JP2001130146A - Image transfer material and method for forming image transfer material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it difficult to alter an image when an image protecting layer is peeled off. SOLUTION: An image protecting layer is formed on printing paper having an ink image formed thereon. The ink image on the printing paper is peeled off discontinuously when the image protecting layer is peeled off.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image transfer member on which an ink image is formed and a method for forming the image transfer member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image formation by a thermal transfer method has been widely used, and its uses are extremely wide-ranging in the field of amusement, the medical field, and identification cards such as ID cards and passports. In this thermal transfer method, an ink layer of a thermal transfer sheet is superimposed on an object to be transferred such as photographic paper, and heated in a dot-like manner by a thermal head or the like according to an image signal. As a result, the dye in the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet is transferred to the dye receiving layer of the transfer object, and a full-color image of a large number of color dots appears on the transfer object.
In particular, for an image formed by a sublimation-type thermal transfer method using a sublimable or heat-diffusable dye, the image is used for the purpose of imparting plasticizer resistance, rub resistance, sebum resistance, and the like to the image. A method of laminating an image protective layer thereon has conventionally been employed.

[0003] Identification cards such as an ID card and a passport contain information such as a photograph of a face that identifies the owner. Third parties can easily confirm that the presenter of the ID card is the same person as the holder of the ID card by visually comparing the photograph of the face with the presenter of the ID card. . That is, the identification card or the like with a photo of the face prevents unauthorized use of the card by another person.

An image formed by a sublimation type thermal transfer system using a sublimable or heat diffusible dye as described above is
For example, when applied to a face photograph such as an identification card, a laminate film is further heat-sealed on the image protective layer. That is, for example, when forming an image on an identification card by a sublimation type thermal transfer method, an ink image is formed on a receiving layer of photographic paper composed of a base material and a receiving layer, and an image protective layer is formed so as to cover the ink image. Is formed, and a laminate film is formed on the image protective layer.

It is known that when a laminate film is formed on a silver halide photograph and the laminate film is peeled off, the image of the silver halide photograph is destroyed at random.

[0006]

However, when the laminated film of the identification card having the above structure is peeled off, the formed image is completely peeled off together with the laminated film or remains completely on the photographic paper. Or one of the states. In the former state, the image is exposed between the receiving layer and the image protection layer of the photographic paper, so that the formed image is exposed and easily falsified for the purpose of unauthorized use. Further, in the latter state, the image is completely removed from the photographic paper, so that the image can be replaced with an arbitrary image for the purpose of unauthorized use. That is, since the peeling pattern is uniform in both peeling states,
There has been a problem that the image is easily falsified and easily illegitimately used.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and an image transfer body and a method of forming an image transfer body in which it is difficult to falsify an image when an image protection layer is peeled off. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an image transfer member according to the present invention comprises an image protection layer formed on a printing paper on which an ink image is formed, and the image protection layer is peeled off. In this case, the ink image on the photographic printing paper is peeled off discontinuously.

In the image transfer body according to the present invention having the above-described structure, when the image protective layer is peeled, the ink image is peeled discontinuously, and the ink image is broken discontinuously.

In the method of forming an image transfer member according to the present invention, an ink image is formed on a photographic paper when forming an image transfer member having an image protection layer formed on the photographic paper having an ink image formed thereon. Thereafter, the image protective layer is selectively heated and thermally transferred to form an image protective layer over the ink image.

In the method for forming an image transfer member according to the present invention, the adhesive strength of the image protective layer to the printing paper is partially changed by selectively heating the image protective layer.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of an image transfer body according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image transfer body according to the present invention has a photographic paper 2 on which an ink image 1 is formed, and an image protection layer 3. That is, in this image transfer body, the ink image 1 is formed on the printing paper 2, and the image protection layer 3 is formed on the printing paper 2 so as to cover the ink image 1.

The photographic paper 2 is composed of, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a base material 4 and a receiving layer 5 on which the ink image 1 is formed. The printing paper 2 is superposed with the receiving layer 5 facing the ink ribbon, and is supplied to, for example, a thermal printer. In a thermal printer, an ink ribbon is selectively applied with heat by a thermal head based on print information. Thereby, the dye of the ink ribbon is transferred to the receiving layer 5, and the ink image 1 is formed on the receiving layer 5.

As the material used for the base material 4, any conventionally known base material used for the photographic paper 2 can be used. Specific examples of the substrate 4 include synthetic paper, high-quality paper, funnel paper, coated paper, cast roll paper, cellulose fiber paper, or various plastic films such as polyethylene terephthalate, polymethacrylate, and polyolefin, and plastic sheets. Further, as the base material 4, a white opaque film or a foam sheet to which a white pigment or the like is added can be used. Further, the substrate 4
It may be constituted by a laminate of these materials.

