JP2000211258A - Heat-transfer image receiving sheet, and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat-transfer image receiving sheet and its manufacturing method, wherein a half-cut is applied to sealed sections of the heat-transfer image receiving sheet, and a lifting is generated from the half cut processed section, and when the sealed section is peeled from the lifted section at the time of a printing, troubles such as that an adhesive protrudes from the sealed section and adheres to a heat-transfer sheet, can be prevented from occurring. SOLUTION: This heat-transfer image receiving sheet 1 comprises a sealed section 9 wherein at least a receiving layer 8, a base material 7, and an adhesive layer 6 are laminated in this order, and a release sheet 5, and wherein the releasing surface of the release sheet 5 and the adhesive layer 6 are peelably affixed, and on the sealed section 9, a half cut 2 for the peeling is applied, and in the manufacturing method of such a heat-transfer image receiving sheet 1, the half cut 2 process is applied by using a cutter blade of which the blade tip angle is 25-50 deg., and of which the blade tip length is thicker than the thickness of the sealed section, and thus, the width 2a of the half cut is set at 25-60 μm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seal portion formed of at least a receptor layer, a base material and an adhesive layer, on which an image is formed by thermal transfer, and a release portion releasably bonded to the adhesive layer surface of the seal portion. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer image receiving sheet having a configuration in which a seal portion is half-cut in a thermal transfer image receiving sheet having a configuration including a mold sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various thermal transfer methods are known. In this method, a thermal transfer sheet having a colored transfer layer formed on a base sheet is heated in an image form from the back side by a thermal head or the like. Then, the colored transfer layer is thermally transferred to the surface of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet to form an image. This thermal transfer method is roughly classified into two types, a sublimation transfer type and a hot-melt transfer type, depending on the configuration of the colored transfer layer.
Both types are capable of forming full-color images.For example, a yellow, magenta, cyan, or, if necessary, a black or three-color thermal transfer sheet is prepared, and each color is formed on the surface of the same thermal transfer image-receiving sheet. The full-color image is formed by superimposing and thermally transferring images.
Due to the development of various hardware and software related to multimedia, this thermal transfer method has been developed as a full color hard copy system for computer graphics, satellite communication still images and analog images such as digital images and videos represented by CDROM and others. Its market is expanding.

The specific application of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet by this thermal transfer method is wide-ranging. Typical examples are print proofs, image output, CAD / CAM
Design and output of design, etc., various medical analysis equipment such as CT scan and endoscope camera, output use of measurement equipment and as an alternative to instant photography, as well as identification cards, ID cards, credit cards, other cards Output such as a photograph of the face to a photographer, a composite photograph in an amusement facility such as an amusement park, a game center, a museum, and an aquarium, and a use as a commemorative photograph. Further, with the diversification of applications as described above, it can be attached to any object, for example, a receiving layer and a substrate on which an image is formed are separated from a release sheet via an adhesive layer. A heat transfer image receiving sheet of a possible configuration is used. This is a so-called label or seal type. This thermal transfer image-receiving sheet is used for forming a desired image on a receiving layer, peeling off a substrate having the receiving layer, and attaching the substrate to an arbitrary object.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show an example of a prior art thermal transfer image-receiving sheet used for the above applications.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. In the thermal transfer image receiving sheet 1 shown in FIG. 7, a thermal transfer sheet (not shown) is superimposed on the surface, and the thermal transfer sheet is heated imagewise from the back side by a thermal head or the like, so that the colored transfer layer of the thermal transfer sheet is thermally transferred. The image is transferred to a receiving layer of the sheet, and an arbitrary image 10 is formed on the surface of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet. As shown in FIG. 7, the thermal transfer image receiving sheet has half cuts 2 formed in a large number of areas in an arbitrary shape, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail. For example, images 10 are formed in the plurality of regions corresponding to the respective regions, and a plurality of images 10 are arranged on one image receiving sheet.

