JP5088086B2 - Hologram image forming method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for forming a hologram image, and more particularly, to a method for forming a hologram image on a transfer object using a transfer medium composed of at least a base material and a hologram layer.

  A technique for preventing counterfeiting and tampering by forming a hologram image having various patterns, marks, or designs on a part or the entire surface of a transferred object such as a credit card, a cash card, a certificate, or a packaging is already known. It is.

  As a method for forming a hologram image on a part or the entire surface of a transfer object, for example, a hologram thermal transfer sheet in which a release layer, a relief forming layer, a metal thin film layer, and an adhesive layer are sequentially laminated on a substrate is used. It is known that a hologram image is formed by transferring a relief forming layer and a metal thin film layer onto a transfer body via an adhesive layer (Patent Document 1).

In addition, a hologram image forming method using a so-called intermediate transfer recording medium that can form a high-quality printed image on a transfer medium together with the hologram image is also known. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses an intermediate transfer recording medium in which a sublimation transfer image is formed on a metal thin film layer of the hologram thermal transfer sheet as described above, and an image receiving / adhesive layer having thermal adhesiveness to a transfer target is provided. A holographic image forming method using the above is disclosed.
JP 2004-361622 A JP 2002-254840 A

  The inventors of the present invention have now been able to heat the relief layer on which the hologram has been formed while being pressed against the surface of the transfer material without using the conventional hologram thermal transfer sheet or intermediate transfer recording medium as described above. It was discovered by chance a simpler and cheaper method that can form a hologram image directly on the surface of the transfer body. The present invention is based on this finding.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to heat the relief layer on which the hologram is formed, without using a conventional hologram thermal transfer sheet or intermediate transfer recording medium, while pressing the surface of the transfer body while pressing it. An object of the present invention is to provide a simpler and cheaper method capable of directly forming a hologram image.

The method according to the present invention is a method of forming a hologram image on the surface of a transfer object,
Preparing a transfer medium comprising at least a substrate and a relief forming layer;
The surface of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium is heated against the surface of the body to be transferred having a thermoplastic resin layer on the surface, and the body to be transferred is heated,
Transferring the form of the surface of the relief forming layer onto the surface of the transfer object to form a hologram image.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pressing and heating means are performed by thermal head printing.

  Moreover, in this invention, as a preferable aspect, the relief of the said relief formation layer is a relief hologram and / or a diffraction grating.

  In the aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a thin film layer is provided on the transfer surface side of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium.

  As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a primer layer may be provided between the substrate of the transfer medium and the relief forming layer.

  As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a heat resistant slipping layer may be provided on the outermost surface of the substrate of the transfer medium.

  Further, as an aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that an image is formed in advance on the hologram image forming surface side of the transferred body, and an image receiving layer is provided on the hologram image forming surface side of the transferred body. May be. However, when an image receiving layer is provided on the surface of the transfer target, the image receiving layer itself has thermoplasticity, or has thermoplasticity before pressing the relief pattern transfer medium on the image receiving layer. It is preferable to transfer in advance a layer that also has a protective layer.

  Moreover, in this invention, the printed matter in which the hologram image was formed in the surface by the above-mentioned method as another aspect is also provided.

  According to the method of the present invention, the relief layer provided on the transfer medium is heated while being pressed against the surface of the transfer object, whereby the form of the relief layer surface is transferred to the surface of the transfer object, A hologram image can be formed on the body. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an adhesive layer on the transfer medium as in the prior art, and a transfer medium having a simpler structure can be obtained.

  Further, in the method of the present invention, only the surface form of the relief layer is transferred onto the transferred material, and the relief uneven structure is reproduced on the transferred material, such as a conventional hologram thermal transfer sheet, intermediate transfer recording medium, etc. As described above, since the relief layer on which the hologram image is formed is not transferred to the transfer target, the transfer medium can be used repeatedly. As a result, a printed material provided with a hologram image can be obtained at low cost.

