JP6740693B2 - Image forming body manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a process for the production of images forming body.

Today, electrostatic systems, ink jet systems, thermal transfer systems, etc. are widely used in systems for printing characters and images.

In a conventional printing system, it is general to form a monochrome image or a color image on one flat surface, that is, a visual image in which color or brightness is changed. Further, as a system for printing unevenness, there is a system in which the recording base is directly deformed to provide unevenness like the impact method, but the unevenness is formed only at points.

There is a three-dimensional copying machine (for example, Konica Minolta) for the purpose of forming irregularities on not only Braille but also lines and image surfaces themselves. In this system, first, black toner is printed on a heat-foamable sheet, which is a capsule paper, by an electrostatic printing method. Next, this capsule paper is exposed by a developing device, and the black toner portion is heated by the light to foam the thermo-foaming substance in the capsule paper to form a convex portion. Therefore, there is a restriction that the convex portion can be formed only in the portion where the toner is attached. Further, since a developing device is required, there is a problem that the device becomes large.

Further, in a printer using an inkjet method, a method is disclosed in which after performing image recording on the capsule paper by inkjet, light is irradiated and foaming is performed according to the image recording to obtain a three-dimensional image ( For example, see Patent Document 1.). However, this method has drawbacks such as that the area in which the convex portion is formed is limited and that the apparatus becomes large, as in the above-described toner method.

In a printing system using thermal transfer, there is a method of operating a thermal head to perform a matting process for forming a concavo-convex pattern on an image protection layer (for example, refer to Patent Document 2). This makes it possible to form irregularities on the protective layer that is transferred onto the color print, and to give the print a silky finish, but since the height difference of the irregularities is very small, it can be applied to fingers or hands. I can't tell by touching.

Furthermore, in order to give unevenness to a color image, a method of forming a stereoscopic image by heating a thermally expansive material on a recording sheet with a thermal head of a thermal printer has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). See 3.). In this method, specifically, a grayscale image or a color image is first transferred to a recording sheet. Next, the thermal transfer ribbon is replaced with a cover ribbon made of a transparent film, and a stronger heat amount is applied to the recording sheet onto which the color image has been transferred, thereby creating an uneven image synchronized with the grayscale image or the color image. .. However, in this method, the heat-foamable substance must be applied to the entire receiving paper in advance. In addition, it is necessary to replace the cover or prepare another thermal head between the procedure for printing the two-dimensional image information and the procedure for printing the unevenness, which is a drawback that the apparatus and work become complicated.

JP, 9-207428, A JP, 2016-10893, A JP-A-10-324010

As described above, in any of the methods, it is difficult to obtain an image having a sufficient unevenness of unevenness with a simple device configuration, and an image having a sufficient unevenness of unevenness is obtained with a simple device configuration. There has been a demand for a method of forming an image capable of achieving the above.
The present invention is capable of obtaining an image having an uneven sufficient difference in height with ease, and its object is to provide a method for producing images forming body.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an image forming body using a thermal head, which comprises an image support having a dye dyeing layer formed on one side thereof and a sublimation dye on one side. A base material on which a dye layer, a protective layer and a thermal expansion layer are sequentially formed, and is heated by the thermal head in a state where the dye dyeing layer and the dye layer are opposed to each other, A step of transferring the sublimable dye contained in a layer to the dye dyeing layer to form an image of the sublimable dye in the dye dyeing layer, and the dye dyeing layer after the image is formed. And the protective layer are opposed to each other and heated by the thermal head to transfer the protective layer so as to be laminated on the dye-dyeing layer, and the layer laminated on the dye-dyeing layer. The protective layer and the thermal expansion layer are opposed to each other and heated by the thermal head to change the thermal expansion layer into an arbitrary shape and transfer the thermal expansion layer so as to be laminated on the protective layer. And a heat-expandable substance that expands when heated at 100° C. or higher and 300° C. or lower, and the heat-expandable substance occupies 30% by weight or more and 70% by weight of the thermal expansion layer. The method for producing an image-forming body, wherein the thermal expansion layer has a thickness before expansion of 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, since a thermal expansion layer that is changed into a three-dimensional shape by heating is provided on the dye-dyeing layer on which a planar image is formed, it is possible to easily form an image with sufficient unevenness of height difference. Obtainable.

