Thermal transfer printing method using intermediate sheets

A thermal transfer printing process comprising:

• heating a thermal ink film with a printing head to print dye transferring images onto an intermediate sheet which comprises a substrate and a printing layer thereon,
• heaping an image receive sheet on said printing layer, and
• transferring said printing layer onto said image receive sheet by pressure or heat;
• wherein said thermal ink film comprises a substrate and a color layer comprising:
• a dye, and
• a polymer binder which is selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer, polystyrene, styrene-acryl copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-acrylic ester copolymer, saturated polyester, polyester urethane, cellulose resin, rubber chloride, chlorinated polypropylene, polycarbonate and a mixture thereof, and wherein said printing layer is formed from polyvinyl acetal, and either said color layer or said printing layer or both contain a fluorine or siloxane-containing moisture curable resin.