WO2002076764A2

WO2002076764A2 - Sheet for forming graphics and graphics-displaying sheet

Info

Publication number: WO2002076764A2
Application number: PCT/US2002/008890
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yasuyuki Takeda
Original assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
Priority date: 2001-03-26
Filing date: 2002-03-22
Publication date: 2002-10-03
Also published as: WO2002076764A3; AU2002306817A1; JP2002292775A

Abstract

A sheet for forming graphics wherein the surface treatment is removable, or change one design to another, can increase outdoor durability of the graphics, can increase the contrast of the graphics against a background, and can impart the same texture as a surface-processed glass to a pane of glass. A sheet for forming graphics comprising a translucent support, and a coloring material-receptive layer that is fixed to the support, in which a coloring material received on the coloring material-receptive layer forms a graphics, and the graphics can be seen through the support, characterized in that the support has a light-diffusing property, and the coloring material-receptive sheet and the support are adhered each other.

Description

SHEET FOR FORMING GRAPHICS AND GRAPHICS-DISPLAYING SHEET

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sheet for forming graphics and in particular a graphic sheet containing a coloring material-receptive layer.

Background of the Invention

As a method for decorating a pane of glass, the direct processing of the glass such as sand blasting or direct painting is known. However, in the case of the decoration formed by such a method, it is extremely difficult to restore the original state of the glass which has been processed or to change from one design to another.

Adhering an adhesive film to a pane of glass as a decoration method is also known. Such a method comprises adhering a translucent adhesive film to the surface of a support of which is embossed (or matted) (for example, SCOTCHCAL^® MasterCut Film; 1125- 314 available from 3M, etc.), to a pane of glass. However, it is not easy to print a full- color graphics directly onto the surface or back surface of such an adhesive film.

Films that can be printed to form graphics are also known. An example includes a sheet for forming graphics comprising a transparent support sheet, an adhesive (tackifier) layer on one surface of the substrate sheet and a graphics-forming layer on the other surface of the substrate sheet, and a method for decorating a pane with such a sheet for forming graphics. With such a method, it is easy to restore the original state of the pane of glass that is once processed, or to change a design to another one.

However, with the above method, the graphics is exposed on the surface, and thus it is easily damaged or stained. Therefore, the durability of the graphics is insufficient. Furthermore, since a transparent substrate is used, the contrast of the graphics against the background is low and, unfortunately, the definition of the graphics cannot be increased.

Other known methods for decorating a pane of glass using a sheet for forming graphics comprising a translucent support having a metal-deposition layer on one surface thereof and a coloring material-receptive layer laminated on the support and capable of receiving coloring materials to shade the glass in a translucent state and impart the shaded view to the glass. With this method, since the support is not completely transparent, the contrast of the graphics against the background is improved when the sheet is seen from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer. Further, since the graphics can be sealed between the glass and the support in use, the outdoor durability is improved.

However, when the sheet having the shading metal-deposition layer is used, the glass does not exhibit a texture similar to surface-process glass, which may have been processed with sand blasting or etching.

Furthermore, the graphics-displaying sheet having the metal-deposition layer may suffer from degradation of the metal-deposition layer when external energy such as UV rays is continuously applied to the sheet. The degradation of the metal layer leads to the decrease of the light-shielding property and the deterioration of the appearance of the graphics. The degradation of the metal layer is noticeable, particularly when the sheet is adhered to the surface of the pane of glass facing outdoors.

Conventional sheeting for forming graphics exhibit the following shortcomings which includes:

(1) inability to recover the original state of a substrate material, that is once processed, or to change one design to another, by means of surface processes such as sandblasting or chemical etch,

(2) to prevent the exposure of a graphic film on the surface to increase the outdoor durability of the graphics,

(3) to increase the contrast of a graphic film against the background when it is seen from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer so as to increase the definition of the graphics, and

(4) to impart the same texture as the surface-processed glass to the pane of glass.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet for forming graphics, which can solve the problems (1) to (4) at the same time.

