JPH04208493A - Thermal transfer recording material and formation of thermal transfer image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance photothermal conversion efficiency, to make the sensitivities of respective colors same and to make the transfer to plain paper possible by providing a photothermal conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer and a hot-melt transfer layer to a thermal transfer recording material. CONSTITUTION:A photothermal conversion layer coating layer is applied to a polyethylene terephthalate film (light pervious support) and dried to form a photothermal conversion layer and a sublimation transfer composition is applied to the photothermal conversion layer and dried to form a sublimation transfer layer and a hot-melt transfer layer is applied to the transfer layer to form a thermal transfer recording material. Coated paper and a negative permeable manuscript are respectively superposed on the sublimation transfer layer and support of the recording material to be brought into close contact therewith under vacuum and the recording material is exposed on the side of the manuscript using a xenon flash light source and the dye at the exposed part is transferred to transfer the hot-melt transfer layer to the coated paper.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording material and a method for forming a thermal transfer image, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording material and a method for forming a thermal transfer image, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording material and a method for forming a thermal transfer image. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording material that can be transferred to plain paper and a method for forming a thermal transfer image.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, silver salt recording materials, photosensitive resin recording materials, and the like have been used to form high-quality images. Such recording materials have required processing using a liquid after recording. In other words, in the case of silver salt recording materials, a step is required to blacken the exposed silver particles or to develop the coupler into the desired color, and in most cases, such processing requires a liquid processing solution. there were. In addition, in the case of photosensitive resin recording materials, images are formed by taking advantage of the property that their solubility and permeability to a developing solution change upon exposure. It was necessary. Processing using such liquids produces waste liquid and is also unfavorable from an environmental hygiene standpoint.

Therefore, a thermal transfer recording method is attracting attention as an image forming method that allows dry processing. However, in a thermal transfer recording method using a thermal head, the recording resolution is limited by the degree of integration of the thermal head. Furthermore, even if the degree of integration of thermal heads is increased, there is a limit to the improvement in image quality due to the influence of adjacent heads. One possible way to overcome the image quality limitations of such a thermal head is to apply a thermal pattern based on photothermal conversion. This applies image information in the form of light and converts it into heat to generate heat and cause thermal transfer.

As a thermal transfer recording method using such photothermal conversion, a heat-melt transfer ribbon with a heat-melt ink layer containing carbon black dispersed in a wax-based binder is used to record with flash light through a transparent original (negative). A method has been proposed in which a transfer image is formed by thermally transferring the image.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the melt transfer method, the transfer layer is transferred over the entire surface with energy above a certain threshold value, so although binary recording is possible, continuous tone recording is difficult. Furthermore, since the molten transfer layer is physically torn apart before transfer, there is a limit to resolution. Therefore, as a recording material that is capable of gradation recording and has high resolution, a material that records images by photothermal conversion thermal recording using heat sublimation (diffusive) dye is considered, but this recording material has low photothermal conversion efficiency and The disadvantage of using multicolored dyes is that the sensitivity of each color is different. Furthermore, it requires special image-receiving paper and has the disadvantage that it is difficult to transfer onto plain paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording material that has high light-to-heat conversion efficiency, has the same sensitivity for each color even when using multicolor dyes, and can be transferred to plain paper, and a method for forming a thermal transfer image. There is a particular thing.

[Means for Solving the Problems 1] As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the inventors have arrived at the present invention.

That is, the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention is characterized by having a light-to-heat conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer, and a heat melt transfer layer, and the method of forming a thermal transfer image of the present invention is characterized in that the thermal transfer recording material has a photothermal conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer, and a heat melt transfer layer. is brought into close contact with an image-receiving support, exposed to high-intensity light from the support side, the dye in the exposed portion is diffusely transferred to the molten transfer layer, and the molten transfer layer in the dye-transferred portion is transferred to the image-receiving support. It is characterized by

Another thermal transfer recording material of the present invention is characterized in that the image-receiving support has a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support, and another method of forming a thermal transfer image of the present invention includes A thermal transfer recording material having a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support on an image receiving support is exposed to high-intensity light from the release support side to melt the dye in the exposed portion of the sublimation transfer layer. It is characterized in that the dye is diffuse-transferred onto a transfer layer, and the fused transfer layer in the dye-transferred portion is transferred onto an image-receiving support.

