JP2007038476A - Powder adhesive, manufacturing method and coating method thereof, and method of making a crimping postcard using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an inexpensive powder adhesive, a method for producing and applying the same, and a method for producing a pressure-sensitive postcard using the same.
SOLUTION: 70% by mass of a polyester resin having a softening point of 110 ° C., 30% by mass of an acrylic resin having a particle size of 4 μm and a softening point of 200 ° C. or more, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are mixed with a chemical mixer. After melt-kneading with a twin-screw extruder, coarsely pulverized, pulverized with an I-type jet mill and classified, and 100% by mass of powder particles having an average volume particle size of 9 μm and 1% by mass of fine silica were mixed by a Henschel mixer. And sieved to produce a powder adhesive. Full-color variable information is printed on a postcard-size paper by a color printer, and a solid image is printed on the variable information printing surface in a monochrome print mode using a powder adhesive filled instead of black toner.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder adhesive, a method for producing the same, a method for applying the same, and a method for producing a pressure-sensitive postcard using the same.

Conventionally, in order to transmit character information only to a specific individual, generally, the character description is in a sealed form so that the individual can confirm the character information only after opening.
In recent years, personal information protection has become a strict question, and various business establishments, for example, personal information such as various personal data, gradebooks, salary statements, etc., are printed on the printed part of the written text. It is recorded and distributed in the form of envelopes or cards by bonding or crimping the peripheral edge of the printed part or the entire surface of the written text.

  Among these, postcard-sized cards are called crimped postcards and can be used at the same charge as regular postcards. Therefore, as a printing information concealment system that is highly convenient for information providers, advertising It is also widely used for advertising direct mail.

  In order to use such a printing information concealment system for crimping postcards, etc., secret information has conventionally been created by entrusting it to a specialized manufacturer or introducing an expensive crimping postcard or other manufacturing / printing device. .

  There are two methods for creating confidential information using a manufacturing / printing device such as a crimping postcard, such as a method of applying adhesive after information printing or a method of applying adhesive before information printing. The premise of creating a large amount of information is essential and expensive.

Further, such outsourcing to a manufacturer is not a preferable method for creating confidential information because there is a potential problem of leakage of personal information.
By the way, in recent years, along with the development of personal computers and printers, there has been proposed one that can easily create a crimp postcard even in a small unit so that it can be used by small-scale offices and individuals.

  For example, postcard paper with release paper pre-applied with a pressure sensitive adhesive is on the market. In this method, after printing predetermined character information or the like on the printing surface inside the two-fold, the pressure-sensitive adhesive portion is crimped to complete a postcard for postage.

  For example, a set of adhesive film and postcard paper is sold. In this method, after printing predetermined character information or the like on the printing surface inside the double fold, the adhesive film is pressure-bonded with the adhesive film sandwiched inside the double fold so that a postcard for posting can be created.

  However, this is unavoidable, and it is inevitable that handling is complicated, and it is better to make several crimping postcards personally, but it is cheap, quick, and responsive to demand in a certain number of sheets. It can not be created with.

Therefore, a toner-like adhesive composed of microcapsules containing an adhesive is transferred onto the surface of the substrate by electrostatic printing and flash-fixed. During adhesion, the microcapsules are destroyed by pressure and the adhesive in the capsule is leached. In this way, a proposal has been made that it is possible to easily create a pressure-bonded postcard. This proposal also suggests a pulverized toner obtained by melting, kneading, and pulverizing an adhesive. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)
In addition, the pressure-bonding substance is put in a replacement printing cartridge for an office printer or copying machine, and the pressure-bonding substance is applied to a government-made postcard or envelope by the same operation as the printing operation by the office printer or copying machine. After that, a proposal has been made that it is applied to a dedicated crimping machine, and up to the crimping dedicated machine can be performed by a single printer or copying machine. In addition, this proposal suggests that a crimping substance is applied to one side of a fold and one side of a center of a fold. (For example, see Patent Document 2.)
In addition, a method has been proposed in which an image is created on demand by an electrophotographic method using toner containing a heat-sensitive adhesive. In this proposal, the softening temperature of the heat-sensitive adhesive is configured to be higher than the softening temperature of the binder resin of the toner for electrophotography, and the ratio of the heat-sensitive adhesive to the toner for electrophotography is 5 to 5. It has been proposed that the composition be 60% by weight and that the composition of the heat-sensitive adhesive contains at least one selected from the group consisting of a heat-adhesive resin, a hot melt, and waxes. (For example, refer to Patent Document 3.)
JP 09-104849 A (paragraphs 0005, 0014, FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 6) JP 2000-006553 A (summary, no figure) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-126231 (paragraphs 0085 to 0087, not shown)

  However, although the technology of Patent Document 1 describes the configuration and composition of the microcapsule toner, the pulverized toner is merely suggested to the extent that it is conceived, and the specific composition, production method, There is no description about the usage, and this makes it possible for even those skilled in the art to produce useful pulverized toners and, of course, not even make prototypes.

  In addition, the technology of Patent Document 2 is to create a print information concealment document by a public postcard or envelope before being applied to a dedicated crimping machine, and it is convenient in that it must be applied to the dedicated crimping machine to complete for posting. It must be said that it is lacking in performance and economy and is far from being responsive to demand.

  In the technique of Patent Document 3, the softening temperature of the heat-sensitive adhesive is simply set higher than the softening temperature of the binder resin of the toner for the electrophotographic system. There is no explanation of prescription.