<Hologram image forming method>
The hologram image forming method according to the present invention comprises a step (first step) of preparing a transfer medium comprising at least a base material and a relief forming layer, and the surface of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium is a thermoplastic resin layer. A step (second step) of heating the transferred object while being pressed against the surface of the transferred object having a surface, and transferring the form of the surface of the relief forming layer to the surface of the transferred object to obtain a hologram image The process basically includes a process (third process) to be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer medium 1 used in the first step includes at least a base material 11 and a relief forming layer 12. As will be described later, the relief forming layer 12 is a layer in which a relief hologram and / or a diffraction grating is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, a thin film layer 15 may be provided on the outermost surface on the transfer surface side of the relief forming layer 12 of the transfer medium 1. Since the relief (relief hologram, diffraction grating, etc.) of the relief forming layer 12 has a very fine structure and is very easily damaged, the surface form of the relief can be obtained by providing the thin film layer 15 on the surface of the relief forming layer 12. Can be protected.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a primer layer 13 may be provided between the substrate 11 and the relief forming layer 12 of the transfer medium 1. By providing the primer layer 13, the adhesion between the base material 11 and the relief forming layer 12 is improved. Therefore, even when the heating is repeated while being pressed against the transfer object 2, the relief forming layer 12 is not formed on the base material 11. 11 and the relief forming layer 12 itself can be prevented from being transferred to the transfer target 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a heat resistant slipping layer 14 may be provided on the outermost surface of the substrate 11 of the transfer medium 1. By providing this heat resistant slipping layer 14, fusion between the substrate 11 and a heating device (not shown) such as a thermal head can be prevented and slidability can be improved.

  In the second step, as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer target 2 is heated while the surface of the relief forming layer 12 of the transfer medium 1 is pressed against the surface of the transfer target 2. The relief surface form (hologram pattern) is transferred to the surface of the transfer object by pressure welding and heating (third step). That is, in the present invention, only the relief form of the transfer medium 1 is transferred (reproduced) to the transfer target 2 as in the case of embossing. Therefore, the hologram image can be formed on a plurality of transfer objects using a single transfer medium by repeating the second process and continuously executing the process.

  The transfer object 2 used in the method according to the present invention needs to have a surface formed of a thermoplastic resin. When the relief forming layer 12 is pressed against the surface of the thermoplastic resin and heated, the relief structure (relief hologram and / or diffraction grating) of the relief forming layer 12 is transferred to the thermoplastic resin, and the surface form of the relief is changed. Reproduced on the surface of the thermoplastic resin.

  In addition, it is only necessary that the surface to be transferred 2 is in contact with the relief forming layer 12 at least from a thermoplastic resin, and a thermoplastic resin layer 22 is provided on a substrate 21 as shown in FIG. Even if it is such a structure, as shown in FIG. 1, the whole to-be-transferred body 2 may be comprised with the thermoplastic resin.

  The degree of pressure welding and heating can be appropriately determined depending on the type of thermoplastic resin used. For example, the heating temperature can be performed at a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin. The pressure contact and heating means can be performed by means well known to those skilled in the art, such as a heat roll method. However, when it is necessary to form a hologram on a part of the transfer object, means such as a thermal head or a hot stamp In the present invention, it is more preferable to perform by thermal head printing used in a thermal transfer printer or the like. By performing pressure contact and heating with a thermal head, it is possible to more easily form a continuous hologram image.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an image 24 may be formed on the surface of the transfer target 2 in advance. It goes without saying that the image 24 formed in advance may be a part or the entire surface of the transfer target 2. Thus, since the hologram image can be formed after the image is formed in advance, when applied to a credit card or the like, a forgery prevention effect or a falsification prevention effect can be expected. Further, when a print image is used as the transfer object, a hologram image can be formed on the print image, so that a high-value-added printed material having excellent design properties can be obtained.

  In order to previously form the image 24 on the surface of the transfer target 2, an image receiving layer 23 may be provided on the image forming surface side of the transfer target 2. By providing the image receiving layer 23, a print image can be formed in advance on the transfer medium using a conventional thermal transfer sheet or the like. As a result, the above-mentioned transfer medium can be directly applied to the thermal transfer printer used when forming the print image, and a hologram image can be formed on the transfer target on which the print image is formed.

