A drawing and erasing apparatus includes a light source section that includes a plurality of laser elements different from each other in emission wavelength, a multiplexer that multiplexes a plurality of types of laser light beams outputted from the plurality of laser elements, a scanner section that performs scanning with multiplexed light outputted from the multiplexer on a reversible recording medium including a plurality of recording layers, the plurality of recording layers being reversible and different from each other in developed color hue, and a controller that controls a main scanning speed and a sub-scanning speed of the scanner section to cause the scanner section to perform overlapping scanning of a predetermined region on the reversible recording medium during erasure of information written on the reversible recording medium.

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.

In a drawing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when performing drawing on a thermal recording medium that includes, above a recording layer, a light-transmitting member having an uneven shape in a plane, an optical compensator having one surface and another surface is provided on the light-transmitting member to cause the one surface and the light-transmitting member to face each other, and the thermal recording medium is irradiated with a laser beam via the optical compensator. The one surface of the optical compensator has a shape that fits the uneven shape of the light-transmitting member, and the other surface is flat and opposed to the one surface.

The invention relates to a heat-sensitive recording material, comprising a carrier substrate and a heat-sensitive colour-forming layer, which contains at least one colour former and at least one phenol-free colour developer, characterised in that the at least one colour developer is the compound of formula (A), Ar(NH—CO—NH—CO—NH—Ar.sup.1).sub.n (A), wherein Ar is an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl or naphthyl group, Ar.sup.1 is an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl, naphthyl, pyridyl, thiazolyl or benzothiazolyl group, and n is 1 or 2.

A reversible recording medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a recording layer including a coloring compound having an electron-donating property, a color developing/quenching agent having an electron-accepting property, a photothermal conversion agent, and a macromolecular material; and an ultraviolet absorbing layer provided on the recording layer, the macromolecular material including an organic material that has solubility of 20 wt % or more and 80 wt % or less at 25° C. or less and contains 0.5 wt % or less of chlorine atoms, fluorine atoms, and sulfur atoms in a molecule.

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). ##STR00001##

Disclosed is a heat-sensitive recording material comprising an undercoat layer and a heat-sensitive recording layer formed in this order on a support, the undercoat layer containing hollow plastic particles and a binder, the heat-sensitive recording layer containing a leuco dye and a developer, and the heat-sensitive recording material having an elastic modulus of 200 N/mm.sup.2 or less as measured by a nanoindentation method.

The invention relates to a heat-sensitive recording material, comprising a carrier substrate and at least one heat-sensitive thermal reaction layer, which is applied to at least one side of the carrier substrate and contains at least one fluoran color former, at least one color developer, at least one melting aid, and optionally typical additives, such as lubricants, stabilizers (anti-aging agents), and/or pigments, characterized in that the color developer is dodecyl gallate and the melting aid is an ethylene bis fatty acid amide of formula (I), wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are CH.sub.3(CH.sub.2).sub.mCH.sub.2 with m=13 and/or 15. The invention further relates to a method for producing said recording material. ##STR00001##

A drawing and erasing apparatus includes a light source section that includes a plurality of laser elements different from each other in emission wavelength, a multiplexer that multiplexes a plurality of types of laser light beams outputted from the plurality of laser elements, a scanner section that performs scanning with multiplexed light outputted from the multiplexer on a reversible recording medium including a plurality of recording layers, the plurality of recording layers being reversible and different from each other in developed color hue, and a controller that controls a main scanning speed and a sub-scanning speed of the scanner section to cause the scanner section to perform overlapping scanning of a predetermined region on the reversible recording medium during erasure of information written on the reversible recording medium.

A thermochromic pigment composition including: (A) at least one electron-donor organic dye compound, (B) at least one electron-acceptor compound, and (C) at least one compound responding to the following formula (I), in which: R.sub.1 is H or a phenyl group, —R.sub.2 is H or a phenyl group, and -n=1-8. The thermochromic pigment composition includes thermochromic pigment microcapsules ink compositions including such thermochromic pigment microcapsules, and writing instruments including such ink compositions.