JPH05216376A - Method for forming and erasing image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perfectly erase an image on a recording paper after it is used and to utilize the recording paper again as it is. CONSTITUTION:As for an image forming and erasing method constituted so that the image formed on the surface of an image carrier is developed by attaching toner whose main components are a resin for binding and a coloring matter on the image and the recording paper is utilized again by erasing the image on the recording paper as necessary after the image is formed by transferring and fixing the developed toner image on the recording paper, the recording paper whose recording surface is coated with a releasing agent is used when the image is erased and the toner constituting the image is transferred by bringing the recording paper into press-contact with a medium consisting of a material which is easily offset.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the formation of an electrostatic charge image formed on the surface of an image carrier in an image forming method such as an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, an electrostatic printing method, and the like. A toner containing a resin and a colorant as a main component is adhered to visualize the image, and the visualized toner image is transferred and fixed on the recording paper to form an image, and then the image on the recording paper is easily formed after use. The present invention relates to an image forming and erasing method configured so that the recording paper can be reused by erasing the recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional electrophotographic method, an electrostatic charge image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptor which is an image carrier, and the electrostatic charge image is visualized by colored resin particles called toner, and the obtained toner is obtained. A typical example is one in which an image is transferred onto a transfer member such as plain paper and then fixed by heating or pressing means to obtain a final image.

As a method of developing such an electrostatic charge image,
Although there are various types and many proposals for improvement have been made, non-magnetic toner composed of fine particles containing a binder resin as a main component is supplied onto a sleeve formed of a non-magnetic material, and the sleeve and its inside are supplied. The most common one is to form a magnetic brush on the sleeve by the relative rotation with the permanent magnet member provided on the surface, and to rub the surface of the image carrier with this magnetic brush to attach the toner particles to the electrostatic charge image. Is. In recent years, not only the black images that have been used up to now, but also those capable of forming multicolored images have become increasingly popular.

[0004]

According to the copying means or printing means such as the electrophotographic method described above, it is possible to form an image in a very easy and large amount, while the amount of paper used as a recording member is rapidly increased. The amount of used paper that is discarded as so-called paper dust is also increasing. Such paper dust is drawing attention from the viewpoint of resource conservation, and measures are being sought for it, and it is now being used as part of recycled paper. However, this recycling means is still very low in popularity, and there are some that do not necessarily reach the level of practical application in terms of recycling cost.

That is, the above-mentioned paper dust that is ejected as paper dust is recycled due to a mixture of papers of different paper quality and the fact that it contains information that belongs to a trade secret and is a so-called cut form. There is a problem that the use is complicated or difficult. However, the biggest cause of hindering the reuse is that the image or information on the recording paper cannot be erased as it is. That is, all the toners or developers used in the conventional image forming means are colored and have a characteristic that the colored state can be semipermanently retained by fixing.

On the other hand, among the images or information formed on the recording paper, there are some that do not necessarily need to be semipermanently preserved, such as the present materials for conferences or test prints. It is desirable to reuse the recording paper by deleting the image or information after use. However, since there is no such erasing method,
There is a problem that paper waste is inevitably discarded, and the amount of paper waste is increasing year by year, especially in cities where companies are concentrated.

Further, it is expected that computers and copying machines will become more and more popular in the future, and the demand for recording paper will increase accordingly. The increase in the amount of recording paper used further promotes the felling of the forest, which is a raw material for production, more than it is at present, and causes a global environmental damage.

In order to solve the above problems, a decolorizable toner using a dye capable of absorbing near infrared light and decoloring has been announced (eg, Kinki Chemical Society Functional Dye Subcommittee Material No. .17 (May 29, 1991)). An image formed on a recording sheet using such toner can be erased by irradiating it with near-infrared light after use, and the recording sheet can be reused. However, since the color of the image in this case is "blue", the sharpness is insufficient, and a special erasing machine with a special structure is required for erasing, which makes the operation complicated. There is a problem.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art, completely erases the image or information on the recording paper after the end of use, and can reuse the recording paper in its original form. The purpose is to provide an erasing method.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a toner containing a binder resin and a colorant as a main component is made to adhere to an image formed on the surface of an image carrier to visualize the image. In an image forming and erasing method configured to transfer and fix the visualized toner image on recording paper to form an image, and then to erase the image on the recording paper and reuse the recording paper as necessary. The technical means was adopted that, when erasing an image, a recording paper coated with a releasing agent was used on the recording surface, and the recording paper was pressed against a medium made of a material that was easily offset to transfer the toner forming the image.