The receiving layer 5 can be constituted in the same manner as a conventionally known receiving layer used for the photographic paper 2.

The receiving layer 5 is formed of a resin such as a thermoplastic resin. Specific thermoplastic resins include polyester resins, polycarbonate resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, polyvinyl chloride polymers such as polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers and vinyl chloride-acrylic copolymers, polyvinyl acetal resins, polyvinyl butyral Resin, polyamide resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyurethane resin,
Polystyrene resin, styrene acrylate resin and the like can be mentioned. Further, acrylonitrile-styrene (AS resin), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS resin), cellulose resin, cellulose ester resin, polyvinyl alcohol, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (NB
Rubber-based resins such as R) and acrylic resins can also be used.

In addition to the above-mentioned thermoplastic resin, a thermosetting resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, an electron beam curable resin, or the like can be used for the receiving layer 5. Specific thermosetting resins include phenolic resins, unsaturated polyester resins, melamine resins, urea resins, and the like.

Further, the receiving layer 5 may contain conventionally known additives such as a fluorescent whitening agent, a release agent, an antistatic agent, an ultraviolet absorber and an antioxidant.

The ink image 1 is formed by heating an ink ribbon, which will be described later, by a thermal head and transferring the dye to the receiving layer 5 of the printing paper 2.

An image protection layer 3 is formed on the photographic paper 2 so as to cover the ink image 1.

As the image protection layer 3, a conventionally known image protection material can be used. For example, examples of the image protective layer 3 include those formed from a thermoplastic resin such as a polyester-based resin or a cellulose ester-based resin. In particular, it is preferable to use a material from which the ink forming the image does not exude. Further, an ultraviolet absorber, a light stabilizer, an antioxidant and the like may be added to the image protective layer 3 in order to enhance the storability of the image. The image protection layer 3 is made up of a base film 6 and an image protection layer 3 as shown in FIG.
Is formed by thermally transferring a transfer type image protection film 7 composed of The transfer type image protection film 7 forms the image protection layer 3 on the ink image 1 formed on the printing paper 2 by peeling the image protection layer 3 from the base film 6. By transferring the image protection layer 3 onto the photographic paper 2, a transparent image protection layer 3 is formed on the ink image 1, and the ink image 1 can be protected. As a result, the ink image 1 is provided with plasticizer resistance, friction resistance, sebum resistance, and the like.

If the transfer type image protection film 7 is formed as a part of an ink ribbon, the formation of the ink image 1 and the formation of the image protection layer 3 can be performed continuously in a thermal printer. The ink ribbon may be either for sublimation type thermal transfer recording or for hot-melt type thermal transfer recording,
Each can be configured in the same manner as a conventionally known ink ribbon. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example, the ink ribbon includes a sheet-shaped base material 8, a yellow layer 9Y, a magenta layer 9M, and a cyan layer 9 formed in a predetermined region on one main surface of the sheet-shaped base material 8. Ink layer region 9 composed of layer 9C
And an image protection layer region 10 formed as a transfer-type image protection film 7, and a sensor mark 11 disposed between the yellow layer 9Y, the magenta layer 9M, the cyan layer 9C, and the image protection layer region 10. ing.

The ink layer region 9 is made of a cellulose resin such as ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, or cellulose acetate; a polyvinyl resin such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetoacetal, polyvinyl acetate, or polystyrene; It is composed of a dispersion of a sublimable or thermally diffusible dye in various urethane resins.

The ink layer area 9 of the ink ribbon is
As shown in FIG. 4, the various ink layers of the yellow layer 9Y, the magenta layer 9M, and the cyan layer 9C may be formed in a plane-sequential manner, or may be formed from any single color.

The ink ribbon includes an ink layer region 9.
A heat transferable ink receiving layer may be further formed on the main surface having. Such an ink receiving layer is preferably formed of a thermoplastic resin having good dyeing properties, such as a polyester resin, a cellulose ester resin, a polycarbonate resin, and a polyvinyl chloride resin. By forming an ink receiving layer on the ink ribbon, when an image is formed by a sublimation type thermal transfer method, an image can be favorably formed on the printing paper 2 on which the receiving layer 5 is not formed.

In a thermal printer, the yellow ribbon 9Y and the magenta layer 9M in the ink layer area 9 are used for the ink ribbon.
And the cyan layer 9C are sequentially heated by the thermal head based on the print information. As a result, each color dye in the ink layer region 9 is melted or sublimated at a predetermined concentration, and an ink image 1 having a continuous gradation is formed on the receiving layer 5 of the printing paper 2.