  By the way, as a method of creating a pressure-sensitive postcard that is responsive to demand, a powder adhesive that can be used by being housed in a toner cartridge of a small electrophotographic printer that can be used personally is specifically realized. It is considered that the powder adhesive may be applied to the paper surface on which variable information is printed (or printed, the same applies hereinafter) by the same printer by developing, transferring and fixing.

  However, if the adhesive is applied to the paper after printing using an electrophotographic printer, the powder adhesive must be applied as an adhesive unless it is of the same form as a normal toner ( Development, transfer, and fixing) are considered impossible.

  However, although the powder adhesive for toner-like pressure-adhesive postcards is suggested to the extent of conceiving in the above-mentioned patent documents, which are the conventional proposed technologies, the specific material formulation is also specific as described above. Neither usage is disclosed.

Also, such a toner adhesive powder adhesive for postcards has not been distributed to the market to date. The pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards in circulation is only liquid or adhesive sheet.
Therefore, the present inventor decided to make a prototype of a toner-like adhesive (thermoplastic resin powder) on the premise that it can be applied using a printer, based on the suggestion of the conventional proposed technique. .

  FIG. 7 is a chart showing the material prescription of the toner-like adhesive that was prototyped on the premise that it can be applied using a printer or a copying machine. As shown in the figure, in the material formulation of the toner-like adhesive, the binder resin is about 95% polyester, the charge control agent is about LR147, the wax is about 2%, and the pp is about 2%.

  The above-mentioned material prescription is based on the idea that it satisfies both the requirements of a pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards and that it can be applied with a printer (that is, it has powder properties similar to toner). Polyester is a binder resin material that is currently used mainly as a toner for printers.

  Next, these materials were mixed with a Henschel mixer FM20 manufactured by Mitsui Mine, and kneaded with a biaxial continuous kneader. Thereafter, the mixture was roughly crushed, pulverized and classified, and finally mixed with hydrophobic silica by a Henschel mixer to obtain a powder similar to a toner having a center particle size of 9 μm.

  This powder was developed on a photosensitive drum as a powder adhesive, transferred to the folding surface of a reciprocating postcard, fixed, taken out of paper, and pasted on a crimping machine. At this time, the setting temperature of the bonding roller to be bonded was set in four stages of 120 ° C., 130 ° C., 140 ° C., and 150 ° C., and the pressure-bonded postcard bonded at each set temperature was created.

  The use of a dedicated crimping machine as described above for pasting this postcard, and the temperature setting of the pasting roller includes a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the normal toner, suggesting that each of the conventional proposed techniques It is a response.

  FIG. 8 is a chart showing the result of evaluating the pressure-bonded postcard created for each set temperature. Note that the peeling force shown in the chart is the strength of the force when peeling the attached part of the crimping postcard. The character offset is the variable information printing toner when the attached part of the crimping postcard is opened (peeled). However, it shows a phenomenon in which it is detached from the originally printed surface and transferred to the adhesive face to be adhered. “X” indicates that the evaluation result was bad.

  As is apparent from the chart, character offset occurs in the temperature setting region (140 ° C., 150 ° C.) of the adhesive force (= peeling force) to which the postcard sticks with the adhesive prepared as described above. It turns out that there is a problem.

  In other words, with adhesives created within the range suggested by the prior art (adhesives whose softening temperature is higher than the softening temperature of the binder resin of the toner), variable information is printed with normal toner and then applied to the printing surface as a single adhesive. Or when a variable information image is formed with a toner containing a heat-sensitive adhesive, the toner fixed on the paper surface is re-melted by heating to realize the subsequent adhesion by the adhesive, A character offset occurs.

  This character offset phenomenon is caused by the fact that both the variable information printing toner softened and melted by thermocompression bonding and the adhesive are strongly bound together, and when the postcard is opened, the variable information printing toner is strongly pulled by the adhesive on the opposite surface. However, it is considered that this occurs when the adhesive force between the paper and the variable information printing toner exceeds the adhesive force, and the variable information printing toner is transferred to the opposite surface side.

Therefore, it turns out that some kind of further device is necessary for producing a powder adhesive having sufficient adhesive force (= peeling force) and no character offset.
An object of the present invention is to provide a practical powder adhesive, a manufacturing method and a coating method thereof, and a method of making a pressure-sensitive postcard using the same in view of the above-described conventional situation.

  First, the powder adhesive for pressure-bonded postcards of the first invention is configured to be applied to the paper surface by the development, transfer and fixing steps by electrophotography, and at least the first resin as the adhesive component and the second adhesive as the non-adhesive component. It is comprised so that it may consist of transparent powder containing resin.

  In the pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards, for example, the first resin is a polyester resin as a binder resin, and the second resin is composed of non-adhesive particles. The second resin is made of, for example, an acrylic resin.

  Further, in this powder adhesive for postcards, the non-adhesive particles are configured to have a particle size of, for example, 5 μm or less, and are configured to be, for example, an inorganic substance or a resin having a softening point of 180 ° C. or higher. In addition, for example, it is configured to be contained by 20% by mass or more.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards of the second invention is as follows: 70% by mass of a polyester resin having a softening point of 110 ° C., 30% by mass of silica powder having a particle size of 3 μm, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and polyethylene 3% by weight of wax was mixed with a chemical mixer, the mixture was melt-kneaded with a twin screw extruder and then crushed. 9 μm powder particles are obtained, and 100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica of a fluidity improver are mixed by a Henschel mixer, and the mixture is sieved and includes at least each of the above steps. Is done.