The half-cut 2 is formed by placing the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1 between the upper die having a cutter blade and the base.
And a method of moving the upper die up and down, or a cylinder type rotary cutter method. The image 10 formed in the area defined by the half cut 2, for example, a face photograph image, is peeled off from the release sheet 5 along with the adhesive layer 6 along the half cut 2 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the sealed portion 9 is attached to an arbitrary article 11, for example, a notebook, a notebook, a bag, and other articles. As described above, the conventional half-cut thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has a sealing portion 9 on which the receiving layer 8, the base material 7 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 are laminated, and the release sheet 5, which is a release surface of the release sheet 5. And the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer are in contact with each other and are superposed.

[0006]

In order to form an image using a thermal transfer image receiving sheet as in the prior art, the image receiving sheet is first conveyed into a thermal transfer printer, and the end of the image receiving sheet is detected by a detection sensor in the thermal transfer printer. Is detected. Since the half-cut position is stored in the printer in advance, the image is formed by moving the image-receiving sheet so that the half-cut processing section of the image-receiving sheet is located below the thermal head. However, various defects occurred in the half-cut processing part. Specifically, floating occurs in the half-cut processing part, and the seal part peels off from the floating part at the time of printing, and the adhesive sticks out of the seal part and sticks to the thermal transfer sheet There was a problem to do.

Therefore, to solve the above problem,
The present invention provides a heat transfer image-receiving sheet having at least a receiving layer, a seal portion composed of a base material and an adhesive layer, and a release sheet releasably bonded to the adhesive layer surface of the seal portion. Defects such as half-cutting, floating in the half-cut processing part, peeling of the seal part from the floating part during printing, and adhesive sticking out of the seal part and sticking to the thermal transfer sheet It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet capable of preventing the occurrence of heat transfer and a method for producing the same.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a sealing portion in which at least a receiving layer, a base material and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release sheet. In a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet in which a release surface of a sheet and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of a seal portion are releasably bonded, a half cut for peeling the seal portion is performed, and a groove width of the half cut is 25 μm to 60 μm. It is characterized by the following. Further, the shearing force of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is in accordance with JIS Z0237.
3, it is preferably 800 gf to 1600 gf.

[0009] Further, a seal portion in which at least a receiving layer, a base material, and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release sheet, and the release surface of the release sheet and the adhesive layer are releasably bonded. A method for manufacturing a thermal transfer image receiving sheet having a half cut for peeling off the seal portion, wherein the blade edge angle is 2
A half cut process is performed on the seal portion using a cutter blade having a blade angle of 5 ° to 50 ° and a blade edge length longer than the seal portion thickness. In all aspects of the present application, it is more preferable that the blade edge angle is 25 ° to 30 °. Further, in the method for producing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, the half-cut processing may be such that the half-cut groove width is 25 μm or more.
It is preferably in the range of 60 μm.

[0010]

According to the present invention, at least the seal portion in which the receiving layer, the base material, and the adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and the release sheet, and the release surface of the release sheet and the adhesive layer are releasably adhered. In the method for producing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet having a half cut for peeling off the seal portion, the blade edge angle is 2
By performing a half-cut process on the seal portion using a cutter blade having a blade edge length of 5 ° to 50 ° and longer than the seal portion thickness, the groove width of the half-cut is 25 μm to 60 μm
And As a result, it is possible to prevent defects such as floating of the half-cut processing part, peeling of the seal part from the floating part at the time of printing, and adhesion of the adhesive sticking out of the seal part and sticking to the thermal transfer sheet. Can be.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a half-cut portion of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet. At least the receiving layer 8, the base material 7, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 In the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1, which is composed of a seal part 9 and a release sheet 5 laminated in this order, and the release surface of the release sheet 5 and the adhesive layer 6 of the seal part 9 are releasably bonded. A half cut 2 for peeling off the seal portion 9 is provided, and the groove width 2a of the half cut 2 is 25 μm to 60 μm.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an example of a cutter blade used for half-cut processing of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention. The blade edge angle 3a is 25 ° to 50 ° and the blade edge length 3b is a seal portion. The half cutting process is performed on the seal portion 9 using the cutter blade 3 longer than the thickness 9a. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a method for manufacturing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention when a half-cut 2 is applied to the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1 with a cutter blade 3. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional method of manufacturing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet when a half-cut 2 is applied to the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1 with a cutter blade 3, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a thermal transfer image receiving sheet obtained by the manufacturing method of (1), in which a floating portion 4 is generated in a half-cut 2 processing portion, and a seal portion 9 is peeled off from the floating portion at the time of printing; May protrude from the seal portion 9 and adhere to the thermal transfer sheet, or other defects may occur.

