JPH08207452A - Thermal transfer sheet and thermal transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To color particular colors not formed by mixing three or four primary colors all together. CONSTITUTION: In the constitution of a heat transfer sheet, dye layers composed of three primary colors, yellow, magenta and cyanogen, or dye layers composed of a black heat transfer dye and a binder resin in addition to the above primary colors, are formed respectively and guided on a continuous sheet, and the dyes or the dye layers are transferred from the dye layers to at material on which dyes are transferred by heating, and also special color transfer layers composed of colors other than the three or four primary colors are formed on the heat transfer sheet.

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 and a thermal transfer method, and more particularly, to a heat transfer sheet and a heat transfer sheet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer image having a coloring portion that is difficult or impossible to appear depending on the mixing of the three primary colors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various kinds of color images have been provided by offset printing or gravure printing. Such color images are often prepared by converting a document such as a color film into three primary colors of yellow, magenta and cyan. Each printing plate is prepared by color separation, and a black plate is further added as necessary, and a color image of the document is synthesized on printing paper to reproduce a color image of the document.

However, a color that cannot be separated into three primary colors by such a color separation method, for example, a special color such as a gold color, a silver color, a fluorescent color, a bronze color, etc. (hereinafter referred to as a special color)
Therefore, in order to express such a special color, it is necessary to create and use another version for each of the special colors. Furthermore, there are intermediate colors that are difficult to reproduce depending on the three primary colors, and when an even more precise color image is required,
Among the intermediate colors, for those that are difficult to reproduce by combining colors on printing paper, another plate corresponding to that is prepared. Among them, not only three- to four-color printing machines but also eight to one printers are provided.
Two-color printing machines and the like are also known.

Further, as an alternative to the offset printing or gravure printing as described above, a thermal transfer sheet having a heat transferable dye layer of three or four colors is used without making a printing plate like offset printing or gravure printing. ,
A simple thermal transfer method of forming a color image by a thermal transfer printer according to the color separation information is also widely used.

[0005]

The conventional thermal transfer method described above is a simple method for forming a color image. However, similar to the offset printing or the gravure printing, a special color is formed only with three or four primary colors. There is a problem that can not be obtained. Particularly in the thermal transfer method using a heat transferable dye,
Since heat transfer dyes exhibiting metallic colors such as gold, silver and bronze colors and white are not known, it has been impossible to reproduce color images having such special colors. Accordingly, there is a need for a thermal transfer sheet and a thermal transfer method capable of developing even a special color that cannot be developed by mixing three primary colors or four primary colors.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The needs of the prior art as described above have been satisfied by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention comprises two inventions, and the first invention comprises a three-color primary layer of yellow, magenta and cyan, or a dye layer comprising a heat transferable dye of black and a binder resin in addition to these three primary colors. A thermal transfer sheet provided on the upper side and transferring the dye of the dye layer from the dye layer to the material to be transferred by heating, wherein a special color transfer layer having a hue other than the above three primary colors or four primary colors is provided. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer method comprising forming an image having a special color portion using the thermal transfer sheet.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the invention. The main feature of the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention is that it has a special color transfer layer in addition to the three primary colors or the four primary colors of the heat transferable dye layer, and typical examples of such special colors are three primary colors or four primary colors. Colors that do not develop in the mixture of colors, for example, gold, silver, bronze or other metallic luster or white, and red, yellow, blue, purple, green, which have a significantly more vivid color than ordinary colors Orange and other fluorescent colors. Any conventionally known pigment or dye having these special colors can be used.

The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention comprises a spot color transfer layer having the above-mentioned spot colors, which is a separate section of the thermal transfer sheet in which heat transferable dye layers of three primary colors or four primary colors are respectively partitioned on a continuous sheet. It was installed in. When a heat transfer dye such as a fluorescent dye is present among the above-mentioned special colors, these fluorescent dye layers are arranged in parallel with the three primary colors or the four primary colors in the same manner as a general heat transfer dye as described later. However, when using the characteristics of organic or inorganic pigments or dyes that do not have heat transfer properties, these characteristics are mixed and dispersed in various resin binders that are softened by heating and become tacky. A special color transfer layer is formed on the base film that has been subjected to a release treatment as required.

The above-mentioned substrate film is the same as a substrate film described later for forming a heat transferable dye layer other than a special color, and the surface on which the special color transfer layer is formed is peeled off as necessary. A layer can be formed or a release treatment can be performed. The binder for forming the special color transfer layer on the base film is a substance which is softened at a temperature of about 50 to 150 ° C. and has tackiness, for example, carnauba wax, paraffin wax, montan wax, microsterin wax, Beeswax and the like, as the thermoplastic resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, vinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride resin, butadiene resin, polybutene resin, acrylic resin, styrene resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, carbamate resin, Examples include hard rosin resin, phenol resin, terpene phenol resin, ketone resin, maleic resin, pentaerythritol ester resin, ester gum resin, polyamide resin, and copolymers or mixtures thereof.