  The method for producing a powder adhesive for pressure-bonded postcards according to the third aspect of the invention comprises 70% by mass of a polyester resin having a softening point of 110 ° C., 30% by mass of an acrylic resin having a particle size of 4 μm and a softening point of 200 ° C. or more, and a charge control agent 1 2% by mass and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are mixed with a chemical mixer, the mixture is melt-kneaded by a twin screw extruder and then crushed, the crushed product is pulverized by an I-type jet mill, and the pulverized product is classified. Including at least the above-mentioned steps of obtaining powder particles having an average volume particle size of 9 μm, mixing 100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica of a fluidity improver with a Henschel mixer, and sieving the mixture; Configured to be.

  Further, the method of applying the powder adhesive for pressure-bonding postcards of the fourth invention is a normal paper which is obtained by using an electrophotographic image forming method on a plain paper or an adhesive-free pressure-bonding postcard cut into an integral multiple of the postcard. And printing the pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards obtained by the method for producing a pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards of the second invention by the electrophotographic image forming method at a solid printing rate. At least the above-described steps of transferring the developed powder adhesive for a postcard to the plain paper printed with the variable information or the adhesive-free postcard for processing an adhesive, fixing it by a fixing device, and discharging it to the outside of the machine. Configured to be.

  Furthermore, the method of applying the powder adhesive for pressure-bonding postcards of the fifth aspect of the present invention is a conventional paper which is cut into an integral multiple of the postcard or an adhesive-free pressure-sensitive postcard for electrophotographic image forming. And printing the pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards obtained by the method for producing a pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards of the third invention by the electrophotographic image forming method at a solid printing rate, At least the above-described steps of transferring the developed powder adhesive for a postcard to the plain paper printed with the variable information or the adhesive-free postcard for processing an adhesive, fixing it by a fixing device, and discharging it to the outside of the machine. Configured to be.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a pressure-bonded postcard, wherein the first to third image forming portions in which a magenta, cyan, or yellow color toner is accommodated in a toner container and the black toner is accommodated in a toner container. The black toner container is provided using an electronic image forming apparatus having a total of four image forming sections, and capable of selectively executing printing in a full color printing mode and printing in a monochrome printing mode. The first to third images are replaced with a non-printing postcard for adhesive without processing by replacing the toner container containing the powder adhesive for pressure postcards according to 1 to 6 with the fourth image forming portion in a non-printing state. The variable information is formed and fixed by the full-color printing mode using any or all of the forming portions, and the postcard for pressure bonding formed and fixed by the variable information is transported for double-sided printing. To transfer the variable information forming surface to the printing surface again, switch the printing mode from the full-color printing mode to the monochrome printing mode and set the solid printing rate, and then press the crimping by the fourth image forming unit. The post-adhesive powder adhesive is developed, and the developed solid image of the post-adhesive post-adhesive powder adhesive is re-conveyed through the double-sided printing conveyance mechanism on the variable information forming surface of the adhesive postcard. The printed postcard for crimping is transferred and fixed, and the discharged postcard is folded into two from the center with the fixing surface of the powder adhesive for the postcard inward, and then re-attached to the electronic image forming apparatus. It is configured to include at least each of the above-described steps of inserting and bending the pressure-bonded postcard folded into two by a fixing device and discharging it again outside the apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the pressure-adhesive postcard adhesive is composed mainly of at least a first resin composed of a binder resin and a second resin composed of non-adhesive particles. In addition, it is possible to provide a powder adhesive for a postcard with no character transfer.

  Moreover, since the material used for manufacture of the pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards, the apparatus to be used, and the manufacturing process are clearly shown, a practical pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards can be easily manufactured.

  In addition, after applying variable information, normal paper or adhesive-free pressure-sensitive postcards are developed and transferred in the same way as normal toners, and only the fixing temperature is changed, and then a pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards is applied. Therefore, printing of variable information and application of adhesive can be realized with a normal electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which is convenient.

  Also, variable information can be printed on postcards for pressure bonding, powder adhesive for pressure postcards, and pressure bonding of postcards can be realized with an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. .

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
In the adhesive made of the above-mentioned toner-like thermoplastic resin powder, in order to prevent problems such as paper breakage or character transfer due to too strong adhesive force, a variable information printing toner (hereinafter simply referred to as printing) It is considered necessary to prevent the toner) and the adhesive from being integrated when melted.

  For this purpose, it is considered necessary to make the configuration of the adhesive different from that of the variable information printing toner. Based on this idea, the present inventor has developed a toner-like powder having a composition different from that of the printing toner, and a toner-like powder having a composition almost the same as that of the printing toner for comparison, Transparent powders containing no coloring materials such as dyes and pigments were prepared, and their adhesive strength and character offset property were evaluated.

The composition, manufacturing method, and evaluation results of the toner-like powder, that is, the powder adhesive will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a chart showing the composition of three types of powder adhesives prepared as one embodiment. The table shows three types of powder adhesives as production example 1, production example 2 and production example 3 from left to right in the horizontal column, and from top to bottom in the vertical column, polyester resin, silica powder, charging The control agent, polyethylene wax, acrylic resin, and fine silica are shown in terms of mass%.

  Of these material formulations, the polyester resin is a binder resin. As a powder adhesive for pressure-bonding postcards, it is possible to use a binder resin used for toner, and examples of such a binder resin include polystyrene resin, styrene acrylic resin, polyester resin, and epoxy resin. It is done.

