A thermal transfer printer includes a first supply unit configured to supply an intermediate transfer medium in which, on one surface of a first base, a transfer layer including a receiving layer is disposed, a second supply unit configured to supply a thermal transfer sheet in which, on one of surfaces of a second base, a colorant layer and a particle layer are disposed, a printing unit configured to heat the thermal transfer sheet, to transfer a colorant from the colorant layer to the receiving layer to form an image, and to transfer the particle layer onto the receiving layer, a third supply unit configured to supply a transfer-receiving body, and a transfer unit configured to place the intermediate transfer medium and the transfer-receiving body on top of each other such that the transfer-receiving body faces the particle layer on the receiving layer, and to heat the intermediate transfer medium.

The invention relates to a process for printing a substrate (7) containing curved surface sections by using an ink printing assembly with a movable print head (8) comprising an ink carrier (1) having an ink layer, the ink layer being irradiated regionally in such a way that heat bulges are formed in the ink layer which cause the splitting of ink droplets so that the ink printing assembly is working as nozzle-less droplet ejector for ejecting droplets of ink from the ink layer, where the distance between the print head (8) and the curved sections of the substrate (7) is adjusted by moving the print head relative to the substrate by providing the print head with three degrees of freedom in translation, allowing horizontal (Tx), vertical (Tg) and in depth (Tz) translations.

A device for laser-induced marking of an article having a marking surface comprising a non-flat portion to be marked, the device comprising: a first laser unit for emitting and scanning first laser light over a first transfer area; a first foil unit for providing a first laser transfer foil at the first transfer area; a carrier for providing the article at the first transfer area, the article having a marking surface comprising a non-flat surface area; a first hard adaptor that is transparent for the first laser light, the first hard adapter having a first contacting surface that is essentially a negative of the non-flat surface area of the marking surface; and a contacting unit for bringing the first laser transfer foil in contact with the marking surface by causing the first contacting surface to move one of the first laser transfer foil and the marking surface towards one another.

Dye-sublimation printers and methods are disclosed for porous substrates or for polyester-coated substrates. In an example the device comprises a substrate path, a printhead, over a print zone of the substrate path, to transfer a print fluid on the substrate; a narrow band radiation source, over a sublimation zone of the substrate path to sublimate a portion of the transferred print fluid to form an image on the substrate; and an advancing mechanism, to transfer the substrate from the print zone to the sublimation zone.

A method of coating a donor surface with a layer of thermoplastic particles, the method comprising: providing a supply of the thermoplastic particles suspended in a fluid, applying the fluid to the donor surface, in a manner to cause the particles suspended in the fluid to form a substantially continuous particle coating on the donor surface, causing fluid flow within an interior plenum of a housing over a portion of the donor surface partially disposed therein, the fluid flow being of sufficient magnitude to entrain particles that are not in direct contact with the donor surface and insufficient to entrain particles that are in direct contact therewith; and extracting from the plenum fluid and particles which are not in not direct contact with the donor surface, so as to leave adhering to the donor surface a particle coating that is substantially only a single particle deep.

The present invention provides a thermal transfer sheet that can accurately remove a transfer layer, and a combination of a transfer foil and the thermal transfer sheet. A thermal transfer sheet 10 comprising a peel-off layer 4 on a substrate 1, wherein the peel-off layer 4 (i) contains at least a vinyl chloride-type resin and an acrylic-type resin, and a mass of the vinyl chloride-type resin based on a total mass of the peel-off layer 4 is more than 50% by mass and not more than 95% by mass, or the peel-off layer 4 (ii) contains a polyester-type resin having a number average molecular weight (Mn) of not more than 17000, and having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of not less than 50° C. and not more than 120° C.

Printing process in which a substrate to be printed is disposed opposite an ink carrier having an ink layer, wherein the ink layer is regionally heated in such a way that bulges are formed in the ink layer, wherein the bulges contact the substrate and wherein ink splitting is brought about by relative movement between substrate and ink carrier.

A thermal transfer sheet is provided that accurately removes a transfer layer. The thermal transfer sheet includes a peel-off layer affixed to a substrate. The peel-off layer (i) contains at least a vinyl chloride-type resin and an acrylic-type resin, and a mass of the vinyl chloride-type resin based on a total mass of the peel-off layer is more than 50% by mass and not more than 95% by mass, or the peel-off layer (ii) contains a polyester-type resin having a number average molecular weight (Mn) of not more than 17000 and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of not less than 50 C. and not more than 120 C.

A thermal transfer sheet, a combination of an intermediate transfer medium and a thermal transfer sheet, method for producing a printed material using the thermal transfer sheet, and a decorative material, wherein the thermal transfer sheet includes a transfer layer on one surface of a substrate, the transfer layer having a single layer structure consisting only of a heat seal layer or a multilayer structure including a heat seal layer, and in a case where the transfer layer has the multilayer structure, the heat seal layer among the layers constituting the transfer layer is positioned closest to the substrate. The heat seal layer contains one or both of (i) a polyester having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 55 C. or more and a number average molecular weight (Mn) of 15000 or less, and (ii) a polyester having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of less than 55 C.

Printing process in which a substrate to be printed is disposed opposite an ink carrier having an ink layer, the ink layer being irradiated regionally by a laser beam, said layer accelerating by absorption of the laser beam in the substrate direction, wherein for laser absorption the ink layer is admixed with reflective particles and as soluble polymer having a weight average (Mw) molecular weight of greater than 250 000 g/mol.