Summary of the Invention

When the graphics formed from coloring materials received on the coloring material-receptive sheet is seen from the support side, it is seen as if they were hazed. Thus, the graphics presents an appearance which is seen through a frosted glass. When the graphics is seen from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer (through no support), the contrast of the graphics against a background is improved and the definition of the graphics is effectively improved, since the support is not completely transparent. The graphics-displaying sheet comprising the sheet for forming graphics according to the present invention is particularly useful as a decorative sheet for a pane.

To achieve the above object the present invention provides a sheet for forming graphics comprising: (a) a translucent support having a surface and a back surface, and

(b) a coloring material-receptive layer having a surface and a back surface, the surface of which is fixed to the back surface of said support, wherein a coloring material received on said coloring material-receptive layer forms a graphics, and said graphics can be seen through said support, characterized in that said support has a light-diffusing property, and said coloring material-receptive sheet and said support are closely adhered each other.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a side view of a sheet according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment(s)

The sheet for forming graphics according to the present invention comprises (a) a translucent support having a front surface and a back surface, and (b) a coloring material- receptive layer having a front surface and a back surface, wherein the front surface of the coloring material receptive layer is fixed to the back surface of the translucent support, and the sheet is characterized in that the translucent support has a light-diffusing property, and the coloring material-receptive layer and the translucent support are closely adhered each other. The light-diffusing property of the translucent support makes it possible and easy to increase the contrast of the graphics against the background when it is seen from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer so as to increase the definition of the graphics, and to impart the same texture as the surface-processed glass to the pane. Furthermore, since the direct processing of the glass is avoided, it is straight forward to return the pane of glass to its original state.

When the sheet for forming graphics that has graphics, that is, the graphics- displaying sheet, is fixed to a material, the graphics can be used with sealing it between the material and the support. Thus, the outdoor durability of the graphics can be improved (the solution to the above problem (2)).

In addition, in the sheet for forming graphics according to the present invention, the coloring material-receptive layer and the support are closely adhered each other. Thus, the sheet of the present invention does not suffer from the decrease of the visibility due to the poor adhesion of the light-diffusive support and the graphics (i.e. the coloring material- receptive layer). When the adhesion of the light-diffusive support and the graphics decreases, the graphics is less visible in areas where the light transmission is low (that is. poorly adhered areas), or the poorly adhered areas form bubbles and are seen as defects of the images. The decrease of the visibility of the graphics caused by the poor adhesion is more remarkable with the light-diffusive support, in particular, the support having a haze of at least 30 %, than with a transparent support. Accordingly, it is preferable to avoid the adhesion of the light-diffusive support such that it covers the graphics after the formation of the graphics on the coloring material-receptive layer. Rather, it is preferable to adhere the light-diffusive support and the coloring material-receptive layer together prior to the formation of the graphics.

One preferred example of the sheet for forming graphics of the present invention is explained by referring to Fig. 1, which schematically illustrates the sheet for forming graphics of the present invention and also the graphics-displaying sheet that is prepared using such a sheet for forming graphics.

The sheet for forming graphics of Fig. 1 is prepared by laminating translucent support (1), primer layer (2) and coloring material-receptive layer (3) in this order and adhering them together.

Translucent support (1) may be a polymer film having light-diffusing properties, which will be explained in detail below.

Coloring material-receptive layer (3) comprises a coating film of a paint that contains a polymer having a good affinity with a coloring material comprising a toner or an ink. Coloring material-receptive layer (3) should be closely adhered to the back surface of the support (1). In the example of Fig. 1, translucent support (1) and coloring material- receptive layer (3) are adhered together with primer layer (2) between the two components.

Primer layer (2) increases the initial adhesion of translucent support (1) and the coloring material-receptive layer (3), and also effectively prevents whole or partial delamination of coloring material-receptive layer (3) from translucent support (1) over time. Primer layer (2) may be omitted, if the coating film that forms coloring material- receptive layer (3) has good wettability with the back surface of translucent support (1) and the coating film has a high adhesion strength to the support.

The sheet for forming graphics has a light-diffusing property (diffusive transmission) as a whole. The light-diffusivity is expressed by, for example, a light transmittance (total light transmittance) and a haze (turbidity). In general, the light transmittance is at least 30% and the haze is at least 30%, when they are measured with light being incident from the surface of the support and exiting from the back surface of the coloring material-receptive layer. When the light transmittance is less than 30%, the light-shielding property is too high so that it becomes difficult to observe the graphics from the support side. When the haze is less than 30%, the contrast of the graphics against the background decreases when the graphics is observed from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer, and thus the definition of the graphics may not be increased. From such a viewpoint, preferably, the sheet for forming graphics has a light transmittance of at least 50% and a haze of at least

40%, more preferably a light transmittance of at least 60% and a haze of at least 50%.