  Polyester resin, in particular, has a lower softening point than other resins, and can be set to a softening point of 110 ° C. as shown in the figure. When organic materials are mixed as a non-adhesive material used for adhesion adjustment in this example In addition, there is an advantage that the temperature difference of the softening point can be set large.

  In addition, silica powder having a particle size of 3 μm is selected as a representative of inorganic non-tacky materials and is used as an adhesive strength modifier. An acrylic resin having a particle size of 4 μm and a softening point of 200 ° C. or higher has been selected as a representative organic non-tacky material and is used as another adhesive strength adjusting agent.

  In addition, a charge control agent LR-147 manufactured by Nippon Carlit Co., Ltd., a polyethylene wax NP-056 manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals as a wax, and a fine particle manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd. as an external additive as a fluidity improver. Silica RY-50 is used for applying a powder adhesive to a sheet using electrophotography as in the case of printing toner.

  As shown in the chart, in Production Example 1, first, 70% by mass of a polyester resin as a binder resin, 30% by mass of silica powder, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are prepared as non-adhesive resins. .

  These are mixed with a chemical mixer, the mixture is melt-kneaded with a twin screw extruder and then crushed. Further, the crushed product is pulverized with an I-type jet mill, and the pulverized product is classified to obtain an average volume particle size. 9 μm powder particles are prepared.

Then, 100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica were mixed with a Henschel mixer, and the mixture was sieved to obtain a desired pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards.
Next, in Production Example 2, first, 70% by mass of a polyester resin as a binder resin, 30% by mass of an acrylic resin, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are prepared as non-adhesive resins.

  Then, as described above, these are mixed with a chemical mixer, the mixture is melt-kneaded with a twin-screw extruder, and then roughly crushed. Thus, powder particles having an average volume particle diameter of 9 μm are prepared.

Then, 100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica were mixed with a Henschel mixer, and the mixture was sieved to obtain a desired pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards.
In Production Example 3, 100% by mass of a polyester resin, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax were used in the same manner as in Production Example 1 or 2 as in the case of the printing toner. After producing powder particles having a diameter of 9 μm, 100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica were mixed with a Henschel mixer, and the mixture was sieved to obtain a desired pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards.

  FIG. 2 shows an electrophotographic color used for printing variable information with a printing toner on a paper surface, and overlaying the printed information on the paper surface to apply the powder adhesives of Preparation Examples 1 to 3 described above. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer).

The printer of this example is an example of a tandem color printer. The printer of this example is an example of a color printer for duplex printing.
In FIG. 1, a printer 1 is connected to a host device such as a personal computer (not shown) by a cable. The printer 1 includes an apparatus main body upper part 2 and an apparatus main body lower part 3, an operation panel 4 is disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body upper part 2, and a paper discharge unit 5 for printing paper is further formed.

The operation panel 4 includes a key operation unit 4a having a plurality of keys and a liquid crystal display 4b that performs display based on display information output from a CPU (not shown).
Further, on the paper discharge unit 5, a paper on which a color image is formed by an image forming unit (to be described later) by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 6 and further coated with the powder adhesive of the first, second, third, or fourth embodiment described above. Are discharged and sequentially stacked on the paper discharge unit 5.

  On the lower part 3 of the apparatus main body, a paper feed cassette 7 and a transport unit for duplex printing described later are mounted. In addition, a front cover 8 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the lower portion 3 of the apparatus main body, and the paper feed cassette 7 is detachably provided below the front cover 8. The paper feed cassette 7 can be pulled forward as shown by an arrow a in the figure by pulling the handle 7a toward the front of the apparatus when supplying paper.

  The front cover 8 is opened when, for example, jam processing or maintenance is performed. The duplex printing transport unit can be attached and detached by opening the horizontal lid 9 provided on the right side surface of the lower part 3 of the apparatus main body. The horizontal lid 9 also serves as a side opening lid for maintenance.

  Also, an MPF (multi paper feeder) tray mounting portion cover 11 is disposed on the upper right side of the lower part 3 of the apparatus main body with the horizontal lid 9, and the mounting portion cover 11 is opened downward. An MPF tray can be mounted on the top. However, the MPF tray is not attached to the attachment portion cover 11 in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the internal configuration of the printer 1 having the above-described appearance. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes an image forming unit 12, a belt unit 13, a duplex printing transport unit 14, a paper feeding unit 15, and a fixing unit 16.

  The image forming unit 12 includes four image forming units 17 (17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4) arranged in a multistage manner. Each of these image forming units 17 has the same configuration except for the type of toner that is a developer housed in a developing container, which will be described later. Therefore, hereinafter, image forming unit 17-3 for yellow (Y) is used. The configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

  The image forming unit 17 is configured by integrally assembling a drum set 18 and a toner set 19. The drum set 18 includes a photosensitive drum 21, and a cleaner 22 and a charger 23 are disposed around the periphery of the photosensitive drum 21.

  Subsequently, the recording head 24 supported by the frame of the apparatus main body is arranged, and further, the developing container 25 and the developing roller 26 constituting the toner set 19 are arranged. At the bottom, the sheet conveying surface of the sheet conveying belt 27 of the belt unit 13 abuts, and the transfer unit 28 supported by the frame of the belt unit 13 is disposed with the sheet conveying surface of the sheet conveying belt 27 interposed therebetween. Has been.

