JPH0648050A - Thermal transfer pigment donative material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a thermal transfer pigment donative material which has a clear hue and contains an excellent transferring pigment by a method wherein a pigment donative layer containing a heat transferring pigment, a specific methine pigment, is laminated on a substrate. CONSTITUTION:A heat transferring pigment expressed by the formula (R<1>-R<4> indicates a substituent of a hydrogen atom and non-metal, R<5> indicates a cyano group, an acyl group, etc., and X, Y indicates a cyano group, etc., together with suitable binder resin is dissolved or dispersed in a suitable solvent to prepare pigment donative layer-coating liquid. The coating liquid is applied onto a substrate of a capacitor paper or the like, and dried. A pigment donative layer is laminated to obtain a thermal transfer pigment donative material. The pigment donative layer of the thermal transfer pigment donative material is superimposed on a pigment image receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving material, and heat energy is applied according to image information by a heating means of a thermal head from a rear surface of the thermal transfer pigment donative material. Thereby, pigment of the pigment donative layer can be transferred to the thermal transfer image receiving material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thermal transfer dye-donor element using a heat transferable dye. More specifically, it relates to a thermal transfer dye-providing material containing a dye having a clear hue and excellent transferability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a thermal transfer method, an electrophotographic method, an ink jet method and the like are vigorously studied as a technology relating to a color hard copy. The thermal transfer method has many advantages over other methods because the apparatus is easy to maintain and operate and the apparatus and consumables are inexpensive. In the thermal transfer system, a thermal transfer material having a heat-fusible ink layer formed on a base film is heated by a thermal head to melt the ink, and the thermal transfer image-receiving material is recorded, and a heat transfer dye is applied on the base film. There is a method in which the thermal transfer dye-donor material containing the contained color material layer is heated by a thermal head to transfer the dye to the thermal transfer image-receiving material by thermal transfer, but the latter thermal transfer transfer method uses the energy applied to the thermal head. By changing the amount, the transfer amount of the dye can be changed, which facilitates gradation recording and is particularly advantageous for high-quality full-color recording. However, the heat transferable dye used in this system has various restrictions, and very few satisfy all the required performances. Required performances include, for example, having favorable spectral characteristics for color reproduction, easy heat transfer, strong resistance to light and heat, strong resistance to various chemicals, sharpness not easily deteriorated, and image It is difficult to retransfer, and it is easy to prepare a thermal transfer dye-donor material. Therefore, it has been desired to develop a dye satisfying these requirements.

Various dyes for thermal transfer have been proposed. Among them, many methine dyes have a sharp hue and are relatively easy to synthesize, and therefore many proposals have been made. For example, JP-A-59-78896 and 60-2.
No. 8452, No. 60-31563, No. 60-3156.
No. 4, No. 60-156760, No. 60-223862.
No. 61-163895, No. 62-220557.
No. 62-273265, No. 63-15857,
63-141799, 63-203393, 64-8095, 64-42286, 64-4.
9680, JP-A-1-196395 and 1-196.
No. 396, No. 2-84390, No. 2-175294
No. 2-217290, No. 2-219692, No. 3-203696, No. 3-234589, No. 3-2.
36993, US Patent 4,999,026, EP4
37, 282, 275, 381 and the like. All of the above methine dyes have a substituted amino group in the donor portion (benzene ring portion) of the dye molecule.

Further, there is a problem that an image formed by transfer is blurred or blurred with time.
In order to solve this problem, JP-A-3-83685 and JP-A-61-164492 disclose a method in which a mordant is contained in the image-receiving layer to thermally transfer a dye having a mordant group such as a phenolic hydroxyl group. . However, the above specification does not describe any example using a methine dye.

[0005]

Conventionally known methine dyes have problems in color reproduction of images due to improper maximum absorption wavelength or broad absorption. Further, a larger molecular extinction coefficient is advantageous because an image with higher density can be obtained, but the conventionally known methine dyes have still a small molecular extinction coefficient. Further, many of them are inferior in light fastness, and a dye satisfying all performances has not yet been found, and improvement thereof has been desired. Further, there is a drawback that the sharpness of the transferred image decreases with time.

The object of the present invention is to have excellent spectral characteristics,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer dye-donor material that uses a dye having a large molecular extinction coefficient and a high heat transfer property to provide an image of high density with excellent light fastness. Another object of the present invention is to obtain an image excellent in transferability, density and hue in a method of transferring a dye having a dissociative group (mordanting group) by incorporating a mordant or a basic substance in the image receiving layer. is there.

[0007]

The above problems have been solved by the following constitution. A thermal transfer dye-donating material comprising a dye-donor layer containing a heat-transferable dye on a support, wherein the dye-donor layer contains at least one heat-transferable dye represented by formula (I). A thermal transfer dye-providing material. General formula (I)

[0008]

[Chemical 6]

In the formula, R ¹ , R ² , R ³ and R ⁴ represent a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent, and R ⁵ represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group or an aryloxycarbonyl group. Represents a group, an aminocarbonyl group, an alkyl group, and an aryl group, and X and Y each independently represent a cyano group, —CO—R ⁶ , —C (R ⁸ ) ═N—R ⁷ , —C.
^{(R 8) = CR 9 R} 10, represents a -N = CR ⁹ R ^10. R ⁶
Represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group, or an anilino group. R ⁷ represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an amino group or an anilino group. R
⁸ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cyano group, an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group or an anilino group. R ⁹ and R ¹⁰ represent an alkyl group, an aryl group, or an electron-withdrawing group. X and Y may form a 5- or 6-membered heterocycle. R ¹ and R ² ,
And / or R ³ and R ⁴ may be bonded to each other to form a ring structure. R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁶ , R ⁷ ,
R ⁸ , R ⁹ , R ¹⁰ , X, and Y may be further substituted.

Among them, the heat transferable dye represented by the general formula (I) in claim 1 is represented by the following general formula (I)
Even more preferably, the above object was achieved by a thermal transfer dye-donating material characterized by being represented by I), (III), (IV) and (V). In the formula, R ¹ , R ² , R ³ ,
R ⁴ and R ⁵ have the same meaning as in formula (I). R ^5'is R ⁵
Is synonymous with. R ¹¹ , R ¹² , R ¹³ and R ¹⁴ are alkyl groups,
It represents an aryl group, a hydrogen atom, or a heterocyclic group. R ¹⁵ , R ¹⁶
Represents a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent.