(Release Sheet) The release sheet 5 used in the present invention is a material obtained by subjecting a surface of a conventionally known plastic film or poly-laminate paper to a release treatment with a known release agent such as silicone. For example, it can be obtained and used as Lumirror T-60 (thickness 50 μm) manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. or W-400 (thickness 38 μm) manufactured by Diafoil Co., Ltd. These release sheets 5 are 2
When the release sheet 5 is too thin, the so-called stiffness of the resulting thermal transfer image-receiving sheet is lost, so that the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet cannot be conveyed or the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has wrinkles. on the other hand,
If the release sheet 5 is too thick, the resulting thermal transfer image-receiving sheet will be too thick, and the driving force of the thermal transfer printer for driving will be too large, causing a failure in the printer or a failure in normal transport.

(Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Layer) The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 used in the present invention can be formed using any conventionally known solvent-based or water-based pressure-sensitive adhesive. As an adhesive,
For example, vinyl acetate resin, acrylic resin, vinyl acetate
Acrylic copolymer, vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride copolymer,
Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyurethane resin,
Natural rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber and the like can be mentioned. However, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 of the present invention has a shearing force of JIS.
800 gf to 1600 as measured by Z02373
gf is preferable, whereby the cohesive force of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 is increased, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive can be prevented from protruding from the half-cut processing portion, the edge of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet, or the like.

The shearing force measured according to JIS Z02373 is specifically a measurement for evaluating the resistance of a pressure-sensitive adhesive to a dynamic shearing force. As shown in FIG. 10, a pressure-sensitive adhesive is provided on a base material. SUS304 as an adhesive and adherend
The surface of a steel plate polished with a # 280 water-resistant abrasive
Crimping is performed with a 2 kg load rubber roller at 5% RH. However, the area to be crimped and attached is 25 cm × 25 cm. Next, the adherend is fixed under the condition of 23 ° C. and 65% RH, and the base material is pulled at a speed of 300 mm / min in a direction as shown in FIG. It is. In order for the shearing force to be within 800 gf to 1600 gf as measured according to JIS Z02373, various acrylic polymers such as polyacrylates are preferably used as the adhesive. Specifically, polymerization may be performed by giving a functional group such as a hydroxyl group or a carboxyl group to the terminal of the acrylic polymer.

When the shearing force is less than 800 gf as measured according to JIS Z02373, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from protruding from the half-cut processing section or the like. However, the sealing section is peeled off from the release sheet and is attached to any article. Adhesive strength at the time of wearing is low, and it is easy to peel off. In addition, the shear force is JI
If it exceeds 1600 gf as measured by SZ02373, the adhesive strength when adhering to any article is high, but the adhesive tends to protrude from the half-cut processing section or the like. The coating amount of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6 is generally about 8 to 30 g / m ² (solid content), and is released by a conventionally known method, that is, a method such as gravure coating, gravure reverse coating, or roll coating. It is applied on a sheet and dried to form an adhesive layer 6.