The developer container 25 contains toner therein and supports a developing roller 26 in the opening on the lower side surface.
The sheet conveying belt 27 is stretched between the driving roller 29 and the driven roller 31 and is stretched by the tension roller 32, and circulates and moves counterclockwise as indicated by arrows B and B 'in the drawing.

  A standby roller pair 33 is disposed on the upstream side of the sheet conveying belt 27. The upstream side of the standby roller pair 33 branches sideways and down, and in the lateral direction, a separation feeding mechanism comprising a paper feeding roller 34 and a separating member is disposed, and the above-described mounting portion cover 11 is opened downward on the side. An MPF tray 35 is mounted on the top.

  In the downward branch direction, a second guide path 36, a second paper feed roller pair 37, a first guide path 38, and a first paper feed roller pair 39 are disposed, and are almost directly below the first paper feed roller pair 39. The paper feed end of the paper feed cassette 7 is located at the top. A paper guide roller 41 and a paper feed roller 42 having a semicircular cross section are disposed above the paper feed end.

  A fixing unit 16 is provided on the downstream side of the paper transport belt 27. A fixing unit 43 is detachably disposed in the fixing unit 16. The fixing unit 43 includes a heat roller 44, a pressure roller 45, an oil application roller 46, a cleaning roller 47, a temperature sensor 48, a paper separation claw 49, a discharge roller pair 51 and the like in a heat insulating casing.

  A switching flap 52 and a paper discharge roller pair 53 are disposed downstream of the fixing unit 16, and a paper discharge port 54 is formed on the left side surface of the apparatus main body behind the paper discharge roller pair 53. Further, a pair of carry-out rollers 55 and a guide path 56 are arranged above the switching flap 52, the guide path 56 is reversed from the upper side to the right side, and the end thereof opens above the left end of the paper discharge unit 5, The paper discharge roller 6 described above is disposed in the opening.

  Further, a duplex printing conveyance unit 14 is disposed between the sheet conveyance belt 27 and the paper feed cassette 7. The duplex printing transport unit 14 includes a return transport path including a plurality of feed back roller pairs 57 and a feed back guide path 58 that feeds the sheet that has been printed on one side to the upstream side. The end of the return conveyance path opens in the inner guide wall of the first guide path 38.

  Between the return conveyance path (57, 58) and the paper feed cassette 7, an electrical unit 59 on which a predetermined number of circuit boards can be mounted is disposed. A control device composed of a plurality of electronic components is mounted on the circuit board disposed in the electrical component 59.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the control device. As shown in the figure, the control device 60 includes an interface controller (hereinafter referred to as an I / F controller) 61 and a printer controller (PR_CONT) 62 connected to the I / F controller 61. Is connected to a host computer (not shown), and a printer printing unit 63 is connected to the printer controller 62.

  A CPU 64 is connected to the I / F controller 61 and the printer controller 62, and the CPU 64 controls the I / F controller 61 and the printer controller 62 in accordance with a system program stored in the ROM 65.

The I / F controller 61 creates pattern data corresponding to one page of the paper in accordance with print information or application information output from the host computer.
At this time, the pattern data created by the I / F controller 61 is normally image data corresponding to each color of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) in the full-color printing mode. It is. In the monochrome printing mode, the printing data is black (K), and in the adhesive coating mode, the coating data is powder adhesive (B).

  The pattern data for each color or the pattern data for the adhesive is stored in the storage areas 66K, 66M, 66C, and 66Y for each adhesive or color of the frame memory 66 disposed in the I / F controller 61.

  These pattern data are output to the printer controller 62 under the control of the CPU 64, and are printed for each toner of black (K) (adhesive (B)), magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y). The data is output to the printing unit 63.

The operation panel 4 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the CPU 64, and various operation signals from the outside are input to the CPU 64 through the operation panel 4.
An EEPROM 67 is connected to the CPU 64. The EEPROM 67 stores, for example, a paper size detected by a paper feed sensor (not shown), double-sided printing instruction and timing data, adhesive application instruction data, and the like.

  In the above configuration, during normal use, the three image forming units 17-1, 17-2, and 17-3 on the upstream side (right side in the drawing) of the four image forming units 17 Magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) color toners, which are the three subtractive primary colors, are accommodated, and black (K) toner is accommodated in the most downstream image forming unit 17-4. A full-color image is formed with color toner, and a black image of a dark portion and a character portion of the color image is formed with black (K) toner.

  However, in this example, three types of powder adhesives of Production Example 1, Production Example 2 and Production Example 3 shown in FIG. 1 are sequentially replaced in the most downstream image forming unit 17-4. The powder adhesive is applied to the printed paper surface.

  In the printing (printing) on the paper and the application of the powder adhesive in this example, the full-color printing mode is initially set for each paper, but the image forming unit containing the powder adhesive (B) 17-4 is set to a non-printing state, and full-color printing is performed using only the three colors magenta, cyan, and yellow of the three image forming units 17-1 to 17-3 on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.

  Next, the powder adhesive that is set to the monochrome printing mode and is replaced with black (K) toner by the black (K) toner image forming unit 17-4 on the printed surface of the printed paper. Printing (application) is performed.

  The operation of such a printer 1 will be described below. In this example, high-quality paper (basis weight 127.9 g / m ^ 2) previously cut into A5 size is used as the paper, and a plurality of A5 size high-quality paper is placed in the paper feed cassette 7. Contained.

