with a length that defines the entire length of the heating roller 11 . The metal core 19 is made of, for example, aluminum or copper, which has relatively good thermal conductivity. A specular glossy surface 21 is provided on the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the metal core 19.
is formed.

An elastic roller 12 having substantially the same external shape as the heating roller 11 is disposed below the heating roller 11 so as to be in contact therewith. The elastic roller 12 is a roller that sends out the inserted film unit 26 at a predetermined speed toward the side opposite to the insertion side while pressing the inserted film unit 26 against the heating roller 11 with appropriate pressure, and is made of a heat-resistant elastic material such as silicone rubber or Teflon rubber. The formed zero elastic roller 12 is
It rotates around the shaft 9 in the clockwise direction in the figure while contacting the heating roller 2.

The felt 13 contains silicone oil and is used to apply this oil to the specularly glossy surface 21, and is disposed above the heating roller 11 and supported by a support 14. The length of the felt 13 is approximately equal to the width of the heating roller 11, and by applying the silicone oil of the felt 13 to the specular glossy surface 21 of the heating roller 11,
The effect of preventing the glossy film 16 from coming into close contact with the specular glossy surface 21 is enhanced. The felt 13 also has the effect of cleaning the specularly glossy surface 21 of the heating roller 11.

The glossy film 16 is a rectangular film whose one side is fixed to the mount 22, and has a softening point higher than that of the image-receiving layer recorded on the image surface 24 of the print 23. For example, polyimide, which does not soften due to
Polyamide, polyester, polycarbonate, etc. are used. A film unit 26 is constructed from the mount 22 and the glossy film 16.

The treated surface 27, which is the surface of the glossy film 16 that is in close contact with the mount 22, is divided into a glossy surface 27a and a matte surface 27b, as shown in FIG. The matte surface 27b is formed, for example, to frame the periphery of the glossy surface 27a as shown in the figure, and its cross section is as shown in enlarged FIG. 2(B).
It has an uneven shape due to minute protrusions 28. On the other hand, the glossy surface 27a is formed as a smooth surface as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

When the print 23 on which the image has been recorded is discharged from a thermal transfer printer (not shown), the print 23 is placed on the mount 22 with the image surface 24 facing upward, as shown in FIG. At this time, the printing position is adjusted so that the matte surface 27b comes into close contact with the periphery of the image surface 24, and the glossy film 16 is placed over it.

Next, rotate the elastic roller 12 clockwise to print 2.
5, the film unit 26 is inserted between the heat roller 11 and the elastic roller 12. As shown in FIG.
At this time, the image surface 24 of the print 23 is transferred in the direction of the arrow while being heated and pressurized to the specular glossy surface 21 of the print 23.
Since it is heated and pressed by the heating roller 11 via the glossy film 16, the central portion corresponding to the glossy surface 27a is smoothed and glossy due to image recording. Further, the peripheral edge C corresponding to the matte surface 27b is formed with minute irregularities corresponding to the minute protrusions 28, and is subjected to a uniform matting process, thereby completing the image surface 24 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, since the direction of the force generated on the print surface can be dispersed, curling of the print 23 can be reduced.

Note that the shape and size of the matte surface within the treated surface 27 can be freely changed by changing the sections in which the protrusions 28 are formed.For example, the entire surface of the treated surfaces 2 and 7 may be made into a matte surface. In this case, the entire image surface 24 can be finished into a uniform matte surface, and the surface treatment of the print can be varied. Further, lines, marks, etc. may be formed on the glossy surface within the matte surface.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a large number of minute irregularities are provided on at least a portion of the first roller that heats the image surface of the print at a predetermined temperature and the surface that comes into pressure contact with the image surface of the print. A gloss forming film 4° and a second roller for pressing the print are provided. Therefore, the image surface can be finished as a uniform glossy surface or a matte surface, and the problem of reduced gloss in high density areas unlike the prior art is eliminated. Also, it is not just a matter of applying a glossy treatment to the print screen (,
Since a uniform and good-looking matte portion can be recorded in a desired shape, it is possible to provide flexibility in processing the print screen. In addition, it can also prevent curling of prints and make scratches on the print screen less noticeable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a film unit according to the present invention. FIG. 2(A) shows an enlarged sectional view of the glossy surface of the glossy film, and FIG. 2(B) shows an enlarged sectional view of the matte surface. FIG. 3 is an external view showing an embodiment of the print surface glossing device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a print surface treated with the apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 3 with the film unit inserted. lO..Glossing device 11..Heating roller 12..Elastic roller 13..Felt 16..Glossy film 17..Heating element 19..Metal core 22..Panel 23..Print 24..Image surface 26. - Film unit 27... Processed surface 27a... Glossy surface 27b... Matte surface.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a print surface glossing device that gives gloss to an image surface of a print, a first roller that heats the image surface of the print at a predetermined temperature and at least a portion of the surface that is in pressure contact with the image surface of the print are provided. A glossy film with many minute irregularities,
and a second roller that presses the image surface of the print against the first roller through a gloss forming film when the print is fed at a predetermined speed. Brightening device.