[0011]

[Chemical 7]

[0012]

[Chemical 8]

[0013]

[Chemical 9]

[0014]

[Chemical 10]

Further, by using the thermal transfer dye-donor material having a methine dye of the present invention in combination with a mordant or an image-receiving material containing a basic substance, an image having a high maximum density and a clear hue can be obtained. Further, they have found that the stability of the image over time is excellent, and the above object has been achieved particularly preferably.

Further details will be described below. R ¹ ,
R ² , R ³ and R ⁴ each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent, and the non-metal substituent is an alkyl group (having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, such as methyl, ethyl or n-propyl). , Iso-propyl, t-butyl, trifluoromethyl), an alkoxy group (having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, for example, methoxy, ethoxy, methoxyethoxy, isopropoxy),
Aryl group (having 6 or 20 carbon atoms, for example, phenyl, m-acetylaminophenyl, p-methoxyphenyl) nitro group, acyl group (having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, for example, formyl,
Acetyl, benzoyl, p-methoxybenzoyl), alkylthio group (having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, for example, methylthio, ethylthio), arylthio group (having 6 to 2 carbon atoms).
0, for example, phenylthio, p-chlorophenylthio), a sulfonyl group (having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, for example, methanesulfonyl, ethanesulfonyl, toluenesulfonyl), an amino group (having 0 to 20 carbon atoms, for example, methylamino, ethylamino, dimethyl). Amino) halogen atom (bromine, fluorine, chlorine), acylamino group [C1-C1
12 alkylcarbonylamino groups (eg formylamino, acetylamino, propionylamino, cyanoacetylamino), arylcarbonylamino groups having 7 to 15 carbon atoms (eg benzoylamino, p-toluylamino, pentafluorobenzoylamino, m-methoxy) Benzoylamino)], an alkoxycarbonyl group (having 2 to 13 carbon atoms, for example, methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl), a cyano group, a sulfonylamino group (having 1 to 1 carbon atoms).
0, for example, methanesulfonylamino, ethanesulfonylamino, N-methylmethanesulfonylamino), a carbamoyl group [an alkylcarbamoyl group having 2 to 12 carbon atoms (for example, methylcarbamoyl, dimethylcarbamoyl,
Butylcarbamoyl, isopropylcarbamoyl, t-
Butylcarbamoyl, cyclopentylcarbamoyl, cyclohexylcarbamoyl, methoxyethylcarbamoyl, chloroethylcarbamoyl, cyanoethylcarbamoyl, ethylcyanoethylcarbamoyl, benzylcarbamoyl, ethoxycarbonylmethylcarbamoyl, furfurylcarbamoyl, tetrahydrofurfurylcarbamoyl, phenoxymethylcarbamoyl, allylcarbamoyl, crotylcarbamoyl, prenyl. Carbamoyl, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butenylcarbamoyl, homoallylcarbamoyl, homocrotylcarbamoyl, homoprenylcarbamoyl), arylcarbamoyl group having 7 to 15 carbon atoms (for example, phenylcarbamoyl, p-toluylcarbamoyl, m-methoxyphenyl) Carbamoyl, 4,5-dichloro Phenylcarbamoyl, p-cyanophenylcarbamoyl, p-acetylaminophenylcarbamoyl, p-methoxycarbonylphenylcarbamoyl, m-trifluoromethylphenylcarbamoyl, o-fluorophenylcarbamoyl, 1-naphthylcarbamoyl), C4-C12 heteri Rucarbamoyl group (for example, 2-pyridylcarbamoyl, 3-pyridylcarbamoyl, 4-pyridylcarbamoyl, 2-benzthiazolylcarbamoyl, 2-benzimidazolylcarbamoyl, 2- (4-methyl) 1,3,4-thiadiazolylcarbamoyl) ], A sulfamoyl group (having a carbon number of 0 to
12, for example, methylsulfamoyl, dimethylsulfamoyl), aminocarbonylamino group (having 1 to 1 carbon atoms)
0, for example, methylaminocarbonylamino, dimethylaminocarbonylamino), and an alkoxycarbonylamino group (having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, for example, methoxycarbonylamino, ethoxycarbonylamino).

Preferred among R ¹ , R ² , R ³ and R ⁴ are electron withdrawing substituents. R ¹ , R ² , R ³ ,
R ⁴ is selected to lower the PKa of the phenolic hydroxyl groups of the dyes of this invention. And the PKa of the hydroxyl group is 7
It is preferred to select the substituents so that Preferred substituents from the above viewpoint are a chloro atom, a cyano group, an acyl group, a nitro group, an alkoxycarbonyl group,
An aryloxy carbonyl group and an amino carbonyl group are mentioned. Among them, it is most preferable that R ¹ and R ⁴ are hydrogen atoms and both R ² and R ³ are chloro atoms.

R ⁵ represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an aminocarbonyl group, an alkyl group or an aryl group. Specific examples thereof include those described for R ¹ . Preferred among R ⁵ is a hydrogen atom,
It is a cyano group. In the general formula (I), X, Y are each independently a cyano ^{group, -CO-R 6, -C (} R 8) = N
^{-R 7, -C (R 8)} = CR 9 R 10, -N = CR 9 R 10
Represents R ⁶ represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group or an anilino group.
R ⁷ represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an amino group or an anilino group. R ⁸ is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cyano group,
It represents an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group, or an anilino group. R ⁶ , R ⁷ , R ⁸
Specific examples of the above can include those described for R ¹ .