[Configuration of the invention 1 The present invention will be explained in detail below.

A first aspect of the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention includes a light-to-heat conversion layer,
It has a sublimation transfer layer and a melt transfer layer. Although each layer is provided on a support, the light-to-heat conversion layer may also serve as the support.

In principle, the light-to-heat conversion layer and the sublimation transfer layer are configured as separate layers, but they may be configured as the same layer.

As the support, a heat-resistant, light-transmitting plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, or polycarbonate can be used. The thickness of the light-transmitting support is preferably 1 to 200 μm.

In particular, when exposing through the original image or when providing the light-to-heat conversion layer and the sublimation transfer layer on opposite sides of the support, the thickness of the support is preferably 1 to 20 μm. If a support with a diameter exceeding 20 μm is used, a clear image may not be obtained.

The photothermal conversion layer is a layer that absorbs imagewise irradiated light and increases its temperature. It is preferable to add pigments or dyes to this layer in order to effectively utilize the energy of high-intensity light such as laser light or flash light. You can use anything that converts to .

When using flash light for exposure, pigments with a wide absorption range are preferred. Particularly preferred are pigments that absorb in the visible and near-infrared regions, such as carbon black, carbon graphite, phthalocyanine pigments, iron powder, graphite powder, iron oxide powder, lead oxide, and blackened silver, with carbon black being particularly preferred. .

When a laser is used for exposure, dyes and pigments having the emission wavelength of the laser can be used.

When using a laser that does not have an emission range in the visible region, such as an infrared semiconductor laser, it is not necessarily necessary to use dyes or pigments that absorb in the visible region, but infrared absorbing dyes that do not have absorption in the visible region. can be used. Of course, dyes and pigments that are preferred when using the above-mentioned flash light can also be suitably used.

The light-to-heat conversion layer is formed by dissolving or dispersing the above-mentioned dyes and pigments in a suitable binder to prepare a coating solution, and applying the solution onto the above-mentioned support using a coating means such as a wire bar.

In addition, when the light-to-heat conversion layer also serves as a thin film support, a liquid in which the above-mentioned dyes and pigments are dissolved or dispersed in a self-supporting binder is extruded to form a film or melted or melt-cast onto a temporary support. It can be created by peeling it off.

The sublimation transfer layer is composed of a sublimable dye, a binder, additives, and the like.

The sublimable dye may include any of yellow dye, magenta dye, and cyan dye, and one type or a combination of two or more types can be used depending on the tone of the image to be formed.

Yellow pigments: Kayaset Yellow AG, Kayaset Yellow 963, MS Yellow VP, MS Yeo
-VPH, MS Ixo-H3O-246, Macrolex Yellow 6G, Foran Brilliant Yellow S-6
GL, 5M5-1, JP-A No. 59-78896, No. 60
-27594, 60-31560, 60-53
No. 565, No. 61-12394, No. 63-12259
Examples include methine dyes, quinophthalone dyes, azo dyes, etc., which are described in various publications such as No. magenta HS
O-147, MS Magenta HM-1450, MS Red G, Macrolex Red Violet R, Kayaset Red 130.5M5-2.5M5-3, EMS-4,
JP-A-Sho [No. 1O-30392, No. 60-30394,
No. 60-253595, No. 61-262190, No. 63-5992, No. 63-205288, No. 64-
Examples of cyan dyes include anthraquinone dyes, azomethine dyes, and azo dyes described in publications such as No. 159 and No. 64-63194, and cyan dyes include: Kayaset Blue 714, Kayaset Blue FR, Kaya Set Blue 136, Kaya Set Blue 814, Kaya Set Nibble-776, MS Cyan VPG, MS Cyan HM-12
38, MS Schiff'zH3O-144, MS Schiff 7HSO
-16, Ceres Blue, SCM-1, JP-A-59-78
No. 896, No. 59-227948, No. 60-2499
No. 6, No. 60-53563, No. 60-130735, No. 60-131292, No. 60-239289,
No. 61-19396, No. 61-22993, No. 61
-31292, 61-31467, 61-35
No. 994, No. 61-49893, No. 61-14826
9, No. 62-191191, No. 63-91288, No. 63-91287, No. 63-290793, etc., naphthoquinone dyes, anthraquinone dyes, azomethine dyes, etc. .