The release agent used in the present invention includes
Silicone oil, fluorinated oil, and other aliphatic oils can be used as long as they have a function of preventing the binder resin melted during fixing from penetrating between the fibers of the recording paper.

Examples of the binder resin which is the main component of the toner in the present invention include styrene resins such as polystyrene, styrene-methyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer and styrene-butadiene resin. , Polyethylene, vinyl-based resin, acrylic resin, waxes, etc. can be used.

In addition to the colorants (carbon black, aniline blue, lamp black, rose bengal, quinoline yellow, malachite green, etc.), the components contained in the toner particles are used in general dry developers. Various additives (charge control agents such as nigrosine dyes and metal-containing azo dyes, mold release agents such as olefin polymers, fluidity modifiers, fillers, etc.) may be included, but the fixability is reduced. In order to prevent it, it is preferable that the total amount be 15% by weight or less. The colorant may be contained in a sufficient concentration (usually 1.2 or more) in a proportion suitable for forming a visible image, and is usually contained in the toner in an amount of 2 to 20% by weight.

Further, magnetic powder may be contained as at least a part of the coloring agent to form a so-called magnetic toner. As the magnetic powder, a compound or alloy containing iron, such as ferrite or magnetite, or an element exhibiting ferromagnetism, such as cobalt or nickel, can be used. In addition, in order to uniformly disperse the magnetic powder in the magnetic toner, it is desirable to form the average particle diameter of 0.01 to 3 μm. Content is 10
It may be in the range of 80 to 80% by weight, preferably 20 to 6
It is preferable to set it to 0% by weight.

Next, as a material for forming the medium, it is preferable to use aluminum, aluminum alloy, stainless steel or the like, which has a large affinity or adhesiveness with the binding resin.

[0016]

With the above construction, at the time of fixing, the toner forming the image is only adhered to the surface of the recording paper. Therefore, after use, the toner serving as the temporary material or the function of the trial printing is completed. In the above, the toner can be transferred and removed by pressing it against the heating medium.
When preparing a storage material, it is sufficient to completely fix it using ordinary recording paper.

[0017]

EXAMPLE Silicone oil (KF96 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was applied to the surface of a recording paper which was plain paper, and copying was carried out by a commercially available copying machine (U-Bix 3000 manufactured by Konica). That is, as in a normal image forming mode, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor is visualized by a developer (either one-component system or two-component system), and this toner image is transferred onto the recording paper. Post-fixing (either pressure fixing or heat fixing may be performed). The obtained image has good image density and resolution,
It has been confirmed that it can be used sufficiently as a temporary material.

After the recording paper was used up, it was passed between a pair of rollers made of aluminum alloy having a diameter of 15 mm to transfer the toner forming the image on the surface of the recording paper to the roller surface. A urethane blade was brought into contact with the surface of this roller for cleaning. After removing the toner, develop another image again as above,
After fixing, the toner was removed after use. When such image formation and erasing were repeated, it was confirmed that visual interpretation was sufficiently possible up to the 5th and 6th times, and that it could be used as a temporary material.

[0019]

Since the present invention has the structure and operation as described above, the conventional image forming apparatus can be used as it is to form an image for the time being and the image on the recording paper can be completely formed after use. It has the effect that it can be erased and the recording paper can be reused in its original form.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image is formed on a surface of an image carrier by adhering a toner containing a binder resin and a colorant as a main component,
In an image forming and erasing method configured to transfer and fix the visualized toner image on recording paper to form an image, and then to erase the image on the recording paper and reuse the recording paper as necessary. , Image forming and erasing, characterized in that a recording paper coated with a release agent is used for erasing an image, and the recording paper is brought into pressure contact with a medium made of a material that easily offsets to transfer the toner constituting the image. Method.