R ⁹ and R ¹⁰ are an alkyl group, an aryl group,
Alternatively, it represents an electron-withdrawing group. As the electron-withdrawing group, a cyano group, an alkoxycarbonyl group (having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, for example, methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, isopropoxycarbonyl), a carbamoyl group (having 1 to 1 carbon atoms).
2, eg methylcarbamoyl, ethylcarbamoyl,
Phenylcarbamoyl, 2-pyridylcarbamoyl),
Sulfonyl group (C1-12, such as methanesulfonyl, ethanesulfonyl, benzenesulfonyl), acyl group (C2-12, such as acetyl, propionyl,
Benzoyl, 2-benzofuranoyl), nitro group, substituted aryl group (having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, for example, p-nitrophenyl, 2,4-dichlorophenyl), heterocyclic group (5 to 6)
A monocyclic or condensed ring heteryl group having a member ring, such as 2-pyridyl, 5-nitrothienyl, 4-phenylthiazolyl)
Etc. Specific examples of the alkyl group and the aryl group are R
^The ones mentioned in ¹ can be mentioned.

X and Y may form 5 or 6 heterocycles. Examples of the heterocyclic ring formed by X and Y are a monocyclic or condensed heterocyclic group having a 5- or 6-membered ring. The heterocycle is preferably a 5-membered ring rather than a 6-membered ring. Of these, a heterocycle containing 1 or 2 N atoms is preferable.

Preferred structures of the dye represented by the formula (I) are represented by the following formulas (II), (III), (IV) and (V).

[0022]

[Chemical 11]

[0023]

[Chemical 12]

[0024]

[Chemical 13]

[0025]

[Chemical 14]

In the formula, R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁴ and R ⁵ have the same meaning as in formula (I). R ¹¹ , R ¹² , R ¹³ and R ¹⁴ represent an alkyl group, an aryl group, a hydrogen atom or a heterocyclic group. Specific examples thereof include those described for R ¹ .

R ¹⁵ and R ¹⁶ represent a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent. As the non-metallic substituents represented by R ¹⁵ and R ¹⁶ , those mentioned for R ¹ can be mentioned.
Among them, alkyl groups, aryl groups, alkoxy groups,
Acyl group, acylamino group, alkoxycarbonyl group,
A cyano group, a sulfonylamino group, a carbamoyl group, a sulfamoyl group, an aminocarbonylamino group, an alkoxycarbonylamino group, an alkylthio group and an arylthio group are preferable. Specific examples thereof include those described for R ¹ . Of these, an aryl group and an acylamino group are most preferable. Formula (II), (II
Among I), (IV) and (V), the structure represented by the formula (II) is most preferable.

Further, it is described in JP-A-3-205189.
R is an atomic group that suppresses fading ¹~ R¹⁶One of
It is also preferable to include in order to improve the light fastness of the image.
Yes. The dye of the present invention has a molecular weight of 700 or less.
It is preferred that the substituents are selected such that
The molecular weight is selected to be 600 or less. Most preferred
Preferably, the molecular weight is selected to be 500 or less. Book
The dye of the invention has a structure in which two molecules of the dye are linked by a divalent linking group.
It may be manufactured. Divalent linking groups are substituted and unsubstituted
Alkylene group (having 1 to 10 carbon atoms), aryl group (carbon
Expressions 6 to 16) are preferable. Next, specific examples of the dye of the present invention
As shown below, the present invention is limited by these
is not.

[0029]

[Chemical 15]

[0030]

[Chemical 16]

[0031]

[Chemical 17]

[0032]

[Chemical 18]

The dye of the present invention can be synthesized by dehydration condensation of an aryl aldehyde and a coupler compound.

[0034]

[Chemical 19]

The synthesis examples of the dye used in the present invention are shown below. (Synthesis example 1) Dye 1

[0036]

[Chemical 20]

Step-Compound A 40 g, acetic acid 100 ml, sulfuryl chloride 97.
4 g were mixed and heated at 50 ° C. for 1 hour. Then reaction liquid
Was poured into 1.0 liter of water. The precipitated crystals are filtered and dried.
After drying, 20.5 g of compound B was obtained. Step-Compound B 20 g, Compound C 24.2 g, acetoniryl 1
While stirring 00 ml at 10 ° C, pyridine 8.2 was added.
g was added dropwise. Then raise the temperature to 50 ° C and let stand for 10 minutes.
I responded. The reaction mixture was poured into 500 ml of water and extracted with ethyl acetate.
did. MgSO _FourAfter drying with, the solvent was distilled off. Conversion
30.1 g of compound D was obtained. Step-Compound D 10.0 g, malononitrile 1.71 g, eta
Reaction with 50 ml of nole and 0.1 g of glycine at 70 ° C for 1 hour
Let Then, pour the reaction solution into 500 ml of water and add ethyl acetate.
It was extracted with. Crystals precipitated when the solvent was distilled off
Therefore, filtration was performed. 3.0 g of dye 1 was obtained.

Other dyes of the present invention can be similarly synthesized.

The heat transferable dye of the present invention is contained in a color material layer on a support to serve as a heat transfer dye-providing material and used for image formation by a heat transfer system. Next, the case where the heat transferable dye of the present invention is used for image formation in a thermal transfer system will be described in detail below. Usually, three color dyes of yellow, magenta, and cyan are required to form a full-color image. Therefore, the compound of the present invention can be used as a magenta dye or a cyan dye, and the other two colors can be selected from conventionally known dyes to perform full-color image formation. For the same color, the dye of the present invention and a conventionally known dye may be mixed and used. Further, two or more of the dyes of the present invention may be mixed and used in the same color.

Next, a method of using the thermal transfer dye of the present invention will be described. The thermal transfer dye-providing material can be used in the form of a sheet or a continuous roll or ribbon. The yellow, magenta and cyan dyes of the present invention are usually arranged on a support so as to form independent regions. For example, a yellow dye area, a magenta dye area, and a cyan dye area are arranged on one support in a frame-sequential or line-sequential manner. Further, it is also possible to prepare three types of thermal transfer dye-donor materials in which the above-mentioned yellow dye, magenta dye, and cyan dye are provided on separate supports, and from these, the thermal transfer of dyes to one thermal transfer image-receiving material can be carried out sequentially. . Each of the dyes of the present invention can be dissolved or dispersed in a suitable solvent together with a binder resin and applied on a support, or can be printed on a support by a printing method such as a gravure method. The thickness of the dye-donor layer containing these dyes is usually about 0.2 in terms of dry film thickness.
It is preferable to set in the range of ˜5 μm, especially 0.4 to 2 μm.

