JPH07214920A - Thermal transfer sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modified) [Purpose] To provide a thermal transfer sheet capable of forming an arbitrary image on a very general sheet. In a thermal transfer sheet 1 comprising a sheet-shaped base material 2 and a thermal transfer layer 3 formed on one surface of the sheet-shaped base material 2, the thermal transfer layer 3 is formed on the sheet-shaped base material surface. A colorant layer 5 containing a sublimable dye,
A thermal transfer sheet 1 comprising a colorant layer 5 and a fixing material layer 6 formed of a synthetic resin that causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye. .

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer sheet used for printing on the surface of a transferred sheet by a thermal transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art By the way, a dye in a thermal transfer layer of a thermal transfer sheet is composed of a sublimable dye, and a transfer surface is subjected to resin processing with a synthetic resin which causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye. In the thermal transfer method that uses a sheet as a transfer sheet, the dots of the transfer pattern formed by transfer do not exude and a sharp transfer pattern can be obtained, but it is used as a transfer sheet. It has a drawback that a sheet processed with a synthetic resin that causes a fixing reaction with a sublimable dye, that is, a specific sheet must be used as a transfer target sheet.

Other similar techniques include the following examples. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-198196 discloses that
It describes a method of thermally transferring ground color ink onto the entire surface of a recording paper prior to recording. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-109393 discloses a method in which a transfer film is provided with a coating material application portion, and after the application portion is transferred, transfer printing is carried out. Is performed for the purpose of smoothing the rough surface of the paper.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-64391 describes a transfer recording medium in which an image receiving layer is provided on a colored transfer layer. It is formed for the purpose of stopping. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-8428
No. 1 and JP-A-61-86289 describe a thermal transfer sheet in which a thermally sublimable ink material and a sublimable ink developer are separately applied.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention Like the above-mentioned thermal transfer method, the present invention utilizes a mechanism for developing a color by utilizing a sublimable dye and a synthetic resin which causes a fixing reaction between the dye and the dye. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer sheet, in which dots formed by transfer do not exude and a sharp transfer pattern can be obtained without sacrificing the above-mentioned characteristics. The present invention provides a thermal transfer sheet having a novel structure to be obtained.

[0006]

The present invention relates to a thermal transfer sheet comprising a sheet-shaped base material and a thermal transfer layer formed on one surface of the sheet-shaped base material, wherein the thermal transfer layer is the sheet-shaped base material. It is formed of a colorant layer containing a sublimable dye, which is formed on the surface of the base material, and a synthetic resin that covers the colorant layer and causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye. A thermal transfer sheet comprising a fixing material layer.

[0007]

When the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention is used, it is not a sheet having a special structure as a transfer sheet, that is, a sheet having a special structure in which the transfer surface is resin-treated, An arbitrary image can be formed on a general sheet.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the preferred embodiments. In the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention, the sheet-shaped substrate includes, for example, various papers that have been subjected to a release agent treatment, and various synthetic resin films such as a stretched polypropylene film, a polyethylene film, a polyester film and a polyamide film. Utilized, its thickness is 0.5 to 50 μm, preferably 3 to 10
μm.

The sublimable dye in the thermal transfer layer is preferably a disperse dye, and the dye is about 150-4.
It is desirable to have a molecular weight of about 00. This dye is selected in consideration of thermal sublimation temperature, hue, weather resistance, safety in binder resin, and the like, and specific examples are as follows.

Miketone Polyester Yellow-Weier
(Miketon Polyester Yellow-YL) [Cisperse Yellow-4
2)], Kayaset Yellow G
[Nippon Kayaku, CI Day Sparse Yellow 77 (C.
I. Disperse Yellow 77)], Pty 52 (P
TY-52) [Mitsubishi Kasei, CI Solvent Yellow 14-1],

[Miketone Polyester Red BS F]
(Miketon Polyester Red BSF) [Mitsui Toatsu, CI Disperse Red 111
)], Kayaset Red
B) [Nippon Kayaku's Thea Day Spare Red Bee
(CIDisperse Red B)], P-T-54 (P
TR-54) [Mitsubishi Kasei, CI Disperse Red 50),

Miketone Polyester Blue FBL
(Miketon Polyester Blue FBL) [Mitsui Toatsu Co., Ltd. CIDisperse Blue 56], PTB-67 (PTB-67) [Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd., CIDSperse Blue 2]
41)], Kayaset Blue 906
[Nippon Kayaku, Sea Solvent Blue 112 (CIS
olvent blue 112)] etc.

