JPH0673988B2 - Multicolor thermal recording method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a multicolor thermosensitive recording method.

[Prior art]

The heat-sensitive recording material forms an image on a sheet by heating, and the heating is widely used in a thermal printer having a thermal head. In such a conventional heat-sensitive recording method, a heat-sensitive recording layer is provided on the support, which usually contains a colorless or slightly light-colored leuco dye and a color-developing agent that develops a color by reacting with the leuco dye when heated. There are a heat-sensitive recording method using a material, a heat-sensitive transfer method using a heat-sensitive transfer material in which a heat-meltable color material layer is provided on a sheet, and the like.

By the way, in such a heat-sensitive recording material or heat-sensitive transfer material, since an image can be easily obtained on a sheet only by heating, it is not only used for copying books, documents, etc.
It is used in the fields of various information such as telephones, facsimiles, telex, and various printers for recording output of measuring instruments, but depending on the purpose of recording, in order to more clearly display the necessary data and numbers, Of course, it is desirable to be able to record by changing the display color of that portion to that of other portions. Therefore, recently, there have been attempts to obtain multicolor recording in both the thermal recording method and the thermal transfer method. For example, there are attempts to obtain multicolored records by utilizing the difference in heating energy or temperature. In this method, a monochromatic image is obtained when heating at low energy or low temperature, and an image having a different color tone is obtained when heating at high energy or high temperature, but in this case, , Around the image obtained by heating with high energy or high temperature becomes low temperature due to heat conduction, so it becomes an image of color tone at low energy or low temperature heating, and color separation is poor and vivid multicolor recording There is a problem that can not be obtained. Further, in the heat-sensitive transfer method, a method of transferring heat-meltable materials having different color tones has also been attempted. However, in the case of this method, since there are usually many monochromatic images, the life of the monochromatic material that is normally used is shortened, there is a problem that it takes time to replace and the recording speed is much slower than the thermal recording method. is there.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, normally used single color recording is performed by using a thermal recording method, and other color tone recording is performed by a thermal transfer method, and another thermal transfer is performed on a thermal recording sheet. It is also effective to thermally transfer the heat-fusible colored material from the sheet, but in this case, the normal thermal recording sheet is
Originally it is a sheet for thermal recording method, and does not function as a receiving sheet for thermal transfer method, so when thermal transfer of heat-meltable colored material, transfer is not performed well, the obtained image is unclear and intelligibility In addition, the heat-sensitive color-forming layer color-developing agent develops color during heat transfer, and it mixes with the color tone due to heat transfer, resulting in an image with a color tone different from the color tone of the original heat-meltable colored material, poor color separation, and practical Unable to get multicolor record.

〔Purpose〕

The present invention solves the problems found in the prior art described above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multicolor heat-sensitive recording method which provides clear, highly intelligible multicolor recording with extremely good color separation.

〔Constitution〕

That is, according to the present invention, a thermosensitive recording sheet provided with a leuco dye and a thermosensitive coloring layer containing a color developer on a support, and a colorant receiving layer containing a binder and a filler thereon, Using a combination with a heat-sensitive transfer sheet having a heat-fusible colorant layer provided on a support, color image recording by the heat-sensitive color forming layer, and the receiving layer surface on the heat-sensitive recording sheet by the transfer sheet, the heat-sensitive color forming layer Provided is a multicolor heat-sensitive recording method, which is characterized in that transfer image recording is performed at a temperature lower than a color development temperature.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is a combination of a thermal recording system and a thermal transfer system, and obtains a clear and highly intelligible thermal recording on a thermal recording sheet with extremely good color separation. As described above, even if the colorant is thermally transferred onto the ordinary heat-sensitive recording sheet by the heat-sensitive transfer method, the transfer is not carried out well, and the color of the color-forming agent of the heat-sensitive recording sheet is colored, so that the color tone is Although different from the color tone, in the present invention, a colorant receiving layer is provided on the thermosensitive coloring layer, and in order to perform thermal transfer on this layer,
There is no such drawback, and naturally, there is no problem in the multicolor thermosensitive recording system, and the color separation property on the thermosensitive recording sheet is very good, and a clear and highly sensitive thermosensitive recording can be obtained. Further, in the case of the present invention, since the normal monochrome recording uses the heat-sensitive recording method, the recording speed is high and the recording density is high.