1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an image forming body according to the present invention. (A) is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of an image support according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of an image forming medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. is there. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a manufacturing process of the image forming body of the present invention.

An image forming body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, in each of the drawings described below, portions corresponding to each other are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping portions will not be described below as appropriate. Further, each drawing is exaggerated as appropriate for ease of explanation.
Further, the embodiment of the present invention exemplifies a configuration for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and specifies the material, shape, structure, arrangement, size, etc. of each part as follows. Not. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope defined by the claims described in the claims.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The image forming body 100 is formed by laminating the dye dyeing layer 2, the protective layer 4, and the thermal expansion layer 5 on one surface of the support 1 in this order. In the image forming body 100, the planar image 3 made of a sublimable dye is formed on the dye dyeing layer 2, and the three-dimensional shape formed by the thermal expansion layer 5 and the planar image 3 are simultaneously seen from the thermal expansion layer 5 side. It is observable. As described above, in the image forming body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a stereoscopic shape is added to an image.

The image forming body 100 is formed by using the image support 10 as a sublimable dye receptor shown in FIG. 2A and the image forming medium 20 shown in FIG. 2B. The manufacturing method will be described later.

(Image support)
As shown in FIG. 2A, the image support 10 used when manufacturing the image forming body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the dye dyeing layer 2 formed on one surface of the support 1. It will be done.

The image support 10 in the embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited as the support 1 as long as it has heat resistance and mechanical strength that can withstand heat processing by a thermal head. For example, high-quality paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, synthetic resin or emulsion-impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex-impregnated paper, synthetic resin internal-added paper, and the like can be applied. Further, as the support 1, various kinds of plastic laminated paper, polyolefin-based or polystyrene-based synthetic paper, and further polyester, polyacrylate, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, cellulose derivative, polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate. Copolymer, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, nylon, polyether ether ketone, polysulfone, polyether sulfone, tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer Films or sheets of various plastics such as polyvinyl fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene/ethylene copolymer, tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene copolymer, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and polyvinylidene fluoride can be applied.

Examples of the dye-dyeing layer 2 include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene/vinyl acetate. Copolymer, vinyl polymer such as polyacrylic ester, polystyrene resin, polyamide resin, copolymer resin of olefin such as ethylene and propylene with other vinyl monomer, ionomer, cellulose resin such as cellulose diacetate, polycarbonate And the like. Particularly preferred is a layer of vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer.

(Image forming medium)
The image forming medium 20 used in manufacturing the image forming body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has an image forming dye layer on one surface of the base material 7, as shown in FIG. 2B. 6, the protective layer 4, and the thermal expansion layer 5 are formed in the frame order. That is, the image forming medium 20 is formed on one surface of the base material 7 so that the image forming dye layer 6, the protective layer 4, and the thermal expansion layer 5 do not overlap each other.
In addition to the above, sensor marks (not shown) for each layer for determining the image forming position are provided on the base material 7.

Since the base material 7 is required to have heat resistance and strength that are not softened and deformed by heat and pressure during thermal transfer, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polypropylene, cellophane, acetate, polycarbonate, polysulfone, polyimide, polyvinyl alcohol, aromatic A synthetic resin film such as polyamide, aramid, or polystyrene, and a paper such as capacitor paper or paraffin paper may be used alone or in combination. Of these, a polyethylene terephthalate film is preferable in consideration of physical properties, processability, cost and the like. Further, the thickness of the base material 7 can be applied in the range of 2 μm or more and 50 μm or less in consideration of operability and processability, and is 2 μm or more and 12 μm or less in consideration of handling properties such as transfer suitability and processability. preferable.

