Thermal transfer sheet containing a mixture of dyes

Abstract: The present invention provides a cyan thermal transfer sheet capable of forming images with excellent light resistance without causing any catalytic color change or fading, wherein the thermal transfer sheet has a base sheet and a dye layer composed of a dye and a binder resin on one surface of the base sheet, the dye layer containing at least the dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2).

Description: The present invention relates to a thermal transfer sheet to be used for a sublimation thermal transfer recording method, and in more detail, to a cyan thermal transfer sheet that yields an image being particularly improved with respect to light-resistant colorfastness. A sublimation thermal transfer recording method has been known in the art as a simple method for producing full-color images. Basically, sublimating dyes of yellow, cyan or magenta and an appropriate binder resin are coated on one surface of a base film such as a polyester film to form a dye layer with respective hues, and each thermal transfer sheet is used in the sublimation thermal transfer recording method. The thermal transfer sheets bearing the respective three colors (and black, if necessary) are alternately laid over a dyeable thermal transfer receptive sheet, and each dye on each thermal transfer sheet is sublimated to successively transfer the dyes onto a dye-receiving layer of the receptive sheet with a thermal head printer, thereby reproducing a full color image from the original document. While the dyes for use in the thermal transfer sheets with respective colors should be selected from yellow, magenta and cyan dyes having ideal hues - the dyes used in other printing methods such as offset printing - in order to precisely reproduce the colors in the original image, it is actually difficult to generate ideal hues by using merely one kind of dye. Accordingly, nearly ideal hues are practically obtained by blending a plurality of dyes for each color. Among the three thermal transfer sheets bearing respective colors, especially the cyan thermal transfer sheet cannot regenerate an ideal cyan color using merely one kind of cyan dye, but a nearly ideal cyan is obtained by blending two or more kinds of cyan dyes. When the image is formed by using conventional cyan thermal transfer sheets, the quality of the obtained full-color image is degraded, or light resistance deteriorates as time elapses. Photodecomposition or photodegradation of the dyes may result because the cyan dyes transferred from the cyan thermal transfer sheet to the dye receiving layer exert catalytic effects on each other in the dye receiving layer due to the action of incident light. When the cyan colors fade or change in the full-color image formed as described above, the picture quality of the overall full-color picture is extremely deteriorated. EP-A-0 569 784 describes a mixture of dyes containing at least one anthraquinone dye having an absorption maximum at a wavelength of from 600 to 750 nm, and at least one triazolopyridine dye, a pyridone dye, an 1-aminopyrid-2,6-dione dye, a heterocyclic pyridone dye and/or a halogenated quinolone dye, wherein the triazolopyridine dye is represented by the following formula (I): wherein L 1 is a C 1 -C 20 -alkyl group which is optionally substituted and may be interrupted by 1 to 4 oxygen atoms in ether function, or is optionally a substituted phenyl group or a hydroxyl group, L 2 is a 5- or 6-membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic residue and R 3 is a cyano, carbamoyl, carboxyl or C 1 -C 4 -alkoxycarbonyl group. Further, US-A-5,703,238 describes a process for preparing pyridine dyes having the formula (I): wherein X is nitrogen or CH, R 1 is C 1 -C 20 -alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted and which is uninterrupted or interrupted by one or more oxygen atoms in ether function, said substitution being phenyl, C 1 -C 4 -alkylphenyl, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxyphenyl, halophenyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkanoyloxy, C 1 -C 8 -alkylaminocarbonyloxy or C 1 -C 20 -alkoxycarbonyl, R 2 is a 5-membered aromatic heterocyclic radical, R 3 is hydrogen, cyano, carbamoyl, carboxyl or C 1 -C 4 -alkoxycarbonyl, R 4 is oxygen or a radical of the formula C(CN) 2 ,C(CN)COOL 1 or C(COOL 1 ) 2 , where L 1 is in either case C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, which is uninterrupted or interrupted by one or two oxygen atoms in ether function, and R 5 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 4 -alkyl, which comprises condensing a pyridine compound of the formula (II): wherein X, R 1 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are each as defined above, with a 5-membered aromatic heterocycle of the formula (III): R 2 -H wherein R 2 is as defined above, in an acid reaction medium at a pH of from about 0 to about 5 at from about -10°C to +100°C. