The purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer sheet which can prevent a kick and a scumming, and can form a photographic tone color image of high quality with a continuous tone image by sublimation transfer, while expanding the range of choices for colorants to be included in a colorant layer; a coating liquid for colorant layer to be used for forming the colorant layer of this thermal transfer sheet; a method for manufacturing this thermal transfer sheet; and image forming method employing this thermal transfer sheet. The problem is solved by a thermal transfer sheet (1) in which at least a colorant layer (3) is layered on a substrate sheet (2), wherein the colorant layer (3) contains a predetermined solvent, a colorant (10x) dispersible in the predetermined solvent, a dispersant, and a binder resin, and the dispersant being one or more selected from the group consisting of polyether-based dispersants, graft type polymer dispersants, acryl-based block type polymer dispersants, urethane-based polymer dispersants and azo-based dispersants.

There is provided a transfer sheet with improvement in smudges and blurs of a transfer sheet when printed matters are produced. A transfer sheet according to the present invention comprises a substrate, and in the order a peel layer and a transfer layer on the substrate, wherein the peel layer contains a binder resin containing an acrylic-based resin of more than 0 mass and 49 mass % or less and a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin of 51 mass % or more and less than 100 mass %.

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, a release layer provided on the substrate, and a transfer layer provided on the release layer, wherein the transfer layer is provided peelably from the release layer, and the release layer contains a silsesquioxane.

Provided is a thermal transfer sheet that can form a good image on both a transfer object made of a polyethylene terephthalate and a transfer object made of a polypropylene, as well as can form an image with high alcohol resistance. The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention includes a substrate, and a transfer layer including a colored layer and an adhesive layer, in which the adhesive layer has a phase-separated structure formed by a polyester and a polyolefin that are incompatible with each other, and in which the percentage of the region formed by one of the polyester and the polyolefin to the total area (100%) of the adhesive layer is 55% or more and 85% or less.

Provided is a thermal transfer sheet with low hot and cold peeling strengths. Thermal transfer sheet according to the present disclosure includes a substrate and a transfer layer, wherein the transfer layer includes at least a peeling layer, and the peeling layer contains a vinyl resin and at least one of an alcohol alkoxylate and an alcohol having 18 to 80 carbon atoms.

Micro characters are expressed by a thermal fusion transfer technique. In a printed matter manufacturing method, a printed matter is manufactured by heating a thermal transfer sheet in accordance with image data, the thermal transfer sheet including a base member, a release layer disposed on the base member and containing a wavelength conversion material that emits visible light with excitation by invisible light, and a thermally fusible ink layer disposed on the release layer, and by transferring the thermally fusible ink layer to a transfer-receiving body. In this method, the image data includes a first pattern and a second pattern. The second pattern is disposed on the first pattern and has a maximum width of a predetermined value or less.

An intermediate transfer medium having a first transfer layer releasably provided on a support, a thermal transfer sheet in which a first colorant layer, a second transfer layer, and a second colorant layer are provided on one surface of a substrate so as being frame sequentially, and the second transfer layer is releasably provided from the substrate, and a transfer receiving article. The first colorant layer is used to form a first image on the first transfer layer of the intermediate transfer medium. The second transfer layer is transferred onto the first transfer layer on which the first image is formed, and then, the second colorant layer is used to form a second image on the second transfer layer. The first transfer layer is transferred together with the second transfer layer transferred on the first transfer layer onto the transfer receiving article to obtain a print having a stereoscopic image.

Heat transfer sheets for dye sublimation are provided, along with methods of their formation and use. The heat transfer sheet for dye sublimation may include a base sheet and a dye sublimation coating on a surface of the base sheet. The dye sublimation coating generally includes a plurality of microparticles dispersed in a polymeric binder, with the plurality of microparticles including a mixture of tack-inducing microparticles and oxide microparticles.

To provide a protective layer transfer sheet that can produce a print having excellent abrasion resistance and an excellent glossiness. A protective layer transfer sheet 100 including a transfer layer 10 provided on one surface of a substrate 1, wherein the transfer layer 10 has a single-layer structure composed only of a protective layer 5 or a layered structure in which the protective layer 10 is located nearest to a side of the substrate 1, and the protective layer 5 contains a styrene resin and a particulate organofluorine compound.

A heat sensitive transfer sheet that achieves high optical density and high light resistance without generating scumming. The heat sensitive sheet has a base material and a coloring material layer formed on the base material, and the coloring material layer includes a compound represented by the following formula (1) and a particular dye compound: ##STR00001##
wherein
R.sup.11 and R.sup.13 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, an unsubstituted aryl group or an aryl group having a substituent; and
R.sup.12 and R.sup.14 to R.sup.18 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group.