Thermal recording structure and method
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsAkira Suzuki, Masaki Yoshino, Yoshihiko Hotta, Hiroyuki Uemura
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Abstract
Thermal recording structure and a method of thermal recording wherein a desired sublimation dye image is formed on an information recording medium provided with a thermal recording layer having a sublimation dye accepting function on at least one surface of a base substrate. The transparency of the thermal recording layer is reversible depending upon temperature to which the medium is heated. At least the sublimation dye image portion of the medium is heated to a temperature sufficient to reverse the transparency of the transfer image.
Claims19
Thermal recording medium, comprising:
- a base substrate;
- a thermal recording layer, the transparency of which is reversibly changeable depending on the temperature to which said thermal recording layer is exposed, said thermal recording layer also having a function of accepting a thermal sublimation dye;
- a sublimation dye image formed on said thermal recording layer, at least a portion of said thermal recording layer on which said sublimation dye image is formed having been heated.
A method of thermal recording comprising the steps of:
- forming a base substrate;
- forming a thermal recording layer, the transparency of which is reversibly changeable depending on the temperature to which said thermal recording layer is heated, said thermal recording layer also having a function of accepting a thermal sublimation dye;
- forming a sublimation dye image by image-wise sublimation of a dye on said thermal recording medium;
- and
- heating at least that portion of said thermal recording layer corresponding to said sublimation dye image.
A method of thermal recording, comprising steps of:
- forming a thermal sublimation dye image on at least one surface of a thermal recording layer located on a base substrate, wherein the transparency of said thermal recording layer is reversibly changeable depending on the temperature to which said thermal recording layer is exposed;
- heating the imaged recording medium in order to make the thermal sublimation image portion of said thermal recording layer even in transparency.
Thermal recording medium, comprising:
- a base substrate;
- a thermal recording layer, the transparency of which is reversibly changeable depending on the temperature to which said thermal recording layer is exposed, said thermal recording layer being disposed on said base substrate and having a function of accepting a thermal sublimation dye;
- and
- a sublimation dye image formed on said thermal recording layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.