Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-03
2004-05-11
Lorengo, J. A. (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S239000, C156S247000, C156S289000, C427S148000, C428S195100, C428S213000, C428S219000, C428S352000, C428S914000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06733611
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an image forming method which can protect an image of a record produced by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording system, such as an electrophotographic recording system, an ink jet recording system, or a thermal transfer recording system, particularly by an electrophotographic system or an ink melt transfer system (a hot-melt transfer system), can impart weathering resistance and the like to the image, can enhance surface gloss of the image, and, at the same time, can prepare records having high image sharpness and image quality comparable to silver salt photographs, and also relates to records obtained therefrom.
BACKGROUND ART
By virtue of the advance of digital cameras and color hard copy technology in recent years, prints having full-color images formed thereon by a nonsilver photographic system, such as an electrophotographic recording system, an ink jet recording system, or a thermal transfer recording system, could have become immediately prepared in situ as the need arises, as opposed to a conventional method wherein a person asks a processing laboratory for development and receives prints later from the processing laboratory.
In these color copy prints, however, images blur upon contact with water, chemicals or the like located close thereto. Further, upon rubbing against hard objects, images are disadvantageously separated or smeared. In addition, in these prints formed particularly by an electrophotographic system or a hot-melt transfer system, the recorded portion rises, and concaves and convexes are formed on the surface of the prints. Therefore, the quality of the prints is much lower than that of photographs having a suitable level of glossiness and a suitable level of sharpness.
For example, in the electrophotographic recording system, a toner image is transferred onto an image-receiving object, the toner is melted by a hot roll, and the melted toner is self-cooled to adhere and fix the cooled toner onto the image-receiving object. In this system, concaves and convexes are formed on the surface of the fixed image, and, thus, the smoothness is low and a suitable level of glossiness and a suitable level of sharpness cannot be provided. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 29852/1986 proposes a method wherein an acryl-modified alkyd resin solution is coated on an image formed by an electrophotographic process and the coating is then dried to form a glossy fixed image. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 278967/1992 proposes a method for forming deep images wherein the surface of the transfer material is covered with a transparent toner. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 224779/1983 proposes a recording apparatus wherein a laminate material with a hot-melt adhesive is heated together with a recorded material to apply the laminate material to the recorded material.
Thus, various proposals have hitherto been made. In output prints formed particularly by an electrophotographic recording system or a hot-melt transfer system wherein the surface of prints rises, however, at the present time, in any event, the above-described post treatment cannot always provide desired photograph-like image quality.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above problems of the prior art, the present invention has been made, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming method which can protect an image of a record, which can be immediately produced by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording system, can impart weathering resistance and the like to the image, can enhance surface gloss to the image, and, at the same time, can prepare records having high image sharpness and image quality comparable to silver salt photographs, and to provide a record obtained therefrom.
First Invention
The above object can be attained by an image forming method according to the first invention which comprises the steps of:
providing a print output by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording system;
providing a protective layer transfer sheet comprising a thermally transferable protective layer having a single or multi-layer structure separably provided on a substrate sheet;
putting the print and the protective layer transfer sheet on top of each other and thermally transferring the protective layer onto an image in the print so as to cover at least the printed portion in the print; and
then separating the substrate sheet from the protective layer transfer sheet.
Preferably, the nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording system is any one of an electrophotographic recording system, an ink jet recording system, and a thermal transfer recording system.
The protective layer transfer sheet preferably comprises: a substrate sheet; and, stacked on the substrate sheet in the following order, a thermally transferable release layer having a single or multi-layer structure and a thermally transferable protective layer having a single or multi-layer structure.
The protective layer transfer sheet preferably comprises: a substrate sheet; and, stacked on the substrate sheet in the following order, a thermally transferable release layer having a single or multi-layer structure, a thermally transferable protective layer having a single or multi-layer structure, and a thermally transferable adhesive layer having a single or multi-layer structure.
Further, the substrate sheet in the protective layer transfer sheet is preferably formed of a 2 to 100 &mgr;m-thick plastic film.
The plastic film preferably has a specular glossiness at 45 degrees of not more than 100%.
Here this specular glossiness is a value as measured under conditions specified in JIS Z 8741.
The coverage of the whole layer to be transferred in the protective layer transfer sheet is preferably 3 to 30 g/m
2
. According to this constitution, the concaves and the convexes on the surface of the image can be flattened to impart a high level of glossiness to the image. Here the coverage is on a dry basis.
The material used in the thermally transferable protective layer is preferably a thermoplastic resin.
The thermoplastic resin preferably has a Tg value of 40 to 100° C. and a storage modulus at 110° C. of not more than 1×10
5
Pa.
According to the present invention, there is provided a protective layer transfer sheet for use in providing any one of the above image forming methods.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a record comprising a protective layer provided on the image of the print by any one of the above image forming methods.
The record produced by any one of the above image forming methods has a specular glossiness at 45 degrees in the range of 70 to 110%. Here this specular glossiness is a value as measured under conditions specified in JIS Z 8741.
According to the image forming method comprising the steps of: providing a print output using a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording system; providing a protective layer transfer sheet comprising a thermally transferable protective layer separably provided on a substrate sheet; putting the print and the protective layer transfer sheet on top of each other and thermally transferring the protective layer onto an image in the print; and then separating the substrate sheet from the protective layer transfer sheet, the concaves and the convexes on the surface of the image can be flattened by the transferred protective layer to impart a high level of glossiness to the image. Further, unlike film laminates, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of significantly increasing the thickness of records, and records can be realized which have image quality comparable to that of silver salt photographs.
Second Invention
According to the second invention, there is provided an image forming method comprising the steps of:
providing a protective layer transfer sheet comprising a thermally transferable protective layer having a single or multi-layer structure separably provided on a substrate sheet;
providing a print output by a nonsilver photographic co
Hayashi Masafumi
Ikeuchi Nobuho
Kamikubo Yoshinori
Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd.
Lorengo J. A.
Parkhurst & Wendel L.L.P.
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