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cyan thermal transfer sheet capable of forming an image with excellent light resistance without causing any catalytic color change or fading. The present invention provides a cyan thermal transfer sheet having a base sheet and a dye layer composed of a dye and a binder resin on one face of the base sheet, wherein the dye layer contains at least dyes represented by the following general formulas (1) and (2), wherein the amount of the dye used represented by general formula (1) to the amount of the dye used represented by general formula (2) is in a proportion ranging from 90/10 to 10/90 by weight : (R 1 and R 2 in the formulae represent substituted or non-substituted alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted aralkyl groups or substituted or non-substituted aryl groups; R 3 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group, a substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aralkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, a substituted or non-substituted acyl group, a substituted or non-substituted acylamino group or a substituted or non-substituted sulfonylamino group; R 4 represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; R 5 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group; R 6 represents a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aralkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, or a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group; and R 7 and R 8 represent substituted or non-substituted alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkoxycarbonyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkylaminosulfonyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkoxy groups, substituted or non-substituted alkylaminocarbonyl groups, cyano groups, nitro groups or halogen atoms. R 9 represents a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted amino group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxycarbonyl group, or a halogen atom; and R 10 represents a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, a substituted or non-substituted aromatic heterocyclic group, a cyano group, a nitro group or a halogen group, or other electronegative groups; and n represents an integer of 1 or 2). The present invention will be described in more detail hereinafter referring to the preferred embodiments. The dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention contains at least the dyes represented by the forgoing general formulae (1) and (2). Although any dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2) can be used in the present invention, examples of particularly preferable dyes represented by the general formula (1) include those listed in TABLE 1. The dyes in TABLE 1 are categorized according to their substituents. No. R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 R 6 1 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 3-CH 3 -Cl -CH 3 -CH 3 2 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 3-CH 3 -Cl -C 2 H 5 -OC 2 H 5 3 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 3-CH 3 -H -H Phenyl 4 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 -H -H -C 4 H 9 -C 3 H 7 (i) Examples of particularly preferable dyes represented by the general formula (2) include those listed in TABLE 2. The dyes in TABLE 2 are categorized according to their substituents. No. R 1 R 2 R 7 R 8 R 9 R 10 1 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 -CN -CH 3 -C 2 H 5 Phenyl 2 -C 4 H 9 -C 4 H 9 -CN -CH 3 -C 7 H 15 Phenyl 3 -C 4 H 9 -C 4 H 9 -CN -CH 3 -C 2 H 5 Phenyl 4 -C 2 H 5 -C 2 H 5 -CN -CH 3 -C 2 H 5 Phenyl The weight ratio of the dye (1) to the dye (2) is in the range of 90/10 to 10/90, and is preferably in the range of 80/20 to 30/70. When the proportion of the dye used represented by the general formula (2) is too small, the effects of the present invention with respect to hue and color saturation will not be fully shown, while when the proportion of the dye used represented by the general formula (2) is too large, the effects of the present invention with respect to the preservative nature and heat resistance of the thermal transfer sheet obtained are insufficiently shown. It is preferable that the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention contain, in addition to the dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2), a dye represented by the following general formula (3). Additionally, blending such dye yields a preservative effect such as enhanced light resistance of the picture and heat resistance of the thermal transfer sheet. R 1 and R 2 in the above formula represent alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted aryl groups, substituted or non-substituted heterocyclic groups, substituted or non-substituted allyl groups, or substituted or non-substituted aralkyl groups. Examples of the preferable dye represented by the general formula (3) are listed in TABLE 3 below. The dyes are categorized in accordance with their substitutents in TABLE 3. No. R 1 R 2 1 -H 3-methylphenyl 2 -CH 3 4-methylphenyl 3 -C 3 H 7 (i) 4-butylphenyl 4 2- (2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxyphenyl 4-methoxyphenyl 5 4-hydroxypropyl 3-methylphenyl 6 -C 3 H 7 ( i) 4-(3-hydroxypropyl)phenyl 7 -CH 3 -C 3 H 7 (i) 8 -C 3 H 7 (i) 1,4-dimethylphenyl Although the amount of the dye used represented by the general formula (3) is not particularly limited, it is generally