As a binder, polyamide resin (nylon, etc.),
Polyester resin, poly(meth)acrylate resin (polymethyl methacrylate, polyethyl acrylate, etc.), polyurethane resin, polyvinyl chloride resin,
Polysalt 4-vinylidene resin, polystyrene resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, polystyrene-acrylic resin, polyethylene-vinyl acetate 11 resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polybutadiene resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, phenolic resin, Cellulose resin (methyl cellulose,
ethylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, nitrocellulose, acetylcellulose, etc.), polyvinyl ether resin, polyvinylpyrrolidone resin, polyvinylaniline resin, polysulfone resin, polycarbonate resin, ionomer resin, polysiloxane resin, acetal resin (polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl formal) etc.), petroleum resin, rosin resin, coumaron-indene resin, terpene resin, melamine resin, epoxy resin, polyphenylene oxide resin, polyarylate resin, styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, nitrile rubber, etc.

Additives include various surfactants, -grade fatty acids (stearic acid, valmitic acid, lauric acid, etc.), long chain alcohols (stearyl alcohol, etc.), metal salts of long chain fatty acids (calcium stearate, zinc valmitate, etc.). etc),
Antioxidants, various plasticizers, silicone oils, etc. can be mentioned.

It is preferable to have an intermediate layer between the sublimation transfer layer and the light-to-heat conversion layer.

The intermediate layer is a layer that prevents transfer of the light-to-heat conversion layer or mixing of the light-to-heat conversion layer and the sublimation transfer layer. The intermediate layer may be formed by melting or melting a resin material and coating it, or it may be formed by extrusion, casting, etc., and then laminated. The resin suitable for the intermediate layer, which preferably has a content lower than that of the light-to-heat conversion layer (and whose thermoplasticity or thermal meltability is lower than that of the sublimation transfer layer), is not particularly limited as long as it has the above-mentioned properties.

The thickness of the intermediate layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5
~5μ meeting. When the film thickness is thinner than 0.5 μm, the transfer prevention effect of the photothermal conversion layer is small, and when the film thickness exceeds 5 μm, the quality of the transferred image may deteriorate.

In the present invention, when the sublimation transfer layer and the photothermal conversion layer are formed in the same layer, the above photothermal conversion substance, binder, etc. may be used to form a layer having both transfer and photothermal conversion properties.

The melt transfer layer only needs to have the property of being melted by heat and showing adhesiveness to the substrate, and is composed of waxes, binders, additives, and the like.

Examples of waxes include carnauba wax, montan wax, beeswax, rice wax, candelilla wax, lanolin wax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, polyethylene wax, Sasol wax, oxidized wax, amide wax, silicone wax, etc. .

As the binder, the binder used in the sublimation transfer layer can be used. The ratio of the binder to the wax is preferably 50% or more, and the thickness of the melt transfer layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 5 microns.

In this embodiment, it is preferable to have a heat insulating layer as the outermost layer on the surface where the sublimation transfer layer is not provided. It is preferable to use a resin with a low heat insulating layer and have a void-like structure in the heat insulating layer.More preferably, at the contact surface between the heat insulating layer and the original image, the original image is partially held in the material forming the heat insulating layer, and other parts are kept free of air. It is in a state of touching.

The heat insulating layer can be provided by any method. For example, when the heat insulating layer is provided by coating, the heat insulating layer coating liquid may be one that does not have a substantial physical or chemical adverse effect on the support.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heat insulating layer is a mechanically matted layer or a resin layer containing a matting agent.

Methods for mechanically matting the surface of the heat insulating layer include (1) applying the heat insulating layer so as to obtain a coating layer with a concavo-convex pattern, and (2) mechanically roughening the surface to form a heat insulating layer.

Specific examples of (2) include a method in which the heat insulating layer is coated with a gravure roll having an uneven pattern, or a method in which resin particles are sprayed or thermally fused to obtain an uneven pattern. A specific example of (2) is a method of forming a heat insulating layer and then applying pressure with a pressure roller having an uneven surface having a hardness higher than that of the heat insulating layer to form a mat. Further, the back surface of the support or the light-to-heat conversion layer itself may be matted by applying pressure.

The thickness of the heat insulating layer is preferably 2 to 30 μm. When the heat insulating layer is thinner than 2 μm, the heat insulating effect is not sufficient. When the thickness of the heat insulating layer is thicker than 30 μm, the adhesion to the original image is incomplete and a clear image cannot be obtained.