Of course, the paper may not be high-quality paper cut to A5 size, but may be plain paper cut to A5 size or an integral multiple of A5 size, or may be a postcard for pressure bonding without an adhesive.
First, when the power is turned on and the number of sheets to be used, the print mode, and other specifications are input as a key input or a signal from the connected host device, variable information is printed, followed by a powder adhesive. Application of is started.

  The uppermost sheet of paper placed in the paper feed cassette 7 is rotated by the paper feed roller 42 so that the paper guide roller 41, the first paper feed roller pair 39, the first guide path 38, and the second paper feed roller. It is fed to the standby roller pair 33 via the pair 37 and the second guide path 36. Alternatively, the uppermost sheet of paper placed on the MPF tray 35 is fed to the standby roller pair 33 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 34.

The standby roller pair 33 temporarily stops the rotation, stops the progress of the paper by abutting the leading edge of the paper against the clamping unit, corrects the skew of the paper, and waits for the conveyance timing.
The sheet conveying belt 27 starts to circulate counterclockwise when the drive roller 29 is started. Each image forming unit 17 is sequentially driven in accordance with the printing timing, and the photosensitive drum 21 of the drum set 18 rotates in the clockwise direction.

  The charger 23 of the drum set 18 applies a uniform high charge while being in contact with the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to initialize the photosensitive drum 21. The recording head 24 selectively exposes the peripheral surface of the initialized photosensitive drum 21 according to an image signal to form a low potential portion where the potential is attenuated. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The electrostatic latent image includes a high potential portion by initialization and a low potential portion by exposure.

  The developing roller 26 of the toner set 19 is applied with a developing bias from a bias power source (not shown), and rotates and conveys the toner in the developing container 25 to a portion facing the photosensitive drum 21, so that the toner is transferred to the electrostatic latent image. A toner image is formed (developed) by transferring to a low potential portion (or high potential portion). This toner image is conveyed to the opposite portion between the photosensitive drum 21 and the paper conveying belt 27 as the photosensitive drum 21 rotates.

  At the timing when the leading edge of the magenta toner image on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21 of the image forming unit 17-1 at the most upstream in the sheet conveying direction is rotated and conveyed to the opposite part to the sheet conveying belt 27, The standby roller pair 33 starts rotating and feeds the paper toward the paper transport belt 27 so that the print start positions of the paper coincide.

  The paper transport belt 27 electrostatically attracts the paper and transports it downstream. Thus, the sheet is conveyed to the first image transfer unit where the photosensitive drum 21 and the sheet conveying belt 27 of the image forming unit 17-1 face each other.

  In the image transfer unit, a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred by a transfer current (or voltage) applied to the paper via the paper transport belt 27 by a transfer device 28 that is in pressure contact with the back surface of the paper transport belt 27. Is transferred to the paper. The sheet is conveyed as it is, and then the cyan toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 of the second image forming unit 17-2 from the upstream in the sheet conveying direction is transferred, and further the photosensitive element of the third image forming unit 17-3. The yellow toner image on the drum 21 is transferred.

  The sheet on which the three color toner images are transferred is separated from the sheet conveying belt 27 and carried into the fixing unit 43 of the fixing unit 16. The fixing unit 43 presses and holds the paper between the heating roller 44 and the pressure roller 45 and fixes the toner image on the paper surface by heat and pressure while conveying the paper in the downstream direction, and discharges it backward by the discharge roller pair 51. To do.

The switching flap 52 is rotated to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 3, and the sheet is guided to the switching flap 52 and carried into the duplex printing transport unit 14 with the image forming surface facing downward.
Then, the sheet is fed to the first guide path 38 via the plurality of feed-back roller pairs 57 and the feed-back guide path 58 of the duplex printing conveyance unit 14, and is reversed and printed from the upper side to the downstream side (left side). The sheet is fed again to the standby roller pair 33 with the surface facing upward.

At this time, the printer 1 is automatically set to the monochrome printing mode from the color printing mode.
As a result, the entire printed image with the powder adhesive of Production Example 1 is developed, and the powder adhesive image is transferred onto the variable information forming surface of the paper on which the full color variable information is formed as described above. Then, the application with the powder adhesive of Production Example 1 is completed. This coating process is performed on a predetermined number of printed sheets.

  Subsequently, the developer container 25 containing the powder adhesive of Production Example 1 of the most downstream image forming unit 17-4 is replaced with the developer container 25 containing the powder adhesive of Production Example 2, for example. The Then, the start of the printing process similar to the above and the coating process of the powder adhesive are instructed.

  As a result, the developed image of the powder adhesive of Production Example 2 using the same solid print pattern as described above is transferred onto the variable information forming surface of the sheet on which the same full color variable information as described above is transferred and fixed. Thus, the application of Production Example 2 is completed. This coating process is also performed on the same number of printed sheets as described above.

  Further, the developer container 25 containing the powder adhesive of Production Example 2 of the most downstream image forming unit 17-4 is replaced with the developer container 25 containing the powder adhesive of Production Example 3 by the operator. Then, the start of the printing process similar to the above and the coating process of the powder adhesive are instructed.

  As a result, the developed image of the powder adhesive of Production Example 3 using the same solid print pattern as described above is transferred onto the variable information forming surface of the sheet on which the same full color variable information as described above is transferred and fixed. Thus, the application of Production Example 3 is completed. This coating process is also performed on the same number of printed sheets as described above.