Herein, the "haze" is measured with a color meter according to JIS K 7195 6.4, and the "light transmittance" means a total light transmittance measured with a spectrophotometer or a color meter that functions also as a photometer at a wavelength of 550 ran.

Also, Fig. 1 schematically shows one preferred example of the graphics-displaying sheet of the present invention. The graphics-displaying sheet of Fig. 1 comprises the sheet for forming graphics (the laminate of translucent support (1), primer layer (2) and color material-receptive layer (3)), and graphics displaying sheet (4) formed with coloring materials, which are applied to the back surface of color material-receptive layer (3) and received on color material-receptive layer (3).

In general, (i) coloring materials are fixed to and received on only the back surface of coloring material-receptive layer (3), or (ii) a part of them penetrates into coloring material- receptive layer (3) while the remaining part is received on the back surface of coloring material-receptive layer (3) so that the materials protrude beyond the back surface, or (iii) they completely penetrate in coloring material-receptive layer (3). The coloring materials may not necessarily be provided over the whole surface of the coloring material-receptive layer (3). In the example of Fig. 1, adhesive layer (5) is provided to cover graphics displaying sheet (4) that comprises the coloring materials received on coloring material-receptive layer (3). Adhesive layer (5) is preferably adhered to the coloring materials, although it may be adhered to coloring material-receptive layer (3) in areas having no coloring materials. For example, adhesive layer (5) is a coating film formed by applying an adhesive onto the back surface of coloring material-receptive layer (3) after printing the graphics. Alternatively, adhesive layer (5) may be formed by laminating a double-coated adhesive tape on the back surface of coloring material-receptive layer (3) after printing the graphics.

Graphics-displaying sheet (4) of the present invention is adhered to one surface of the pane of glass through the above-described adhesive layer (5) and used as a decorative sheet for the pane of glass. For example, when graphics-displaying sheet (5) is adhered to the surface of a pane of glass that faces outdoors, it can impart the texture like a surface- processed glass, such as a frosted pane of glass, when it is obseived by an outdoor observer, while the graphics can be seen from the outdoor and the indoor. Since the graphics can be used in the sealed state between the pane of glass and translucent support, the graphics displaying sheet has high outdoor durability.

Alternatively, graphics-displaying sheet (4) is adhered to the surface of a pane of glass facing indoors so that it can impart the texture like the surface-processed glass such as a pane of frosted glass when it is observed by indoor observer obseives, while the graphics can be seen from the outdoor side and the indoor side.

The above method includes only one adhering step, and thus the workability of the graphics-displaying sheet is improved in comparison with the conventional graphics- displaying sheet that is adhered to the pane of glass and then a translucent adhesive film is adhered to protect the graphics on site. The graphic is formed using conventional printing inks or toners by a conventional method such as electrostatic printing, silk-screen printing, gravure printing, offset printing, ink jet printing, etc.

The support used in the present invention is a film that has the light-diffusing property. Such light diffusing film may be a polymer film that is surface treated to impart the diffusing property with matting, graining, embossing, sand-blasting, etc., a polymer film in which light-diffusing particles (e.g. white inorganic particles, etc.) are compounded, a polymer film having light-diffusive minute projections fixed to its surface by gravure coating, etc. The thickness of the diffusive film is usually from 5 to 1,000 μm, preferably from 10 to 700 μm.

The light-diffusivity of the support may be expressed for example, by light transmittance and haze. In general, light transmittance is at least 30% and haze is at least 30%, when they are measured with light being incident from the surface of the support and exiting from the back surface of the support. When light transmittance is less than 30%, it may be difficult to observe the graphics from the support side. When haze is less than 30%, the definition of the graphics may not be increased when the graphics is observed from the side of the coloring material-receptive layer, and furthermore, it may not be possible to impart the texture like the surface-processed glass to the pane. From such a viewpoint, preferably, the support has a light transmittance of at least 50% and a haze of at least 40%, more preferably a light transmittance of at least 60% and a haze of at least 50%.

