A heat transfer system is provided with a first heating element that transfers ink in an ink layer to a transfer-receiving body in a first pattern, a winding part that winds an ink ribbon having ink transferred therein on the downstream side of the first heating element in such a manner that a back surface layer is positioned outside the ink layer, a second heating element that transfers ink in the ink layer to the back surface layer inside the ink layer in a second pattern near the winding part, and a controller that controls the heating elements, and the controller controls the first heating element to transfer ink corresponding to the first pattern by transferring a portion of the ink layer, and controls the second heating element to transfer ink corresponding to the second pattern by transferring the ink layer as a whole.

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.

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.

A fabric printable medium includes a fabric base substrate having an image-side and a back-side. The fabric printable medium also includes a flame retardant ink receiving layer on the image-side of the fabric base substrate. The flame retardant ink receiving layer includes a first crosslinked polymeric network, a second crosslinked polymeric network, a flame retardant agent, and a physical networking agent selected from the group consisting of an acrylate copolymer, a polyacrylic acid copolymer, a polyester copolymer, a polyurethane copolymer, and combinations thereof, the physical networking agent having a weight average molecular weight ranging from 300,000 Mw to 1,000,000 Mw. The fabric printable medium also includes a waterproof coating on the back-side of the fabric base substrate.

To provide a thermal transfer sheet capable of inhibiting residues derived from a back face layer from adhering to a thermal head, also capable of inhibiting occurrence of a kick, and having a shorter time period until the back face layer is stabilized.

A thermal transfer sheet comprising; a colorant layer located on one surface of a substrate and a back face layer located on the other surface of the substrate, wherein the back face layer comprises a binder resin and inorganic particles, and the binder resin comprises a product obtained by reacting a polyisocyanate having an isocyanurate structure with a resin having hydroxyl groups at an equivalent ratio of isocyanate groups in the polyisocyanate having an isocyanurate structure to hydroxyl groups in the resin having hydroxyl groups (NCO/OH) of 0.05 or more and 0.15 or less.

A multilayered printed matter includes print layers (pattern layers) formed on a medium and having patterns printed thereon, and a concealing layer interposed between the print layers. The concealing layer conceals the pattern printed on one of the pattern layers not to affect the pattern of the other pattern layer. The concealing layer is formed on a back side relative to the other pattern layer. The print layers between the medium and one of the print layers on the back side of the other pattern layer (back-side print layers) respectively have recessed parts recessed into their surfaces toward the back side. The back-side print layer between the other pattern layer and the medium has a protruding part to fill one of the recessed parts and thereby planarize a surface of the back-side print layer. Hence achieving improved appearance and visual quality of the multilayered printed matter.

A laminated film is provided which has excellent shape appearance at winding and also excellent processability and is capable of achieving higher glossiness of printed objects, the laminated film containing a substrate layer (layer A) composed of a biaxially oriented polyester film and a coating layer (layer B) on at least one side of the layer A, wherein the crystal size of the (100) plane of the layer A obtained by an X-ray diffraction measurement is 4.5 nm or more and less than 6.0 nm, a higher heat shrinkage ratio of the laminated film at 150 C. for 30 minutes between a heat shrinkage ratio in the longitudinal direction and a heat shrinkage ratio in the width direction at 150 C. for 30 minutes is 0.5 to 2.5%, the layer B is located on at least one outermost surface layer, and a surface opposite to the surface having the layer B has a center line average roughness (SRa) of 5 to 15 nm.

The present disclosure is drawn to hybrid media sheets, ink-receiving layer compositions for coating on a media substrate, and a method of making hybrid media sheets. The hybrid media sheet scan have a media substrate with a front barrier layer, a back barrier layer, an adhesion promoting layer applied to the front barrier layer, and an ink-receiving layer applied to the adhesion promoting layer. The ink-receiving layer can include a water-soluble polymer, a mordant, and particles of a metal- or semimetal-oxide.

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; 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.

A thermal transfer recording medium comprises a heat-resistant lubricating layer laminated on a first surface of a substrate, and an undercoat layer and a dye layer laminated in this order on a second surface of the substrate. The dye layer contains, as binders, a polyvinyl acetal resin, a phenoxy resin, and a graft copolymer having a main chain comprising polycarbonate and a side chain comprising a vinyl-based polymer, and also contains Compounds I, II, and III as cyan dyes.