(Substrate) As the substrate 7 in the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention, a conventionally known substrate may be used. For example, Toyopearl SS P4255 (thickness 35 μm) manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd., MW manufactured by Mobile Plastic Europe Ltd.
Polypropylene film having microvoids (fine pores) inside a base material such as 247 (thickness 35 μm), W-900 (50 μm) manufactured by Diafoil Co., and E-60 (50 μm) manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. A polyethylene terephthalate film having microvoids is preferably used. Further, in an example of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substrate 7 is in contact with the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 6, in contact with the resin film having no microvoids therein and the receiving layer 8, and is formed with microvoids therein. It is composed of a laminate with a resin film. By doing this,
The image to be formed, in particular, by improving the color density of the high density portion, it is possible to form a high quality image, and when peeling the seal portion from the release sheet, the base material of the above-mentioned laminate is The generation of wrinkles can be prevented.

In the above description, useful resin films having no microvoids therein are films having no microvoids, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, and polypropylene, and any conventionally known resin films having no microvoids may be used. It can be used in the invention, and its thickness is preferably in the range of about 10 to 100 μm. If the film thickness is too thin, there is no so-called stiffness,
In the obtained thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, curl due to thermal shrinkage occurs at the time of image formation with a thermal head or the like. On the other hand, when the sheet is too thick, curl due to heat setting tends to occur at the time of image formation with a thermal head or the like. As a preferable example, for example, Lumirror T-6 manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.
0 (thickness: 38 μm). In addition, as a useful resin film having microvoids therein, a resin film having a conventionally known microvoid such as a polypropylene film or a polyethylene terephthalate film can be used.In particular, a polypropylene film has excellent cushioning properties and heat insulating properties, By pressure contact with the head,
This is preferable because the dye can be uniformly and efficiently transferred to the receptor layer. The thickness of these films is preferably about 30 to 100 μm. Preferable examples include Toyopearl P4255 (thickness 35 μm) and Toyopearl P4256 (thickness 60 μm) manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.

As a method of laminating the resin film having no microvoids and the resin film having microvoids, a known lamination method such as dry lamination, non-solvent (hot melt) lamination, and EC lamination method is used. Although possible, preferred methods are dry lamination and non-solvent lamination methods. Examples of an adhesive suitable for the non-solvent lamination method include Takenate A-720L manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and examples of an adhesive suitable for dry lamination include Takelac A969 manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. / Takenate A
-5 (3/1) and the like. The amount of these adhesives to be used is about 1 to 8 g / m ^{2 in} solid content, preferably ^{2 to} 8 g / m ² .
６6 g / m ² .

(Receiving Layer) The receiving layer 8 formed on the substrate can be formed directly on the substrate or via a primer layer. The configuration of the receiving layer 8 is different depending on each recording method of the thermal fusion transfer recording and the sublimation transfer recording. Further, in the thermal fusion transfer recording, the colored transfer layer can be thermally transferred directly from the thermal transfer sheet to the substrate without providing the receiving layer. The receiving layer of the heat-melt transfer recording and the sublimation transfer recording has a function of receiving a color material transferred from the heat transfer sheet by heating, and particularly, in the case of a sublimable dye, receives the colorant and simultaneously develops the color. It is desired that the dye once received is not resublimated.

The receiving layer 8 is generally composed mainly of a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the material for forming the receiving layer include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer, halogenated polymers such as polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, and polyacryl. Examples include polyester resins such as esters, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymer resins of olefins such as ethylene and propylene with other vinyl monomers, ionomers, cellulose resins such as cellulose diacetate, and polycarbonate resins. Particularly preferred among them are polyester resins, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

In sublimation transfer recording, a release agent is added to the receiving layer in order to prevent fusion of the thermal transfer sheet having the colored transfer layer with the receiving layer of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet or a decrease in printing sensitivity. Can be mixed. Preferred release agents used by mixing are silicone oil,
Phosphate-based surfactants, fluorine-based surfactants and the like can be mentioned, and among them, silicone oil is desirable. As the silicone oil, modified silicone oils such as epoxy-modified, vinyl-modified, alkyl-modified, amino-modified, carboxyl-modified, alcohol-modified, fluorine-modified, alkylaralkyl-polyether-modified, epoxy-polyether-modified, and polyether-modified are preferable.

