JP2000071602A - Transfer medium and transfer image forming method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer medium permitting easy formation of a transfer image free of a thin spot, a chip or the like on the skin of a human body or the like which has large indentations and is soft. SOLUTION: In regard to a transfer medium having a transfer layer 1 wherein only a region given ink shows a transfer characteristic of separability, the transfer medium is constituted of the transfer layer 1 containing a water-soluble macromolecular material and a substrate 2 and the bending resistance of this transfer medium according to a 45 deg. cantilever method (conforming to the description of 6.19.1 of JISL 1096) is made 120 mm or below.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a transfer medium and a transfer image forming method capable of forming an image by transferring an ink image onto skin such as a human body. More specifically, the present invention relates to a transfer medium and a transfer image forming method capable of easily forming an image such as a tattoo without causing transfer failure or image distortion on an uneven surface on skin such as a human body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various methods have been proposed for a recording method using a liquid ink, and these methods have been put to practical use. Among them, with the remarkable progress in information processing technology in recent years, a recording method using liquid ink has been widely used as an output device such as a computer, a facsimile, and a word processor. Among them, the ink jet recording method is a non-impact recording method in which almost no noise is generated at the time of recording, is high speed recording is possible, and is specially applied to plain paper. And has the advantage that recording can be performed without the need for fixing processing.

Taking advantage of these advantages, applications have been devised and proposed for recording on various recording media in addition to recording on plain paper which has been conventionally used. In particular, various transfer media have been proposed in order to enable image formation on an object that cannot be directly printed by an ink jet recording apparatus.

For example, JP-A-58-22878 and JP-A-58-222879 disclose a transfer medium in which an adhesive layer is provided on a base material and an ink receiving layer supported by the base material. An image forming method for transferring an ink receiving layer to a transfer medium after forming an image is disclosed. However, in the above invention, after forming an image on the ink-receiving coating layer of the transfer medium, it is necessary to provide an adhesive layer on the transfer medium in order to adhere the coating layer to the adhesive layer and transfer it to the transfer medium. At the same time, a transfer layer is formed also on the unprinted portion, so that a feeling of incongruity is left on the medium to be transferred and the feel is very poor.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-65483, an image is formed by performing ink-jet recording on a transfer sheet composed of a sheet base coated with a transfer varnish, and then the transfer sheet is coated with a printing cloth. This is a method in which an image is transferred onto a cloth by applying a certain pressure by overlapping. Also in this method, there is a high possibility that the transfer varnish in the portion where the image is not formed is simultaneously transferred onto the transfer-receiving medium together with the transfer of the image.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 7-145576 discloses a transfer medium having a transfer layer exhibiting transfer characteristics in which only an ink-applied area can be separated in order to solve the above problem. The liquid-reactive resin layer present in the liquid crystal layer exhibits adhesiveness and permeability due to the application of the liquid ink, thereby enabling only the printing portion to be transferred to the fabric.
According to the above invention, it is possible to easily form an image without deteriorating the texture of the fabric itself, however, in order to enable conveyance by a general-purpose ink jet printer, PET is used for the base material.
A firm material such as a film is used, and an adhesive layer, a separation layer, a liquid reactive resin layer, and the like are laminated thereon. In addition, in order to form an image on a transfer receiving medium after a heating and / or pressurizing step when transferring an image, a flat and hard material having heat and pressure resistance, such as wood, metal, paper, and film, in addition to cloth. However, transfer is not possible on a soft surface having irregularities such as skin, or poor transfer or image distortion is likely to occur, making image formation difficult.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a transfer medium and an image forming method capable of forming an image by transferring only an ink-applied area onto skin such as a human body. Things. A transfer medium capable of easily forming a tattoo-like image that does not cause a transfer failure or image distortion on soft skin, particularly having unevenness, and has no uncomfortable feeling to the skin after transfer. And an image forming method.

[0008]

The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies on the above object, and as a result, it has been found that the transfer portion must be evenly adhered to a large and soft surface such as the skin of a human body. The inventors have found that it is necessary that the transfer medium has a certain degree of flexibility, and have reached the present invention.

