DYE-SUBLIMATION PAPER AND PRINTED DYE-SUBLIMATION PAPER

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dye-sublimation paper for printing with a solution containing at least one dye-sublimation dye, comprising a base paper having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, characterised in that the first surface is a hornified surface, in that a further layer for binding and/or fixing the dye-sublimation dye is applied to the first surface, and in that the dye-sublimation paper has a roughness on the coated side of ≤4.5 μm, measured according to ISO 8791-4, and a grammage of ≤30 g/m.sup.2, measured according to ISO 536, and to a method for the production thereof, and to a dye-sublimation paper obtainable by this method.

Claims

1. A dye-sublimation paper for printing with a solution containing at least one dye-sublimation dye, comprising a base paper having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, characterised in that the first surface is a hornified surface, in that a layer for binding and/or fixing the dye-sublimation dye is applied to the first surface, and in that the dye-sublimation paper has a roughness on the coated side of ≤4.5 μm, measured according to ISO 8791-4, and a grammage of ≤30 g/m.sup.2, measured according to ISO 536.

2. The dye-sublimation paper according to claim 1, characterised in that the dye-sublimation paper has a roughness on the second surface side of >6 μm, measured according to ISO 8791-4.

3. The dye-sublimation paper according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the first surface has a roughness of ≤4.5 μm, measured according to ISO 8791-4.

4. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the dye-sublimation paper has a Bendtsen porosity of ≤500 ml/min, measured according to ISO5636-3.

5. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base paper has a Bendtsen porosity of >500 ml/min, measured according to ISO5636-3.

6. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base paper has a grammage of 15 to 29.9 g/m.sup.2.

7. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the dye-sublimation paper has a breaking length of l/q of 6000-13000/3000-8000 (m), preferably of 9000-12000/4000-7000 at 25 g/m.sup.2, or a breaking length of l/q of 6000-13000/3000-8000 (m), preferably of 9000-12000/4000-7000 at 30 g/m.sup.2, or a breaking length of l/q of 6000-13000/3000-8000 (m), preferably of 9000-12000/4000-7000 at 35 g/m.sup.2.

8. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the dye-sublimation paper has a burst pressure (Mullen) greater than 60 kPa, preferably 100-160 kPa, at 25 g/m.sup.2, or greater than 85 kPa, preferably 110-170 kPa, at 30 g/m.sup.2, or greater than 97 kPa, preferably 130-200 kPa, at 35 g/m.sup.2.

9. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base paper is a sized paper that contains at least one sizing agent selected from the group comprising resin size, alkenyl succinic anhydride, alkyl ketene dimer and/or synthetic sizing agent based on styrene acrylate.

10. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the further layer present on the first surface comprises or consists of at least one barrier component selected from the group comprising starch, modified starch, starch derivatives, chemically and physically modified starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, cellulose derivatives, polyvinyl alcohol, polymers from the substance class of vinyl acetate polymers, or other effective constituents suitable as a barrier and/or pigments, especially inorganic pigments such as silica or clay.

11. The dye-sublimation paper according to claim 10, characterised in that the pigments comprise porous or non-porous pigments.

12. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the areal application weight of the further layer is 0.2 to 12 g/m.sup.2, preferably 0.5 to 5 g/m.sup.2.

13. A method for producing a dye-sublimation paper according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising the steps of smoothing and hornifying a first surface of a base paper on one side and applying a further layer, for binding and/or fixing a dye-sublimation dye, to said first surface.

14. The dye-sublimation paper obtainable according to the method of claim 13.

15. A dye-sublimation paper for printing with a solution containing at least one dye-sublimation dye, comprising a base paper having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, characterised in that the first surface has a coating for binding and/or fixing the dye-sublimation dye, and in that the dye-sublimation paper has a roughness on the coated side of ≤4.5 μm, measured according to ISO8791-4, and a grammage of ≤30 g/m.sup.2.

16. The dye-sublimation paper according to claim 15, characterised in that the second surface has a roughness of >6 μm, measured according to ISO8791-4.