The multicolor thermosensitive recording material of the present invention is provided with a thermosensitive coloring layer containing a colorless or light-colored leuco dye and a developer capable of coloring the leuco dye under heat as a main component on the support, and further thereon. It is obtained by laminating a colorant receiving layer containing a binder and a filler as main components.

The colorant receiving layer of the heat-sensitive recording sheet used in the present invention,
Mainly composed of binder and filler, but the ratio of binder to filler is 1: 9 to 9: 1, preferably 3: 7 to 7: 3 is good. On the other hand, when the amount of the filler is too large, the lower thermosensitive coloring layer develops color to give a color mixture, and clear transfer recording cannot be obtained. Also, the surface smoothness is 500 smoothness.
Seconds or more are preferable, and if it is 500 seconds or less, clear transfer recording cannot be obtained. The coating amount of the receptor layer is the amount of solid content adhered, and is 1.
It is 0 to 10.0 g / m ² , preferably 2.0 to 5.0 g / m ² .

As the binder used in the receiving layer, polyvinyl alcohol, starch and its derivatives, methoxycellulose,
Cellulose derivatives such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, sodium polyacrylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, acrylic acid amide / acrylic acid ester copolymer, acrylic acid amide / acrylic acid ester / methacrylic acid terpolymer, styrene / Maleic anhydride copolymer alkali salt, isobutylene / maleic anhydride polymer alkali salt, polyacrylamide, sodium alginate, gelatin, casein, and other water-soluble polymers, polyvinyl acetate, polyurethane, styrene / butadiene copolymer , Polyacrylic acid, polyacrylic ester, vinyl chloride /
A latex such as vinyl acetate copolymer, polybutyl methacrylate, ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer, styrene / butadiene / acrylic copolymer and the like can be used. Further, as the filler, for example, calcium carbonate,
Silica, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, aluminum hydroxide,
Zinc hydroxide, barium sulfate, clay, talc, inorganic fine powder such as surface-treated calcium and silica, urea-formalin resin, styrene / methacrylic acid copolymer,
An organic fine powder such as polystyrene resin can be used. In the present invention, this filler is, if necessary,
The heat-fusible substance may be used in combination, and as the heat-fusible substance in this case, for example, higher fatty acid or its ester, amide or metal salt, various waxes,
50-200 of condensates of aromatic carboxylic acids and amines, benzoic acid phenyl esters, higher linear glycols, 3,4-epoxy-dialkyl hexahydrophthalates, higher ketones, other heat-fusible organic compounds, etc. Those having a melting point on the order of ° C.

In the multicolor thermosensitive recording sheet of the present invention, the thermosensitive coloring layer contains a leuco dye and a color developer and can be formed according to a conventionally known technique. For example, paper, synthetic paper,
It can be obtained by applying a coating solution containing a leuco dye and a color developer onto a support such as a plastic film and drying.

The leuco dyes used in the present invention may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more, and as such leuco dyes,
What is applied to this type of heat-sensitive material is arbitrarily applied, and for example, leuco compounds of dyes such as triphenylmethane-based, fluoran-based, phenothiazine-based, auramine-based, spiropyran-based, indolinophtalide-based dyes are preferably used. . Specific examples of such leuco dyes include those shown below.

