Abstract: A thermal transfer sheet is provided that can yield thermally transferred images, which possess excellent various fastness or resistance properties even under severe service conditions, and comprises a transferable protective layer having good transferability. In a thermal transfer sheet comprising a substrate sheet and a thermally transferable protective layer on the substrate sheet, the thermally transferable protective layer comprises a scratch-resistant layer which is repeatedly provided one by one for each picture plane unit in the thermal transfer sheet. An area of the scratch-resistant layer for each picture plane unit is smaller than an area of an object in its transfer surface. By virtue of this construction, at the time of the transfer of a protective layer onto an object, layer cutting does not occur within the scratch-resistant layer but within other layer (such as peel layer or adhesive layer), and, consequently, the protective layer can be transferred with good transferability.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for image formation, that can yield thermally transferred images which are excellent in various fastness properties even under severe service conditions, and an intermediate transfer recording medium for use in the method for image formation. The method for image formation comprises the steps of: providing an intermediate transfer recording medium comprising a substrate film and a transfer portion provided separably on the substrate film; forming an image on the intermediate transfer recording medium in its transfer portion; transferring the transfer portion onto an object; and, thereafter, again transferring the intermediate transfer recording medium in its next transfer portion once or more onto the object with the image formed thereon. In this case, in the intermediate transfer recording medium, a hologram image is set every at least second image plane, and an image can be formed on the transfer portion having the hologram image.

Abstract: The invention provides a transfer ribbon having a layered structure in which a substrate, a relief layer and a reflection layer are laminated in this order, wherein the relief layer comprises an ionizing radiation-cured resin. The transfer ribbon can precisely transfer fine dots and/and dots placed close to each other with a low energy and at a high speed without any of burrs, chippings or lacks by means of a thermal head. Also, the invention provides an image expressing medium, which can be produced using the transfer ribbon described above, and comprises a support, a color layer and plural dots of relief hologram and/or diffraction grating. In the medium: the color layer and the dots are disposed on the same surface of the support; and the each dot has an area in a range from 0.0001 to 0.09 mm2; the each dots has a diffraction direction different from that of at least one of adjacent dots, or the dot has two or more sections each of which has a diffraction direction different from each other.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for image formation, that can yield thermally transferred images which are excellent in various fastness properties even under severe service conditions, and an intermediate transfer recording medium for use in the method for image formation. The method for image formation comprises the steps of: providing an intermediate transfer recording medium comprising a substrate film and a transfer portion provided separably on the substrate film; forming an image on the intermediate transfer recording medium in its transfer portion; transferring the transfer portion onto an object; and, thereafter, again transferring the intermediate transfer recording medium in its next transfer portion once or more onto the object with the image formed thereon. In this case, in the intermediate transfer recording medium, a hologram image is set every at least second image plane, and an image can be formed on the transfer portion having the hologram image.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the provision of a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet which, even when used with various printers, can be carried with improved accuracy, can form color images without misregistration, and does not permit traces of spikes to reach an image-receiving face and, thus, can minimize the influence of spikes on the quality of images. In a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 10 comprising a colorant-receptive layer 2 provided on a substrate 1, the substrate 1 is formed of a laminate comprising a plastic film 3 having in its inside microvoids, a support 4, and a backside film 5 provided in that order from the colorant-receptive layer 2 side and the backside film 5 is an unstretched polyolefin film.

Abstract: A thermal transfer sheet is provided that can yield thermally transferred images, which possess excellent various fastness or resistance properties even under severe service conditions, and comprises a transferable protective layer having good transferability. In a thermal transfer sheet comprising a substrate sheet and a thermally transferable protective layer on the substrate sheet, the thermally transferable protective layer comprises a scratch-resistant layer which is repeatedly provided one by one for each picture plane unit in the thermal transfer sheet. An area of the scratch-resistant layer for each picture plane unit is smaller than an area of an object in its transfer surface. By virtue of this construction, at the time of the transfer of a protective layer onto an object, layer cutting does not occur within the scratch-resistant layer but within other layer (such as peel layer or adhesive layer), and, consequently, the protective layer can be transferred with good transferability.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for image formation, that can yield thermally transferred images which are excellent in various fastness properties even under severe service conditions, and an intermediate transfer recording medium for use in the method for image formation. The method for image formation comprises the steps of: providing an intermediate transfer recording medium comprising a substrate film and a transfer portion provided separably on the substrate film; forming an image on the intermediate transfer recording medium in its transfer portion; transferring the transfer portion onto an object; and, thereafter, again transferring the intermediate transfer recording medium in its next transfer portion once or more onto the object with the image formed thereon. In this case, in the intermediate transfer recording medium, a hologram image is set every at least second image plane, and an image can be formed on the transfer portion having the hologram image.

Abstract: Transport stream multiplexers detect the transmission rates of audio and video information of each of a plurality of programs multiplexed and transmitted. If a situation arises in which the total value of the transmission rates exceeds the maximum transmission rate allowed for the transmission path, the mulitplexer transmits (branches) partial service information to a subscriber device via a digital set-top box (DSTB) control unit by using a different high-frequency signal. As a result, the total value of the transmission rates of the multiplexed information is reduced by an amount equivalent to the service information that was branched, whereby the total value falls below the maximum transmission rate allowed for the transmission path. This makes it possible to reproduce normal audio and video at the subscriber device.

Abstract: Disclosed is an intermediate transfer recording medium for use in a method which comprises the steps of: forming an image using the intermediate transfer recording medium on an object; and forming a protective layer on the image. In this case, fastness properties can be fully imparted to the image, the protective layer can be transferred onto the image with high accuracy in a simple manner, blocking and the like attributable to the exposure of a pressure-sensitive adhesive do not take place, and the design and the fastness properties are excellent. An image forming method using the intermediate transfer recording medium is also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the provision of a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet which, even when used with various printers, can be carried with improved accuracy, can form color images without misregistration, and does not permit traces of spikes to reach an image-receiving face and, thus, can minimize the influence of spikes on the quality of images. In a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 10 comprising a colorant-receptive layer 2 provided on a substrate 1, the substrate 1 is formed of a laminate comprising a plastic film 3 having in its inside microvoids, a support 4, and a backside film 5 provided in that order from the colorant-receptive layer 2 side and the backside film 5 is an unstretched polyolefin film.