Although not shown, a heat-resistant layer is provided on the other surface of the base material 7 shown in FIG. 2B, that is, the surface opposite to the surface on which the image forming dye layer 6 and the like are formed. Is preferred. The heat-resistant layer is composed of, for example, a functional additive that imparts releasability and slipperiness, and a binder, and can be cured with a curing agent as necessary. The thickness of this heat-resistant layer is preferably 0.1 μm or more and 2 μm or less, although it depends on the material structure used. An example of the heat-resistant layer is a UV-cured product of an acrylic oligomer, a synthetic resin such as polyester, polyurethane, polyacetal, polyamide, or polyimide, to which a release agent such as silicone oil is added, or one obtained by copolymerizing silicone. be able to. Further, there is no problem even if a filler is added if necessary, and examples of the filler to be added include silicone powder, silica and various resin powders.

The image forming dye layer 6 is usually divided into three color regions of yellow, magenta, and cyan by a printing method using an ink containing a sublimable dye in order to express a full-color gradation, and is frame-sequentially. It is formed. The image forming dye layer 6 is composed of at least a sublimable dye and a binder, and a thickness of about 1 μm (dry thickness) is suitable. The black color can be represented by transferring these three colors so as to overlap each other.

Examples of sublimable dyes used in the image forming dye layer 6 include Solvent Yellow 56, 16, 30, 93, 33 and Disperse Yellow 201, 231, 33 as yellow (Y) components. As the magenta (M) component, C.I. I. Disperse Red 60, C.I. I. Disperse Violet 26, C.I. I. Solvent Red 27, or C.I. I. Solvent Red 19 and the like can be mentioned. The cyan (C) component is C.I. I. Disperse Blue 354, C.I. I. Solvent Blue 63, C.I. I. Solvent Blue 36, or C.I. I. Disperse Blue 24 and the like can be mentioned.

Further, as the binder, ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxycellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, cellulose-based resins such as cellulose acetate and polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylamide and the like. A vinyl resin, a polyester resin, a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer resin, a phenoxy resin or the like can be used. Furthermore, as the curable resin, reactive resins such as phenol, melamine, epoxy, isocyanate, and glyoxal resin can be used.

The protective layer 4 is formed on the entire surface of the dye dyeing layer 2 on which the planar image 3 is formed, and imparts durability against ultraviolet rays and the like. At the same time, since it needs to be formed on the transferred material by a process called a thermal transfer method, it generally has both the inherent performance as a protective layer such as ultraviolet absorption and the adhesiveness to the transferred material. It is necessary. Further, in order to make the planar image 3 visible when the image forming body 100 is viewed from the thermal expansion layer 5 side, the protective layer 4 is preferably transparent.

The protective layer 4 is composed of a functional additive such as an ultraviolet absorber and a binder resin.
Examples of functional additives include benzophenone, benzotriazole, benzoate, UV absorbers typified by triazines, light stabilizers typified by hindered amines, antioxidants typified by hindered phenols, and fluorescence enhancers. Examples thereof include whitening agents and antistatic agents.

The binder resin is not particularly limited as long as it has heat-melting property, but examples thereof include styrene resins such as polystyrene and poly α-methylstyrene, and acrylic resins such as polymethyl methacrylate and polyethyl acrylate. Resins, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal and other vinyl resins, polyester resins, polyamide resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, petroleum resins, ionomers, ethylene- Synthetic resins such as acrylic acid copolymers and ethylene-acrylic acid ester copolymers, cellulose derivatives such as nitrocellulose, ethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate propionate, rosins, rosin-modified maleic acid resins, ester gums, polyisobutylene rubber, butyl rubber , Styrene-butadiene rubber, butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber, derivatives of natural resins and synthetic rubbers such as polychlorinated olefins, and waxes such as carnauba wax and paraffin wax. Among them, acrylic resin, polyester, and epoxy resin are suitable as the binder resin.

The thermal expansion layer 5 is made of a thermally expandable material, and is made of, for example, a mixture of a thermally foamable substance, a wax, a thermally softening substance, etc., whose volume is expanded by heating. Further, in order to make the planar image 3 visible when the image forming body 100 is viewed from the thermal expansion layer 5 side, the thermal expansion layer 5 is preferably transparent. Further, an adhesive layer (not shown) may be provided on the surface of the thermal expansion layer 5 that faces the protective layer 4, depending on the adhesion to the protective layer 4.