  However, when an image receiving layer is provided, the image receiving layer itself has thermoplasticity, or a layer having a thermoplastic protective layer before pressing the relief tapen transfer medium on the image receiving layer. Is preferably transferred in advance to a transfer medium.

  Hereinafter, the transfer medium used in the hologram image forming method according to the present invention and each layer constituting the transfer target will be described in more detail.

<Base material>
As the substrate, the same substrate as that used in conventional intermediate transfer recording media can be used as it is, and it is not particularly limited. Specific examples of preferred substrates include thin papers such as glassine paper, condenser paper or paraffin paper, or heat resistant materials such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ketone or polyether sulfone. Examples include stretched or unstretched plastic films such as high polyester, polypropylene, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polyethylene derivatives, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, polyamide, polyimide, polymethylpentene or ionomer. Moreover, the composite film which laminated | stacked 2 or more types of these materials can also be used. Although the thickness of the base material 11 can be suitably selected according to the material so that the strength, heat resistance, and the like are appropriate, those having a thickness of about 1 to 100 μm are preferably used. If necessary, a back layer can be provided on the surface opposite to the transfer portion side of the base film by a conventionally known method.

<Relief forming layer>
The relief forming layer is a layer in which light diffractive fine irregularities such as a hologram are formed on one side of a layer made of a synthetic resin.

  Resin materials for the relief forming layer include polyvinyl chloride, acrylic resin (eg, polymethylmethacrylate), thermoplastic resin such as polystyrene and polycarbonate, and unsaturated polyester, melamine, epoxy, polyester (meth) acrylate, urethane Cured thermosetting resin such as (meth) acrylate, epoxy (meth) acrylate, polyether (meth) acrylate, polyol (meth) acrylate, melamine (meth) acrylate, triazine acrylate, unsaturated ethylene monomer Cured UV curable resin such as a composition in which photopolymerization initiator and photosensitizer are added to a mixture of styrene and unsaturated ethylene oligomer as appropriate, or a mixture of the above resins or radical polymerization Thermoformable material having a polymerizable unsaturated group There can be used. In addition, silver salt, dichromated gelatin, thermoplastic, diazo type photosensitive material, photoresist, ferroelectric, photochromic material, thermochromic material, photosensitive material such as chalcogen glass, and the like can also be used.

  In particular, thermosetting resins excellent in durability such as chemical resistance, light resistance and weather resistance, and ionizing radiation curable resins such as ultraviolet rays and electron beams are preferable. Examples of the ionizing radiation curable resin include those obtained by curing an ionizing radiation curable resin such as an epoxy-modified acrylate resin, a urethane-modified acrylate resin, and an acrylic-modified polyester. In addition, the ionizing radiation curable resin may be a copolymer resin containing these resins as a main component, or a mixture (including an alloy). The ionizing radiation curable resin is preferably one having excellent moldability and appropriate heat resistance. A urethane-modified acrylate resin is preferable, and specifically, the following two types are most preferable.

(Ionizing radiation curable resin composition A)
A preferable relief forming layer is a cured product obtained by curing an uncured ionizing radiation curable resin composition mainly composed of a urethane-modified acrylic resin represented by the following general formula (I). Specifically, the photocurable resin composition disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-273129 by the present applicant can be applied, and the photocurable resin composition A described in the above specification can be applied as described in this specification. It is also used in the examples, and is described as “ionizing radiation curable resin composition A”.

In the general formula (I), 6 pieces of R ₁ are each independently of one another represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R ₂ represents a 1-20 hydrocarbon group with a carbon number. When the total of l, m, n, o and p is 100, l is an integer from 20 to 90, m is from 0 to 80, n is from 0 to 50, o + p is from 10 to 80, and p is an integer from 0 to 40. is there. X and Y represent a linear or branched alkylene group, Z represents a group for modifying a urethane-modified acrylic resin, and preferably represents a group having a bulky cyclic structure.

(Ionizing radiation curable resin composition B)
As another preferred relief forming layer, a photocurable resin disclosed in JP-A-2001-329031 can be applied, and in the examples of this specification, “ionizing radiation curable resin composition B” is used. It is written.