17. The dye-sublimation paper according to any one of the preceding claim 15 or claim 16, characterised in that the dye-sublimation paper has a Bendtsen porosity of <500 ml/min, measured according to ISO5636-3.

18. The dye-sublimation paper according to any of preceding claims 15 to 17, characterised in that the base paper has a grammage of 17 to 29.9 g/m.sup.2.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0101] FIG. 1: Scanning electron micrographs of the first and second surfaces of a paper with a hornified and a non-hornified surface.

a) Shows a first hornified surface of a paper (front side/smooth side) in two resolutions (100× and 500×).
b) Shows the second surface of the same paper without hornification (back side/rough side) in two resolutions: (100× and 500×).

[0102] FIG. 2: Scanning electron micrographs of the first and second surfaces of a conventional paper (without hornification) in two resolutions: (100× and 500×).

[0103] In the following, the invention is explained in greater detail on the basis of non-limiting examples.

Examples

[0104] Two dye-sublimation papers according to the invention were produced, as follows, with a grammage of 22 g/m.sup.2 and 25 g/m.sup.2.

[0105] Production of the base paper in the corresponding grammage with one-sided smoothing via a Yankee cylinder in order to achieve the required hornification of the surface. Inline barrier application of, on average, approx. 0.9 g/m.sup.2 thickness by means of a film press on the hornified side of the paper.

[0106] The two dye-sublimation papers according to the invention and the comparative examples were examined as follows:

[0107] 4C colour printing with a Roland inkjet printer of the Texart RT-640 type using 3-Teck sublimation ink in CMYK colours, and of the J-Next Subly JXS-65 type. A test form was printed containing linear gradients of 0-100% area coverage, full-area and halftone-based colour areas, as well as photos.

[0108] The printed paper according to the invention was transferred to a polyester textile of the brand “TexStyles Mosaic” by means of a flatbed hot press from Sefa, type Rotex Pro V3 with 204° C. and 30 sec. dwell time.

[0109] The printed image was then assessed visually for uniformity of print, especially mottling. Mottling is understood to mean the non-uniformity of an ink area in the printed image.

[0110] A good print is expected to have an even, smooth and uniform print result.

[0111] If the print result is variable, uneven or cloudy to a greater or lesser extent, this is also referred to as mottling in professional jargon. Depending on the appearance of the print result, reference may also be made sometimes to a “grainy print”, “blotchy print” or a streaky print result. All of these quality-reducing print results are especially bothersome when printing full areas, but can also look unpleasant in smooth, uniform halftone regions.

Tips for Avoidance:

[0112] Very often, uneven and cloudy print results are due to poor paper quality, especially in the case of coated papers.

[0113] Quality of the coated paper with a wipe test ink (Lorilleux porometer test ink no. 1520 (dark grey) or wipe test ink VU.

[0114] The cloudiness (mottling) was determined using a “cloud-runner” from the manufacturer “BYK-Instruments” according to the manufacturer's specifications.

[0115] In addition, an X-Rite densitometer of the i1 Pro type was used to measure the logarithmic optical densities (D.Math.log).

[0116] In addition, the drying properties of the dye-sublimation papers were examined as follows: [0117] Place an unprinted dye-sublimation paper, with the base paper side facing upwards, into the cold press. [0118] Two minutes after printing starts, place the printed side on the paper in the cold press. [0119] Close the press for 10 seconds. [0120] Peel off the printed sheet and evaluate the absorption on the unprinted sheet, using a template. [0121] The last field still visible of the particular row is counted or scored.

[0122] For this purpose, a test form with different test fields is used, which contain different levels of colour coverage. Five rows with 13 fields each are printed.

Row 1: (two colours) The colour quantity of magenta and yellow starts at 100% and decreases by 4% with each field down to 52%.
Row 2: (two colours) The colour quantity of cyan and yellow starts at 100% and decreases by 4% with each field down to 52%.
Row 3: (two colours) The amount of colour of cyan and magenta starts at 100% and decreases by 4% with each field until it reaches 52
Row 4: (three colours) The colour quantity of cyan, magenta and yellow starts at 100% and decreases by 4% with each field down to 52%.
Row 5: (four colours) The colour quantity of cyan, magenta, yellow and black starts at 100% and decreases by 4% with each field down to 52%.