When a matting agent is used, the particle size of the matting agent particles is suitably in the range of 2 to 30 μm, particularly preferably in the range of 4 to 20 μm, due to the above-mentioned disadvantages.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the surface roughness of the heat insulating layer is 0.3 to 2.0 μm in center line average roughness. If the centerline average surface roughness is less than 0.3 μm, the heat insulation effect is small, and if it is larger than 2.0 μm, the contact with the original image may be incomplete and a clear image may not be obtained.

Next, a second embodiment of the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention has a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support in this order on an image-receiving support.

Here, the sublimation transfer layer and the light-to-heat conversion layer may be formed into the same layer.

The structures of the melt transfer layer, the sublimation transfer layer, and the light-to-heat conversion layer are the same as those described in the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted.

The peelable support in this embodiment has the property of being peeled off from the recording image-receiving support together with the sublimation transfer layer and the photothermal conversion layer, and has the property of not being peeled off from the sublimation transfer layer and the photothermal conversion layer. The peelable support is composed of a synthetic resin layer, a synthetic resin film, or the like.

The thickness of the peelable support is usually 1 to 30 μm,
Preferably it is 2 to 20 μm! If this thickness is less than 1u11, the physical strength may not be sufficient and peeling may not be performed well, and if it exceeds 30 μm, loss of applied energy and light diffusion will occur, reducing print quality. I don't like it because it can happen.

The releasable support can be prepared by a composition containing a resin and a filler, or a composition further containing a solvent, by known means such as melt extrusion method (T-die method, inflation method), calender roll method, casting method, coating method. Obtained based on etc.

Examples of the synthetic resins include polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol, polycarbo, polyamide resins, polyamideimide, polyester resins, polysulfone resins, polyimide resins, nitrocellulose, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, etc. cellulose resin,
polyethylene phthalate, polyethylene naphthalate,
Suitable examples include polybutylene naphthalate, polyphenylene oxide, polyphenylene oxide, polyparabanic acid, phosphazene resin, polyvinylidene chloride, and polyether ether ketone.

When a synthetic resin film is used, the film may be stretched or may be subjected to corona discharge or other known surface treatment.

Furthermore, when a synthetic resin film containing ferromagnetic powder is used as a filler, anisotropy can be imparted to the thermal conductivity of the film by vertically applying a strong magnetic field to the film during film formation.

When forming a synthetic resin film, the synthetic resin and filler can be mixed using, for example, a Banbury mixer, a mixing roll, an extruder, or the like.

As the image-receiving support, synthetic paper (YUBO [manufactured by Tamako Yuka Co., Ltd.],
peach coat [manufactured by Nisshinbo Co., Ltd.], high-quality paper, art paper,
Papers such as coated paper, cast coated paper, resin coated paper, synthetic resin impregnated paper, latex impregnated paper, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylate ester, polyolefin , various plastic films or sheets such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, phenolic resin, cellulose triacetate, glass, metals (aluminum, stainless steel, etc.), and the like.

The thickness of the image receiving support is preferably a certain level in order to make the original and the thermal transfer recording material uniform.
Preferably, the thickness is not less than μm and not more than 500 μI.

These plastic films or sheets may contain pigments or air for coloring or increasing the bending strength of the film or sheet.

Examples of pigments include alkaline earth metal carbonates, Ti0
a, Mg0.2nO, alumina, silica, carbon black, etc.

It is preferable that the recording material has the above-mentioned heat insulating layer as the uppermost layer.

Next, a method for forming a thermal transfer image according to the present invention will be explained.

First, a case where the thermal transfer recording material of the first embodiment is used will be described.

The thermal transfer recording material of the first embodiment is brought into close contact with an image-receiving support, exposed to high-intensity light from the photothermal conversion layer side, the dye in the exposed area is diffusely transferred to the melt transfer layer, and the melt transfer layer is further transferred to the melt transfer layer as described above. A transferred image is formed by transferring to an image receiving support.

Exposure light sources that provide high-intensity light include xenon lamps, halogen lamps, tungsten lamps, lasers,
Examples include ED, CRT, etc., and any light source with strong light intensity can be used without being limited by the emission wavelength. Suitable light sources include flash light sources and laser light sources. The flash light source is preferably a xenon flash with an emission half width of 10 ms or less and an emission intensity of LOW/Crt1'' or more. Suitable laser light sources include argon lasers, helium neon lasers, and 1 semiconductor lasers with outputs of 50 mW or more.