The coating amount of the dye is 0.03 to 1 g / m ² , more preferably 0.1 to 0.6 g / m ² . As the binder resin to be used together with the above-mentioned dye, any of the conventionally known binder resins for such purpose can be used, and usually those having high heat resistance, and those which do not hinder the transfer of the dye when heated To be selected. For example, polyamide-based resin, polyester-based resin, epoxy-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, polyacrylic-based resin (eg, polymethylmethacrylate, polyacrylamide, polystyrene-2-acrylonitrile), vinyl-based resin such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polychlorinated Vinyl resin (for example, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer), polycarbonate resin, polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, cellulose resin (for example, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate hydrogen phthalate, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, Cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose triacetate), polyvinyl alcohol resin (eg polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl Acetal, partially saponified polyvinyl alcohol such as polyvinyl butyral), petroleum resins, rosin derivatives, coumarone over indene resin, terpene resin, polyolefin resin (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene) and the like. In the present invention, such a binder resin is used in an amount of, for example, about 20 to 600 per 100 parts by weight of the dye.
It is preferably used in a proportion of parts by weight. In the present invention, any conventionally known ink solvent can be used as the ink solvent for dissolving or dispersing the dye and the binder resin.

Any conventionally known support can be used as the support of the thermal transfer dye-providing material. For example, polyethylene terephthalate; polyamide; polycarbonate; glassine paper; condenser paper; cellulose ester; fluoropolymer; polyether; polyacetal; polyolefin; polyimide; polyphenylene sulfide; polypropylene; polysulfone; cellophane and the like. The thickness of the support of the thermal transfer dye-donor element is generally 2 to
It is 30 μm. An undercoat layer may be provided if necessary. Further, a dye diffusion preventing layer made of a hydrophilic polymer may be provided between the support and the dye donating layer. This further improves the transfer density. As the hydrophilic polymer, the water-soluble polymer described above can be used. A slipping layer may be provided to prevent the thermal head from sticking to the dye-donor element. The slipping layer is composed of a lubricating material, with or without a polymeric binder, such as a surfactant, a solid or liquid lubricant or mixtures thereof.

In order to prevent sticking due to the heat of the thermal head and improve slippage when printing from the back side, the dye-donor material is preferably subjected to a sticking prevention treatment on the side of the support on which the dye-donor layer is not provided. . For example,
It is preferable to provide a heat-resistant slip layer mainly containing a reaction product of polyvinyl butyral resin and isocyanate, an alkali metal salt or alkaline earth metal salt of phosphoric acid ester, and a filler. The polyvinyl butyral resin has a molecular weight of about 60,000 to 200,000 and a glass transition point of 80.
From about 110 ° C. and from the viewpoint of many reaction sites with isocyanate, the weight percentage of vinyl butyral portion is 1
5 to 40% is preferable. As the alkali metal salt or alkaline earth metal salt of phosphoric acid ester, Gafak RD720 manufactured by Toho Chemical Co., Ltd. is used, and 1 to 50% by weight, preferably 10 to 4% by weight based on the polyvinyl butyral resin.
It is recommended to use about 0% by weight. The heat-resistant slip layer is preferably accompanied by heat resistance in the lower layer, a combination of a synthetic resin that can be cured by heating and its curing agent, such as polyvinyl butyral and polyvalent isocyanate, acrylic polyol and polyvalent isocyanate, cellulose acetate and titanium chelating agent, Alternatively, a combination of polyester and an organic titanium compound may be provided by coating.

The dye-donor element may be provided with a hydrophilic barrier layer for preventing the dye from diffusing toward the support. The hydrophilic dye barrier layer contains hydrophilic materials useful for the intended purpose. Generally good results are gelatin, poly (acrylamide), poly (isopropylacrylamide), butyl methacrylate grafted gelatin,
Ethyl methacrylate graft gelatin, cellulose monoacetate, methyl cellulose, poly (vinyl alcohol),
Poly (ethyleneimine), poly (acrylic acid), a mixture of poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (vinyl acetate), a mixture of poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (acrylic acid) or cellulose monoacetate and poly (acrylic acid) ). Especially preferred are poly (acrylic acid), cellulose monoacetate or poly (vinyl alcohol).

The dye-donor element may be provided with an undercoat layer. In the present invention, any undercoat layer may be used as long as it has a desired effect, but preferred specific examples include (acrylonitrile-vinylidene chloride-acrylic acid) copolymer (weight ratio 14: 80: 6), (butyl acrylate). -Methacrylic acid-2-aminoethyl-methacrylic acid-2-hydroxyethyl) copolymer (weight ratio 30:20:50), linear / saturated polyester, for example Bostic 7650 (Mhart Inc., Bostic Chemical Group) Alternatively, a chlorinated high density poly (ethylene-trichloroethylene) resin may be used. The coating amount of the undercoat layer is not particularly limited, but it is usually used in an amount of 0.1 to 2.0 g / m ² .