That is, the present invention relates to a transfer medium having a transfer layer exhibiting transfer characteristics in which only an ink-applied area can be separated, wherein the transfer medium comprises a transfer layer containing a water-soluble polymer material and a support. A 45 ° cantilever method of the transfer medium (see 6.10 of JIS L 1096).
The rigidity according to 19.1) is 120 mm.
A transfer medium characterized by the following. Further, the present invention relates to an elongation rate of a transfer medium (6.
(In accordance with the description in Method B of 14.1) is 15% or less.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that an image is formed on the above-mentioned transfer medium with an aqueous ink, a transfer layer of the transfer medium is applied on the skin, and then peeled off to transfer only the ink image. Transfer image forming method.

FIG. 1 shows the main configuration of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

As a material suitably used as a main material constituting the transfer layer of the transfer medium of the present invention, a water-soluble polymer material is preferable. The water-soluble polymer material absorbs and retains the ink quickly by the application of the aqueous ink, and the resin itself swells and exhibits tackiness. Therefore, in the transfer layer of the present invention, since only the area to which the ink is applied exhibits adhesiveness and can be separated, unnecessary transfer from the transfer medium is suppressed, and the texture of the transferred medium as in the related art is impaired. This solves the problem. Here, “only the area where the ink is applied” preferably refers to a state where all of the area where the ink is applied is transferred. As described above, the present invention includes the case in which the image is not partially transferred, and the case in which the image is slightly transferred to the peripheral portion of the area to which the ink is applied. In any case, the present invention which solves the unnecessary transfer of the entire transfer layer as in the related art can surely solve the conventional problem.

Examples of the water-soluble polymer material suitably used for the transfer layer include gelatin, phthalated gelatin, acylated gelatin, phenylcarbamylated gelatin, acetylated gelatin, and succinated gelatin obtained by chemically modifying these. , Carboxy-modified gelatin, starch, oxidized starch, acetic starch, amine starch, carboxy starch, dialdehyde starch, cationic starch, dextrin, casein, brulan, dextran, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, propyl cellulose, ethyl methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose,
Hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, gum arabic, tragacanth gum, karaya gum, echo gum, roast bean gum, albumin, chitin, chitosan, natural polymer substances such as saccharoids and derivatives thereof; polyvinyl alcohol, cation-modified polyvinyl alcohol, anion-modified polyvinyl alcohol; Vinyl polymers such as silanol-modified polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinyl pyridinium, polyvinyl imidazole, and polyvinyl pyrazole or derivatives thereof; polyacrylamide, polydimethylaminoacrylate, polyacrylic acid or a salt thereof, and acrylic acid-methacrylic acid copolymer Or a salt thereof, polymethacrylic acid or a salt thereof, acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol Acrylic group-containing polymers such as copolymers or salts thereof; latexes such as SBR latex, NBR latex, methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer; polyethylene oxide, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyethylene Examples thereof include imine, maleic anhydride and a copolymer thereof, and these can be used alone or in combination. In particular, water-soluble polymer materials such as gelatin, starch, chitin, chitosan, carboxymethylcellulose, sodium alginate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polyethylene oxide and derivatives or copolymers thereof have high water retention, and after application of the ink, the skin has high water retention. Is preferable because transfer failure such as fading or chipping of a transferred image does not easily occur. In addition, these materials have good compatibility with human skin and do not cause skin irritation or inflammation, and are therefore preferable from the viewpoint of safety.

The water-soluble polymer material is suitable because it is soluble in water and can be easily washed away after forming an image on the skin.

On the other hand, in order to prevent the image transferred on the skin from easily flowing due to sweat or bathing, a water-soluble polymer material, a coagulant of an ink dye, or a water-resistant material is previously placed on the transfer layer or the skin. A transfer image may be formed by mixing or applying an agent. Specific examples of coagulants and water-resistant agents include water-soluble cationic polymers such as polyallylamine salts, polyamyl sulfone, and dimethyldiallylammonium chloride; anionic polymers such as vinyl acetate polymers and modified polymer rubbers; , Calcium carbonate, kaolin, talc, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, titania, zinc oxide, zinc carbonate, aluminum silicate, alumina hydrate,
Inorganic pigments such as magnesium silicate, calcium silicate and silica, organic pigments such as plastic pigment and urea resin pigment, or inorganic and organic salts can be used.