In addition to these features, these binders may have any additives, such as dispersants such as phosphate esters and various surfactants, silane coupling agents, plasticizers, and the like.
Silicone oil, compressor oil, liquid paraffin, aliphatic higher alcohols and the like can be added.
The above-mentioned characteristic and other additives are added to the binder as described above, and dissolved or dispersed in an appropriate solvent to form a solution or a dispersion, which is a predetermined portion of the base film, that is, a dye of three primary colors or four primary colors. Coating and drying are performed adjacent to the layer region to form a special color transfer layer. The concentration of the special color of such a special color transfer layer is about 1 to 200 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, and the thickness of the special color layer is about 1 to 50 μm, preferably about 3 to 10 μm.

The above-described special color transfer layer is provided on a base film having a heat transfer dye layer of yellow, magenta, cyan and black adjacent to these three primary colors or four primary colors. Is obtained.
The method for forming the three primary color or four primary color dye layers of the thermal transfer sheet of the present invention may be any conventionally known method.

The base sheet of the thermal transfer sheet is as follows:
Any known materials having a certain degree of heat resistance and strength may be used. For example, 0.5 to 50 μm,
Paper having a thickness of preferably about 3 to 10 μm, various processed papers,
Examples thereof include a polyester film, a polystyrene film, a polypropylene film, a polysulfone film, a polycarbonate film, a polyvinyl alcohol film, and cellophane. A polyester film is particularly preferable.

The heat-migrating dye layer provided on the surface of the base sheet as described above is a layer in which a heat-migrating dye as described later is carried by an arbitrary binder resin. As the dye to be used, any of the dyes used in conventionally known thermal transfer sheets can be effectively used in the present invention and is not particularly limited.
For example, some preferred dyes include Sumiplast Red 301, PTR-51, Seriton Red SF-7864, Sumiplast Red B, Mihara Oil Red and the like as red dyes, and yellow dyes include
PTY-51, ICI-C-5G, Miketone polyester yellow YL and the like, and as the blue dye,
Kayaset Blue A-2R, Diaresin Blue N, P
TB-76, PTV-54 and the like.

As the binder resin for supporting the heat transferable dye as described above, any of the conventionally known binder resins can be used, and preferred examples include ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxycellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose. , Cellulose-based resins such as methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, and cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate,
Vinyl resins such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyacrylamide, polyesters and the like are preferable from the viewpoint of heat resistance and dye migration.

The heat transferable dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet used in the present invention is basically formed from the above-mentioned materials, but may further contain various additives as conventionally known, if necessary. . Such a heat transferable dye layer is preferably a heat transferable dye, a binder resin, and other optional components in a suitable solvent to dissolve or disperse each component to form a dye layer forming coating or ink. It is prepared and applied onto the above-mentioned base sheet and dried to form. The heat transfer dye layer thus formed has a thickness of 0.2 to 5.0 μm, preferably about 0.4 to 2.0 μm, and the heat transfer dye in the dye layer is a dye. Suitably it is present in an amount of 5 to 70%, preferably 10 to 60% by weight of the weight of the layer.

The heat transfer sheet as described above is sufficiently useful in the present invention as it is. However, an anti-adhesion layer, that is, a release layer may be further provided on the surface of the other heat transferable dye layer. A heat-resistant layer may be provided on the back surface of the thermal transfer sheet used in the present invention in order to prevent adverse effects due to heat of the thermal head. The transfer material used to form an image using the thermal transfer sheet as described above may be any material as long as its recording surface has a dye-accepting property for the dye. In the case of paper, metal, glass, synthetic resin or the like having no property, a dye receiving layer may be formed on at least one surface thereof.

Examples of the transfer material which does not require the formation of the dye receiving layer include polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, and the like. Vinyl polymers such as polyacrylic esters, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester resins such as polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymer resins of olefins such as ethylene and propylene and other vinyl monomers,
Ionomer, cellulose diacetate, cellulosic resin such as cellulose triacetate, fibers made of polycarbonate, polysulfone, polyimide, woven cloth,
Examples thereof include films, sheets and molded products. Particularly preferred is a sheet or film made of polyester or a processed paper provided with a polyester layer.

Further, in the present invention, even if paper, metal, glass or other non-dyeing transfer receiving material is used, a solution or dispersion of the above-described dyeing resin is applied to the recording surface and dried. Alternatively, the material to be transferred can be obtained by laminating these resin films. Further, even with the transfer material having the above dyeing property, a dye receiving layer may be formed on the surface of the material having a more dyeing property as in the case of the above paper. The dye-receptive layer thus formed may be made of a single material or a plurality of materials, and may further contain various additives as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. Is natural.

The dye receiving layer may have any thickness, but is generally 5 to 50 μm. The dye receiving layer is preferably a continuous coating, but may be formed as a discontinuous coating using a resin emulsion or a resin dispersion. One example of the thermal transfer method of the present invention is to form a color image in three primary colors or four primary colors on the above-mentioned material to be transferred using the thermal transfer sheet having the special color layer as described above, and to change the special color of the special color layer to color. When the special color layer is a fluorescent or intermediate color dye having heat transfer properties, the heat transfer may be performed under the same conditions as those for the three primary colors or the four primary colors. or,
When the dye does not have a heat transfer property such as a pigment, a conventional general thermal transfer method, for example, such as a hot stamp,
The heat transferable binder layer itself containing the pigment is transferred onto the transfer material.