[0123] The dye-sublimation papers listed in Table 2 were used as comparisons.

[0124] The comparative examples all have a higher grammage, no hornified surface, but a further layer for binding and/or fixing the dye-sublimation dye.

[0125] The results are summarised in the following tables.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Specifications Standard Unit Grammage ISO 536 g/m.sup.2 22 25 Thickness ISO 534 μm 31 34 White R 457 ISO 2470 % 83 84 Roughness OS ISO8791-4 μm 3.8 3.8 RS ISO 8791-4 μm 7 7 Breaking longitudinal ISO 1924-2 N/15 mm ≥18 ≥22 resistance transverse ISO 1924-2 N/15 mm ≥10 ≥12 Elongation at longitudinal ISO 1924-2 % ≥1.5 ≥1.5 break transverse ISO 1924-2 % ≥3.5 ≥3.5 Burst pressure (Mullen) ISO 2758 kPa ≥55 ≥60

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Textile Optical density (D .Math. log) mottling Cyan Magenta Yellow Black [1 = optical optical optical optical very good/ density on density on density on density on Mass per 6 = textile textile textile textile unit area strong] min [g/m.sup.2] Images 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.45 Example 1 22 1.50 1.56 1.52 1.48 1.58 Example 2 25 2 1.56 1.50 1.46 1.55 Comparative examples: Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Moda 39 41.6 1 1.56 1.49 1.49 1.56 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Moda 58 58 1 1.58 1.49 1.47 1.55 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint MP 95 96 1 1.57 1.50 1.51 1.55 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint XP 105 102 1 1.59 1.49 1.51 1.55 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint DT 113 2 1.48 1.35 1.46 1.46 heavy (R) Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Sports 93 1 1.57 1.51 1.49 1.55 Plus 92 Neenah - Coldenhove JETCOL 96 1 1.59 1.51 1.50 1.55 HS 95 Sappi Transjet Boost 85 86 1 1.58 1.51 1.50 1.57 Sappi Transjet Eco II 96 1 1.61 1.53 1.51 1.58 Kaspar 45 Superlite 46 1 1.58 1.49 1.49 1.56 Sappi Transjet Fashion 45 47 1 1.57 1.48 1.47 1.55 Sappi Transjet Sportsline 100 104 1 1.58 1.51 1.50 1.56 Solution containing dye-sublimation dye (ink drying on dye-sublimation paper (%)) Ink drying Ink drying Ink drying Ink drying Ink drying mixed mixed mixed mixed mixed colours colours colours colours colours (start of (start of (start of (start of (start of deposit; deposit; deposit; deposit; deposit; higher = higher = higher = higher = higher = better) [%] better) [%] better) [%] better) [%] better) [%] Solution containing dye-sublimation dye (ink drying) mixed colours (start of deposit; higher = better) [%] Example 1 92 92 88 88 84 Example 2 88 92 88 84 84 Comparative examples: Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Moda 39 96 96 92 92 88 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Moda 58 96 96 92 88 88 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint MP 95 96 96 96 92 88 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint XP 105 96 96 96 92 88 Koehler/Beaver TexPrint DT 100 100 100 100 100 heavy (R) Koehler/Beaver TexPrint Sports 92 92 92 88 88 Plus 92 Neenah - Coldenhove JETCOL 96 96 96 92 88 HS 95 Sappi Transjet Boost 85 96 96 96 92 92 Sappi Transjet Eco II 96 96 96 92 88 Kaspar 45 Superlite 92 92 96 92 88 Sappi Transjet Fashion 45 92 92 92 88 84 Sappi Transjet Sportsline 100 96 96 96 92 92

[0126] It was also shown that the final quality of the dye-sublimation papers according to the invention on the textile is comparable to that of conventional pigment-coated dye-sublimation papers. There is no C2C bleeding (colour to colour bleeding), no feathering (colour bleeding to unprinted regions) and a brilliant colour reproduction with very good colour density values (D.Math.log). In addition, the images showed even areas and gradients.