A recording medium according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a recording layer and an optical thin film. The recording layer includes a heat-sensitive color-developing composition and a photothermal conversion material. The photothermal conversion material absorbs a wavelength in an infrared region and generates heat. The optical thin film is provided on one surface of the recording layer. The optical thin film reflects the wavelength in the infrared region and transmits a wavelength in a visible region.

A thermosensitive recording medium 100 includes a support 50, and a first thermosensitive coloring layer 10, a first intermediate layer 15, and a second thermosensitive coloring layer 20 disposed on the support 50 in descending order of distance from the support 50. The first thermosensitive coloring layer 10 and the second thermosensitive coloring layer 20 each contain an electron-donating dye precursor, an electron-accepting compound, a radical-polymerizable compound, and a photoradical polymerization initiator, and the first intermediate layer 15 contains a UV absorber.

Provided are an intermediate transfer medium and the like with which a glossy image can be easily formed and which can be used also for a transparent transfer receiving article.

In an intermediate transfer medium comprising at least a substrate and a transfer part provided releasably on one face of the substrate, the transfer part has a layered structure comprising at least an image forming layer that is located on the outermost surface on the opposite side to the substrate and on which an image is to be formed, and a gloss layer that is located closer to the substrate side than the image forming layer, and the transfer part has a maximum transmittance in the wavelength region of 380 nm to 780 nm of 40% or less.

A heat-sensitive recording material including a substrate, a heat-sensitive recording layer which includes N-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)-/V-(3-(4-methylphenylsulfonyloxy)pheny-purea and/or N42-(3-phenylureido)phenyl]benzol sulfonamide, and an intermediate layer which is arranged between the substrate and the heat-sensitive recording layer and which includes calcined aluminum silicate, and a method for producing a heat-sensitive recording material and to the use of calcined aluminum silicate in an intermediate layer of a heat-sensitive recording material.

A thermal transfer sheet according to the present disclosure includes a first substrate and a transfer layer including at least a peeling layer, the peeling layer containing a resin material and antimicrobial particles, the antimicrobial particles having an average particle size in the range of 1 to 8 μm, and the peeling layer having a content of the antimicrobial particles in the range of 2.8 to 8 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the resin material.

A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has a primer layer and a receiving layer. The primer layer contains binder resin and metal pigment. When a value obtained by dividing the mass of the metal pigment by the mass of the binder resin is A and the thickness of the primer layer is B, A is 0.5 to 3.5, and A/B is 0.15 to 6. When light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, ΔL* between L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting specular reflection light, generated when light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, toward the incident light side by 15° and L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting the specular reflection light toward the incident light side by 110° is 110 or more.

Dispersible record materials or media include a water-soluble or water-dispersible paper substrate, a printable layer carried by the substrate, and a base coat between the substrate and the printable layer. The printable layer may be a thermally responsive layer, e.g. containing a leuco dye and an acidic color developer, or an inkjet receptive layer. The binder material used in the base coat, and the base coat itself, are non-water-soluble, but nevertheless tailored in such a way that the record material as a whole is water-dispersible, i.e., it breaks apart under the influence of water with minimal agitation. The binder material of the base coat is preferably a non-resinous binder, a particulate binder, and/or a binder derived from a dispersion, such as latex. Use of such a binder material in a carefully selected concentration, with other elements, provides a base coat that allows for high quality images to be thermally printed at high print speeds on the thermally responsive layer.

Provided is a thermal transfer sheet having an excellent high-speed transferability and capable of forming images with high fluorescence intensity and abrasion resistance. The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention includes a substrate, a fluorescent layer, and a thermofusible ink layer in this order, in which the fluorescent layer contains a fluorescent material, and a vinyl resin.

The present invention is directed to a composition and method of providing a silicone release coating material for a thermally-responsive record material while maintaining strong printability with UV inks and water based inks, as well as scuff resistance. The thermally-responsive record material includes a substrate with first and second surfaces. The first surface includes a heat sensitive coating having a colorless dye precursor and an acidic developer material in contiguous relationship. The release coating is provided with an aqueous mixture of a water soluble or water dispersible polymeric material, a silicone release agent, an excess of platinum catalyst, and a hydrophilic silica. The platinum catalyst is preferably provided in excess of 150 ppm. The hydrophilic silica is preferably fumed silica. The release coating is cured at a temperature of 160° C. or less, or even from 70° C. to 120° C.

A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has a primer layer and a receiving layer. The primer layer contains binder resin and metal pigment. When a value obtained by dividing the mass of the metal pigment by the mass of the binder resin is A and the thickness of the primer layer is B, A is 0.5 to 3.5, and A/B is 0.15 to 6. When light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, ΔL* between L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting specular reflection light, generated when light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, toward the incident light side by 15° and L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting the specular reflection light toward the incident light side by 110° is 110 or more.