An intermediate transfer medium that allows formation of high-density images on a transfer layer while suppressing printing unevenness and provides good foil cutting properties of the transfer layer, a combination of the intermediate transfer medium and a thermal transfer sheet, and a method for forming a print using the intermediate transfer medium. In an intermediate transfer medium having a transfer layer on a substrate, the transfer layer has a single layer structure including only a receiving layer or a layered structure including the receiving layer. When the transfer layer has the layered structure, the receiving layer is located furthest from the substrate among layers constituting the transfer layer. The receiving layer contains a binder resin having a number average molecular weight of 8000-32000 and a release agent. The content of the release agent based on the total mass of the receiving layer is 6% by mass or more.

An intermediate transfer medium that allows formation of high-density images on a transfer layer while suppressing printing unevenness and provides good foil cutting properties of the transfer layer, a combination of the intermediate transfer medium and a thermal transfer sheet, and a method for forming a print using the intermediate transfer medium. In an intermediate transfer medium having a transfer layer on a substrate, the transfer layer has a single layer structure including only a receiving layer or a layered structure including the receiving layer. When the transfer layer has the layered structure, the receiving layer is located furthest from the substrate among layers constituting the transfer layer. The receiving layer contains a binder resin having a number average molecular weight of 8000-32000 and a release agent. The content of the release agent based on the total mass of the receiving layer is 6% by mass or more.

A thermal transfer sheet includes a substrate and a transfer layer, in which the transfer layer after transfer has a reduced peak height (Spk) of 0.6 μm or more. A method for producing a printed material using a thermal transfer sheet including a particle layer disposed on a substrate and an image-receiving sheet including a thermal protrusion-and/or-recess forming layer and a receiving layer stacked in that order on a second substrate, the receiving layer including an image that has been formed, includes the steps of heating the image-receiving sheet to form a protrusion and/or a recess at the image-receiving sheet, and heating the thermal transfer sheet to transfer the particle layer to at least part of the protrusion of the image-receiving sheet.

A thermal transfer sheet includes a substrate and a transfer layer, in which the transfer layer after transfer has a reduced peak height (Spk) of 0.6 μm or more. A method for producing a printed material using a thermal transfer sheet including a particle layer disposed on a substrate and an image-receiving sheet including a thermal protrusion-and/or-recess forming layer and a receiving layer stacked in that order on a second substrate, the receiving layer including an image that has been formed, includes the steps of heating the image-receiving sheet to form a protrusion and/or a recess at the image-receiving sheet, and heating the thermal transfer sheet to transfer the particle layer to at least part of the protrusion of the image-receiving sheet.

The ink jet recording method includes ejecting an aqueous ink from a recording head to apply the aqueous ink to a recording medium, to thereby record an image. The ink jet recording method includes: ejecting the aqueous ink heated to a temperature T.sub.H (° C.) from the recording head to apply the aqueous ink to the recording medium; and heating the recording medium having the aqueous ink applied thereto to a temperature T.sub.F (° C.), the aqueous ink containing a pigment and a polyester resin particle, a glass transition temperature T.sub.G (° C.) of the polyester resin particle, the temperature T.sub.H (° C.) and the temperature T.sub.F (° C.) satisfying relationships of the following expressions (1) to (3).

T.sub.G(° C.)>T.sub.H(° C.)   (1)

T.sub.F(° C.)≥T.sub.H(° C.)+10° C.   (2)

T.sub.F(° C.)≥T.sub.G(° C.)−10° C.   (3)

The recording medium includes: an absorbent substrate; and an ink receiving layer provided on the absorbent substrate. The dry coating amount of the ink receiving layer is 6.0 g/m.sup.2 or more to 11.0 g/m.sup.2 or less, arithmetic average roughness Ra1 (μm) of a surface of the absorbent substrate satisfies a relationship of Expression (1) below, arithmetic average roughness Ra1 and arithmetic average roughness Ra2 (μm) of a surface of the ink receiving layer satisfy a relationship of Expression (2) below, and an average length RSm1 (mm) of a roughness curve element of the surface of the absorbent substrate and an average length RSm2 (mm) of a roughness curve element of the surface of the ink receiving layer satisfy a relationship of Expression (3) below.
Ra1≥5.0 μm  (1)
Ra2/Ra1≥0.87  (2)
RSm2/RSm1≤1.40  (3)

A process for producing a digital printed heat transfer, the process comprising the steps of: 1) obtaining a substrate having a release layer; 2) applying a primer suitable for electrophotographic toner to the release layer; 3) digitally-printing electrophotographic toner to define a graphic within a defined region of a substrate inclusive of both printed and unprinted areas within that region; 4) digitally printing a tacky viscoelastic binder in registration with the printed areas of the digitally-printed graphic; 5) applying a polyurethane-based powder adhesive to the defined region of said substrate; 6) removing loose powder adhesive that does not adhere to the defined regions of said graphic; and 7) fusing and bonding the adhesive to the digital printed graphic. The binder precisely secures the adhesive powder to the printed graphical areas. The result is then cooled to set the image for use as a heat transfer.

A printing method in which a primer composition, which includes at least one pigment aggregating agent, is applied to a coated substrate prior to an ink-jet printing step. The ink-jet printing step is performed using inkjet droplets having x μm drop diameter, printed in a print resolution on the coated substrate that corresponds to a rectangular unit cell having cell dimensions of y μm by z μm, where a ratio of x/y is >0.60.

A printing method in which a primer composition, which includes at least one pigment aggregating agent, is applied to a coated substrate prior to an ink-jet printing step. The ink-jet printing step is performed using inkjet droplets having x μm drop diameter, printed in a print resolution on the coated substrate that corresponds to a rectangular unit cell having cell dimensions of y μm by z μm, where a ratio of x/y is >0.60.

Provided are a printing sheet having a coating layer for receiving ink on at least one surface of a substrate and having excellent printability, excellent adhesiveness between the substrate and the coating layer, and excellent antistatic performance and thus being less likely to cause troubles such as paper jams during printing, and further having excellent properties such as water resistance and weather resistance in a printing sheet; and a method for producing the same. The printing sheet includes a coating layer formed by blending (meth)acrylic ester-based resin particles in a proportion of 1% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less and clay in a proportion of 50% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less in a continuous phase made of an acrylic polymer.