The support may be formed from a composition comprising a polymer such as polycarbonate, an acrylic resin, polyester, an epoxy resin, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polyolefin, etc.

The support may be colored, or some design may be printed on the surface or back surface of the support insofar as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Furthermore, the support may comprise a film or a layer other than the diffusive film insofar as the support as a whole is light diffusive and the effects of the present invention are not impaired. For example, the other layer may be a surface-protection layer, an antistatic layer, a transparent support layer (for reinforcing the support), an electromagnetic-shielding layer, a liner layer, etc.

In general, the coloring material-receptive layer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "receptive layer" simply) comprises a polymer can fix the printing inks or toners (fixing polymer). As the fixing polymers, those used in the field of printing media may be used.

Preferably, ionically modified polymers, which will be explained below, and thermoplastic resins are used.

For example, when the graphic is formed with the ink jet printing using the aqueous inks, the ionically modified polymer is preferably used as the fixing polymer. An ionically modified polymer is particularly suitable for the increase of the water resistance of the graphics printed with the aqueous inks.

When the graphics-displaying sheet having the graphics printed with the aqueous inks is used outdoors for a long time, the edges of the graphics-displaying sheet are preferably sealed. For example, the edge sealing is carried out with adhering an adhesive tape with bridging the peripheral edges of the sheet and the surface of the material after fixing the displaying sheet on the material. When the receptive layer has low hydrophilicity and thus low ink-fixing properties, the graphic-displaying sheet should not be used outdoors for a long time in the absence of edge seals. The receptive layer containing the ionically modified polymer can increase the water-resistance of the graphics with avoiding the use of such edge seals.

When the ionically modified polymer is used, it is not necessary for the receptive layer to contain inorganic fine powder such as inorganic oxides, which are usually required to impart the ink-absorbability to the receptive layer. When the receptive layer may have low transparency, or when the receptive layer is colored white or other color to form the background for the graphics, it may contain the inorganic oxide in a suitable amount.

The ionically modified polymer may be a cationically modified polyurethane, a cationically modified polyester, etc. The receptive layer containing the ionically modified polymer is advantageous to increase the water-resistance of the images printed with ink jet printing. Examples of the ionically modified polymer include PATERACOL^® IJ-170 (a paint containing a cationically modified polyurethane and inorganic fine powder) and PATERACOL^® IJ-21 (a paint containing a cationically modified polyurethane and no inorganic fine powder) both available from DAINIPPON INK AND CHEMICALS, INC., and so on. Here, the inorganic fine powder is used to increase the porosity of the receptive layer so that the ink-absorbability increases.

When aqueous inks are used, the receptive layer may contain a water-soluble salt.

Preferably, such a salt may be a polyvalent metal salt of an organic or inorganic acid, since such a salt has a relatively high coagulation function and a good effect on the increase of the quick-drying property and the water-resistance of the fixed ink-image at the same time.

As the ion of the polyvalent metal, one or more of the ions of metals such as aluminum, titanium, zirconium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, tin, cobalt, etc. Preferred examples of the inorganic acid include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc. Preferred examples of the inorganic salt include aluminum sulfate, etc. The amount of the coagulant contained in the receptive layer is usually from 1 to 70 wt. parts, preferably from 3 to 50 wt. parts, per 100 wt. parts of the ink-fixing polymer. When the amount of the coagulant is too low, the ink-fixing property decreases so that the water-resistance or color-developing properties may deteriorate. When the amount of the coagulant is too high, the ink-image may smudge.

The receptive layer may optionally contain an inorganic fine powder to increase the porosity of the receptive layer. As the inorganic fine powder, calcium carbonate, calcined clay, silica (including amorphous silica), diatomaceous earth, talc, titanium oxide, barium sulfate, and the like may be used. The particle size of the fine powder is usually from 0.3 to 10 μm, preferably from 0.8 to 5 μm.