  That is, it is a cured product of an ionizing radiation curable resin containing a urethane (meth) acrylate oligomer. More preferably, the urethane (meth) acrylate oligomer is (1) an isocyanate having 3 or more isocyanate groups in the molecule, (2) at least one hydroxyl group and at least 2 (meth) acryloyloxy groups in the molecule. It is a reaction product of polyfunctional (meth) acrylates having one and (3) polyhydric alcohols having at least two hydroxyl groups in the molecule. Moreover, the mixture of the said urethane (meth) acrylate oligomer and another thermoplastic resin can be used as an ionizing radiation curable resin, and a mixture with an acrylic resin is optimal.

  In addition, it is preferable that it is not sticky in a coating state before being cured with ionizing radiation and can be cured with ionizing radiation after the relief structure is easily formed, and an isocyanate compound having a melting point of 40 ° C. or higher and a (meth) acryloyl group. It is preferable to use an ionizing radiation curable resin containing a thermoplastic resin having a softening point of 40 ° C. or higher, which is a reaction product of a (meth) acrylic compound which has a reaction with an isocyanate group.

  Further, the heat resistance of the ionizing radiation curable resin constituting the relief forming layer has an appropriate glass transition temperature (Tg), and preferably 70 to 100 ° C. Excessive heat resistance exceeding this range reduces the moldability due to the layer being hard, and if the heat resistance is lower than this range, the bent-shaped relief structure is deformed and deteriorated by heat during transfer. As a result, performance decreases.

(Relief)
The relief shape is a concavo-convex shape and is not particularly limited, but preferably has a fine concavo-convex shape and exhibits functions such as light diffusion, light scattering, light reflection, and light diffraction, such as Fourier transform and lenticular lens. , A light diffraction pattern, and a moth eye. Further, although it does not have a light diffraction function, it may be a hairline pattern, a mat pattern, a line pattern, an interference pattern, or the like that expresses a unique glitter. As the light diffraction concavo-convex pattern, a hologram or diffraction grating in which interference fringes due to light interference between object light and reference light are recorded in a concavo-convex pattern can be applied. Holograms include laser reproduction holograms such as Fresnel holograms, white light reproduction holograms such as rainbow holograms, color holograms utilizing these principles, computer generated holograms (CGH), and holographic diffraction gratings.

  Examples of the diffraction grating include a holographic diffraction grating using a hologram recording means. In addition, an arbitrary diffraction light can be obtained based on a calculation by mechanically creating a diffraction grating using an electron beam drawing apparatus or the like. A diffraction grating can also be mentioned. Further, a mechanical cutting method may be used. These holograms and / or diffraction gratings may be recorded single or multiple, or may be recorded in combination. These original plates can be prepared by known materials and methods. Usually, a laser beam interference method using a glass plate coated with a photosensitive material, an electron beam drawing method and a machine on a glass plate coated with an electron beam resist material. A cutting method can be applied.

  The hologram can be formed on the layer made of the resin by a conventionally known method using the material described above. For example, when recording a diffraction grating or hologram interference fringes as a relief with surface irregularities, an original plate on which diffraction gratings or interference fringes are recorded in an irregular shape is used as a press mold, and the original plate is overlaid on the resin layer. Then, the concavo-convex pattern of the original plate can be duplicated by heating and pressure-bonding them by appropriate means such as a heating roll. In the case of using a photopolymer, the hologram transfer sheet is coated with the photopolymer, and then the original plate is overlaid and the laser beam is applied for replication.

  The thickness of the relief forming layer as described above is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 6 μm, and more preferably in the range of 0.5 to 2 μm.

<Thin film layer>
As a thin film layer provided on the surface of the relief layer, it has an almost colorless and transparent hue, and its optical refractive index is different from that of the relief forming layer. Therefore, a glittering thing such as a transparent hologram can be produced.