within the range of 0 to 400 parts by weight, preferably 50 to 200 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the combined amount of the dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2). Use of too large an amount of the dye represented by the general formula (3) is not preferable because color saturation of the picture obtained is decreased. While the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention essentially contains the specified dyes as hitherto described, the other aspects of the construction thereof may be the same for known thermal transfer sheets. For example, the thermal transfer sheet may be a rolled sheet or may be composed of leaflets, or a monochromatic layer or dye layers with other hues may be provided on the thermal transfer sheet in the order of respective color faces. Any type of base sheet may be used for the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention, provided that it possesses a considerable degree of heat resistance and mechanical strength as is known in the art. Preferable examples thereof include paper, various kind of processed paper, polyester film, polystyrene film, polypropylene film, polystyrene film, polycarbonate film, polyaramide film, polyvinyl alcohol film, and cellulose film having a thickness of 5 to 50 µ m, and more preferably 3 to 10 µ m. The most preferable film is the polyester film. The dye layer provided on the base sheet as described above is prepared by holding the dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2), and the dye represented by the general formula (3), if necessary, in an arbitrary binder resin. Any resin may be used for the binder resin for holding the above dye mixture. Examples of the preferable resin include cellulose derivatives such as ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl-hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, ethyl-hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butylate, cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose nitrate; vinyl resins such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetoacetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride; acrylic resin such as polyacrylonitrile and polyacrylic esters; polyamide resins; polyester resins; polycarbonate resins; phenoxy resins; phenol resins; epoxy resins and elastomers. These resins may be used by mixing or after copolymerization, or they may be used by cross-linking with various kinds of cross-linking agents. Polyvinyl butyral and polyvinyl acetal are particularly preferable resins with respect to heat resistance and dye transfer ability. Although the dye layer on the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention is basically composed of the materials as hitherto described, other additives known in the art such as an organic filler, such as a polyethylene powder, may be incorporated into the layer, if necessary. A coating solution for forming a dye layer or an ink is prepared by dissolving or dispersing the dye mixture as well as the binder resin and other arbitrary components in an appropriate solvent, and the dye layer as described above is preferably formed by coating the preparation on the base sheet followed by drying. The dye layer formed as described above has a preferable thickness of 0.2 to 5.0 µ m, and more preferably 0.4 to 2.0 µ m. The dye layer preferably contains 5 to 70% by weight, and more preferably 10 to 60% by weight, of the dye mixture relative to the weight of the dye layer. While the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention produced as described above is by itself fairly useful, an adhesion prevention layer, or a separating layer(release layer), may be provided on the dye layer. Providing such a layer allows the thermal transfer sheet to be prevented from adhering to the picture sheet, making it possible to use a higher thermal transfer temperature to obtain better picture density. A separating layer prepared by merely adhering an adhesion preventing inorganic powder is substantially effective. However, the separating layer with a preferable thickness of 0.01 to 5 µ m, and more preferably 0.05 to 2 µ m, may be formed using a resin having superior separating ability such as a silicone polymer, an acrylic polymer, and a fluorinated polymer. The inorganic powder or the separating polymer exerts a sufficient effect by allowing it to be merely incorporated in the dye layer. A heat resistant layer may be also provided on the back face of the thermal transfer sheet in order to prevent adverse effects caused by the heat from the thermal head. Any receptive sheets for forming an image from the thermal transfer sheet as described above may be used, provided that the recording face of the sheet has a dye receiving ability. When the sheet comprises paper, metal, glass, or synthetic resin that has no dye-receiving ability, the dye receiving layer may be provided at least on one face of the sheet. Examples of a receptive sheet that do not require formation of a dye receiving layer include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene; halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride; vinyl polymers such as polyvinyl acetate and polyacrylic