Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation

Mitsubishi Chemical Industries Limited

Matushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Akihiro Imai

Nobuyoshi Taguchi

Yasuo Fukui

Hiromu Matsuda

Keiichi Yubakami

Hiroyuki Matsuo

Tetsuji Kawakami

Yukichi Murata

Takao Hirota

Masanori Yoshikawa

Atsushi Sogami

Takashi Suzuki

Shiro Nankai

Akio Yamashita

Toshio Niwa

Yoshiaki Hayashi

Takashi Iijima

Soichiro Mima

Tokihiko Shimizu

Isao Sumita

Soichirou Mima

The medium for thermal transfer recording of the invention includes (a) a base material having a first surface and a second surface, (b) a transfer medium layer placed at the first surface side, and (c) a heat resistant lubricating layer placed at the second surface side, in which the heat resistant lubricating layer is composed of (1) a resin containing a hydroxyl group, (2) a crosslinking agent, and (3) a thermoplastic resin. The thermoplastic resin having at least one of thermal deformation temperature and glass transition temperature of &deg; C. or more is preferably used. The heat resistant lubricating layer can contain an adhesive. The heat resistant lubricating layer has a crosslink structure formed by crosslinking reaction between the crosslinking agent and the resin containing a hydroxyl group.

Medium for thermal transfer recording, and method of thermal transfer recording

The invention provides ink sheets for thermal transfer recording including a heat resistant lubricating layer, having sufficient lubricating characteristic on the surface of heat resistant lubricating layer, excellent in running stability in recording, and showing favorable storage characteristic hardly lowered in the lubricating characteristic after storage in the condition of high temperature and high humidity, and also ink sheets and image-receiving sheets for sublimation type thermal transfer recording, excellent in thermal fusion preventing characteristic between the ink sheet and image-receiving sheet, showing favorable storage characteristic less contaminated by dye by re-transfer of dye after storage in the condition of high temperature and high humidity, reusable in paint, and hence economical.

Medium, ink sheet and image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing

A transfer member includes a dyeing layer transfer member, which has a lubricating heat-resistant layer on the reverse surface of a first base material and laminated layers of a parting layer and a dyeing layer on the obverse surface, an ink transfer member, having a lubricating heat-resistant layer on the reverse surface of a second base material and the laminated layers of an adhesive layer and an ink layer, an intermediate member having a functional layer on a third base material, and an image-receptor. A thermal transfer printing method includes the steps of thermally transferring the dyeing layer onto the functional layer by setting a thermal head in contact with the lubricating heat-resistant layer of the dyeing layer transfer member, thermally transferring dye of the ink layer onto the dyeing layer that was transferred onto the functional layer in response to picture signals by setting the thermal head in contact with the lubricating heat-resistant layer of the ink transfer member, and thermally transferring the dyeing layer recorded with the dye onto the main surface of the image-receptor. Thus, pictorial images of high quality are formed on the image-receptor, and thermal transfer printing can be carried out repeatedly and stably.

Transfer member and thermal transfer printing method

A transfer member includes a dyeing layer transfer member, which has a lubricating heat-resistant layer on the reverse surface of a first base material and laminated layers of a parting layer and a dyeing layer on the obverse surface, an ink transfer member, having a lubricating heat-resistant layer on the reverse surface of a second base material and the laminated layers of an adhesive layer and an ink layer, an intermediate member having a functional layer on a third base material, and an image-receptor. A thermal transfer printing method includes the steps of thermally transferring the dyeing layer onto the functional layer by setting a thermal head in contact with the lubricating heat-resistant layer of the dyeing layer transfer member, thermally transferring dye of the ink layer onto the dyeing layer that was transferred onto the functional layer in response to picture signals by setting the thermal head in contact with the lubricating heat-resistant layer of the ink transfer member, and thermally transferring the dyeing layer recorded with the: dye onto the main surface of the image-receptor. Thus, pictorial images of high quality are formed on the image-receptor, and thermal transfer printing can be carried out repeatedly and stably.

A thermal transfer printing method using a color developing layer transfer sheet having color developing layer at least on either side of its substrate, a dye layer transfer sheet having at least on either side of its substrate and an intermediate medium and including the steps of first transferring partly or entirely the color developing layers on the color developing layer transfer sheet onto the intermediate medium by means of heat and/or pressure as color developing layer transfer means, then laying the color developing layer and the dye layer one upon the other and causing the dye to migrate to the color developing layer on the intermediate medium by means of heat and pressure for formation of pictorial image thereon and further transferring the formed pictorial image from the intermediate medium onto the color receiving sheet again by means of heat and pressure.