For example, there are a thin film having a higher refractive index than the relief forming layer and a thin film having a lower refractive index. Examples of the former include ZnS, TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , Sb ₂ S ₃ , SiO, and SnO _2. ITO, etc., and examples of the latter include LiF, MgF ₂ , and AlF ₃ . Also, a general light-reflective metal thin film such as aluminum can be used when it has a thickness of 200 mm or less. The formation of the transparent metal compound is a vacuum such as vapor deposition, sputtering, ion plating, and CVD so that the relief surface of the relief forming layer has a thickness of about 10 to 2000 nm, preferably 20 to 1000 nm, as with the metal thin film. It may be provided by a thin film method or the like. Furthermore, you may use the transparent synthetic resin from which a relief forming layer differs in the refractive index of light.

  Moreover, an opaque type hologram can be formed by providing a metal thin film with a thickness that is not transparent.

<Primer layer>
As a material for forming the primer layer, conventionally known materials can be used and are not particularly limited. Moreover, the formation method can use the method similar to the past. In addition, for example, the easy-adhesion-treated surface of an easily-adhesive-treated PET film can be regarded as a primer layer.

<Heat resistant slip layer>
As the resin for forming the heat resistant slipping layer, conventionally known resins can be used, for example, polyvinyl butyral resin, polyvinyl acetoacetal resin, polyester resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyether resin, polybutadiene. Resin, styrene-butadiene copolymer, acrylic polyol, polyurethane acrylate, polyester acrylate, polyether acrylate, epoxy acrylate, urethane or epoxy prepolymer, nitrocellulose resin, cellulose nitrate resin, cellulose acetate propionate resin, cellulose acetate Butyrate resin, cellulose acetate hydrodiene phthalate resin, cellulose acetate resin, aromatic polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyamideimide resin, Carbonate resins, and chlorinated polyolefin resins.

  The slipperiness imparting agent added to or overcoating the heat resistant slipping layer made of these resins includes phosphate ester, metal soap, silicone oil, graphite powder, silicone graft polymer, fluorine graft polymer, acrylic silicone graft polymer, acrylic. Examples thereof include silicone polymers such as siloxane and arylsiloxane. Preferably, it is a layer made of a polyol, for example, a polyalcohol polymer compound, a polyisocyanate compound, and a phosphate ester compound, and a filler may be added. More preferred.

  The heat-resistant slip layer is prepared by dissolving or dispersing the above-described resin, slipperiness-imparting agent, and filler in an appropriate solvent on the base film to prepare a heat-resistant slip layer coating solution. For example, as in the case of forming other layers, this can be applied by a forming means such as a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, a reverse roll coating method using a gravure plate, and dried to form.

The coating amount of the heat resistant slipping layer is preferably 0.1 to 3.0 g / m ² at the time of drying. A primer layer as described above may be provided between the heat resistant slipping layer and the base film.

<Transfer material>
As described above, it is only necessary that the surface to be pressed against the relief forming layer is formed of a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ketone or polyether sulfone and other highly heat-resistant polyester resins, acrylic resins, acrylic-styrene resins, polypropylene and polycarbonate. And stretched or unstretched films of plastics such as cellulose acetate, polyethylene derivatives, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene, polyamide, polyimide, polymethylpentene or ionomer. Moreover, the composite film which laminated | stacked 2 or more types of these materials can also be used.

  In addition, as a material to be transferred, the surface of a natural fiber paper, coated paper, tracing paper, glass, metal, ceramic, wood, cloth, etc. provided with the above-mentioned thermoplastic resin layer, or the image receiving layer formation described later You may use what provided the material.

  There are no particular limitations on the shape and application of the transfer target, and for example, stock certificates, securities, certificates, passbooks, boarding tickets, car horse tickets, stamps, stamps, appreciation tickets, admission tickets, tickets, etc. , Cash cards, credit cards, prepaid cards, members cards, greeting cards, postcards, business cards, driver's licenses, cards such as IC cards, optical cards, cartons, container cases, bags, forms, envelopes, Tags, OHP sheets, slide films, bookmarks, calendars, posters, brochures, menus, passports, POP equipment, coasters, displays, nameplates, keyboards, cosmetics, watches, lighters, and other stationery, stationery, report paper , Building materials, panels, emblems, keys, fabrics, clothing, footwear, albums, Computer graphics output, medical image output, digital camera image output, etc. can be used regardless of the type, but in the present invention, the use can be appropriately selected from the viewpoint of high designability and excellent security. .