In the present invention, the thermal transfer dye-providing material is superposed on the thermal transfer image-receiving material and heat is applied in accordance with the image information from either side, preferably the back side of the thermal transfer dye-providing material, by means of heating means such as a thermal head. By applying energy, the dye in the dye-donor layer can be transferred to the thermal transfer image-receiving material according to the amount of heating energy, and a color image with excellent sharpness and resolution can be obtained. Further, an anti-fading agent can be similarly transferred. The heating means is not limited to the thermal head, and a known one such as a laser beam (for example, semiconductor laser) infrared flash, a hot pen, or the like can be used. In laser-based systems, the dye-donor material contains a material that strongly absorbs the laser beam. When the dye-providing material is irradiated with a laser beam,
The absorptive material converts light energy into heat energy which immediately transfers the heat to nearby dyes and heats them to their heat transfer temperature for transfer to the image receiving material. The absorbent material is present in layers under the dye and / or is mixed with the dye. The laser beam is modulated with an electrical signal that represents the shape and color of the original image, heating only the areas of the dye that need to be present on the dye-donor material to reconstitute the original target color and heat transfer. A more detailed description of this process can be found in British Patent 2,083,726A.
The absorbing material disclosed for that laser system in British Patent 2,083,726A is carbon. In the present invention, the thermal transfer dye-providing material is combined with a thermal transfer image-receiving material to print by using various printers of thermal printing system, facsimile, or print production of image by magnetic recording system, optical recording system, television, C
It can be used to create prints from the RT screen. For details of the thermal transfer recording method, the description in JP-A-60-34895 can be referred to.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dye-donor element comprises a polyethylene terephthalate support coated in successive repeating regions of a cyan dye, a magenta dye and a yellow dye, the steps being carried out sequentially for each color to give a three-part dye. Form a color transfer image. Of course, when this process is performed in a single color, a monochrome transfer image is obtained.
For the thermal transfer of dyes from dye-donor materials to image-receiving materials, ion gas lasers such as argon and krypton, metal vapor lasers such as copper, gold and cadmium, ruby and YA.
Several types of lasers can be used, such as solid state lasers such as G or semiconductor lasers such as gallium arsenide which emits in the infrared region of 750 to 870 nm. However, in practice, semiconductor lasers are advantageous in terms of small size, low cost, stability, reliability, durability, and ease of modulation.

The thermal transfer image-receiving material used in combination with the thermal transfer dye-providing material of the present invention comprises a support and an image-receiving layer for receiving the dye transferred from the dye-providing material. This image-receiving layer contains a substance capable of receiving a heat-transferable dye having a function of dyeing the heat-transferable dye, which receives the heat-transferable dye transferred from the heat-transfer dye-providing material during printing. Or a coating having a thickness of about 0.5 to 50 μm, which is included with other binder substances. The following resins are examples of polymers that are typical examples of substances that can receive heat transferable dyes. (A) Those having an ester bond Dicarboxylic acid components such as terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, and succinic acid (these dicarboxylic acid components may be substituted with a sulfo group or a carboxyl group), ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, Polyester resin obtained by condensation of propylene glycol, neopentyl glycol, bisphenol A, etc .: polyacrylic acid ester resin or polymethacrylic acid ester resin such as polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polymethyl acrylate, polybutyl acrylate: polycarbonate resin: Polyvinyl acetate resin: Styrene acrylate resin: Vinyl toluene acrylate resin, etc. Specifically, JP-A-59-101395 and 6
3-7971, 63-7792, 63-797.
No. 3 and No. 60-294862 can be mentioned. As commercially available products, Toyobo Byron 290, Byron 200, Byron 280, Byron 3
00, Byron 103, Byron GK-140, Byron GK-130, Kao ATR-2009, ATR-
2010 etc. can be used. (B) Those having a urethane bond, such as polyurethane resin. (C) Those having an amide bond Polyamide resin and the like. (D) Those having a urea bond, such as urea resin. (E) Those having a sulfone bond Polysulfone resin, etc. (F) Others having a highly polar bond Polycaprolactone resin, styrene-maleic anhydride resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, etc. In addition to the above synthetic resins, mixtures or copolymers of these can also be used.

In the thermal transfer image-receiving material, particularly in the image-receiving layer, a high-boiling organic solvent or a thermal solvent can be contained as a substance capable of receiving the heat transferable dye or as a dye diffusing agent. Specific examples of the high boiling point organic solvent and the heat solvent include JP-A Nos. 62-174754 and 62-245253.
No. 61-209444 and 61-200538
No. 6, No. 62-8145, No. 62-9348, No. 62
The compounds described in Nos. -30247 and 62-136646 can be mentioned.

Further, a mordant and a basic substance for mordanting the dye can be contained. As the mordant and the basic substance, those described in JP-A-61-64492, JP-A-1-188391 and JP-A-3-83685 can be used. A basic polymer may be used in place of the mordant to dissociate the dye. Examples of the basic polymer include AEA (manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.) and the like. A basic compound may be used instead of the mordant. At this time, the basic compound preferably has a ballast group (diffusion resistant group) in the molecule. A tertiary amine is preferred as the basic compound.

The image receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving material of the present invention may have a structure in which a substance capable of receiving the heat transferable dye is dispersed and carried in a water-soluble binder. As the water-soluble binder used in this case, various known water-soluble polymers can be used, but a water-soluble polymer having a group capable of undergoing a crosslinking reaction by a hardening agent is preferable. The image receiving layer may be composed of two or more layers. In that case, a synthetic resin having a low glass transition point is used for the layer closer to the support, or a composition having enhanced dyeing property to a dye by using a high-boiling organic solvent or a thermal solvent, and the glass transition layer is used for the outermost layer. Using a synthetic resin with a higher point, sticking to the surface, adhering to other substances, or sticking to other substances after transfer, with or without using the minimum amount of high boiling organic solvents or heat solvents It is desirable to have a structure that prevents troubles such as retransfer and blocking with a thermal transfer dye-donor material. The total thickness of the image receiving layer is 0.5 to 50 μm.
m, particularly 3 to 30 μm is preferable. In the case of a two-layer structure, the outermost layer preferably has a thickness of 0.1 to 2 μm, particularly 0.2 to 1 μm.

The thermal transfer image-receiving material of the present invention may have an intermediate layer between the support and the image-receiving layer. The intermediate layer is either a cushion layer, a porous layer, a dye diffusion preventing layer, or a layer having two or more functions depending on the constituent material,
In some cases, it also serves as an adhesive. The dye diffusion-preventing layer serves to prevent the heat transferable dye from diffusing into the support. The binder constituting the diffusion preventing layer may be water-soluble or organic solvent-soluble, but a water-soluble binder is preferable, and examples thereof include the water-soluble binders mentioned above as the binder for the image-receiving layer, particularly gelatin. The porous layer is a layer which prevents heat applied during thermal transfer from diffusing from the image receiving layer to the support and effectively utilizes the applied heat. The image-receiving layer, cushion layer, porous layer, diffusion-preventing layer, adhesive layer, etc. constituting the thermal transfer image-receiving material of the present invention includes silica,
Fine powders such as clay, talc, diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, aluminum silicate, synthetic zeolite, zinc oxide, lithobone, titanium oxide and alumina may be contained. If the support used in the thermal transfer image-receiving material of the present invention can withstand the transfer temperature and can satisfy the requirements in terms of smoothness, whiteness, slipperiness, friction, antistatic properties, dents after transfer, etc. Anything can be used. For example, synthetic paper (synthetic paper such as polyolefin and polystyrene), fine paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper, backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex impregnated paper, synthetic resin Paper support such as coated paper, paperboard, cellulose fiber paper, polyolefin-coated paper (paper coated on both sides with polyethylene in particular), and various plastic films or sheets such as polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, methacrylate, polycarbonate, etc. A film or sheet that has been treated to impart white reflectivity to the plastic, and laminates of any combination of the above may also be used.