Then, following the formation of the ink image 1, the thermal head operates the image protection layer region 1 of the ink ribbon.
By heating 0, the image protection layer 3 is formed on the ink image 1.

In the conventional image transfer body, when the image protective layer 3 is intentionally peeled off, as shown in FIG.
Of the interface between the image receiving layer 5 and the image protective layer 3 of the photographic paper 2 (hereinafter referred to as the interface B). Peels off uniformly on either side. For this reason, the entire ink image 1 is completely peeled off from the photographic paper 2 together with the receiving layer 5, or the entire ink image 1 is exposed in a state of being completely stored on the photographic paper 2, so that unauthorized use is not possible. It was easy to falsify the resulting image.

However, in the image transfer body of the present invention,
In one screen, the part peeled off at the boundary surface A and the boundary surface B
And the part to be peeled off is mixed. That is, at the portion where the ink image 1 is formed at the boundary A, the receiving layer 5 on which the ink image 1 is formed is separated from the base material 4 together with the image protection layer 3, so that the ink image 1 is separated from the printing paper 2. In addition, in the portion that is separated at the boundary surface B, the ink image 1
The ink image 1 remains on the photographic paper 2 because the receiving layer 5 on which is formed remains with the substrate 4.

Thus, when the image protection layer 3 is peeled off, the ink image 1 is in a state of being discontinuously peeled off. Therefore, the original ink image 1 is completely destroyed, and falsification for the purpose of unauthorized use can be prevented.

As a means for generating the discontinuous peeling state of the ink image 1 as described above, for example, there is a method of making the adhesive strength of the image protective layer 3 to the photographic paper 2 non-uniform.

In order to make the adhesive strength of the image protective layer 3 non-uniform, for example, as will be described in detail later, when the image protective layer 3 is formed, the area of the image protective layer 3 of the ink ribbon is selectively heated. Method. In particular, a method of selectively heating the image protection layer 3 by controlling the energization of the thermal head is simple because an existing system can be used.

In the image transfer body having the above-described structure, a laminate film 12 may be further formed on the image protection layer 3 as shown in FIG. When the laminate film 12 is peeled off, the image protective layer 3 can be discontinuously peeled off as described above, and the ink image 1 can be destroyed.

As described above, in this image transfer body, by appropriately adjusting the adhesive strength of the image protective layer 3, when the image protective layer 3 is peeled, the state of peeling of the ink image 1 becomes discontinuous. Image 1 is completely destroyed. Therefore, this image transfer body makes it difficult to falsify the ink image 1 for the purpose of unauthorized use, and can be applied to an identification card or the like as a highly reliable image transfer body.

In the method for forming an image transfer body according to the present invention, first, an ink image 1 is formed on a printing paper 2.

In this method, the yellow layer 9Y, the magenta layer 9M and the cyan layer 9C of the ink layer area 9 of the ink ribbon of the ink image 1 are sequentially heated by a thermal head in a thermal printer based on print information. Thereby, each color dye migrates to the receiving layer 5 and is formed on the receiving layer 5 of the photographic paper 2.

Next, the image protection layer area 10 of the ink ribbon
Is selectively heated and thermally transferred to form an image protection layer 3 covering the ink image 1.

In the conventional method, since the image protection layer region 10 on the ink ribbon is heated substantially uniformly, the adhesive strength of the image protection layer 3 to the photographic paper 2 is substantially uniform in one screen.

However, in this method, the image protection layer region 10 on the ink ribbon is selectively heated by the thermal head, and the amount of heat applied is partially changed arbitrarily. In particular, as a specific means for selectively heating the image protection layer region 10, there is a method of controlling the energization of the thermal head. By controlling the energization of the thermal head, it is possible to arbitrarily set the heating pattern and the amount of heat to be applied.

As described above, by selectively heating the image protection layer region 10, the image protection layer 3
Can be formed in any pattern.
Specifically, by controlling the energization of the thermal head, the adhesive strength at the boundary surface B between the receiving layer 5 and the image protection layer 3 is changed for each part. That is, as shown in FIG.
One screen includes a bonding strength portion 13 where the bonding strength of the boundary surface B is larger than the bonding strength of the boundary surface A and a bonding strength weak portion 14 where the bonding strength of the boundary surface B is smaller than the bonding strength of the boundary surface A. Mixed within. The adhesive strength part 13 is obtained by heating the image protection layer region 10 by controlling the energization of the thermal head. Further, the adhesive strength weak portion 14 controls the energization of the thermal head so that the image protection layer region 1 is formed.
Obtained by heating 0 slightly.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is peeled off, the boundary surface A
The receiving layer 5 on which the ink image 1 is formed is peeled off from the base material 4 of the photographic paper 2 together with the image protective layer 3. That is, the ink image 1 is peeled off from the photographic paper 2 in the strong adhesive strength portion 13.