esters; polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate; polystyrene resins; polyamide resins; copolymer resins of olefins such as ethylene and propylene with other vinyl polymers; ionomers; cellulose resins such as cellulose diacetate; fibers comprising polycarbonates and the like; woven fabrics; films; sheets and other cast products. Especially preferable materials for the dye receiving layer include a sheet or film comprising polyester, or a processed paper provided with a polyester layer. A non- chromophil sheet such as paper, metal, or glass can be made to serve as a receptive sheet by coating, followed by drying, a solution or dispersion of a chromophil resin on its recording face, or by laminating a film comprising such resins. The dye receiving layer comprising a chromophil resin may be formed on the receptive sheet even when a chromophil picture sheet is used as in the case of paper described above. The dye receiving layer formed as described above may be composed of a single material or a plurality of materials, and various additives may be included in a range which will not disturb the object of the dye receiving layer itself. The foregoing dye receiving layer may have an arbitrary thickness, generally being in the range of 3 to 50 µ m. While it is preferable that such dye receiving layer be composed of continuous coating layers, discrete coating steps may be applied using resin emulsions or resin dispersions. Although the picture sheet having a basic construction as described above is sufficient for use by itself, an inorganic powder for preventing adhesion may be incorporated into the receptive sheet or into the dye receiving layer, which prevents the thermal transfer sheet from sticking to the receptive sheet to obtain a thermal transfer image with better quality even when the thermal transfer temperature is increased. A fine powder of silica is particularly preferable. The foregoing resins with good separating ability may be used instead of, or together with, the inorganic powder such as a silica powder. Particularly preferable releasing polymers include a hardened material of a silicone compound, for example a hardened material comprising epoxy-modified silicone oil and amino-modified silicone oil. Preferable ratios of such releasing agents are 0.5 to 30% by weight to the total weight of the dye receiving layer. The adhesion preventive effect of the receptive sheet may be enhanced by adhering the inorganic powder as described above on the surface of the dye receiving layer, or a layer comprising a separating layer with excellent releasing ability may be provided on the surface of the dye receiving layer. Such a separating layer with a thickness of 0.01 to 5 µ m is sufficient for exerting its effect, allowing dye receiving ability to be further improved while preventing the thermal transfer sheet from adhering to the dye receiving layer. Any means known in the art for imparting thermal energy may be used in the thermal transfer process using the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention and recording media as hitherto described. The prescribed object can be sufficiently achieved with a recording device such as a thermal printer (for example, Video-printer VY-100, made by Hitachi Co.) by controlling the recording time and the thermal energy to about 5 to 100 mJ/mm 2 . The present invention will be described in more detail referring to Examples and Comparative Examples. Parts or percentage in the following descriptions is based on weight, unless otherwise indicated. (Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2) Dye layer forming ink preparations with the compositions in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 below were prepared. The preparations were coated on 6 µ m thick polyethylene terephthalate films, whose back faces were subjected to a thermal treatment, with a dry coating weight of 1.0 g/m 2 , and five kinds of thermal transfer sheets were obtained after drying. (Example 1) Dye No. 1 in TABLE 1 1.5 parts Dye No. 2 in TABLE 2 1.5 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal 3.5 parts Methylethyl ketone 46.75 parts Toluene 46.75 parts (Example 2) Dye No. 2 in TABLE 1 2.0 parts Dye No. 2 in TABLE 2 2.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal 3.5 parts Methylethyl ketone 46.25 parts Toluene 46.25 parts (Example 3) Dye No. 1 in TABLE 1 2.0 parts Dye No. 2 in TABLE 2 2.0 parts Dye No. 2 in TABLE 3 2.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal 3.5 parts Methylethyl ketone 46.25 parts Toluene 46.25 parts (Comparative Example 1) C.I. Disperse Blue® 354 2.0 parts Dye No. 1 in TABLE 1 2.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal 3.5 parts Methylethyl ketone 46.25 parts Toluene 46.25 parts (Comparative Example 2) Dye No. 1 in TABLE 1 2.0 parts C.I. Disperse Blue® 354 2.0 parts Dye No. 2 in TABLE 3 2.