One or more release agents are used. Further, the amount of the release agent to be added is as follows.
0.5 to 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight is preferred. If the addition amount range is not satisfied, problems such as fusion between the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the receptor layer of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet or reduction in printing sensitivity may occur. By adding such a release agent to the receptor layer, the release agent bleeds out on the surface of the receptor layer after the transfer to form a release layer. Further, these release agents may be separately coated on the receiving layer without being added to the receiving layer. The receiving layer is formed by dissolving a resin as described above on a base material and necessary additives such as a release agent in a suitable organic solvent, or dispersing a dispersion in an organic solvent or water. It is formed by coating and drying by a coating method. In forming the receiving layer, a white pigment, a fluorescent whitening agent, or the like can be added for the purpose of improving the whiteness of the receiving layer to further enhance the sharpness of a transferred image. The receiving layer formed as described above may have any thickness, but generally has a thickness of 1 to 50 μm in a dry state.

Further, such a receiving layer is preferably a continuous coating, but may be formed as a discontinuous coating using a resin emulsion or a water-soluble resin or a resin dispersion. Further, an antistatic agent may be coated on the receiving layer in order to stabilize the transfer of the thermal transfer printer. Furthermore,
An appropriate slip layer (not shown) can be provided on the surface of the release sheet opposite to the receiving layer in order to prevent double feed during feeding of the thermal transfer printer. As the slip layer, butyral resin, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polyvinylidene chloride, polyester, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polycarbonate, polyvinyl acetate, etc. alone or blended, various fine particles and silicone etc. Those to which a lubricant has been added can be used.

The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention comprises a seal portion in which at least a receiving layer, a base material, and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release sheet, wherein the release surface of the release sheet and the adhesive layer are formed. The antistatic layer may be provided on the receiving layer surface or the back surface of the image receiving sheet, or on the outermost surface of both surfaces. The antistatic layer is an antistatic agent,
Fatty acid esters, sulfates, phosphates, amides, quaternary ammonium salts, betaines, amino acids,
It can be formed by applying a material obtained by dissolving or dispersing an acrylic resin, an ethylene oxide adduct, or the like in a solvent. The forming means may be the same as the above-described receiving layer. The coating amount of the antistatic layer is 0.001 when dried.
-0.1 g / m < ² > is preferable.

An intermediate layer composed of various resins can be provided between the base material of the image receiving sheet and the receiving layer. By giving the intermediate layer various functions, an excellent function can be added to the image receiving sheet. For example, by using a resin having a large elastic deformation or plastic deformation as a resin to impart cushioning property, for example, a polyolefin resin, a vinyl copolymer resin, a polyurethane resin, a polyamide resin, or the like, the printing sensitivity of the image receiving sheet is increased. It is possible to improve the image quality and prevent image roughness. Further, in order to impart an antistatic ability to the intermediate layer, the above antistatic agent is added to the resin for imparting the cushioning property, and a solution obtained by dissolving or dispersing in a solvent is applied to the intermediate layer. Can be formed.

(Half Cut) The heat transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention has been subjected to half-cut 2 processing except for the release sheet. The method of forming the half cut is a method capable of half cutting, such as a method of inserting a thermal transfer image receiving sheet between an upper mold having a cutter blade and a pedestal and moving the upper mold up and down, and a cylinder type rotary cutter method. If there is no particular limitation, using a cutter blade,
It is preferable to form a half cut in an arbitrary shape and depth. The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention has a half cut for peeling off the seal portion, and the groove width of the half cut falls within a range of 25 μm to 60 μm.