Exposure methods using such a light source include contact exposure and scanning exposure.

In the case of contact exposure, the original transparent original and the recording material are brought into close contact with each other, and the exposure is performed with the above-mentioned high-intensity light from the transparent original side. In this case, the exposure time is preferably 10 m5 or less, n
If the light time is longer than 10 m5, the image quality will deteriorate due to the diffusion of the thermal pattern. When using a transparent original recorded on a photographic negative film, the emulsion layer side, that is, the recording layer side is brought into close contact with the support or the heat insulating layer.

In the case of the scanning exposure method, a cylindrical scanning optical system or a plane scanning optical system is used as the recording optical system. Among these, the cylindrical outer surface scanning optical system is the most preferable because it has less loss of the light source and can easily narrow the beam.

Next, the case where the thermal transfer recording material of the second embodiment is used will be explained.

The thermal transfer recording material of the second embodiment is exposed to high-intensity light from the release support side, and the dye in the exposed portion of the sublimation transfer layer is diffusely transferred to the melt transfer layer, and the melt transfer layer in the dye transfer portion is image-receiving. A transferred image can be formed by transferring onto a support. That is, since the unexposed portions are peeled off together with the peeling, a transferred image of the dye of the exposed portions is formed.

The present invention may include a step of transferring the image formed on the image-receiving support to a final support, in which case a printing plate or the like can be formed. The final support here is preferably one that is flexible enough to be set in a normal lithographic printing machine and that can withstand the load applied during printing, such as metal plates such as aluminum, zinc, copper, and steel, and metal plates such as chromium and zinc. , metal plates plated or vapor-deposited with copper, nickel, aluminum, iron, etc., paper, plastic films and glass plates, resin coated paper, paper covered with metal foil such as aluminum, plastic films treated to make them hydrophilic, etc. It will be done. Among these, aluminum plates are preferred.

When an aluminum plate is used, it may be subjected to surface roughening treatment such as grain treatment and anodizing treatment. The thickness of the final support is preferably 50 to 400 μm, more preferably 100 to 300 μm.

[Effect of the invention 1] According to the present invention, a thermal transfer recording material that has high light-to-heat conversion efficiency (and has the same sensitivity for each color even when using multicolor dyes, and that can be transferred to plain paper and a method for forming a thermal transfer image) can be provided.

The following margin [Examples] The present invention will be further explained in detail by giving examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited by these examples. Parts by weight are meant unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 A coating solution for a light-to-heat conversion layer having the following composition was applied onto a polyethylene terephthalate film (light-transmitting support) having a thickness of 4.5 #LIl using a wire bar so that the weight after drying was 301 g/
A photothermal conversion layer was formed by coating and drying to a thickness of dm2.

Photothermal conversion layer coating liquid> □ Carbon black aqueous dispersion 20 parts Polyvinyl alcohol 20% aqueous solution 100 parts Glyoxal 4 parts Water
50 parts The weight of a sublimation transfer layer composition having the following composition on the above light-to-heat conversion layer after drying is 50 g/
A sublimation transfer layer was formed by cloth-drying the sample to obtain a heat transfer recording material of d2.

Sublimation transfer layer composition> Ethyl cellulose 40 parts Sublimation dye (Kayaset Blue Nippon Kayaku) 10 parts Acetone 100 parts A melt transfer layer having the following composition was placed on top of this transfer layer to a dry weight of 50 parts.
The coating was applied so that the concentration was mg/dm2.

Wax emulsion (solid content 20%) 10 parts water
10 copies of this recording material were stacked with coated paper on the sublimation transfer layer side and a negative transparent original on the support side, and vacuum-adhered, using a xenon flash light source FX-180 (manufactured by Riso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.), 0.3 J/
Exposure was performed from the original side with an energy of cm2. The fused transfer layer, in which the dye in the exposed areas had migrated, was transferred to the coated paper, resulting in a clear blue image on the coated paper.

When the reflection density of the obtained image was measured using Konica PDA-85, the solid density was 1.50.

Example 2 Three types of thermal transfer recording materials, Y, M, and C, were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the dye used in the sublimation transfer layer was changed.