The heat-foamable substance is not particularly limited as long as it is a substance that expands or expands by heat (a temperature of 100° C. or higher and 300° C. or lower), but specific examples include microspheres manufactured by Matsumoto Yushi Co., Ltd., Nippon Ferrite. Examples include Expancel manufactured by the company.

Examples of the waxes include natural waxes such as beeswax, carnauba wax, spermaceti wax, wood wax, candelilla wax, nuka wax and montan wax; paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, oxidative wax, oxychelite, cercine, ester wax, polyethylene wax and the like. In addition to the preferred synthetic waxes mentioned above, higher fatty acids such as margaric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, frommenic acid and behenic acid; higher alcohols such as stearyl alcohol and behenyl alcohol; fatty acid esters of sorbitan, etc. Esters; amides such as stearamide and oleinamide.

As the heat-softening substance, polyamide resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, acrylic resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene-dityl acrylate copolymer, cellulose resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin , Petroleum-based resins, phenol-based resins, styrene-based resins, natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, inprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, etc. are preferable.

The thickness of the thermal expansion layer 5 is determined as follows, for example. That is, in order for the irregularities on the image forming body 100 to be visually or tactually recognizable, the difference between the irregularities must be about 30 μm or more, and preferably in the range of 50 μm or more and 500 μm or less. The unevenness is formed by the difference in the thickness of the thermal expansion layer 5 laminated on the image forming body 100.
Considering this, it is appropriate that the thickness of the thermal expansion layer 5 before expansion be approximately 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less.
It is appropriate that the heat-expandable substance occupying the thermal expansion layer 5 is about 30% by weight or more and 70% by weight or less.

Next, a method for manufacturing the image forming body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is obtained by transferring a dye to the dye dyeing layer 2 by using thermal energy of a thermal head used in a general sublimation printer.

As shown in FIG. 3A, first, the dye dyeing layer 2 is formed on one surface of the support 1. As a forming method, a known coating method such as a gravure coating method can be applied. An image support in which the dye-dyeing layer 2 is formed on one surface of the support 1 is obtained by applying an ink composition for forming the dye-dyeing layer 2 on one surface of the support 1 and drying the ink composition. The body 10 can be obtained.

Next, using the image-forming medium 20 shown in FIG. 2B, which is separately prepared, the image-forming dye layer 6 and the dye-dyeing layer 2 of the image support 10 are opposed to each other. Then, in a state in which these are stacked, only the image forming dye layer 6 is dyed on the dye dyeing layer 2 by a thermal head, and a plane image on the image forming medium 20 formed by the image forming dye layer 6 is formed. 3 is formed (dyeing) on the dye-dyeing layer 2 of the image support 10 (FIG. 3B).

Next, the image support 10 and the image forming medium 20 are stacked so that the dye-dyeing layer 2 on which the planar image 3 is formed and the protective layer 4 face each other. Only 4 is thermally transferred to form the protective layer 4 on the dye dyeing layer 2 (FIG. 3(c)).

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the image forming medium 20 after the protective layer 4 is transferred to the dye-dyeing layer 2 side and the dye-dyeing layer 2 are heated on the image-forming medium 20 side. The expansion layer 5 and the protective layer 4 transferred to the dye-dyeing layer 2 are laminated so as to face each other, and in a state where these layers are overlapped, only the thermal expansion layer 5 is thermally transferred, and the thermal expansion layer 5 is formed into an arbitrary three-dimensional shape. Change the shape. Thus, the three-dimensional thermal expansion layer 5 can be formed on the protective layer 4 to manufacture the image forming body 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The image forming body 100 manufactured in this way becomes an image having a three-dimensional shape formed by the thermal expansion layer 5.

As described above, according to the present invention, the dye dyeing layer 2 on the support 1 is dyed with a sublimable dye to form a planar image 3, and the protective layer 4 is transferred to the entire surface thereof. A thermal expansion layer 5 having irregularities is formed on the top. Therefore, an image and unevenness corresponding to the image can be formed at the same time.