The groove width of the above-mentioned half-cut can be obtained by using a cutter blade to be subjected to the half-cut treatment with the following specified one. That is, a half-cut process is performed on the seal portion using a cutter blade having a blade angle of 25 ° to 50 ° and a blade length longer than the thickness of the seal portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent defects such as floating of the half-cut processing part, peeling of the seal part from the floating part at the time of printing, and adhesion of the adhesive sticking out of the seal part and sticking to the thermal transfer sheet. Can be. The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention is provided with a half cut for peeling off the seal portion, and the half cut may be provided with a large number of squares as shown in FIG. 7 or may have an arbitrary shape. Yes, but not limited.

(Manufacturing method) The manufacturing method of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention comprises a sealing portion in which at least a receiving layer, a base material and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release sheet. In a method for producing a heat transfer image-receiving sheet having a mold surface and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer releasably bonded to each other and having a half-cut for peeling off the seal portion, the blade edge angle is 25 ° to 5 °.
A half cut process is performed on the seal portion by using a cutter blade having a blade edge length of 0 ° and a blade length longer than the thickness of the seal portion. When a blade having a blade angle of less than 25 ° is used, the blade is liable to be worn, the blade is spilled quickly, and it is necessary to frequently replace the cutter blade. Further, when the blade is thin, the blade is easily chipped. on the other hand,
If the cutting edge angle exceeds 50 °, the groove width of the half cut is widened, and the seal part peels off during printing, and the adhesive sticks out of the groove and sticks to the thermal transfer sheet. Is not preferred because

Further, the cutter blade for performing the half-cut,
If the blade edge length is shorter than the seal portion thickness, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the blade edge enters the thermal transfer image receiving sheet 1, and when the blade 3 is pulled out, floating 4 occurs at the end of the seal portion 9. . Further, an image cannot be formed on the floating portion, resulting in an image drop. When printing is performed on such a thermal transfer image receiving sheet, the pressure of the thermal head peels off the seal portion from the half-cut portion at the time of printing, which causes a running failure in the printer. As the cutter blade is used, the blade edge is sharpened and the blade length becomes shorter,
It is preferable to use a cutter blade having a blade edge slightly longer than the thickness of the seal portion in advance, assuming that the blade becomes shorter. In the half-cut processing, it is preferable that the groove width of the half-cut is in a range of 25 μm to 60 μm. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, the width 3c of the blade edge of the cutter blade 3 is preferably in the range of 25 μm to 60 μm.

As the cutter blade used in the present invention, either a single blade as shown in FIG. 6 or a double blade as shown in FIG. 2 can be used. When a single-edged cutter blade is used, as shown in FIG. 6, the blade base 3d of the blade 3 is located inside the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1, in other words, the blade edge 3e of the blade 3 is located at the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 1. Half cut 2 is performed so as to be outside. That is, when pulling out the blade, blade 3
Float 4 occurs in the seal portion 9 near the cutting edge 3e of
This is because it is easy to peel off. When a single-edged cutter is used, it is particularly preferable that the cutting edge angle is 25 ° to 45 °. Further, the length of the blade edge of the single blade is longer than the thickness of the seal portion, as in the case of the double blade.

The method for forming an image on the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention formed as described above may be a conventionally known sublimation-type thermal transfer system or a hot-melt-type thermal transfer system. For example, three colors of yellow, cyan and magenta may be used. A desired full-color image is formed on the receiving layer of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet by using a thermal transfer printer of a known thermal head type using a thermal transfer sheet having a colored transfer layer in a plane-sequential manner. Next, the seal part including the image-formed receiving layer and also including the base material and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer can be peeled off from the release sheet and attached to any article.

[0033]

The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples and comparative examples. It should be noted that “part” or “%” in the text is based on weight. (Example 1) First, a primer layer coating solution having the following composition was applied to one surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film (trade name: Lumirror E63 # 50, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc., having a thickness of 50 μm) having a microvoid inside as a base material. Coating and drying were performed at a solid content of 1.0 g / m ² to form a primer layer. Furthermore, on the primer layer,
The coating liquid for the receiving layer having the following composition was 4.0 g / m ^{2 in} solid content.
, And coated and dried to form a receiving layer.