Furthermore, the receptive layer may contain other additives such as a heat stabilizer, a UV absorber, a dispersant, an antistatic agent, an antioxidant, etc. The coloring material-receptive layer as the ink-receptive layer is formed, for example, by applying a liquid containing the coagulant and the fixing polymer and drying it. In this case, a medium is preferably water or alcohol. As an application means, a conventional coater such as a bar coater, a knife coater, a roll coater, a die coater, etc. may be used. When the image is formed by the electrostatic printing method, the toner-receptive layer (the coloring material-receptive layer) preferably contains a thermoplastic resin as a fixing polymer so that the toners can be thermally transferred and fixed on the printing surface of the layer. Such a thermoplastic resin is a resin that can be molten at a temperature for thermally transferring and fixing the toners, and may preferably be the same resin as the binder of the toners. As the thermoplastic resin, a vinyl chloride polymer (including a copolymer such as a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer), an acrylic polymer, a saturated polyester, etc. are preferably used.

The toner-receptive layer may be formed by applying a paint containing a toner- fixing polymer and drying it. In this case, a medium is preferably water or alcohol. As an application means, a conventional coater such as a bar coater, a knife coater, a roll coater, a die coater, etc. may be used.

The haze of the receptive layer is preferably 20% or less, more preferably 15% or less. The light transmittance is preferably at least 70, more preferably at least 80%. When the transparency of the receptive layer is low, the light-shielding effect becomes to high so that it may be difficult to observe the graphics from the support side.

The thickness of the receptive layer is preferably from 5 to 200 μm, more preferably from 10 to 100 μm. When the receptive layer is too thin, it has the low ink-absorbing ability when the ink is used, and thus the color development of the image may deteriorate. When the receptive layer is too thick, the surface area of the edges becomes too large so that the water resistance may deteriorate.

As described above, the receptive layer is preferably fixed to the surface of the support through the primer layer to increase the adhesion of the receptive layer to the support. For example, the primer layer is fixedly provided on the primer-providing surface of the support (i.e. the back surface of the support), and then the paint for the receptive layer is applied to form the receptive layer.

The primer layer usually contains a priming polymer, and such a polymer is selected so that it has an affinity with the support and the receptive layer. For example, when the receptive layer contains the ionically modified polyester or polyurethane, and the support is a polymer sheet comprising an acrylic polymer, the priming polymer is preferably an aminoethylated polymer. Thereby, the water resistance of the image recorded with the aqueous inks can be increased, and at the same time, the adhesion between the receptive layer and the support is improved, and thus the outdoor durability of the sheet can be significantly increased.

The aminoethylated polymer is a polymer in which a primary amino group (-NH₂) is introduced using ethylene imine. In general, the introduction of the primary amine through the ring opening addition of ethylene imine is called "aminoethylation". Thus, in the present specification, the polymer having the primary amino group, which is introduced by the aminoethylation, is named an aminoethylated polymer or resin.

When the receptive layer contains the ionically modified polyester or polyurethane, and the support is (i) a polymer sheet containing a vinyl chloride polymer or (ii) a polymer sheet containing a polyester, the priming polymer is preferably a saturated polyester for the same reason as described above. Such a primer is preferably used to increase the adhesion of the primer layer and the receptive layer particularly when the polyester of the support is a phthalate polyester having repeating units derived from phthalic acid and/or naphthalic acid, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), an ethylene terephthalate copolymer comprising ethylene teraphthalate units and other comonomer units (co-PET), an ethylene naphthalate copolymer comprising ethylene naphthalate units and other comonomer units (co-PEN), etc.

The saturated polyester is preferably a linear polyester, and particularly preferably a polyester having a Tg higher than 50°C. The saturated polyester may be crosslinked with a crosslinking agent such as an isocyanate compound, insofar as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

The priming polymer may be a polymer blend (mixture). For example, a primer layer comprising a blend of a urethane elastomer and other polymer is formed to increase the adhesion between the support and the coloring material-receptive layer containing the ionically modified polyurethane. The urethane elastomer is an elastomer of polyurethane prepared by polymerizing a starting material containing a polyol and a diisocyanate.

The thickness of the primer layer is usually from 0.1 to 30 μm, preferably from 0.5 to 10 μm. The haze of the primer layer is preferably 20% or less, more preferably 15% or less.

The light transmittance of the primer layer is usually at least 85%, preferably at least 90%.

