A recording material and a recording sheet having excellent color-developing performance and storage stability and particularly having excellent heat-resistance of background. The recording material contains a color former (A), a compound represented by formula (I) (B), and a compound represented by formula (II) (C).

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An object is to provide a thermosensitive recording material and a laminate which are excellent in color development sensitivity and favorable in storage characteristics such as heat resistance, plasticizer resistance, moisture resistance, oil resistance, and grease resistance. A thermosensitive recording material in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio. A laminate in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio.

An object is to provide a thermosensitive recording material and a laminate which are excellent in color development sensitivity and favorable in storage characteristics such as heat resistance, plasticizer resistance, moisture resistance, oil resistance, and grease resistance. A thermosensitive recording material in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio. A laminate in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio.

The invention relates to a color developer of formula (I), (Ar.sup.1SO.sub.2NH-)m-Y(NHC(O)NHSO.sub.2Ar.sub.2)n (I), wherein Ar.sup.1 is an unsubstituted or substituted aromatic moiety, Ar.sup.2 is an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl moiety, Y is at least an (m+n)-times substituted benzene group or naphthalene group, and Y is substituted in such a way that at least one Ar.sub.2SO.sub.2NHC(O)NH group is in ortho-position with respect to at least one Ar.sup.1SO.sub.2NH group. The invention further relates to a heat-sensitive recording material, comprising a carrier substrate and a heat-sensitive color-forming layer, which contains at least one color former and at least one phenol-free color developer, the at least one color developer being the compound of formula (I). The invention further relates to a method for producing said heat-sensitive recording material.

An object is to provide a thermosensitive recording material and a laminate which are excellent in color development sensitivity, which cause less color development in a blank area even at a high temperature, which are also favorable in storage stability of a print area, and which are excellent in contrast between a blank area and a print area. A thermosensitive recording material in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio. A laminate in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio.

An object is to provide a thermosensitive recording material and a laminate which are excellent in color development sensitivity, which cause less color development in a blank area even at a high temperature, which are also favorable in storage stability of a print area, and which are excellent in contrast between a blank area and a print area. A thermosensitive recording material in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio. A laminate in which a thermosensitive recording layer is provided on a support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a specific diphenylsulfone compound and an analog compound thereof at a specific ratio.

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for imaging and cutting a label from a linerless label substrate 6, the substrate 6 comprising: a paper or polymeric film base layer; a colour change layer, incorporating a colour change compound operable to change colour in response to illumination by a laser 1; an adhesive layer; and a release layer adapted to have low adherence to the adhesive layer. The label substrate 6 is transported from a storage reel to an imaging area. At the imaging area, the label substrate 6 is selectively illuminated by laser 1 to form an image in the colour change layer. Subsequently, further laser illumination is used to cut the label substrate 6 thereby providing a single label for application to an object. The invention is characterised in that the laser spot size is varied for imaging and cutting.

A laser markable composition has an improved stability towards the environment by using specific Near Infrared absorbing compounds.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording material or a recording sheet using, as a color-developing agent, a non-phenol-based compound good in color developing performance and the like. A compound represented by the following formula (I) is used as the color-developing agent:

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(wherein X represents CH.sub.2 or the like; R.sup.1 to R.sup.3 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or the like; n1 and n3 each independently represent any integer of 1 to 5; two groups represented by R.sup.3 adjacent to each other on a benzene ring optionally bond to each other to form an optionally substituted 6-membered ring; and n2 represents any integer of 1 to 4).

The invention relates to a compound of the formula (I) Ar(NHSO.sub.2Ar.sup.1)1(SO.sub.2NHAr.sup.1).sub.m(NHC(O)NHAr.sup.2).sub.n (I), wherein 1 and m independently of one another are 0, 1, 2, 3, and/or 4 and the sum of is equal to or more than 1, n is 2, 3, 4, or 5, Ar is a benzol group which is substituted (i+m+n) times, Ar.sup.1 is an unsubstituted or substituted aromatic group, and Ar.sup.2 is an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl group or a benzoyl group. The invention also relates to a heat-sensitive recording material comprising a carrier substrate and a heat-sensitive color-forming layer which contains at least one color former and at least said color developer.