As a means for applying thermal energy when performing thermal transfer using the above-described thermal transfer sheet and the above-described recording material, any conventionally known applying means can be used.
For example, a thermal printer (for example, manufactured by Toshiba Corporation,
By controlling the recording time with a recording device such as a thermal printer TN-5400),
By applying heat energy of about 100 mJ / mm ² , a desired image is formed.

[0021]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. In the text, parts and% are based on weight unless otherwise specified. Example 1 Four types of ink compositions for forming a heat transferable dye layer having the following compositions were prepared. Each of these is heat-treated on the back 9 μm
A thick continuous polyethylene terephthalate film is applied to a width of 30 cm so as to have a dry coating amount of 1.0 g / m ² , and dried to form cyan, magenta, yellow and fluorescent pink dye layers. I got a sheet.

Cyan color Kayaset Blue 714 1.00 part Foron Brilliant Blue S-R 4.80 parts Polyvinyl butyral resin 4.60 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 44.80 parts Toluene 44.80 parts Magenta color MS Red G 2.86 parts Macrolex Red Violet R 1.56 parts Polyvinyl butyral resin 4.32 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 43.34 parts Toluene 42.92 parts Cyclohexanone 5.0 parts

Yellow Foron Brilliant Yellow S-6GL 6.00 parts Polyvinyl butyral resin 4.50 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 43.99 parts Toluene 40.99 parts Cyclohexanone 4.50 parts Fluorescent pink astrazone pink FG 6.00 parts Polyvinyl butyral Resin 4.52 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 43.99 parts Toluene 40.99 parts Cyclohexanone 4.50 parts

Next, synthetic paper (manufactured by Oji Yuka, Yubo FPG # 150) was used as a base sheet, and a coating solution having the following composition was applied to one surface of the synthetic paper at 4.5 g / m ² when dried. The coating material was applied at a ratio and dried at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a transfer material. Polyester resin 11.5 parts (Vylon 200, manufactured by Toyobo) Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer 5.0 parts (VYHH, manufactured by UCC) Amino-modified silicone oil 1.2 parts (KF-393, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) Epoxy-modified 1.2 parts of silicone oil (X-22-343, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 102 parts of methyl ethyl ketone / toluene / cyclohexanone (weight ratio 4: 4: 2)

The thermal transfer sheet and the above-mentioned material to be transferred are overlapped with the heat transferable dye layer and the dye receiving surface facing each other, and a voltage applied to the head of 10 V, a printing time of 4.0 msec. Recording was performed with a thermal head under the conditions described in (1) and (4) to obtain a full-color image of four colors. This color image was clear as a whole, and the pink spot color portion showed a clear fluorescent color.

Example 2 In Example 1, the ink for forming the heat transferable dye layer of three colors of cyan, magenta and yellow was applied to one continuous sheet (the same substrate as in Example 1) with a width of 30 cm. Cyan, magenta, and yellow are applied and dried in this order, and then a spot color layer ink having the following composition is placed adjacent to the yellow area for 30
It was applied to a width of 1 cm and dried to obtain a continuous sheet-shaped thermal transfer sheet for color image formation of the present invention in which four colors were sequentially arranged on the continuous sheet.

Ink for special color layer Gold metallic luster pigment 30 parts Acrylic resin 20 parts Ester gum 10 parts Toluene 45 parts Lecithin 0.5 part (dispersion treatment with sand mill for 2 hours) Using this heat transfer sheet, cyan, magenta and yellow Then, thermal transfer was continuously performed in the order of gold and gold in the same manner as in Example 1 to form a color image. The character portion of the obtained color image had metallic luster, and was a color image with a higher quality.

[0028]

According to the present invention as described above, a color image having a special color such as an intermediate color, a fluorescent color, or a metal color which is difficult or impossible to reproduce by mixing the three primary colors or the four primary colors is provided. A high quality color image that cannot be obtained by technology is provided.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A dye layer comprising three primary colors of yellow, magenta and cyan, or a heat transfer dye of black and a binder resin in addition to these three primary colors, is provided on a continuous sheet, and the dye layers are formed by heating. A thermal transfer sheet for transferring a dye from a dye layer to a material to be transferred, wherein a special color transfer layer having a hue other than the three primary colors or the four primary colors is provided. 2. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein the dye of the special color transfer layer is a heat transferable fluorescent dye. 3. The thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1, wherein the dye of the special color transfer layer is a pigment. 4. The special color transfer layer is a pigment having a metallic luster such as gold, silver or bronze or a white pigment.
The thermal transfer sheet described in. 5. Yellow, magenta, and cyan three primary colors, or in addition to these three primary colors, a dye layer composed of a black heat transferable dye and a binder resin is separately provided on each continuous sheet, and the dye layer is heated by heating. A thermal transfer method comprising forming an image having a spot color portion by using a thermal transfer sheet for transferring a dye from a dye layer to a transfer material.