On the other hand, the receiving layer 5 on which the ink image 1 is formed remains together with the base material 4 of the photographic paper 2 because the ink layer 1 is peeled off at the boundary surface B in the weak adhesive strength portion 14. That is, the ink image 1 remains on the printing paper 2 in the weak adhesive strength portion 14.

As described above, when the image protective layer 3 is peeled off, the ink image 1 has a high adhesive strength portion 1 within one screen.
Only the portion designated as 3 is peeled off, and the ink image 1 is completely destroyed. Therefore, according to the present method, it is possible to easily and inexpensively form an image transfer body in which image falsification is difficult using an existing thermal printer.

[0045]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described.

First, an ink image was formed on a printing paper by thermally transferring the ink layer area of the ink ribbon with a thermal head of a thermal printer. Subsequently, by thermally transferring the image protection layer area of the ink ribbon with a thermal head, so as to cover the ink image,
An image protection layer was formed on photographic paper. In forming the image protective layer, the ink ribbon was heated stepwise by a thermal head to give a strong or weak adhesive strength to the photographic paper.

Thermal printer: UP-88 made by Sony
00 Ink ribbon: UPC-8840A made by Sony (Material of image protective layer: cellulose acetate butyrate and PMM
(Two-Layer Structure of Resin A) Next, a laminate film was further heat-sealed on the image protective layer with a laminator to produce an image transfer body.

Laminator: MS Pouch H manufactured by MS Shokai
-320Z Laminate film: MS Pouch Film MP10-100146 manufactured by MS Shokai With respect to the image transfer body produced as described above, the laminate film was peeled off, and the destruction state of the ink image was visually compared. In the weak portion, the ink image was peeled off between the photographic paper receiving layer and the image protective layer, and the ink image remained on the photographic paper.

On the other hand, in the portion where the adhesive strength was strong, the ink was peeled off from the printing paper base material and the printing paper receiving layer, and the ink image was peeled off from the printing paper.

As described above, by adjusting the heating of the image protective layer area by the thermal head, when the image protective layer was peeled off, the ink image of this image transfer member was broken by two peeled states. .

[0051]

As is clear from the above description, the image transfer body according to the present invention imparts a tamper-preventing ability by discontinuously destroying the ink image when the image protective layer is peeled off. Will be done. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image transfer body that can be applied to an identification card or the like for which falsification prevention is indispensable.

As is clear from the above description,
In the method for forming an image transfer body according to the present invention, the adhesive strength of the image protection layer to the photographic paper is partially changed by selectively heating the image protection layer. Therefore, according to the present method, an image transfer body provided with a
It can be easily formed using an existing thermal printer or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a main part of an image transfer body according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of photographic paper constituting an image transfer body.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a transfer-type image protection film.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ink ribbon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ink ribbon.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a main part of an image transfer body according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an image transfer body having a laminate film.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the adhesive strength of an image protective layer of the image transfer body according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which an image protective layer of the image transfer body shown in FIG. 8 has been peeled off.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink image, 2 photographic paper, 3 image protection layer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C005 HA05 HB02 JB04 JC03 KA06 KA26 KA40 KA45 LA02 LA03 LA11 LA26 LB08 2H111 AA07 AA33 2H113 AA01 AA04 AA06 BA23 BC06 CA39 FA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] An image characterized in that an image protection layer is formed on a photographic paper on which an ink image has been formed, and the ink image on the photographic paper is peeled off discontinuously when the image protection layer is peeled off. Transcript. 2. The printing paper according to claim 1, wherein the printing paper has a receiving layer on which an ink image is formed, and the receiving layer is discontinuously peeled off when the image protective layer is peeled off. Image transfer body. 3. The image transfer body according to claim 1, wherein the image protective layer has an uneven adhesive strength to the photographic paper. 4. The image transfer body according to claim 1, wherein a laminate film is further laminated on the image protection layer. 5. The image transfer body according to claim 4, wherein the ink image on the photographic paper is discontinuously peeled off when the laminate film is peeled off. 6. When forming an image transfer member having an image protection layer formed on a photographic paper on which an ink image has been formed, after forming the ink image on the photographic paper, the image protection layer is selectively heated. A method for forming an image transfer body, comprising thermally transferring and forming an image protective layer covering an ink image. 7. The method for forming an image transfer body according to claim 6, wherein the selective heating of the image protective layer is performed by controlling the energization of a thermal head.