In applying the transfer layer on the support, a surfactant may be used to eliminate coating defects such as pinholes and cissing and to form the transfer layer uniformly.

If necessary, a thickener, a pH adjuster,
Lubricants, fluidity modifiers, defoamers, defoamers, mold release agents, foaming agents, penetrants, coloring dyes, fluorescent brighteners, ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, preservatives, anti-foaming agents, etc. It is also possible to add.

The dry coating thickness of the transfer layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 0.5 to 20 μm because the flexibility and flexibility of the transfer medium are not significantly impaired. More preferably, the dry coating amount is 1 to 10 μm, because it is easy to hold the ink and it is easy to form a clear image without fading or chipping of the transferred image.

The transfer medium of the present invention needs to have flexibility and flexibility in order to easily form a transfer image on skin such as a human body. Therefore, the support is preferably made of a material having flexibility and flexibility, so that the transfer portion can be evenly adhered to the skin surface having irregularities and soft elasticity. Specifically, as the support material, synthetic resin films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyester, polyamide, rayon, acryl-styrene-acrylonitrile resin, sheets and fabrics, non-woven fabrics, A nonwoven paper, a laminate of the synthetic resin film or sheet and a nonwoven fabric or a nonwoven fabric, a nonwoven fabric such as absorbent cotton, paper, cellophane, or the like is appropriately selected and used.

The main structure of the present invention is to form a transfer layer on these supports. In order to make it easy to transfer only the transfer layer in the ink-applied area onto the skin after application of the ink. A release layer may be provided between the support and the transfer layer. In particular, materials such as non-woven fabric, cloth, and paper have high affinity and permeability with the water-soluble polymer material, and thus high transferability can be obtained by providing a release layer. Specifically, the material of the release layer is not particularly limited, but silicone-based resin, rubber, fluorine-based resin, and rosin-based resin are mainly used. The coating amount of the release layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 0.5 to 50 μm because the flexibility and flexibility of the transfer medium are not significantly impaired.

Means for laminating each layer described above include:
Known means can be used. For example, the material constituting each layer is made into a solution with a solvent and applied using a bar coater, a roll coater, an applicator, or the like, or sequentially laminated and dried by a screen printing method, or the material of each layer in a film form is used. A method of bonding or crimping can be used.

Next, the transfer medium of the present invention will be described below.

An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer medium capable of easily forming a transfer image on a skin of a human body or the like without causing a transfer failure such as blurring or chipping of the image. The skin of the human body or the like has large irregularities like the face, and has many soft and elastic parts. Therefore, the transfer medium of the present invention has a rigidity of 1 according to the 45 ° cantilever method.
It is 20 mm or less. The rigidity defined in the present invention is 4 as described in 6.19.1 of JIS L 1096.
Defined by the 5 ° cantilever method. Within this range, even when the curvature of the uneven surface such as the face is large or the skin is soft, it is preferable because transfer defects such as blurring or chipping or image distortion do not occur when forming a transferred image. . A more preferable range is that the softness is 3
5 mm or more and 120 mm or less. This range is preferred because curling due to absorption and dehydration of the transfer medium caused by changes in the temperature and humidity of the use environment is reduced and handling becomes easy.

The transfer medium of the present invention preferably has an elongation of 15% or less. The elongation rate specified in the present invention is J
Defined by the constant load method described in IS L 1096, 6.14.1, Method B. This range is preferable because distortion and elongation of the image at the time of pasting when forming the transfer medium are suppressed.

The ink used in the recording method of the present invention is
It mainly contains a coloring material (dye or pigment), a water-soluble organic solvent and water. As the dye, for example, a water-soluble dye represented by a direct dye, an acid dye, a basic dye, a reactive dye, an edible dye, or the like is preferable, and in combination with a transfer medium, fixing properties, color forming properties, sharpness, stability, and the like are preferable. Any one can be used as long as it provides an image that satisfies the required performances.

The water-soluble dye is generally used by dissolving it in water or a solvent comprising water and an organic solvent. These solvent components are preferably a mixture of water and various water-soluble organic solvents. Is used, and it is preferable to adjust the water content in the ink so as to be in the range of 20 to 90% by weight, preferably 60 to 90% by weight.

Examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include those having 1 carbon atom such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol and isobutyl alcohol. Alkyl alcohols, dimethylformamide, amides such as dimethylacetamide, ketones or ketone alcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol, ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, Alkylene such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol, diethylene glycol Alkylene glycols containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms, glycerin; lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol ethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and triethylene glycol monoethyl ether Or the like can be used.

[0029] Among these many water-soluble organic solvents,
Polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, and lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as triethylene glycol monomethyl ether and triethylene glycol monoethyl ether are preferred. Polyhydric alcohols are particularly preferable because they have a large effect as a lubricant for preventing the nozzle from being reduced in clogging due to evaporation of water in the ink and precipitation of a water-soluble dye.

A solubilizing agent may be added to the ink. Typical solubilizers are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ketones, the purpose of which is to significantly improve the solubility of a water-soluble dye in a solvent. For example, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone are preferably used. In order to further improve the properties, viscosity modifier, surfactant, surface tension modifier, pH
Additives such as a regulator, a specific resistance regulator, and a storage stabilizer may be used.

As a method for performing recording by applying the ink to the transfer medium, an ink jet recording method is preferable. The recording method is a method capable of effectively releasing ink from nozzles and applying ink to the transfer medium. Any method may be used. In particular, according to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-59936, an ink jet method in which ink subjected to the action of thermal energy causes a sudden volume change, and the ink is ejected from a nozzle by the action force due to this state change Can be used effectively.

The ink jet recording apparatus suitable for the transfer medium of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as a conveyance failure does not occur due to a jam or the like at the time of conveyance. An apparatus having a mechanism for bringing the transfer medium into close contact with a transfer support, such as a stage on a flat platen or a flat plate, or the like, is preferable because more stable transfer is possible. For example, a recording apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-207263 is preferable because it can cope with transfer of transfer media having various thicknesses.

In the transfer image forming method of the present invention, the transfer medium is
The ink jet recording apparatus forms an ink image corresponding to a mirror image of a target image. Performing curvature correction on an image in consideration of the unevenness of the skin surface to be transferred at the time of image recording is useful for correcting distortion of a transferred image. In particular, such a curvature correction of the mirror image data is preferable for forming a clear transfer image without distortion on a portion of the head of the human body, particularly a part having a large unevenness such as a face.

The method for measuring the unevenness of the skin surface is not particularly limited, and may be a method that can be accurately measured, such as a method of directly measuring with a measure or the like or a method of non-contact measurement using electromagnetic waves such as a laser or a sound wave. Any method may be used.

The recorded transfer medium discharged from the recording apparatus has a form in which ink is held on the surface thereof.
Thereafter, the surface on which the recorded image is formed (transfer surface) is closely adhered to the skin on which regular image formation is to be performed without any gap, and then the transfer medium is removed to perform image formation. As a result, it is possible to transfer only the ink-applied area onto the skin without causing transfer failure such as fading or chipping of the image.

[0036]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples, which should not be construed as limiting the invention thereto. Examples 1 to 3 Non-woven and non-woven paper having a basis weight of 50 g / m 2 provided with a 1 μm release layer by coating a silicone resin on one side, or 50
A μm soft polyvinyl chloride film was used as a support. On the support, a water-soluble polymer material (gelatin: PA
-100 manufactured by Nippi Gelatin Industry Co., Ltd .; PVP: K-
90 Gokyo Sangyo Co., Ltd .; PVA: GL-05 100 parts by weight of a 5% aqueous solution of each of Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and a fluorine-based surfactant (Surflon S-131, manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) 0 A coating solution mixed with 0.5 parts by weight was applied with a wire bar, and dried at 60 ° C. to provide a transfer layer of 3 μm to prepare an A4-size transfer medium.

Table 1 shows the combination of each support and the coating liquid, and the physical properties and transfer characteristics of the transfer media prepared in each Example.
Shown in

[0038]

[Table 1] (Method of Evaluating Physical Properties and Transfer Characteristics of Transfer Medium) Bending Softness Measured according to the 45 ° cantilever method described in JIS L 1096 6.19.1.

The test method was as follows. After leaving the transfer medium in an environment at room temperature of 20 ° C. and humidity of 60% for 8 hours, 2 cm × about 1 cm
Five test pieces of 5 cm length were sampled, measured with a cantilever type testing machine, and the average value was determined to determine the bending resistance. Elongation The elongation was measured according to the constant load method described in Method B of 6.14.1 of JIS L 1096.