3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -phthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -6-dimethylaminophthalide (also known as crystal violet letolactone), 3,3-bis ( p-Dimethylaminophenyl) -6-diethylaminophthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -6-chlorophthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dibutylaminophenyl) phthalide, 3-cyclohexyl Amino-6-chlorofluorane, 3-dimethylamino-5,7-dimethylfluorane, 3-diethylamino-7-chlorofluorane, 3-diethylamino-7-methylfluorane, 3-diethylamino-7,8-benz Fluorane, 3-diethylamino-6-methyl-7-chlorofluorane, 3- (Np-tolyl-N-ethylamino) -6-methyl- -Anilinofluorane, 3-pyrrolidino-6-methyl-7-anilinofluorane, 2- {N- (3'-trifluoromethylphenyl) amino} -6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- {3, 6-bis (diethylamino) -9- (o-chloroanilino) xanthylbenzoic acid lactam}, 3-diethylamino-6-methyl-7- (m-trichloromethylanilino) fluorane, 3-diethylamino-7- (o-chloroanilino ) Fluoran, 3-dibutylamino-7- (o-chloroanilino) fluorane, 3-N-methyl-N-amylamino-6-methyl-7-
Anilinofluorane, 3-N-methyl-N-cyclohexylamino-6-methyl-7-anilinofluorane, 3-diethylamino-6-methyl-7-anilinofluorane, 3- (N, N-diethylamino) ) -5-Methyl-7- (N, N
-Dibenzylamino) fluorane, benzoyl leuco methylene blue, 6'-chloro-8'-methoxy-benzoindolino-pyrrolispirane, 6'-bromo-3'-methoxy-benzoindolino-pyrrolispirane, 3- (2'-hydroxy) -4'-Dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2'-methoxy-5'-chlorophenyl)
Phthalide, 3- (2'-hydroxy-4'-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2'-methoxy-5'-nitrophenyl)
Phthalide, 3- (2'-hydroxy-4'-diethylaminophenyl) -3- (2'-methoxy-5'-methylphenyl)
Phthalide, 3- (2'-methoxy-4'-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2'-hydroxy-4'-chloro-5'-
Methylphenyl) phthalide, 3-morpholino-7- (N-propyl-trifluoromethylanilino) fluorane, 3-pyrrolidino-7-trifluoromethylanilinofluorane, 3-diethylamino-5-chloro-7- (N- Benzyl-trifluoromethylanilino) fluorane, 3-pyrrolidino-7- (di-p-chlorophenyl) methylaminofluorane, 3-diethylamino-5-chloro-7- (α-phenylethylamino) fluorane, 3- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) -7- (α-phenylethylamino) fluorane, 3-diethylamino-7- (o-methoxycarbonylphenylamino) fluorane, 3-diethylamino-5-methyl-7- ( α-phenylethylamino) fluorane, 3-diethylamino-7-piperidi Fluoran, 2-chloro-3-(N-Mechirutoruijino)-7-(p
-N-butylanilino) fluorane, 3- (N-benzyl-N-cyclohexylamino)-
5,6-benzo-7-α-naphthylamino-4′-bromofluorane, 3-diethylamino-6-methyl-7-mesitidino-
4 ', 5'-benzofluorane, 3,6-dimethoxyfluorane, 3- (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -3-phenylphthalide, 3-di (1-ethyl-2-methylyldol) -3- Iyl-phthalide, 3-diethylamino-6-phenyl-7-azafluorane, 3,3-bis (p-diethylaminophenyl) -6-dimethylamino-phthalide, 2-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) methyl-5. −
Dimethylamino-benzoic acid, 3- (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (p-dibenzylaminophenyl) phthalide and the like. Further, as the developer used in the present invention, various electron-accepting substances that react with the leuco dye upon heating to develop a color thereof are applied, and specific examples thereof include phenols as shown below. Examples thereof include organic substances, organic or inorganic acidic substances, and their esters and salts.