Thermal transfer printing method

Thermal transfer printing apparatus essentially made of a drum-shaped recording intermediate member composed of a base material and an elastic layer disposed on the outer surface of the base material, a dyeing layer transfer member which is mounted adjacent to the drum-shaped recording intermediate layer and comprising a base material and a dyeing layer disposed on the base material of the dyeing layer transfer member, a dye transfer member mounted adjacent to the drum-shaped recording intermediate layer and comprising a base material and a dye layer disposed on the base material and an image receptor mounted adjacent to the drum-shaped recording intermediate layer, whereby the separating strength between the base material of the dyeing layer of the dyeing layer transfer member is more than 5 g/25 mm.

Thermal transfer printing method and printing media employed therefor

A thermal transfer printing method, in a combination of a transfer medium including a support on which at least a dyeing layer and a dye anti-diffusion layer (and a protecting layer) are provided separately from color layers, an intermediate medium, and an image-receiving medium, comprising steps of: transferring at least the dye anti-diffusion layer and the dyeing layer (and the protecting layer) onto the intermediate medium, thereby forming a sequential laminate on the intermediate medium; printing a thermal transfer image in the dyeing layer of the laminate formed on the intermediate medium; and transferring the laminate carrying the thermal transfer image thereon from the intermediate medium onto the image-receiving medium (and fixing it simultaneously, or after transferring), thereby finally forming a print image on the image-receiving medium. A novel image-forming layer transfer medium used in the above thermal transfer printing method, has various properties in area of each layer, thermal characteristics, arrangement of respective layers etc. According to the printing method and the image-forming layer transfer medium, the print image obtained causes no contamination by dyestuff and print density is not lowered by the loss of dyestuff, bringing high-temperature stability in maintaining the transfer medium in a wound condition, and/or realizing a low-temperature transfer operation of the image-forming layer onto the image-receiving medium.

Thermal transfer printing method and image-forming layer transfer medium

The present invention enables to print the image of high picture quality on an ordinary paper or other arbitrary substrate for sublimation thermal transfer printing by the thermal transfer printing method, wherein using the combination of a transfer printing member with a coloring material layer on the substrate A, intermediate medium with dye-receiving layer on the substrate B and an image receiving member.

Thermal dye transfer printing method and intermediate media therefor

A thermal transfer printing method which employs a dyeing layer transfer member having at least a dyeing layer on a base material, an ink transfer member having at least an ink layer containing a subliming dye on a base material, recording intermediate member having at least a base material, and an image-receptor. The thermal transfer printing method includes the steps of thermally transferring the dyeing layer of the dyeing layer transfer member onto the recording intermediate member, thermally transferring and recording ink of the ink transfer member onto the transferred dyeing layer according to image signals, and further thermally transferring the recorded dyeing layer onto the image-receptor. The disclosure also relates to printing media employed for effecting the method. The method may be rearranged to preliminarily form the dyeing layer on the recording intermediate member, and in this case, the dyeing layer transfer member and the process for its thermal transfer may be dispensed with. By the present invention, it becomes possible to print high quality images on plain paper at high speed.

A process for thermal transfer printing method including the steps of forming a thermal transfer image in a dyeing layer of an intermediate sheet using a coloring layer of a transfer sheet and transferring the dyeing layer carrying the formed image from the intermediate sheet to an image receptor with a medium for applying heat and/or pressure, in which the medium is also used for fixing the transferred dyeing layer on the image receptor, and an thermal transfer printing apparatus having means for feeding an elongate intermediate sheet having a dyeing layer, means for cutting the elongate intermediate sheet, printing means for forming a thermal transfer image in the dyeing layer of intermediate sheet, and means for transferring the dyeing layer carrying the formed thermal transfer image to an image receptor, by which the printed image with low gloss is formed on the image receptor at a high printing speed.

Thermal transfer printing method and apparatus and intermediate sheet

The present invention provides a thermal printing method using a sublimable dye, which is capable of faithfully printing on any kind of substrates, including plain paper without the tack sheets which make the process complicated. The method of the present invention comprises forming an image into a printing layer by heating a color layer with a printing head and then transferring the printing layer onto an image receive sheet by pressure or heat; wherein the color layer and printing layer are respectively formed on one substrate in a certain interval of distance without putting one upon another, the surface of the color layer is placed on the surface of the printing layer and heat is applied to the color layer from the substrate side with a printing head to form an image into a printing layer. The present invention also provide a color ink film comprising a substrate and both a color layer and a printing layer respectively formed on the substrate in a certain interval of distance without putting one upon another, wherein the color layer or the printing layer is formed from polyvinyl butyral having a butyralization degree of not less than 50 mol %.

Thermal transfer printing method and color ink film therefor

The present invention is directed to a thermal transfer printing process comprising:

Growing community of inventors

Ikoma, Japan

Akihiro Imai