The test method is as follows. After leaving the transfer medium in an environment of room temperature of 20 ° C. and humidity of 60% for 8 hours, 5 cm × about 3 cm
Three test pieces of 0 cm are collected, one end of the test piece is fixed with an upper clamp using a tensile tester, and an initial load is applied to the other end. Then mark 20 cm intervals and gently 14.7
A load of 1 N (1.5 kgf) is applied. The length (Lcm) between the marks after standing for 1 minute was measured, and the average value of three times was obtained by the following formula to obtain the elongation rate. Elongation rate (%) = {(L-20) / 20} × 100 L: Length between marks after applying a load of 14.71 N (1.5 kgf) for 1 minute (cm) Transfer image forming method FIG. As shown in Fig. 2, in order to mark a straight black line with a length of 6 cm and a thickness of 6 points when viewed from the front 2 cm below the left and right eyes on the face, the length of the uneven surface where the image is to be transferred Was measured with a measure to correct the curvature, and a mirror image was printed on a transfer medium with an inkjet printer (CP-620, manufactured by Canon Electronics Co., Ltd.). After printing, the transfer medium was cut out to a size of 5 cm × 10 cm centering on the printing portion, and the transfer layer was adhered to a target portion in close contact, and then the transfer medium was peeled off to form an image. Transferability The transferred image was evaluated as “O” when no fading or chipping was observed, and was evaluated as “Good” when the image was poorly transferred such as fading or chipping. Image fidelity When the transferred image was viewed from the front, when the black line was seen as a straight line without expansion or contraction, it was evaluated as ○. Comparative Example 1 A transfer medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example except that a transparent PET film having a thickness of 100 μm was used as a support, and PVA (GL-05 manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was used as a water-soluble polymer material. It was created.

Table 1 shows the physical properties and transfer characteristics of the transfer media prepared in Comparative Examples.

[0042]

According to the present invention, a transfer medium comprising a transfer layer containing a water-soluble polymer material and a support, wherein the transfer medium has a rigidity of 120 mm or less according to a 45 ° cantilever method. This makes it possible to easily form a transferred image without blurring or chipping on the skin of a human body or the like having large irregularities.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of a transfer medium of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transfer image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 transfer layer 2 support

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 2H086 BA02 BA35 BA41 BA53 2H113 AA03 AA04 BA22 BB00 BC01 CA00 DA25 DA43 DA44 DA46 DA47 DA49 DA52 DA53 DA57 DA62 DA63 EA07 FA10 3B005 EA06 EB05 EC06 FA01 FA18 FB23 FB25 FB26 FBZ FC02 FC02 FC02 FC02 GB05

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A transfer medium having a transfer layer exhibiting transfer characteristics in which only an ink-applied region is separable,
The transfer medium is a transfer medium comprising a transfer layer containing a water-soluble polymer material and a support, which is obtained by a 45 ° cantilever method (based on JIS L 1096, 6.19.1). A transfer medium characterized by having a hardness of 120 mm or less. 2. An elongation rate (JIS L 1) of the transfer medium.
096, based on 6.14.1 method B) is 15
%. The transfer medium according to claim 1, wherein 3. The water-soluble polymer material forming the transfer layer of the transfer medium is gelatin, starch, chitin, chitosan,
The transfer according to claim 1, wherein the transfer is one or a mixture of two or more selected from carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium alginate, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polyethylene oxide, and derivatives or copolymers thereof. Medium. 4. The transfer medium according to claim 1, wherein a dry coating thickness of a transfer layer of the transfer medium is 0.5 μm or more and 20 μm or less. 5. The transfer medium according to claim 4, wherein the transfer layer has a dry coating thickness of 1 μm or more and 10 μm or less. 6. An image is formed on the transfer medium according to claim 1 with an aqueous ink, and a transfer layer of the transfer medium is attached to the skin and then peeled off to form only the ink image. A transfer image forming method characterized by transferring. 7. The transfer image forming method according to claim 6, wherein the image formation is performed on the transfer medium after the curvature correction of the ink image data is performed in consideration of the unevenness on the skin.