Imagewise Priming of Non-D2T2 Printable Substrates for Direct D2T2 Printing

A D2T2 thermal transfer ribbon comprising:

• a diffusible prime material, and
• at least one color panel.

A method of enabling D2T2 printing of non-D2T2 printable substrates, comprising the steps of:

• forming a primer layer on a PET base, wherein the primer layer comprises a polymer, a release agent and a plasticizer;
• and
• selectively heating the primer layer to diffuse the release agent and the plasticizer into the non-D2T2 printable substrate.

A process of producing a PC substrate having a D2T2 printed color image, comprising the steps of:

• forming a primer layer on a PET base, wherein the primer layer includes a plasticizer and release agent;
• selectively heating the primer layer to diffuse the plasticizer into the PC substrate in a desired amount and at desired locations according to the color image;
• selectively D2T2 printing the colored image into the PC substrate at the locations where the plasticizer diffused into the PC substrate.

A process of forming a full card body having a color image, post-personalization using a plate laminator.