A fluorescent whitening agent may be used in the thermal transfer image receiving material. An example is K. Vevnkataraman's "The Chem.
istry of Synthetic Dyes ", Volume 5, Chapter 8, JP-A-61
The compound described in -143752 etc. can be mentioned. More specifically, a stilbene compound,
Examples thereof include coumarin-based compounds, biphenyl-based compounds, benzoxazolyl-based compounds, naphthalimide-based compounds, pyrazoline-based compounds, carbostyryl-based compounds, and 2,5-dibenzoxazolethiophene-based compounds. The fluorescent whitening agent can be used in combination with an anti-fading agent. In the present invention, in order to improve releasability between the thermal transfer dye-donor material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material, the outermost layer, which is a layer constituting the dye-donating material and / or the image-receiving material, particularly preferably a surface contacting both materials, is preferred. It is preferable to include releasability. As release agents, solid or wax-like substances such as polyethylene wax, amide wax, Teflon powder: Surfactants such as fluorine-based and phosphoric ester-based: paraffin-based, silicone-based, fluorine-based oils, etc. Although any of the above releasing agents can be used, silicone oil is particularly preferable. As non-denatured silicone oil, carboxy-modified, amino-modified,
Modified silicone oil such as epoxy modified can be used. Examples thereof include various modified silicone oils described on pages 6 to 18B of "Modified Silicone Oil" technical data issued by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.
When used in an organic solvent-based binder, when an amino-modified silicone oil having a group capable of reacting with a crosslinking agent of the binder (for example, a group capable of reacting with an isocyanate) is also emulsified and dispersed in a water-soluble binder. Is effectively a carboxy-modified silicone oil (for example, Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd .: trade name X-22-3710).

The layers constituting the thermal transfer dye-donating material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material used in the present invention may be cured with a hardener. In the case of curing an organic solvent-based polymer, JP-A Nos. 61-199997 and 58-21539.
The hardeners described in No. 8 and the like can be used. It is particularly preferable to use an isocyanate type hardener for the polyester resin. For curing water-soluble polymers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,739, column 41, JP-A-59-1166.
55, 62-245261 and 61-18942.
The hardeners described in the publications are suitable for use. More specifically, aldehyde hardeners (formaldehyde etc.), aziridine hardeners, epoxy hardeners, vinyl sulfone hardeners (N, N'-ethylene-bis (vinylsulfonylacetamide)) Ethane), N-methylol type hardeners (dimethylol urea, etc.), or polymer hardeners (compounds described in JP-A-62-234157).

An anti-fading agent may be used in the thermal transfer dye-providing material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material. Examples of anti-fading agents include antioxidants, ultraviolet absorbers, and certain metal complexes. Examples of the antioxidant include chroman compounds, coumarane compounds, phenol compounds, phenol compounds (for example, hindered phenols), hydroquinone derivatives, hindered amine derivatives, and spiroindane compounds. In addition, JP-A-61-159644
The compounds described in No. 1 are also effective. As an ultraviolet absorber,
Benzotriazole compounds (US Pat. No. 3,533,
No. 794), 4-thiazolidone compounds (US Pat. No. 3,352,681 etc.), benzophenone compounds (JP 56-2784 etc.) and others JP 54.
-48535, 62-136641, 61-8.
8256 and the like. In addition, JP-A-62
The ultraviolet absorbing polymer described in JP-A-260152 is also effective. Examples of the metal complex include U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,15.
5, No. 4,245,018, columns 3 to 36, No. 4,254,195, columns 3 to 8, JP-A-62-174.
741 and 61-88256 (27) to (29).
Page, Japanese Patent Application Nos. 62-234103 and 62-31109.
6 and Japanese Patent Application No. 62-230596. Examples of useful anti-fading agents are disclosed in JP-A-62-2.
15272 (125)-(137). An anti-fading agent for preventing fading of the dye transferred to the image-receiving material may be contained in the image-receiving material in advance, or may be supplied to the image-receiving material from the outside by a method such as transferring from the dye-providing material. May be. The above-mentioned antioxidant, ultraviolet absorber, and metal complex may be used in combination.

Various surfactants can be used in the constituent layers of the thermal transfer dye-donating material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material for the purposes of coating aid, improvement of peeling property, improvement of sliding property, antistatic property, acceleration of development and the like. For example, saponin (steroidal), alkylene oxide derivative (eg, polyethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers, polyethylene glycol alkyl aryl ethers, polyethylene glycol esters, polyethylene glycol sorbitan esters, polyalkylene glycol alkylamines or amides, silicone Polyethylene oxide adducts), glycidol derivatives (for example, alkenyl succinic acid polyglyceride, alkylphenol polyglyceride), fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohols, alkyl esters of sugars and the like: alkylcarboxylic acid salts, Alkyl sulfonates, alkyl naphthalene sulfonates, alkyl sulfates, alkyl phosphates N-acyl-N-alkyl taurines, sulfosuccinic acid esters, sulfoalkyl polyethylene alkyl phenyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl phosphoric acid esters and other carboxy groups, sulfo groups, phospho groups, sulfuric acid ester groups, phosphoric acid ester groups Anionic surfactants containing acidic groups such as: Amino acids, aminoalkyl sulfonic acids, aminoalkyl sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid esters, alkyl betaines, amine oxides, etc. double-sided surfactants: alkyl amine salts, aliphatic or aromatic Group 4 quaternary ammonium salts, viridinium, imidazolium, etc.
Cationic surfactants such as primary ammonium salts and phosphonium or sulfonium salts containing aliphatic or multiple rings can be used. Specific examples of these are disclosed in JP-A-62-173463 and JP-A-62-183457.
No. etc. Further, when dispersing a substance capable of receiving a heat transferable dye, a release agent, an anti-fading agent, an ultraviolet absorber, a fluorescent brightening agent and other hydrophobic compounds in a water-soluble binder, an interface as a dispersion aid is obtained. Preference is given to using activators. For this purpose, in addition to the surfactants mentioned above,
The surfactants described on pages 37 to 38 of JP-A-59-157636 are particularly preferably used.