(Dye Y) (Dye M) (Dye C) Next, exposure was performed in the same manner as in Example 1.

Images in three colors of Y, M, and C0 were formed on the image-receiving material.

When the image surface of the image-receiving material formed from three-color images was superimposed on coated paper and passed through a laminator, a clear color image was transferred onto the coated paper. Note that the hot plate temperature of the laminator was 140°C.

Evaluation> For the image obtained as above, the happy color density in the image-receiving layer and each color density on coated paper were measured using PDA-8 manufactured by Nijika Co., Ltd.
It was measured using a No. 5 densitometer.

The results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Comparative Example 1 A thermal transfer recording material was prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that the melt transfer layer was not provided, and recording was performed in the same manner.

When the reflection density of the obtained image was measured using Konica PDA-85, the solid density was 0.70. If a melt transfer layer is not provided, sufficient transfer density cannot be obtained when transferring to plain paper.

Example 3 A coating solution for a light-to-heat conversion layer having the following composition was applied onto a 4.5IL polyethylene terephthalate film (thin film support) using a wire bar so that the weight after drying was 101 g/dm.
A photothermal conversion layer was formed by coating and drying to form a photothermal conversion layer.

Photothermal conversion layer coating liquid> Carbon black aqueous dispersion (solid content 30%) 10 parts Positive vinyl alcohol 10% aqueous solution 10 parts water
10
0 parts A heat insulating layer coating solution having the following composition was applied onto the above light-to-heat conversion layer using a wire bar so that the dry weight was 2.0 mg/dm''.

<Insulation! j Coating liquid> 50 parts of 10% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution. Chil methacrylate particles 50% water dispersion (average particle size 6 us) to part water
100 parts A sublimation transfer layer composition having the following composition was applied to the side opposite to the side on which the light-to-heat conversion layer was provided of the above polyethylene terephthalate film so that the weight after drying was 50 mg/drrl' and dried to provide a sublimation transfer layer. .

Sublimation transfer layer coating solution> Polyvinyl butyral 40 parts Sublimation dye KAYAS! T BLtlE 714 (Nippon Kayaku layer) 10 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts A melt transfer layer coating solution having the following composition was applied onto this sublimation transfer layer at a dry weight of 50 g/d and dried to form a melt transfer layer. prepared a thermal transfer recording material of the present invention.

Melt transfer layer coating solution> Wax aqueous emulsion (solid content 20%) 10 parts water
1
Coated paper similar to that used in Example 1 was placed on the melt transfer layer side of this recording material, and an original was placed on the heat insulation layer side, and recording was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. The fused transfer layer, in which the dye in the exposed areas had migrated, was transferred onto the coated paper, and a clear cyan image with no fog in the non-image areas was obtained.

Example 4 On a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 100#Lm, a coating solution for a photothermal conversion layer having the following composition was applied using a wire bar so that the weight after drying was 10 parts g/dm'', and dried to form a photothermal conversion layer. was formed.

Light-to-heat conversion layer coating liquid> Carbon black methyl ethyl ketone dispersion (solid content 30%) IOJ Vylon 3600 (polyester resin: Toyobo) 10 parts cyclohexanone 100 parts A sublimation transfer layer composition having the following composition was applied to the light-to-heat conversion layer above after drying Weight after drying A sublimation transfer layer was formed by coating and drying so that the amount of the coating was 50 gIg/din'.

Sublimation transfer layer coating solution> Cellulose diacetate 40 parts KAY
ASET BLUE 714 (mentioned above)
10 parts acetone 10
A melt transfer layer coating solution having the following composition was applied onto the sublimation transfer layer at a dry weight of 50 g/dm'' and dried to form a melt transfer layer to prepare a thermal transfer recording material of the present invention.

Melt transfer layer coating solution> Wax aqueous emulsion (solid content 20%) 10 parts water
1
The melt transfer layer side of this thermal transfer recording material was brought into close contact with coated paper, and a 2W semiconductor laser was used from the polyethylene terephthalate side to focus the light on the final layer of 300 copies at a speed of 7 seconds for scanning exposure. The fused transfer layer where the dye had migrated in the areas where the energy of the laser beam was applied was transferred onto the coated paper, resulting in a clear transferred image.