Gallic acid, salicylic acid, 3-isopropylsalicylic acid,
3-cyclohexyl salicylic acid, 3,5-di-tert-butyl salicylic acid, 3,5-di-α-methylbenzyl salicylic acid, 4,4′-isopropylidene diphenol, 4,4′-isopropylidene bis (2-chloro Phenol), 4,4 '
-Isopropylidene bis (2,6-dibromophenol), 4,4'-isopropylidene bis (2,6-dichlorophenol), 4,4'-isopropylidene bis (2-methylphenol), 4,4'- Isopropylidene bis (2,6-
Dimethylphenol), 4,4'-isopropylidene bis (2-tert-butylphenol), 4,4'-sec-butylidene diphenol, 4,4'-cyclohexylidene bisphenol, 4,4'-cyclohexyl Denbis (2-methylphenol), 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-phenylphenol, 4-hydroxydiphenoxide, α
-Naphthol, β-naphthol, 3,5-xylenol,
Thymol, methyl-4-hydroxybenzoate, 4-
Hydroxyacetophenone, novolak type phenolic resin, 2,2'-thiobis (4,6-dichlorophenol), catechol, resorcin, hydroquinone, pyrogallol,
Phloroglysin, phloroglysin carboxylic acid, 4-tert
-Octylcatechol, 2,2'-methylenebis (4-chlorophenol), 2,2'-methylenebis (4-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol), 2,2'-dihydroxydiphenyl, p-hydroxybenzoic acid Ethyl, propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, butyl p-hydroxybenzoate, benzyl p-hydroxybenzoate, p-chlorobenzyl p-hydroxybenzoate, o-chlorobenzyl p-hydroxybenzoate, p-hydroxybenzoic acid −
p-methylbenzyl, p-hydroxybenzoic acid-n-octyl, benzoic acid, zinc salicylate, 1-hydroxy-
2-naphthoic acid, 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid, 2
Zinc-hydroxy-6-naphthoate, 4-hydroxydiphenyl sulfone, 4-hydroxy-4'-chlorodiphenyl sulfone, bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) sulfide, 2-hydroxy-p-toluic acid, 3,5 -Ge-t
Zinc ert-butylsalicylate, tin 3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylate, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, maleic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, stearic acid, 4-hydroxyphthalic acid, boric acid and the like.

Further, in the present invention, the thermosensitive coloring layer, together with the leuco dye and the developer, if necessary, further auxiliary components commonly used in thermosensitive recording materials of this kind, for example, a binder, a filler, A surfactant, a heat-fusible substance (or a lubricant) and the like can be used in combination.

When performing multicolor recording in the multicolor thermosensitive recording material of the present invention, the recording of the usual first color tone, that is, the color image recording by the thermosensitive coloring layer, is performed by directly heating the thermosensitive coloring layer through the receiving layer by the thermal head. On the other hand, the recording of the second color tone, that is, the recording of the transfer image by the transfer sheet, which is performed as necessary, can be performed by developing the color. The heat-sensitive transfer layer of the transfer sheet having the heat-sensitive transfer layer including the heat-meltable colorant layer is used. To the receiving layer, heat transfer from the transfer sheet, and transfer the colorant layer melt to the receiving layer surface. When multicolor recording is performed in this manner, the color-forming temperature of the thermosensitive coloring layer that gives the first color tone is set higher than the thermal transfer temperature that gives the second color tone, preferably 10 ° C. higher.

In the present invention, the transfer sheet used for performing the thermal transfer on the surface of the receiving layer is one in which a heat-fusible colorant layer is provided on a support such as paper, synthetic paper, and plastic film. In this case, the colorant layer may be any one as long as it is melted by heating and the colorant can be transferred to the surface of the receiving layer. In addition to the dye-melting type in which the dye itself is transferred by heat melting, the dye itself is not melted. , An ink type in which the dispersant is melted and transferred together with the dye. As the heat-meltable dye,
For example, the following compounds having a melting point of 50 to 140 ° C. may be mentioned.