  FIG. 5 (a) is a diagram showing high-quality A5 size paper on which full-color variable information is formed as described above, and FIG. 5 (b) is an example of manufacturing examples 1 and 2 superimposed on the variable information forming surface. FIG. 5C shows a sheet coated with the powder adhesive of No. 3, and the sheet coated with the powder adhesive of Preparation Examples 1, 2, or 3 with the variable information forming surface inside. Fig. 2 (d) is a diagram showing the paper pasting process (process for creating a postcard just before posting) for thermo-compression of the folded paper. Fig. 3 (e). FIG. 4 is a view showing a pressure-bonded postcard immediately before posting completed in the attaching step.

  Incidentally, in the paper pasting process shown in FIG. 4D, the fixing unit 43 of the printer 1 is used, and the fixing temperature of the fixing unit 43 is double because the paper is folded in half to double the paper thickness. Temperature was required and therefore fixing (crimping) was done in OHP print mode.

FIG. 6 is a chart showing the evaluation of the peelability of the pressure-bonded postcard created as described above and the state of transfer of the variable information (character offset property).
In this evaluation, the peelability was confirmed by manually opening the adhesive portion of the postcard paper after the pressure bonding. Moreover, the evaluation of the transfer state of the variable information was confirmed visually by checking the presence or absence of the transfer when the adhesive part was opened.

  As shown in the chart, the powder adhesive of Production Example 1 was able to peel well (evaluation was good), and when the open surface was seen, there was no transfer (evaluation was good). Similarly, the powder adhesive of Production Example 2 could be peeled well (evaluation was good), and when the open surface was seen, there was no transfer (evaluation was good).

On the other hand, the powder adhesive of Production Example 3 does not peel off well, and the paper is torn (evaluation is x). Moreover, when the open surface was seen, the character transfer had occurred (evaluation was x).
As described above, according to the above evaluation, it was found that Production Examples 1 and 2 have excellent peelability and no transfer of characters, and are extremely good pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards.

  And in Production Example 3, it was found that the adhesive force was too strong, the peeling did not go well, and the partially peeled part was also transferred, and as a result, it was not practical as an adhesive for pressure-bonding postcards. .

  Although it has already been proposed to use toner as a powder adhesive for pressure-bonding postcards, as described above, the powder adhesive of Preparation Example 3 is composed of almost the same material as the toner, and is the main component of the toner. A certain binder resin has high adhesiveness, and when used as a powder adhesive, the peel strength is too strong to open easily, resulting in paper breakage or partial transfer of the open portion. It became clear that it would not be practical.

  In addition, it has been proposed to adjust the adhesive force by using halftone dots. However, even if the peel strength can be adjusted by using halftone dots, the printing area corresponding to the halftone dots on the adhesive surface is transferred when opened. The problem is not solved.

  On the other hand, as in Preparation Example 1 or 2, an adhesive strength is obtained by mixing an inorganic or organic resin such as silica or acrylic resin as a non-adhesive component that does not melt at the time of fixing to a polyester resin having adhesive strength. It has been proved that the reduced one is practical as an adhesive for a good pressure-bonding postcard having good peelability and no transfer of characters.

  In the above embodiment, a non-adhesive substance is added to the binder resin having a strong adhesive force so as to weaken the adhesive force. Conversely, the binder resin having a weak adhesive force has a strong adhesive force. May be added to adjust the adhesive force.

  For example, an adhesive that adheres well can be formed by mixing adhesive components and strengthening the adhesive force mainly by using a wax system having a weak adhesive force. An adhesive that does not cause transfer can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the non-adhesive component silica or acrylic resin is first made into fine particles and added to the binder resin, but the shape of the non-adhesive component is not limited to particles. For example, when an acrylic resin is added and then melt-kneaded with the binder resin, the acrylic resin is refined and dispersed.

It is a chart which shows the composition of three types of powder adhesives manufactured as one embodiment. It is an external appearance perspective view of the printer which apply | coats the powder adhesive in one Embodiment to the paper surface after variable information printing. 1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a printer control device according to an embodiment. FIG. (a) is a diagram showing A5 size paper on which full-color variable information is formed, (b) is a diagram showing a paper on which the adhesive of the production example is applied on the variable information forming surface, and (c) is an adhesive (D) is a diagram showing the process of pasting paper that is thermo-compressed in half, and (e) is the pasting process. It is a figure which shows the crimping postcard just before the posting finished in. It is a table | surface which shows evaluation of the peelability of the crimping postcard produced in one Embodiment, and the character transfer state. It is a graph which shows the material prescription of the toner-like adhesive made as an experiment on the assumption that it can apply | coat using a printer based on the suggestion of a prior art. It is a graph which shows the result of having evaluated the crimping | compression-bonding postcard produced for every preset temperature with the toner-like adhesive agent made as an experiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Color image forming device (printer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Upper part of apparatus main body 3 Lower part of apparatus main body 4 Operation panel 4a Key operation part 4b Liquid crystal display 5 Paper discharge part 6 Paper discharge roller 7 Paper feed cassette 7a Handle 8 Front cover 9 Horizontal cover 11 Mounting part cover 12 Image forming part 13 Belt unit 14 Transport unit for double-sided printing 15 Paper feeding unit 16 Fixing unit 17 (17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4) Image forming unit 18 Drum set 19 Toner set 21 Photosensitive drum 22 Cleaner 23 Charger 24 Recording Head 25 Developing container 26 Developing roller 27 Paper transport belt 28 Transfer device 29 Drive roller 31 Driven roller 32 Tension roller 33 Standby roller pair 34 Paper feed roller 35 MPF tray 36 Second guide path 37 Second paper feed roller pair 38 First guide Path 39 First paper feed roller pair 41 Paper guide roller 42 Feed roller 43 Fixing unit 44 Heating roller 45 Pressure roller 46 Oil application roller 47 Cleaning roller 48 Temperature sensor 49 Paper separation claw 51 Discharge roller pair 52 Switching flap 53 Discharge roller pair 54 Discharge port 55 Discharge roller pair 56 Guide path 57 Feed-back roller pair 58 Feed-back guide path 59 Electrical component 60 Control device 61 I / F controller 62 Printer controller 63 Printer printing unit 64 CPU
65 ROM
66 Frame memory 66B, 66M, 66C, 66Y Storage area for each adhesive and color 67 EEPROM