The dye is usually present in the thermal transfer layer in an amount of about 5 to 70% by weight, preferably about 10 to 60% by weight, although it depends on the sublimation temperature of the dye and the covering power in the color-developed state. Incidentally, in general, the colorant layer containing a sublimable dye is composed of the sublimable dye and a vehicle, and the vehicle usually has high heat resistance, and when heated. A dye that does not hinder the migration of the dye is selected, and the following dyes are used, for example.

(1) Cellulose Resin Ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxycellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, etc. (2) Vinyl resin Polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyester, polyacrylamide and the like.

In order to provide such a thermal transfer layer on one side of a sheet-shaped substrate, a dye and a vehicle are dissolved in a solvent, or only the dye is dispersed to prepare an ink composition for forming a thermal transfer layer, This may be provided on one surface of the sheet-shaped substrate by an appropriate printing method or coating method. If desired, any additive may be added to the thermal transfer layer forming ink. In the colorant layer thus formed, the entire colorant layer is not transferred upon transfer, and only the sublimable dye in the layer is substantially transferred.

Further, as the synthetic resin which causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye, polyester resin,
Polyurethane resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer,
Among them, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl butyral resin, acrylic resin and the like are used, and among them, the polyester resin having a high coloring density of the disperse dye among the sublimable dyes is most preferable. The fixing material layer thus formed is transferred as a layer to the material to be transferred at the time of transfer. The thermal transfer layer in the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention having the configuration as described above can be easily formed on a sheet-shaped substrate by using a general coating agent coating method or a gravure printing method. is there.

[0017]

EXAMPLES The specific construction of the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated examples. The thermal transfer sheet 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of the present invention and has a thickness of 9
A sheet-shaped substrate 2 made of a thermoplastic polyester film having a thickness of μm, a thermal transfer layer 3 formed on one surface (front surface) of the sheet-shaped substrate 2, and a mold release formed on the back surface of the sheet-shaped substrate 2. And the agent layer 4. The release agent layer 4 is for improving the sliding property of the thermal transfer sheet 1, and is appropriately added as necessary. The thermal transfer layer 3 is a sublimable dye PTY-52 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei,
Disperse dye) 0.2 parts by weight and ethyl cellulose (Hercules, N-14) as a vehicle 0.8 parts by weight, and the coloring as described above so as to cover the colorant layer 5. The fixing material layer 6 is made of a polyester resin which is a synthetic resin that causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye in the agent layer 5.

In the thermal transfer method using the thermal transfer sheet according to the constitution of the present invention, the thermal transfer layer is transferred onto the surface of the transfer sheet at the same time when the fixing reaction between the sublimable dye and the synthetic resin as the fixing material is achieved during the thermal transfer. Therefore, in the case of obtaining a thermal transfer layer having a multicolor pattern, a plurality of types of thermal transfer sheets having different kinds of sublimable dyes in the colorant layer 5 are used. Examples of the plurality of thermal transfer sheets include cyan, magenta, and yellow thermal transfer sheets.

[0019]

[Effect] The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention is configured as described above, and the sublimable dye in the thermal transfer sheet and the synthetic resin that achieves the fixing reaction are provided in the thermal transfer sheet itself, and both of them are provided at the time of thermal transfer. Since the fixing reaction is carried out, the conventional thermal transfer sheet using a sublimable dye and a resin treatment with a synthetic resin which causes a fixing reaction between the sublimable dye in the thermal transfer sheet are applied. Similar to the thermal transfer method in which a sheet is used as a transfer sheet, dots of a transfer pattern formed by transfer do not exude and a sharp transfer pattern can be obtained, and of course, the transfer sheet has a special configuration. It is not a sheet, that is, a sheet having a special structure in which the transfer surface is resin-processed, but an ordinary sheet can be used. And in which an effect.

[0020]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a thermal transfer sheet of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Thermal transfer sheet 2: Sheet-shaped substrate 3: Thermal transfer layer 4: Release material layer 5: Colorant layer 6: Fixing material layer

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer sheet comprising a sheet-shaped base material and a thermal transfer layer formed on one surface of the sheet-shaped base material, wherein the thermal transfer layer is formed on the surface of the sheet-shaped base material. It is composed of a colorant layer containing a sublimable dye, and a fixing material layer formed of a synthetic resin that covers the colorant layer and causes a fixing reaction with the sublimable dye. A thermal transfer sheet characterized in that 2. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein the colorant layer is composed of a sublimable dye and a synthetic resin vehicle, and the vehicle is a resin having high heat resistance and which does not hinder the transfer of the dye. 3. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein the sublimable dye has a molecular weight of 150 to 400. 4. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein a release agent layer is formed on the back surface of the sheet-shaped substrate. 5. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein the fixing material layer contains any one of polyurethane resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl butyral resin and acrylic resin. .