JPH07108598B2 - Color transfer paper - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in transfer paper for providing color recording to a receiver by thermal transfer.

Configuration of Conventional Example and Problems Thereof In recent years, there has been a demand for a device such as a television set that makes a color image a hard copy, and various color recording systems have been considered to realize this.

Among them, the thermal transfer method using a sublimable dye, which has an excellent feature that it can freely express the shade of color and does not require special maintenance, is the most promising.

The principle of this thermal transfer system will be described with reference to FIGS.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a transfer paper, which is formed by separately coating three kinds of heat sublimation dyes of cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y on a base paper 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer paper 1 is sandwiched between the image receiving paper 4 wound around a drum 3 and the thermal head 5, and the heat generated by the thermal head 5 causes the dye on the transfer paper 1 to absorb the dye. And transfer it to cyan, magenta,
If you transfer each of the yellow primary colors, you can complete color recording.

According to this method, it is possible to obtain high resolution and excellent image quality recording with good gradation expression. However, the weather resistance of the dye transferred onto the image-receiving paper 4 is poor, fading occurs over time, the color vividness is lost, and the degree of fading is different for each primary color, so the color tone changes and It has a major drawback that The cause of fading is most affected by ultraviolet rays,
Others include oxidation and instability of the dye itself.

In order to prevent this drawback, a method is currently used in which the recorded image-receiving paper 4 is wrapped with a plastic film 6 having a high-temperature adhesive as shown in FIG. Since a large amount of heat is required, the heating roll device is large-scaled, and the plastic film 5 is also expensive, and the finished product is hard and lacks naturalness.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer paper having a simple structure and also providing a protective film for protecting an image on an image receiving paper.

The present invention is a color transfer paper in which at least one sublimable dye for color recording and a transparent heat-meltable protective film containing a wax as a main component and at least an ultraviolet absorber are separately applied on the surface. The heat-fusible protective film is transferred onto an image-receiving paper that is color-recorded with a functional dye.

Description of Embodiments FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the color transfer paper of the present invention.

This transfer paper 8 comprises a belt-shaped base paper 9 and a sublimable dye layer 10 and a transparent heat-meltable protective film layer 11 which are repeatedly provided.
Are arranged in the order of cyan C, yellow Y, and magenta M, for example. The protective film 11 is formed as a transparent heat-meltable layer containing a wax as a main component and a transparent ultraviolet absorber 12, an antioxidant 13, and the like.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a transfer device using this color transfer paper. Reference numeral 14 is a drum, and an image receiving paper 15 is wound around the outer periphery thereof in close contact with each other. 16 is a thermal head, which is a transfer paper 8
And is pressed by the drum 14.

Next, the operation of this device will be described.

In the state shown in FIG. 6, the color transfer paper 8 has cyan, which is the first color of color recording, in the thermal head section, the heat generation of the thermal head 16 and the driving of the drum 14 are started, and the sublimation dye of cyan generates heat. In accordance with the above, it is transferred onto the image receiving paper 15 and solidified, and a cyan image is recorded. Next, the thermal head 16 is moved back by the pressing mechanism (not shown) and the drum 14 is moved.
Get away from. During that time, the position of the drum 14 is controlled so as to match the recording of the next color, and the color transfer paper 8 advances to the right and the yellow comes to the thermal head section. Here, the thermal head 16 is pressed again to record the yellow. Similarly, when the recording of the third color magenta is performed, the color recording is completed. After that, the heat-meltable protective film 11 is transferred on the color-recorded film by the same method as described above.

The wax in the heat-fusible protective film 11 is melted by the heat generated by the thermal head 16, enters the voids between the fibers on the surface of the image receiving paper, and is strongly bonded to the image receiving paper. On the other hand, the surface of the base paper 9 is smooth, and the connection with the heat-meltable protective film is weak, and when the color transfer paper 8 is separated from the image receiving paper 15, the heat-meltable protective film once melted moves to the surface of the image receiving paper 15.

The transfer at this time may be performed on the entire surface of the screen, or may be performed only on a place where any dye is attached.

When the transfer is completed in this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the recording surface of the image receiving paper 15 is covered with the protective film 11 'containing the ultraviolet absorber and the antioxidant, and the ultraviolet rays and the oxygen in the air are contained. Blocked against, the dye on the receiving paper is stable,
You can keep a beautiful color for a long time.

In the examples, granular ultraviolet absorbers and antioxidants are given, but it goes without saying that wax-soluble types also have exactly the same effect. Further, in the embodiment, color recording was performed with three colors, but the same is true even if black is further added. Further, in the embodiment, the case where the sublimable dye is used as the pigment has been described, but the same effect can be obtained even when other dyes or pigments are used.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, since the protective layer is provided on a part of the transfer sheet for color recording, no special transfer sheet is required, and the heat generating device in the recording apparatus can be provided. Since it can be used, the protective film can be instantly formed on the image-receiving paper surface after recording at low cost. As a result, the image surface is less likely to be affected by ultraviolet rays, oxygen in the air, etc., and a beautiful image can be maintained for a long period of time. Further, by imparting smoothness to the surface of the base paper, the surface of the protective film can be made to have an appropriate gloss, and a natural and dignified image can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional transfer paper, FIG. 2 is a view showing a transfer recording process, FIG. 3 is a view showing a process of forming a protective film on a recorded image receiving paper, and FIG. 4 is a transfer according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration example of paper, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main part, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a transfer recording process, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a process of forming a protective film, and FIG. 8 is a recording process. It is a sectional view of the completed image receiving paper. 8 ... Transfer paper, 9 ... Base paper, 10 ... Dye, 11 ... Protective film.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A color transfer paper in which at least one sublimable dye for color recording and a transparent heat-melting protective film containing a wax as a main component and at least an ultraviolet absorber are separately applied on the surface of the same base paper.