Claims (11)

  Pressure bonding characterized in that it is made of a transparent powder containing at least a first resin as an adhesive component and a second resin as a non-adhesive component, which can be applied to the paper surface by development, transfer and fixing processes by electrophotography Powder adhesive for postcards.   The powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards according to claim 1, wherein the first resin is a polyester resin as a binder resin, and the second resin is made of non-adhesive particles.   The powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards according to claim 2, wherein the non-adhesive particles have a particle size of 5 µm or less.   The pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the non-adhesive particles are inorganic or a resin having a softening point of 180 ° C or higher.   The powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the non-adhesive particles are contained in an amount of 20% by mass or more.   The pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards according to claim 1, wherein the second resin is an acrylic resin. 70% by mass of a polyester resin having a softening point of 110 ° C., 30% by mass of silica powder having a particle size of 3 μm, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are mixed with a chemical mixer.
The mixture is kneaded after being melt-kneaded by a twin screw extruder,
The coarsely crushed material is pulverized by a type I jet mill,
The pulverized product is classified to obtain powder particles having an average volume particle size of 9 μm,
100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica of a fluidity improver are mixed by a Henschel mixer,
A method for producing a powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards, comprising at least the above-mentioned steps of sieving the mixture. 70% by mass of a polyester resin having a softening point of 110 ° C., 30% by mass of an acrylic resin having a particle size of 4 μm and a softening point of 200 ° C. or more, 1% by mass of a charge control agent, and 3% by mass of polyethylene wax are mixed with a chemical mixer.
The mixture is kneaded after being melt-kneaded by a twin screw extruder,
The coarsely crushed material is pulverized by a type I jet mill,
The pulverized product is classified to obtain powder particles having an average volume particle size of 9 μm,
100% by mass of the powder particles and 1% by mass of fine silica of a fluidity improver are mixed by a Henschel mixer,
A method for producing a powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards, comprising at least the above-mentioned steps of sieving the mixture. Print variable information with normal toner by electrophotographic image forming method on plain paper or adhesive post-processed postcards cut into integer multiples of postcards,
The pressure sensitive adhesive postcard powder adhesive according to claim 1 is developed with a solid printing rate by the electrophotographic image forming method,
The developed powder adhesive for a pressure-sensitive postcard is transferred to the plain paper on which the variable information is printed or the pressure-sensitive adhesive postcard without an adhesive, fixed by a fixing device, and discharged to the outside of the apparatus. A method of applying a powder adhesive for a postcard, which is characterized by comprising: Print variable information with normal toner by electrophotographic image forming method on plain paper or adhesive post-processed postcards cut into integer multiples of postcards,
The pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards obtained by the production method according to claim 7 or 8 by the electrophotographic image forming method is developed with a solid printing rate.
The developed powder adhesive for a pressure-sensitive postcard is transferred to the plain paper on which the variable information is printed or the pressure-sensitive adhesive postcard without an adhesive, fixed by a fixing device, and discharged to the outside of the apparatus. A method of applying a powder adhesive for a postcard, which is characterized by comprising: A total of four image forming units, that is, a first image forming unit that stores magenta, cyan, or yellow color toner in a toner container and a fourth image forming unit that stores black toner in a toner container; Using an electronic image forming device that can selectively execute printing in full-color printing mode and printing in monochrome printing mode,
The toner container for black toner is replaced with a toner container containing a powder adhesive for pressure-sensitive postcards according to claim 1,
Variable information is formed by the full-color printing mode using any one or all of the first to third image forming portions on a postcard for pressure bonding without processing an adhesive with the fourth image forming portion being in a non-printing state. Let it settle,
The pressure-sensitive postcard for which the variable information is formed and fixed is conveyed by a double-sided printing conveyance mechanism so that the variable information forming surface becomes the printing surface again,
Switching the printing mode from the full color printing mode to the monochrome printing mode and setting the solid printing rate,
The pressure-sensitive adhesive for postcards is developed by the fourth image forming unit,
The developed solid image of the powder adhesive for the postcard is transferred and fixed on the variable information forming surface of the postcard for the postcard which is re-transported through the transport mechanism for double-sided printing, and is discharged outside the apparatus. ,
The discharged postcard for crimping is folded into two from the center with the fixing surface of the powder adhesive for crimping postcards inside, and reinserted into the electronic image forming apparatus,
A method for producing a pressure-bonded postcard, characterized by comprising at least the steps described above, wherein the two-folded pressure-bonded postcard is pressure-bonded by a fixing device and discharged again outside the apparatus.

Images