No Color index No Melting point (℃) 1 CI-41000B 120 (CI-Solvent Yellow 34) 2 CI-Solvent Yellow 38 140 3 CI-12140 133 (CI-Solvent Orange 7) 4 CI-Solvent Orange 12) 95- 103 5 CI-12005 85 (CI-Solvent Red 2) 6 CI-Solvent Red 16 71 ~ 72.5 7 CI-26050 128 ~ 131.5 (CI-Solvent Red 19) 8 CI-26125 108 ~ 120 (CI-Solvent Red 27) 9 CI-42535 B 140 (CI-Solvent Violet 8) 10 CI-42555 B 140 (CI-Solvent Violet 9) No Color index No Melting point (℃) 11 CI-42563 B 110 (CI-Solvent Blue 2) 12 CI-42595 B 90 (CI-Solvent Blue 5) 13 CI-Solvent Blue 19 75 to 78 14 CI-Solvent Blue 26 139 15 CI-Solvent Blue 33 130 16 CI-21010 B 130 to 135 (CI-Solvent Brown 12) 17 CI-Solvent Brown 13 108 18 CI-26150 126 (CI-Solvent Black 3) 19 CI-Solvent Black 8 135 ~ 142 20 CI-Solvent Black 9 110 21 CI-Solvent Black 10 50 22 CI-Solvent Black 11 50 23 CI-11160 110 (CI-Solvent Yellow 3) No Color index No Melting point (℃) 24 CI-11270 118 ~ 118 .5 (CI-Basic Orange 2) 25 CI-11270 B 148 (CI-Solvent Orange 3) 26 CI-11350 123 (CI-Solvent Yellow 4) 27 CI-11390 126 (CI-Solvent Yellow 6) 28 CI-11380 104 (CI-Solvent Yellow 5) 29 CI-11810 136 (CI-Solvent Yellow 8) 30 CI-11840 126 ~ 128 (CI-Solvent Yellow 10) 31 CI-11850 107 ~ 108 (CI-Solvent Yellow 11) 32 CI -11860 97 (CI-Solvent Yellow 12) No Color index No Melting point (℃) 33 CI-11870 103 to 104 (CI-Solvent Yellow 8) 34 CI-12055 134 (CI-Solvent Yellow 14) 35 CI-12100 131 (CI-Solvent Orange 2) 36 CI-12140 133 (CI-Solvent Orange 7) 37 CI-21010 130 ~ 135 (CI-Solvent Brown 12) 38 CI-37135 129 (CI-Azoic diazo Component 1) 39 CI- 37210 100 (CI-Azoic Diazo Component 4) 40 CI-37125 139 to 140 (CI-Azoic Diazo Component 5) 41 CI-37040 116 to 117 (CI-Azoic Diazo Component 9) No Color index No Melting point (℃) 42 CI-37120 84 (CI-Azoic diazo Component 10) 43 CI-37105 107 (CI-Azoic diazo Compone nt 12) 44 CI-37130 118 (CI-Azoic diazo Compontnt 13) Other examples of the heat-meltable dye include various formazan dyes and their complexes.

To prepare a transfer sheet using the above-mentioned heat-fusible dye, a coating solution containing this dye may be applied onto a support and dried. In this case, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, butyl methacrylate / 2-
Ethylhexyl methacrylate copolymer, gelatin,
Polymer substances such as ethyl cellulose and heat-fusible substances such as microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, acetylamine stearate and the like can be added. In these additive components, the polymer substance is 25 to 85 relative to the total amount of the dye and the polymer substance.
The amount of the heat-fusible substance is preferably not more than 15% by weight, based on the dye. Such a thermal transfer sheet is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-3
No. 708.

Examples of the heat-meltable ink type transfer layer include a colorant, a heat-fusible substance, and a thermoplastic resin.
In this case, examples of the colorant include cyanine blue, oil blue, alkali blue, iodine red, rose bengal, crystal violet lettactone, and brilliant green. Further, this colorant may be a heat-meltable one. Examples of the heat-fusible substance include those shown above. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include petroleum resin, cyclized rubber, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, and polyacrylic acid. Examples thereof include esters, polyacrylamides, polyacrylic acid esters, and polybutadienes. In order to prepare a transfer sheet containing these components, the above-mentioned dye, heat-fusible substance and thermoplastic resin are applied on a support in the form of a hot-melt mixture, or dissolved in a suitable solvent or The dispersed coating solution is applied on a support to form a transfer layer. In this case, the ratio of these components used is 1 part by weight of the dye,
A ratio of 1 to 10 parts by weight of the heat-fusible substance and 1 to 5 parts by weight of the thermoplastic resin is preferably adopted.

〔effect〕

The multicolor heat-sensitive recording method of the present invention has the above-mentioned constitution, and it is possible to obtain a multicolor heat-sensitive recording which has a very good color separation property and is clear and has high intelligibility.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples. In addition,
All parts and percentages shown below are by weight.