<Image receiving layer>
Before forming the hologram image, an image may be formed in advance on the transfer target. By combining a normal image and a hologram image on the transfer target, it is possible to form an image with higher design and superior security. When an image is formed in advance on the transfer target, an image receiving layer can be provided on the surface of the transfer target.

  By the way, in the present invention, the surface of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium is heated while being pressed against the surface of the transfer target having a thermoplastic resin layer to transfer the hologram image to the transfer target. The surface of the transfer target in contact with the transfer medium needs to be formed of a thermoplastic material. Therefore, when an image is previously formed on the transfer target, the image receiving layer itself has thermoplasticity, or the thermoplastic protective film is pressed before the relief pattern transfer medium is pressed onto the image receiving layer. It is preferable to transfer the layer having the layer in advance.

  As long as the image receiving layer itself has adhesiveness, it can be provided directly on the transferred body. Usually, however, a primer layer is formed between the transferred body and the image receiving layer. Improve the adhesion. On this image receiving layer, an image is formed by thermal transfer from a thermal transfer sheet having a color material layer by thermal transfer. For this reason, as a material for forming the receiving layer, a material that easily accepts a heat-transferable colorant such as a sublimation dye or a heat-meltable ink, or a material that has adhesiveness to a transfer target is used. Preferably, for example, polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl resins such as polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, etc. Polyester resins, polyacrylate resins, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, acetal resins, butyral resins, urethane resins, polyvinylpyrrolidone resins, copolymers of olefins such as ethylene and propylene, and other vinyl monomers, ionomers ,cellulose It can be used alone or a mixture of such conductors, vinyl resins and polyester resins. Among them is particularly preferably used.

  Further, the image receiving layer contains a release agent in the above resin in order to prevent thermal fusion between the image receiving layer and the color material layer of the thermal transfer film when forming a dye image on the transfer target. It is preferable. As the mold release agent, silicone oil, phosphate ester-based surfactant, fluorine-based compound and the like can be used, and among these, silicone oil is particularly preferably used. The amount of the release agent added is preferably 0.2 to 30 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin forming the receiving layer.

  Further, a protective layer may be provided in order to protect the image formed on the transfer target. As the protective layer, any conventionally known resin can be used as long as it is a resin excellent in durability and transparency so that it can be transferred onto the image in order to protect the image formed on the transfer target. It is.

  Examples of the protective layer include acrylic resins, cellulose resins, polyvinyl acetal resins, polyester resins, polyamide resins, and epoxy resins.

The protective layer is prepared by, for example, a protective layer coating solution prepared by dissolving or dispersing the above resin in an appropriate solvent or dispersion on the surface of the base material or the release layer by a conventionally known method as described above. It can be formed by applying and drying so that the thickness is about 0.5 to 5 g / m ² (dry basis).

  For the image receiving layer, one or more materials selected from the above-mentioned materials and various additives as necessary are added and dissolved or dispersed in an appropriate solvent such as water or an organic solvent to obtain a coating for the receiving layer. A working solution is prepared, and this can be applied and dried by means of a gravure printing method, a screen printing method or a reverse coating method using a gravure plate. Its thickness is about 1 to 10 μm in a dry state.

  When an image receiving layer is provided, for example, a hologram image can be formed as follows.

  A thermal transfer sheet (sublimation dye transfer ribbon) in which three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan and a thermoplastic transparent protective layer are combined as one set, a two-head printer is used to print an image on a transfer target with a first head. Form. At this time, a thermoplastic transparent protective layer is formed on the outermost surface of the image. Next, the surface of the relief forming layer and the surface of the transparent protective layer are in contact with each other, the transfer medium is pressed against the transfer target by the second head, the relief form is transferred to the surface of the protective layer, and the hologram image is transferred. Form.