The constituent layers of the thermal transfer dye-providing material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material may contain an organic fluoro compound for the purpose of improving slipperiness, preventing electrification, improving releasability and the like. As typical examples of the organic fluoro compound, JP-B-57-9053, columns 8 to 17, JP-A-61-20944 and JP-A-62-13.
5826 and the like, or a hydrophobic fluorine compound such as an oily fluorine compound such as fluorine oil or a solid fluorine compound resin such as tetrafluoroethylene resin. A matting agent can be used in the thermal transfer dye-donating material and the thermal transfer image-receiving material. Matting agents such as silicon dioxide, polyolefins and polymethacrylates are disclosed in JP-A-61-88256.
JP-A-63-274944 and JP-A-63-274, such as benzoguanamine resin beads, polycarbonate resin beads, and AS resin beads, in addition to the compounds described on page (29).
There are compounds described in No. 952.

[0058]

EXAMPLES In the following Examples and Comparative Examples, production of a thermal transfer dye-donor material and a thermal transfer image-receiving material, printing using both materials, and a test of the thermal transfer image-receiving material will be described.

Example 1 (Preparation of thermal transfer dye-providing material (1-1)) A polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 6 μm, the back surface of which was subjected to a heat-resistant slip treatment, was used as a support, and the following was formed on the surface of the film. The coating composition for the thermal transfer dye-donating layer of composition has a thickness of 1.5 μm when dried by wire bar coating.
The thermal transfer dye-donor material (1-
1) was created. Thermal Transfer Dye Coating Composition for Donor Layer Dye 18 mmol Polyvinyl butyral resin (Denka Butyral 5000-A manufactured by Denki Kagaku) 3 g Toluene 40 ml Methyl ethyl ketone 40 ml Polyisocyanate (Takenate D110N manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) 0.2 ml Thermal transfer dye-donor materials of the present invention and comparative thermal transfer dye-donor materials (1-2) to (1-10) were prepared in the same manner as above except that the other dyes shown in Table 4 were used.

(Preparation of Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material A) As a base material, a synthetic paper having a thickness of 150 μm (YUPO-FPG manufactured by Oji Yuka Co., Ltd.)
-150) and a coating composition for an image receiving layer having the following composition on the surface by wire bar coating to a dry thickness of 8
A thermal transfer image-receiving material was formed by coating so as to have a thickness of μm.
Drying was carried out for 30 minutes in an oven at a temperature of 100 ° C. after temporary drying with a dryer. Image-receiving layer coating composition A Amino group-containing polyvinyl acetal AEA (manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.) 22 g Polyisocyanate (KP-90: manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) 4 g Amino-modified silicone oil (KP-857 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone) 0.5 g Methyl ethyl ketone 85 ml Toluene 85 ml Cyclohexanone 15 ml

The thermal transfer dye-donating materials (1-1) to (1-10) obtained as described above and the thermal transfer image-receiving material are
The thermal transfer dye-donor layer and the image-receiving layer are superposed so that they are in contact with each other, and a thermal head is used from the support side of the thermal transfer donor layer. Thermal head output 0.25 W / dot, pulse width 0.15 to 15 m Sec, dot density 6 dots /
Printing was performed under the condition of mm, and a magenta dye was dyed imagewise on the image-receiving layer of the image-receiving material. As a result, clear image recording without transfer unevenness was obtained. Next, each of the recorded thermal transfer materials obtained as described above is kept at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a humidity of 70 for 7 days.
%, And the stability of the color image was examined. The Status A reflection density was measured before and after irradiation, and the stability was evaluated by the ratio. The results are shown in Table 4.

The evaluation criteria are as follows. B: No image blur is observed. Δ: Image blur is slightly recognized. X: The image is significantly blurred. Table 1 Thermal transfer dye-providing material Dye No. Maximum concentration storage stability Remarks 1-1 1 2.5 ○ Present invention 1-2 3 2.6 ○ Present invention 1-3 4 2.5 ○ Present invention 1-4 5 2.3 ○ Present invention 1-5 6 2.4 ○ Present invention 1-6 11 2.3 ○ Present invention 1-7 13 2.4 ○ Present invention 1-8 17 2.5 ○ Present invention 1-9 18 2.3 ○ Present invention 1-10 a 2.2 Δ Comparative example Comparative dye a

[0063]

[Chemical 21]

It can be seen that the dyes of the present invention have higher transfer density and / or stability over time than the comparative dyes. Example 2 It is shown that the dye used in the present invention has a high molecular extinction coefficient under basic conditions and has an excellent hue. Absorption condition of dye 1 Absorption maximum wavelength (nm) εmax (L · mol ⁻¹ · cm ⁻¹ ) 1. Ethyl acetate 339 1.8 * 10 ⁴ 2. Dimethyl 454 6.1 * 10 ⁴ Formamide (triethylamine added)

Example 3 In place of the polyvinyl butyral resin and the dye in the thermal transfer dye-donor layer coating composition of Example 1, the resins and dyes shown in Table 5 were used, and the thermal transfer dye-donor materials (2-1), ( 2-
2) and (2-3) were created. When printing was carried out using the same image receiving material as in Example 1, clear image recording without transfer unevenness was obtained as shown in Table 5. The light fastness was also excellent.