Example 1 The following components were pulverized and dispersed in a ball mill for 72 hours to prepare dispersions A, B, and C, respectively.

[Liquid A]

3-N-methyl-3-N-cyclohexylamino-6
-Methyl-7-anilinofluorane 300 parts 10% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution 300 parts water 400 parts [solution B] benzyl parahydroxybenzoate 200 parts calcium carbonate 200 parts zinc stearate 100 parts 10% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution 100 parts water 400 Parts [C liquid] 10% polyvinyl alcohol itaconic acid modified alkaline salt aqueous solution 500 parts urea-formalin resin 50 parts zinc stearate 50 parts 10% polyamide epichlorohydrin resin aqueous solution 100 parts water 300 parts Dispersion liquid A prepared as described above, 10 parts and dispersion B,
50 parts were mixed and stirred to obtain a thermosensitive coloring layer forming liquid.

Next, the thermosensitive color forming layer-forming liquid was applied and dried on a commercially available high-quality paper having a basis weight of 50 g / m ² so that the weight after drying was 4.0 g / m ^2, to provide a thermosensitive color forming layer, and further The dispersion C was laminated and dried so that the weight after drying was 3.0 g / m ² , a colorant-accepting layer was provided, and calendering was performed so that the surface smoothness was 1000 seconds. Get the sheet. next,
The heat-sensitive recording sheet thus obtained was used in a heat-sensitive printing apparatus having a thin-film head to obtain a head power of 0.6 W / dot and 1
Line recording time 20ms / line, scanning line density 8 × 3.8 ⁵ dots /
Print with a pulse width of 1.0 ms under the condition of mm to obtain a clear black color image.

Next, on a condenser paper with a thickness of 12 μm and a density of 1.25 g / cm ² , from 20 parts of Brilliant Fastest Scarlet, 20 parts of Carnauba wax, 40 parts of Paraffin wax, 5 parts of xylene resin, 10 parts of calcium carbonate, 5 parts of aluminum powder. When a heat-sensitive transfer ink is applied by hot-melt coating to obtain a heat-sensitive transfer sheet, which is brought into close contact with the heat-sensitive recording sheet and printed in the same manner as the heat-sensitive recording sheet, a clear red heat-sensitive transfer image is obtained. As a result, clear two-color images of black and red were obtained on the thermosensitive recording sheet.

Example 2 In Example 1, Liquid A 3-N-methyl-3-N-cyclohexylamino-6-, which is used for a thermal recording sheet, is used.
Color was developed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that crystal violet letolactone was used in place of methyl-7-anilinofluorane, and lemon yellow (barium chromate) was used in place of brilliant fast scarlet of the heat-sensitive transfer sheet. As a result of the test, a clear blue thermal recording image and a clear yellow thermal transfer image were obtained on the thermal recording sheet.

Comparative Example 1 A thermosensitive recording sheet for comparison was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the colorant receiving layer of the thermosensitive recording sheet was not provided, and a clear blue thermosensitive image was obtained by thermal recording and thermal transfer. I tried to obtain a recorded image and a clear yellow thermal transfer image, but although a clear blue thermal transfer image was obtained, the thermal transfer image did not transfer well, and the color tone became yellow-green and clear. No thermal transfer image was obtained.

Example 3 The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out by using the thermal transfer sheet used in Example 2 on the thermal recording sheet on which a clear black thermal recording image and a clear red thermal transfer image were obtained in Example 1. When printed, a clear yellow thermal transfer image is obtained,
A clear three-color image of black, red and yellow was obtained on the thermosensitive recording sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermosensitive recording sheet having a thermosensitive coloring layer containing a leuco dye and a color developer on a support, and a colorant receiving layer containing a binder and a filler thereon, and a thermosensitive recording sheet. Using a combination with a heat-sensitive transfer sheet provided with a heat-meltable colorant layer,
A multi-color image recording method, wherein a color image is recorded by the thermosensitive coloring layer and a transfer image is transferred to the receiving layer surface of the thermosensitive recording sheet by the transfer sheet at a temperature lower than the coloring temperature of the thermosensitive coloring layer. Thermal recording method.