Development of FUJIFILM Quality Thermal Photo Paper: A New Thermal Photo Printing Material

Abstract

We developed a new thermal photo printing material. This new paper improves image quality, handling and reduces environmental impact during the production phase. This new paper utilizes a laminated base paper with the same high level of whiteness as silver halide photo print paper. The multi-layers, which contain a heat insulation layer, are coated on this base paper by using a production method based on FUJIFILM’s proprietary aqueous dispersion coating technology. Compared to previous thermal photo papers, this new paper achieves enhanced image quality (5% increase in whiteness; 20% increase in gloss). New production methods make it possible to increase the moisture content of the photo printing material itself, creating a surface resistance of approximately 1/1,000 of the conventional product, resulting in the improvement of antistatic property. This minimizes the tendency for freshly printed thermal photo prints to stick together, resulting in significantly increased handling ease. By adopting FUJIFILM’s proprietary aqueous dispersion coating technology that uses virtually no organic solvents, this new paper achieves a significant reduction in environmental impact during the production phase.