Image-forming material and image formation method

• US 20030035935A1
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Susumu, Wachi, Naotaka, Yamamoto, Mitsuru, Hatakeyama, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 6,800,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/195.1
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/38214 Structural details, e.g. multilayer systems composition of individual layers B41M5/42
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 3/108 using a non-impact printing method, e.g. ink jet, using duplicating or marking methods covered by B41M5/00, e.g. by ablation or by thermographic means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 430/146 Laser beam
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

An image-forming material comprising: an image-receiving sheet comprising a support and an image-receiving layer and; a thermal transfer sheet comprising

a support, alight-to-heat conversion layer and an image-forming layer, wherein an outermost surface of the side of the thermal transfer sheet in which the image-forming layer is provided has a scratch resistance of from 50 g to 200 g at the time that the surface is scratched with a stylus having a radius of curvature of 0.25 mm at a velocity of 1 cm/sec and a method using the image-forming material.

Claims

1. An image-forming material comprising:

an image-receiving sheet comprising a support and an image-receiving layer and;

a thermal transfer sheet comprising a support, a light-to-heat conversion layer and an image-forming layer,

wherein an outermost surface of the side of the thermal transfer sheet in which the image-forming layer is provided has a scratch resistance of from 50 g to 200 g at the time that the surface is scratched with a stylus having a radius of curvature of 0.25 mm at a velocity of 1 cm/sec.

2. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the scratch resistance is from 100 g to 200 g.

3. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein an area of an image formed on the image-forming layer is at least 1000 cm².

4. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the thermal transfer sheet is used to form a color image on the image-receiving sheet.

5. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the outer most surface is that of the image-forming layer.

6. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the light-to-heat conversion layer comprises carbon black.

11. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the image-receiving sheet has an image-receiving surface having the image-receiving layer and a back surface that is opposite to the image-receiving surface;

a dynamic frictional force in relation to the image-receiving surface and the back surface is 40 gf or less; and

a surface roughness Rz of the image-receiving surface is 4 μ

m or less and a surface roughness Rz of the back surface is 8 μ

m or less.

12. The image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the surface roughness Rz of the image-receiving surface is 3 μ

m or less and the surface roughness Rz of the back surface is 5 μ

m or less.

13. A method for forming an image comprising the steps of:

preparing the image-forming material according to claim 1, which comprises at least four thermal transfer sheets each comprising a support, a light-to-heat conversion layer and an image-forming layer, the at least four thermal transfer sheets comprising yellow, magenta, cyan and black thermal transfer sheets;

superposing each one of the at least four thermal transfer sheets on the image-receiving sheet to be in a state of the image-forming layer being in contact with the image-receiving layer; and

irradiating the thermal transfer sheet with a laser beam to transfer an image in an area of the image-forming layer subjected to irradiation onto the image-receiving layer.

14. The method for forming a color proof comprising the steps of:

forming a multicolor image on the image-receiving layer by the method according to claim 13;

and

transferring the multicolor image together with the image-receiving layer onto a printing paper.

7. An image-forming material comprising:

an image-receiving sheet comprising a support and an image-receiving layer and;

a thermal transfer sheet comprising a support, a light-to-heat conversion layer and an image-forming layer,

wherein a peeling force in relation to the light-to-heat conversion layer and the image-forming layer is less than 5.9 N/m on the condition that the light-to-heat conversion layer is peeled off from the image-forming layer with a peeling angle of 90° and

at a peeling velocity of 500 mm/min after that;

the image-receiving sheet is superposed on the thermal transfer sheet to be in a state of the image-receiving layer being in contact with the image-forming layer; and

the superposed body is subjected to laser light irradiation from the support side of the thermal transfer sheet after the superposing.

8. The image-forming material according to claim 7, wherein the peeling force is at least 0.5 N/m.

9. The image-forming material according to claim 7, wherein a peeling force in relation to the light-to-heat conversion layer and the image-forming layer is at least 0.98 N/m on the condition that the light-to-heat conversion layer is peeled off from the image-forming layer with a peeling angle of 90°

and at a peeling velocity of 500 mm/min before the superposing.

10. The image-forming material according to claim 8, wherein the peeling force before the superposing is larger than the peeling force after the superposing and the irradiation.