Composition of coating liquid for primer layer Urethane resin (DP Urethane, manufactured by Showa Ink Industries, Ltd.) 60 parts Curing agent (Nippon Polyurethane Industry, Coronate 2030) 1 part Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1) 20 parts

Composition of coating liquid for receptor layer 40 parts vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer (# 1000A, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) Polyester resin (Vylon 600, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) 40 parts vinyl chloride / styrene / Acrylic copolymer 20 parts (Denkalac # 400A, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) Vinyl-modified silicone 10 parts (X-62-1212 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) Catalyst (CAT-PLR-5 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 5 parts Catalyst (CAT-PL-50T manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 6 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1) 400 parts

Next, a pressure-sensitive adhesive having the following composition was applied to the surface of the polyethylene terephthalate film having microvoids on which the receiving layer was not formed, at a solid content of 10 g / m ^2.
And dried by heating at a temperature of 70 ° C. for 1 minute to form an adhesive layer. In addition, the shear force of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of Example 1 was 10 k as measured by JIS Z02373.
g. Coating Formulation acrylic copolymer 48 parts of pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (Soken Chemical & Engineering Co., Ltd. SK Dyne 1310L) epoxy resin (manufactured by Soken Chemical & Engineering Co., Ltd. curing agent E-AX) 51.64 parts 0.36 parts of ethyl acetate

Separately, a biaxially oriented polypropylene film having a surface corona treatment as a release sheet (Crisper G1 (trade name))
212, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd., having a thickness of 100 μm) was subjected to a mold release treatment using KS-847H manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., and the surface of the laminate was laminated with the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer faced. Then, a quaternary ammonium salt compound (manufactured by Matsumoto Yushi Seiyaku Co., Ltd., 1/1000 dilution of TB-34) was applied as an antistatic agent to the surface of the receiving layer, and further arranged in the manner shown in FIG. A half-cut for peeling was formed by a pressing method of an upper die and a pedestal having cutter blades attached to the seal portion under the following conditions, and a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 1 was produced. The thickness of the seal portion of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 1 was 65 μm. Cutter blade thickness 0.71 mm, blade angle 42 °, blade length 0.
9mm double-edged

Example 2 A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 2 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the cutter blade used in Example 1 was changed to the one under the following conditions. Incidentally, the thickness of the seal portion of the thermal transfer image receiving sheet of Example 2 is 65 μm. Cutter blade thickness 0.71 mm, blade angle 50 °, blade length 0.
8mm double-edged

Comparative Example 1 A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Comparative Example 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the cutter blade used in Example 1 was changed to the one under the following conditions. The thickness of the seal portion of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Comparative Example 1 was 65 μm. Cutter blade thickness 0.71mm, blade angle 60 °, blade length 0.
6mm double blade

Using the thermal transfer image-receiving sheets of the above Examples and Comparative Examples, images were formed by thermal transfer under the following conditions. A thermal transfer sheet (manufactured by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.) having a dye layer, which is a color transfer layer of three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and each of the above thermal transfer image-receiving sheets, Are superposed on each other, and recording is performed by a thermal transfer printer using a thermal head from the back surface of the thermal transfer sheet under the conditions of a head applied voltage of 12.0 V, a pulse width of 16 msec, a printing cycle of 33.3 msec, and a dot density of 6 dots / line. A full color facial photograph image was formed in the receiving layer of the sheet. As shown in FIG. 7, an image 11 of each face photograph was placed on the thermal transfer image receiving sheet.
Is printed under the condition that an area surrounded by the half cut 2 is included in.

