[Object] An object is to provide a thermal transfer sheet which allows for forming an image favorable to any of transfer objects having a poor smoothness and a high smoothness.

[Solution] The thermal transfer sheet according to the present invention comprising: a substrate; and a transfer layer comprising a release layer, a colorant layer and an adhesive layer, wherein the release layer includes a polyethylene glycol having a number average molecular weight of 8000 or more and 23000 or less and the colorant layer includes one or both of a polyester and a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, and a colorant.

A plastic material is useful as an ink receiver or printing medium in dye diffusion thermal transfer printing, wherein the plastic material has a polyamide component (a), and a (co)-polyamide (b) based on ether units and amide units. This plastic material can be used to make a layered structure. The layered structure can be used in dye diffusion thermal transfer printing. A security and/or valuable document with the layered structure can be obtained. Based on the finding that the (co)-polyamide (b) offers sufficient absorbency for the printing ink, the layer produced from the plastic material can be printed on by means of dye diffusion thermal transfer printing with a good color intensity.

An object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate transfer medium having high durability, as well as high smudge resistance and image stability. The intermediate transfer medium of the present invention includes: a substrate, and a transfer layer including a first intermediate layer, a second intermediate layer and a receiving layer; in which the first intermediate layer contains a (meth)acrylic polyol resin with a glass transition temperature of 80 C. or higher; in which the second intermediate layer contains a polyester with a glass transition temperature of 45 C. or higher and a filler with a mean particle diameter of 2 m or more and 5 m or less; and in which the content of the filler in the second intermediate layer is 0.5% by mass or more and 5% by mass or less.

A thermal transfer recording medium which includes a dye layer having storage stability and sufficient color development properties, and enables improvement in image quality of the printed matter. The thermal transfer recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate, a heat-resistant lubricating layer provided on a first surface of the substrate, and a dye layer provided on a second surface of the substrate, wherein the dye layer includes a dye, a binder A, and a binder B which contains at least one of polyvinyl butyral and polyvinyl acetal, a solubility parameter of the binder A is within a range of 9.5 (cal/cm.sup.3).sup.1/2 or more and 12.0 (cal/cm.sup.3).sup.1/2 or less, and a melting viscosity of the binder A at 200 C. is 400 Pa sec or less.

In a seal-type thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, the total thickness thereof is 250 m or less, a seal portion has a layered structure in which a pressure-adhesive layer, a seal portion substrate, and a receiving layer are layered in this order from a release portion side. A release portion has a layered structure in which a surface resin layer, a release portion paper substrate, and a back face resin layer are layered in this order from a seal portion side. One or both of the seal portion substrate and the surface resin layer includes a layer made of polyethylene terephthalate is 50 m or more. The sum of the thickness of the seal portion substrate and the thickness of the surface resin layer is four times or more the thickness of the back face resin layer, and the thickness of the back face resin layer is 20 m or more.

Provided is a combination of a thermal transfer sheet and a seal-type printing sheet, the combination being capable of preventing occurrence of wrinkles in a print. In a combination of a thermal transfer sheet including a substrate and a colorant layer provided on one surface of the substrate and a seal-type printing sheet including a releasing substrate and a printing paper sheet with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer provided on a portion of one surface of the releasing substrate, the difference between the dynamic friction coefficient between the colorant layer in the thermal transfer sheet and the printing paper sheet with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer in the seal-type printing sheet and the dynamic friction coefficient between the colorant layer in the thermal transfer sheet and the releasing substrate in the seal-type printing sheet is 1.0 or less.

Provided are a combination of a thermal transfer sheet and an intermediate transfer medium which is capable of accurately transferring only a transfer layer of the intermediate transfer medium desired to be transferred onto a transfer receiving article in the production of a print, and a thermal transfer sheet which is used in combination with an intermediate transfer medium. Also provided are a method for producing a print, comprising accurately transferring only a transfer layer of an intermediate transfer medium desired to be transferred onto a transfer receiving article, and a thermal transfer printer which is used in this method for producing a print. In the thermal transfer sheet which is used in combination with an intermediate transfer medium, inhibit layer 2 is disposed on substrate 1, and the inhibit layer 2 contains a carnauba wax.

To provide a coating liquid for release layer with which a release layer having a small variation in the performance difference can be stably formed, to provide a method for producing a thermal transfer sheet using this coating liquid for release layer, and to provide a thermal transfer sheet having stable releasability.

A thermal transfer sheet having a substrate 1, a release layer 2 provided on the substrate 1, and a transfer layer 10 provided on the release layer 2, wherein the transfer layer 10 is provided peelably from the release layer 2, and the release layer 2 contains a silsesquioxane.

A thermal transfer recording medium that satisfies the requirements for higher printing speed of thermal transfer, and high density and high quality of thermal transfer images, that better prevents the occurrence of abnormal transfer under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, and that improves transfer sensitivity in printing. The thermal transfer recording medium includes a primer layer, an undercoat layer, and a dye layer in this order on one surface of a substrate, and a heat-resistant lubricating layer on the other surface of the substrate; wherein the primer layer contains polycarbonate and a polyurethane-urea resin having a polycaprolactam skeleton; the undercoat layer contains a copolymer of polyester and acrylic, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone; and the copolymer is a copolymer of polyester having a sulfonic acid group, and acrylic having at least one of a glycidyl group and a carboxyl group.

Provided is, for example, a compound excellent in light fastness and storage stability. The compound is characterized by having a structure represented by the following formula (1) or (2).

##STR00001##