  When an image is formed in advance on a transfer medium using a thermal transfer sheet, a color material layer of the thermal transfer sheet to be used is, for example, a binder resin in which a dye that mainly transfers heat by sublimation is supported. As the dye, any of the dyes used in conventional known thermal transfer films can be used effectively, and is not particularly limited.

  Preferable dyes include magenta dyes such as MS Red G, Macrolex Red Violet R, Ceres Red 7B, Samalon Red HBSL, Resolin, Red F3BS, and the like. Examples of yellow dyes include Holon Brilliant Yellow 6GL, PTY-52, Solvent Yellow 93, Macrolex Yellow 6G, and the like. Examples of the cyan dye include Kayaset Blue 714, Waxoline Blue AP-FW, Holon Brilliant Blue S-RR, MS Blue 100, and the like.

  Any conventionally known binder resin for supporting the dye can be used. Examples of preferred binder resins include cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxy cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate and cellulose butyrate; polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl petital, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone And vinyl resins such as polyacrylamide; polyester resins and the like. Of these, cellulose resins, polyvinyl resins such as polyvinyl butyral and polyvinyl acetal, and polyester resins are preferred from the viewpoints of heat resistance, dye transferability, and the like.

  Furthermore, conventionally known various additives may be blended in the heat sublimable colorant layer as necessary.

  The content of the dye is usually about 5 to 90%, preferably about 10 to 70%, based on the total amount of the heat sublimable colorant layer.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example and a comparative example demonstrate this invention further in detail, it is not limited to this. “Part” is based on mass unless otherwise specified.

<Preparation of transfer medium>
As a substrate, a polyester terephthalate film (S-28, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) having a thickness of 16 μm was used. A primer layer was formed on one surface of the substrate by applying the following primer coating solution by gravure coating so that the thickness after drying was 1 μm and drying.

<Thermal bonding layer coating solution>
・ Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer (Solvine CNL Nissin Chemical Industries) 20 parts ・ Solvent (ethyl acetate: toluene = 1: 1) 20 parts

  Next, the following relief forming layer composition is applied to the surface of the primer layer with a gravure reverse coater so that the thickness after drying is 2.5 μm, and dried at 100 ° C. to form a relief forming layer. did.

<Relief forming layer composition>
-Photocurable resin composition B
(Used in Example 1 of JP-A-2001-329031) 100.0 parts • Silicone 1.0 part • Photopolymerization initiator (Irgacure 907, manufactured by Ciba Japan) 5.0 parts • Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts

  The relief was shaped by pressurizing (embossing) the stamper on the surface of the formed relief forming layer. Separately, from a hologram photographed by the two-beam method, a resin stamper duplicated by the 2P method is attached to an embossing roller of a duplicating apparatus, and heated and pressed (embossed) with an opposing roller at 150 ° C. A relief consisting of a concavo-convex pattern was shaped. Immediately after shaping, the film was cured by irradiating with ultraviolet light with a high-pressure mercury lamp. Next, a thin film layer was formed by depositing titanium oxide to a thickness of 50 nm on the relief surface by a vacuum deposition method.

Next, the following heat resistant slipping layer forming ink is applied to the surface of the substrate opposite to the surface on which the relief forming layer is provided by the gravure coating method (application amount: 1.0 g / m ² (when dried)). And dried. Thereafter, a curing treatment was performed to form a heat resistant slipping layer.

<Heat resistant slipping layer coating solution>
-Polyvinyl butyral (BX-1 manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 15 parts-Polyisocyanate (Bernock D450 manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc.) 35 parts-Phosphate ester surfactant (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) Price Surf A208S) 10 parts ・ Talc (Nihon Talc Co., Ltd., Microace P-3) 3 parts

<Preparation of transfer object>
As the material to be transferred, the same image receiving paper as used in Example 1 described in JP-A-11-115328 was prepared. Specifically, an image receiving paper was prepared by the following procedure.