(Evaluation Results) The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 1 is composed of a seal portion in which at least a receiving layer, a base material, and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release sheet, and the release surface of the release sheet. And a heat transfer image receiving sheet in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of the seal portion is releasably bonded, the seal portion is subjected to a half cut for peeling, and the groove width of the half cut is 50 μm.
m. Similarly, the half-cut groove width of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 2 was 60 μm. In the thermal transfer image receiving sheet of the example, floating occurs in the half-cut processing portion, the seal portion is peeled off from the floating portion at the time of printing, or the adhesive protrudes from the seal portion, and sticks to the thermal transfer sheet. No failure occurred. On the other hand, the groove width of the half-cut of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Comparative Example 1 was 75 μm, and the half-cut processing portion was floated, and the seal portion was peeled off from the floated portion during printing. Further, there was a case where the pressure-sensitive adhesive protruded from the seal portion and stuck to the thermal transfer sheet.

[0042]

As described above, in the present invention, at least the receiving layer, the base material, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer are laminated in this order, the seal portion and the release sheet, and the release surface of the release sheet and the pressure-sensitive adhesive. In a method for manufacturing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, in which a layer is peelably bonded and a half-cut for peeling off the seal portion is performed, a cutter having a blade edge angle of 25 ° to 50 ° and a blade edge length longer than the thickness of the seal portion. By applying a half-cut process to the seal portion using a blade, a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet having a groove width of the half-cut of 25 μm to 60 μm can be obtained.
As a result, it is possible to prevent defects such as floating of the half-cut processing part, peeling of the seal part from the floating part at the time of printing, and adhesion of the adhesive sticking out of the seal part and sticking to the thermal transfer sheet. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one embodiment of a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention, and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a half-cut portion of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an example of a cutter blade used for half-cut processing of a thermal transfer image receiving sheet of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a thermal transfer image receiving sheet of the present invention when a half cut is performed on the thermal transfer image receiving sheet with a cutter blade.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional method for manufacturing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet when a half-cut is performed on the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet with a cutter blade.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a thermal transfer image receiving sheet obtained by a conventional thermal transfer image receiving sheet manufacturing method.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an example of a cutter blade used for a half-cut process.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a thermal transfer image receiving sheet on which a thermal transfer image has been formed by applying a half-cut for peeling off a seal portion.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the peeled seal portion is attached to another article.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the measurement of shear force according to JIS Z02373.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 2 Half cut 2a Groove width 3 Cutter blade 3a Blade angle 3b Blade length 3c Blade width 3d Blade 3e Blade 4 Floating 5 Release sheet 6 Adhesive layer 7 Base material 8 Receptive layer 9 Seal part 9a Seal Part thickness 10 Image 11 Article

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H111 AA01 CA03 CA05 CA12 CA41 CA44 DA00 4J004 AA04 AA05 AA06 AA07 AA09 AA10 AA14 AB01 CA04 CA06 CC02 CC03 CC07 CC08 CD05 CD06 CE03 DB02 FA01 GA01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A release section comprising at least a seal portion in which a receiving layer, a base material, and an adhesive layer are laminated in this order, and a release surface of the release sheet and the adhesive layer of the seal portion are peelable. A heat transfer image-receiving sheet, characterized in that the bonded thermal transfer image-receiving sheet is subjected to a half cut for peeling off the seal portion, and the groove width of the half cut is 25 μm to 60 μm. 2. The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer according to claim 2, wherein said adhesive layer has a shearing force of JIS Z.
800gf to 1600gf as measured by 02373
The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein 3. A seal comprising at least a receiving layer, a base material and an adhesive layer laminated in this order, and a release sheet, wherein the release surface of the release sheet and the adhesive layer are releasably bonded. ,
In the method for producing a heat-transfer image-receiving sheet having been subjected to half-cut for peeling off the seal portion, the blade edge angle may be 25 ° or more.
A method for producing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, wherein a half-cut process is performed on a seal portion using a cutter blade having a blade angle of 50 ° and a blade edge length longer than the seal portion thickness. 4. The method for producing a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 3, wherein in the half-cut processing, a groove width of the half-cut is in a range of 25 μm to 60 μm.