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal 3.5 parts Methylethyl ketone 46.25 parts Toluene 46.25 parts A coating solution with a composition as described below was coated on one face of a synthetic paper (Yupo EPG #150, made by Ohji Yuka Co.) in a proportion of 10.0 g/m 2 in dry weight, and a thermal transfer sheet was obtained by drying the coating layer at 100°C for 30 minutes. Polyester resin (Vylon® 200, made by Toyobo Co.) 11.5 parts Polyvinyl chloride - vinyl acetate copolymer (VYHH, made by UCC) 5.0 parts Amino-modified silicone (KF-393, made by Shinetsu Chemical Industry Co.) 1.2 parts Epoxy-modified silicone (X-22-343, made by Shinetsu Chemical Industry Co.) 1.2 parts Methylethyl ketone/toluene/cyclohexane (4 : 4 : 2 in weight ratio) 102.0 parts The thermal transfer sheets in Examples 1 to 3 and in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were laid over the thermal transfer picture sheets by allowing dye layers to confront respective dye receiving layers. Respective cyan color pictures were obtained by recording with a thermal head printer while impressing a head voltage of 10 V from the back faces of respective thermal transfer sheets for a printing time of 4.0 ms. Light resistance tests were carried out with respect to these color pictures using a xenon fade-meter (CI 35A, made by Atras Co.) with a black panel temperature of 50°C, a luminous flux density of 50 kLux and an illumination time of 50 hours to obtain luminous fading rates of respective images. The results are summarized in TABLE 4. The optical density (OD) of each image before and after being subjected to the light resistance test was measured with a densitometer RD918 made by Macbeth Co. (USA), and the luminous fading rate was calculated from the optical density by the following formula: Luminous fading ratio = [1 - (OD after the light resistance test)/(OD before the light resistance test)] x 100 luminous fading rate Example 1 17 Example 2 14 Example 3 12 Comparative Example 1 30 Comparative Example 25 The results in TABLE 4 indicate that the light resistance of the cyan color image obtained by the thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention is far more improved than that in the Comparative Examples. The present invention as hitherto described provides a thermal transfer sheet capable of forming a picture with excellent light resistance without causing any catalytic luminous fading or color change in the thermal transfer image.

Claims: A thermal transfer sheet comprising: a base sheet; and a dye layer comprising a dye and a binder resin on one surface of the base sheet, wherein the dye layer contains at least dyes represented by the following general formulae (1) and (2), wherein the amount of the dye used represented by general formula (1) to the amount of the dye used represented by general formula (2) is in a proportion ranging from 90/10 to 10/90 by weight : (R 1 and R 2 in the formulae represent substituted or non-substituted alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted aralkyl groups or substituted or non-substituted aryl groups; R 3 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group, a substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aralkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, a substituted or non-substituted acyl group, a substituted or non-substituted acylamino group or a substituted or non-substituted sulfonylamino group; R 4 represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; R 5 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group; R 6 represents a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aralkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, or a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group; and R 7 and R 8 represent substituted or non-substituted alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkoxycarbonyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkylaminosulfonyl groups, substituted or non-substituted alkoxy groups, substituted or non-substituted alkylaminocarbonyl groups, cyano groups, nitro groups or halogen atoms; R 9 represents a substituted or non-substituted alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted amino group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxy group, a substituted or non-substituted alkoxycarbonyl group, or a halogen atom; and R 10 represents a substituted or non-substituted aryl group, a substituted or non-substituted aromatic heterocyclic group, a cyano group, a nitro group or a halogen group, or other electronegative groups ; and n represents an integer of 1 or 2). A thermal transfer sheet according to Claim 1 containing a dye represented by the following general formula (3): (R 1 and R 2 in the formula represent substituted or non-substituted alkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted cycloalkyl groups, substituted or non-substituted aryl groups, substituted or non-substituted heterocyclic groups, substituted or non-substituted aryl groups, or substituted or non-substituted aralkyl groups). A thermal transfer sheet according to Claim 2, wherein the proportion of the dye represented by the general formula (3) used is in the range of 0 to 400 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the combined amount of the dyes represented by the general formulae (1) and (2).

Inventors: TAKADA TAKESHI, YOSHIDA KAZUYA, TAKADA, TAKESHI, YOSHIDA, KAZUYA
Applicants: DAINIPPON PRINTING CO LTD, DAI NIPPON PRINTING CO., LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B41M5
IPC codes: B44C1, B41M5, B32B27