Table 2 Thermal transfer dye-donor material Dye resin Maximum concentration Storage stability 3-1 Ethyl cellulose 2.5 ○ 3-2 Acidic acid butyrate 2.4 2.4 ○ 3-3 Polysulfone 2.3 ○

Example 4 (Preparation of Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material) Resin coated paper prepared by laminating polyethylene of 15 μm and 25 μm thickness on both sides of 200 μm paper was prepared, and an image receiving layer having the following composition was formed on the laminated surface of 15 μm thickness. The coating composition for coating was applied by wire bar coating to a dry thickness of 10 μm and dried to prepare a thermal transfer image receiving material. Image-receiving layer coating composition B Amino group-containing polyvinyl acetal resin AEA (manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.) 25 g Amino-modified silicone oil (KF-857: manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone) 0.8 g Polyisocyanate (KP-90: manufactured by Dainippon Ink) 4 g Methyl ethyl ketone 100 ml Toluene 100 ml When printing was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, a clear and high-density image record was obtained. Also, the light fastness was excellent.

Example 5 (Preparation of Thermal Transfer Image Receiving Material) An organic solvent solution of the dye-receptive polymer having the composition (B ′) was emulsified and dispersed in an aqueous gelatin solution having the composition (A ′) shown below with a homogenizer. A gelatin dispersion of was prepared. (A ′) Gelatin aqueous solution Gelatin 2.3 g Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (5% aqueous solution) 20 ml Water 80 ml (B ′) Dye receptive polymer solution AEA (manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd.) 7.0 g Carboxy-modified silicone oil (Shin-Etsu Silicone) Product: X-22-3710) 0.7 g Methyl ethyl ketone 20 ml Toluene 10 ml Triphenyl phosphate 1.5 g To the dispersion thus prepared, a fluorochemical surfactant is added.
(a) A solution prepared by dissolving 0.5 g of C ₃ F ₇ SO ₂ N (C ₃ F ₇ ) CH ₂ COOK in 10 ml of a mixed solvent of water / methanol (1: 1) was added,
This was used as a coating composition for an image receiving layer. The surface of this coating composition was corona-discharged, and a synthetic paper having a thickness of 150 μm (manufactured by Oji Yuka:
YUPO-SGG-150) was coated by a wire bar coating method so as to have a wet film thickness of 75 μm and dried to obtain a thermal transfer image receiving material. Using the thermal transfer dye-donor element and thermal transfer image-receiving element obtained in Example 1, Example 1
The image was recorded in the same manner as in. The obtained image had high density, was clear, and had high fastness.

Example 6 Dye 18 mm of the thermal transfer dye-donor element (1-1) of Example 1
Instead of ol, yellow, magenta, and cyan thermal transfer dye-donor materials (7-1), (7-2), and (7-3) shown in Table 7 were prepared, and the same image-receiving material as in Example 1 was used to obtain a full-color image. As a result of printing, a high density, clear image recording excellent in light fastness was obtained without uneven transfer.

Table 3 Dye-donor element Color element amount 6-1 1 7.2 mmol 3 0.8 mmol 6-2 b 6.0 mmol c 2.0 mmol 6-3 d 6.4 mmol e 1.6 mmol dye b to e

[0071]

[Chemical formula 22]

[0072]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, when the thermal transfer dye-donating material of the present invention is used for transfer to an image-receiving material, an excellent color image having clear and high density and little deterioration in sharpness with time is obtained. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows that 1.0 mg of Dye 1 was mixed with 10 parts of ethyl acetate.
It is an absorption spectrum when dissolved in 0 ml. (The absorbance on the vertical axis is standardized to 1.0)

FIG. 2 shows that 1.0 mg of dye 1 was dissolved in 100 ml of dimethylformamide and 0.05 mg of triethylamine was added.
It is an absorption spectrum when ml is added. (The absorbance on the vertical axis is standardized to 1.0)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer dye-donating material comprising a dye-donor layer containing a heat-transferable dye on a support, the dye-donor layer containing at least one heat-transferable dye represented by formula (I). A thermal transfer dye-donor element characterized by comprising: General formula (I) In the formula, R ¹ , R ² , R ³ and R ^{4 each} represent a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent, and R ⁵ represents a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group or amino. carbonyl group, an alkyl group, an aryl group, X, Y are each independently a cyano group, -CO-R ^6, -C
^{(R 8) = N-R} 7, -C (R 8) = CR 9 R 10, -N
= Represents CR ⁹ R ¹⁰ . R ⁶ represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group or an anilino group. R ⁷ represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group or an anilino group. R ⁸ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, a cyano group, an acyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an amino group or an anilino group. R ⁹ and R ¹⁰ represent an alkyl group, an aryl group, or an electron-withdrawing group. X,
Y may form a 5- or 6-membered heterocycle. R
¹ and R ² , and / or R ³ and R ⁴ may be bonded to each other to form a ring structure. R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁶ ,
R ⁷ , R ⁸ , R ⁹ , R ¹⁰ , X and Y may be further substituted. 2. The thermal transfer dye-providing material according to claim 1, wherein the heat transferable dye represented by the general formula (I) is represented by the following general formulas (II), (III), (IV) and (V). Characterized by being represented. In the formula, R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁴ , and R
⁵ has the same meaning as in formula (I). R ^{5 ′} has the same meaning as R ⁵ . R ¹¹ , R ¹² , R ¹³ and R ¹⁴ represent an alkyl group, an aryl group, a hydrogen atom or a heterocyclic group. R ¹⁵ and R ¹⁶ represent a hydrogen atom or a non-metal substituent. [Chemical 2] [Chemical 3] [Chemical 4] [Chemical 5] 3. An image forming method for forming an image on a thermal transfer dye image receiving material by superposing a thermal transfer dye image receiving material on the thermal transfer dye image receiving material and heating according to image information. An image forming method characterized in that the dye or the heat transfer dye image receiving material contains a basic substance or a mordant. 4. An image forming method for forming an image on a thermal transfer dye image-receiving material by superposing a thermal transfer dye image receiving material on a thermal transfer dye image-receiving material and heating the image according to image information. A thermal transfer dye-donating material, wherein the thermal transfer dye image-receiving material contains a basic substance or a mordant.