Example 5 Saturated polyester resin (Pyronal MD 1200:
above) was applied to a dry weight of 50 mg/dm''.

On this image-receiving layer, a sublimation transfer layer and a light-to-heat conversion layer similar to those in Example 4 having the following composition were provided.

Next, the light-to-heat conversion layer side of this recording material was brought into close contact with a polypropylene film of No. 6, and the film was rolled for 50 cm between a pair of nip rolls heated to 50°C under a pressure of 5 kg/am''.
The polypropylene film was laminated onto a polyethylene terephthalate film. Furthermore, a heat insulating layer similar to that in Example 3 was provided on this polypropylene sheet to prepare a recording material of the present invention.

A negative transparent original is stacked on the heat insulating layer side of this recording material, and is vacuum-adhered to the xenon flash light source FX-180 (described above).
The document was exposed from the original side using an energy of 0.3 J/crn'. When the polypropylene film was subsequently peeled off, the light-to-heat conversion layer and the sublimation transfer layer were removed along with the polypropylene film.

The fused transfer layer, in which the dye had migrated when exposed, was transferred to the coated paper, and a clear cyan image was obtained.

Example 6 A coating solution for a light-to-heat conversion layer having the following composition was coated onto a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 6 mm using a wire bar to a dry weight of 10 g/dm'.

Photothermal conversion layer coating liquid> Carbon black 10 parts HP
-55 (Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose: Shin-Etsu Chemical) 10 parts Ethylene glycol methyl ether 100 parts A sublimation transfer layer coating solution having the following composition was applied to the side of the polyethylene terephthalate film on which the light-to-heat conversion layer was not provided using a wire bar, dry weight It was applied at a concentration of 40 mg/d.

Sublimation transfer layer coating liquid> Vylon 200 (polyester resin) 40
Parts: Dye: 10 parts: Cyclohexanone: 100 parts A melt transfer layer coating solution having the following composition was applied onto the sublimation transfer layer by a dry weight of 50 parts.
Coat and dry to give mg/dni'.

A thermal transfer recording material of the present invention was prepared by providing a melt transfer layer.

Melt transfer layer coating solution> Wax aqueous emulsion (solid content 20%) 10 parts water
101i111 The melted transfer layer side of the sheet and the code paper are brought into close contact, and the pressure is applied between a pair of heated nip rolls at 5 kg/c.
The polypropylene film was laminated onto the image-receiving sheet by passing the polypropylene film under pressure at a speed of 50 cm/min.

From the polyethylene terephthalate side of this thermal transfer recording material, a 2W semiconductor laser was used to focus the light onto the 30IL intestine.
Scanning exposure was performed at a speed of 00 m/sec. The dye in the area where the energy of the laser beam was applied was transferred to the fused transfer layer, and the fused transfer layer was transferred to the coated paper, resulting in a clear magenta transferred image.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer recording material comprising a light-to-heat conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer, and a melt transfer layer. (2) The thermal transfer recording material according to claim 1, comprising a light-to-heat conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer, and a melt transfer layer in this order on the support. (3) Claim 1 characterized in that the support has a light-to-heat conversion layer on one side and a sublimation transfer layer and a melt transfer layer on the other side in this order.
The thermal transfer recording material described. (4) The melt transfer layer side of a thermal transfer recording material having a photothermal conversion layer, a sublimation transfer layer, and a melt transfer layer is brought into close contact with an image receiving support, and the exposed portion is exposed to high-intensity light from the photothermal conversion layer side. 1. A method for forming a thermal transfer image, which comprises diffusing and transferring a dye onto a molten transfer layer, and transferring the molten transfer layer in the dye-transferred portion to the image-receiving support. (5) A thermal transfer recording material comprising a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support on an image-receiving support. (6) The thermal transfer recording material according to claim 5, wherein the image-receiving support has a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support in this order. (7) A thermal transfer recording material comprising a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a release support, and a light-to-heat conversion layer in this order on an image-receiving support. (8) A thermal transfer recording material having a melt transfer layer, a sublimation transfer layer, a light-to-heat conversion layer, and a release support on an image-receiving support is exposed to high-intensity light from the release support side, and the exposed portion of the sublimation transfer layer is A method for forming a thermal transfer image, which comprises diffusing and transferring a dye onto a molten transfer layer, and transferring the fused transfer layer in the dye-transferred portion onto an image-receiving support.