As described above, since the image forming medium 20 in which the image forming dye layer 6, the protective layer 4, and the thermal expansion layer 5 are formed on the substrate 7 in the frame order is used, these layers are formed in the same thermal head. Thus, they can be sequentially transferred to the image support 10 side. Therefore, it becomes possible to form an image with unevenness without significantly changing the configuration of the conventional sublimation printer, and it is possible to easily form a three-dimensional printed matter, and further, a design using three-dimensional printing. Can be expanded.
In addition, since the thermal expansion layer 5 that has been transformed into a three-dimensional shape by heating is provided on the dye-dyeing layer 2 on which the two-dimensional image 3 is formed, it is possible to obtain an image having a sufficient height difference of unevenness, and the three-dimensional image. The thermal expansion layer 5 can be arranged only at the place where the shape is formed.
Further, by controlling the heating amount of the thermal expansion layer 5, it is possible to impart irregularities of any height difference to the planar image 3, and the image forming body 100 having excellent expressiveness and excellent designability. Can be obtained.

Further, the image forming body 100 has, in addition to the dye-dyeing layer 2 and the protective layer 4, the thermal expansion layer 5 whose shape is changed by heating. Therefore, a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional shape are transferred to the image forming body 100. be able to. Furthermore, since the layer thickness of the image forming medium 20 can be reduced by using the thermal expansion layer 5, the image forming medium 20 can be used in a general sublimation printer, and the roll diameter becomes large when wound into a roll shape. Can be suppressed.
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and is required in consideration of the use as a packaging material unless departing from the technical idea of the present embodiment. It goes without saying that other layers and structures can be arbitrarily formed for the purpose of improving other physical properties such as rigidity, strength and impact resistance.

According to the method of the present invention, the obtained image can be three-dimensional and have a texture, so that the recorded matter has a high-class feeling and is excellent in decoration. Also. Since the image is created by using the thermal transfer method, a general person such as a company or office can easily obtain a stereoscopic and textured image.
The above-mentioned stereoscopic images are used as Braille books, bulletins/official documents, menus such as meals, product catalogs, textbooks/reference books, signs, maps, pamphlets, Braille learning, sheet music, business cards, document highlighting, book covers. , Advertisements, reproduction of paintings, originals of prints, anti-slip, highlighting of letters/documents, indexes, coupons/tickets, etc.

1 Support 2 Dye Dyeing Layer 3 Planar Image 4 Protective Layer 5 Thermal Expansion Layer 6 Image Forming Dye Layer 7 Base 10 Image Support 20 Image Forming Medium 100 Image Forming Body

Claims (2)

A method of manufacturing an image forming body using a thermal head,
An image support having a dye-dyeing layer formed on one surface thereof, and a substrate having a dye layer containing a sublimable dye, a protective layer and a thermal expansion layer formed on the one surface thereof in a frame-sequential manner, An image formed of the sublimable dye by heating with the thermal head in a state where the dye-dyeing layer and the dye layer are opposed to each other, by transferring the sublimable dye contained in the dye layer to the dye-dyeing layer. Forming a dye-dyeing layer,
A step in which the dye-dyeing layer and the protective layer after the image are formed are heated by the thermal head in a state of being opposed to each other, and the protective layer is transferred so as to be laminated on the dye-dyeing layer. When,
By heating with the thermal head in a state where the protective layer and the thermal expansion layer laminated on the dye-dyeing layer are opposed to each other, the thermal expansion layer is changed into an arbitrary shape and the thermal expansion layer is formed. A step of transferring so as to be laminated on the protective layer ,
The thermal expansion layer includes a thermal foamable substance that expands by heating at 100° C. or higher and 300° C. or lower, and the thermal foamable substance in the thermal expansion layer is 30 wt% or more and 70 wt% or less, thermal expansion layer, manufacturing method of an image forming body thickness before expansion, characterized in der Rukoto than 100μm or less 10 [mu] m. The method for producing an image forming body according to claim 1, wherein the thermal expansion layer has a thickness after expansion of 50 μm or more and 500 μm or less.

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