First, an intermediate layer and a receiving layer having the following composition are sequentially applied to a 39 μm microvoid film having a fine void layer and dried, and then an adhesive having the following composition is applied to the surface opposite to the surface on which the receiving layer is formed and dried. The coated paper (186.1 g / m ² ), which is a support provided with a grip layer on one side under the following conditions, was attached to the surface on which the grip layer was not laminated to obtain an image receiving paper. The coating amount of each layer was at the time of drying, and the intermediate layer was 2 g / m ² , the image receiving layer was 4 g / m ² , and the adhesive layer was 4 g / m ² . The grip layer was formed by forming a polypropylene resin (J-Alomer LR711-5, manufactured by Nippon Polyolefin Co., Ltd.) on a coated paper support by extrusion lamination so as to be an unstretched synthetic resin layer having a thickness of 33 μm.

Intermediate layer coating solution / polyester resin (WR-905, manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane) 13.1 parts Titanium oxide (TCA888, manufactured by Tochem Products) 26.2 parts Fluorescent whitening agent (Ubitex BAC, manufactured by Ciba Japan) ) 0.39 parts ・ Water 60 parts ・ Water / IPA 1 / 132.0 parts
Receiving layer coating solution / vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer (Solvine C, manufactured by Nissin Chemical Industry) 12.0 parts ・ Epoxy-modified silicone (X-22-3000T, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.8 parts ・ Amino Modified silicone (X-22-1660B-3, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.24 parts ・ Toluene / MEK 1 / 160.0 parts
Adhesive coating solution , polyfunctional polyol (Takelac A-969V, made by Mitsui Chemicals Polyurethane)
30 parts ・ Isocyanate (Takenate A-5, Mitsui Chemicals Polyurethane) 10 parts ・ Ethyl acetate 60 parts

<Formation of hologram image>
Using a two-head printer (CHC-S8075-6B, manufactured by Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.), the obtained transfer medium was set, and a hologram image was formed on the transfer target.

  The obtained hologram image was of excellent quality having a design equivalent to that of a hologram image using a conventional thermal transfer sheet.

  Using the transfer medium used repeatedly, a hologram image was formed on a new transfer medium in the same manner as described above. As in the first time, the obtained image was of excellent quality having a design equivalent to that of a hologram image using a conventional thermal transfer sheet.

  A light diffraction image such as a hologram or a diffraction grating can express a unique decorative image or a three-dimensional image together with a printed image by thermal transfer or the like, and has excellent design. Further, since these holograms and diffraction gratings require advanced manufacturing techniques and cannot be easily manufactured, improvement in security can be expected to prevent forgery. Therefore, the hologram image forming method according to the present invention can be applied to all printed matter on which a light diffraction image is formed, but in particular, such as an identification card, a passport, a credit card, an ID card, and other cards. Although it can be suitably used for applications requiring high designability and security, it is not particularly limited to these applications.

It is the schematic which shows each process of the hologram image formation method by this invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a transfer medium used in the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a transfer object used in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer medium 2 Transfer object 11 Base material 12 Relief formation layer 13 Primer layer 14 Heat resistant slipping layer 15 Thin film layer 21 Base material 22 Thermoplastic resin layer 23 Image receiving layer 24 Print image

Claims (9)

A method of forming a hologram image on the surface of a transfer object,
Preparing a transfer medium comprising at least a substrate and a relief forming layer;
Heating the transferred material while pressing the surface of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium against the surface of the transferred material having a thermoplastic resin layer on the surface,
Transferring the form of the surface of the relief forming layer to the surface of the transfer object to form a hologram image.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressing and heating means are performed by thermal head printing.   The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relief of the relief forming layer is a relief hologram and / or a diffraction grating.   The method according to claim 1, wherein a thin film layer is provided on the transfer surface side of the relief forming layer of the transfer medium.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a primer layer is provided between the substrate of the transfer medium and the relief forming layer.   The method as described in any one of Claims 1-5 by which a heat resistant slipping layer is provided in the outermost surface of the base material of the said transfer medium.   The method according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed in advance on the hologram image forming surface side of the transfer object.   The method according to claim 7, wherein an image receiving layer is provided on the hologram image forming surface side of the transfer object.   A printed matter having a hologram image formed on the surface thereof by the method according to claim 1.

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