The primer layer may be formed by applying a liquid containing the priming polymer and solidifying (curing or drying) it. As an application means, a conventional coater such as a bar coater, a knife coater, a roll coater, a die coater, etc. may be used. Examples

Example 1

A diffusive film having a thickness of 50 μm (TETRON^® Film, MAT PET U4 TYPE manufactured by TOYOBO Co., Ltd.) was used as a support. On the back surface of the support, BYRON^® 24 SS (comprising a saturated linear polyester; manufactured by TOYOBO) was applied and dried at 100°C for 2 minutes to form a primer layer having a thickness of 4 μm.

On the primer layer, PATERACOL^® D-70 (manufactured by DAINIPON INK & CHEMICALS, INC.; containing a cationic polyurethane) was applied and dried at 150°C for 2 minutes to form an ink-receptive layer having a thickness of 18 μm as a coloring material- receptive layer. Thus, a sheet for forming graphics of this Example was obtained. This sheet had a haze of 85.0 % and a total light transmittance of 74.2 %.

On the surface of the coloring material-receptive layer of the sheet, a multicolor image was printed with an aqueous ink jet system to form a graphics and obtain a graphics-displaying sheet of this Example. A printer used was Novajet^® HI (manufactured by Encad). The printing direction was a single direction, the number of passes was 4, and the ink jetting rate was 5,000 Hz. The inks used were aqueous pigment inks of 3M (855 Series; Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black). Subsequently, a double-coated adhesive tape (trade designation: 9415 PC available from 3M) was laminated on the printed surface (back surface) of the coloring material- receptive layer of the graphics-displaying sheet produced in the above step to obtain the graphics-displaying sheet with the adhesive layer. Then, this sheet was adhered to the surface of a pane, and observed from the outdoor side and indoor side.

As a result, the graphics-displaying sheet imparted the texture like the frosted glass to the pane, and the graphics could be observed through the support. When the graphics was observed from the back surface side of the pane, the graphics could be clearly seen.

The graphics-displaying sheet was maintained outdoors for 2 months with being adhered to the glass and weathered to evaluate the durability of the graphics such as water- resistance. As a result, none of the changes of the appearance such as the flowing of the inks or the formation of the defects in the image were observed, and the durability of the graphics was concluded excellent.

Example 2

A sheet for forming graphics of this Example was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness of the layer containing the saturated linear polyester used as the primer layer was changed to 10 μm and thus such a layer was used as a toner- receptive layer, but no ink-receptive layer was formed. This sheet had a haze of 85.2% and a total light transmittance of 77.5%.

Then, a graphics was formed on the surface of the color material-receptive layer of the above-prepared sheet for forming graphics by the electrostatic printing method to obtain a graphics-displaying sheet of this Example. Firstly, a positive image was electrostatically printed on a transfer printing medium (Trade designation: Imaging Paper 860 li available from 3M) using the 9512 Scotchprint^® System. Then, the positive image was thermally transferred to the toner-receptive layer of the sheet for forming graphics to form a graphics formed of the mirror image of the positive image.

Next, the graphics-displaying sheet with the adhesive layer was prepared with adhering the same double-coated adhesive tape to the graphics-displaying sheet in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the graphics-displaying sheet of this Example was used.

Then, this sheet was adhered to the surface of a pane, and observed from the outdoor side and indoor side. As a result, the graphics-displaying sheet imparted the texture like the frosted glass to the pane, and the graphics could be observed through the support. When the graphics was observed from the back surface side of the pane, the graphics could be clearly seen.

Claims

We claim:

1. A sheet for forming graphics comprising

(a) a translucent support having a surface and a back surface, and

(b) a coloring material-receptive layer having a surface and a back surface, the surface of which is fixed to the back surface of the support, wherein a coloring material received on the coloring material-receptive layer forms a graphics, and the graphics can be seen through the support, characterized in the the support has a light-diffusing property, and the coloring material -receptive sheet and the support are closely adhered each other.

2. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein the light transmittance (total light transmittance) of the sheet is at least 30 % and the haze (turbidity) of the sheet is at least 30 %, when they are measured with light being incident from the surface of the support and exiting from the back surface of the coloring material-receptive layer.

3. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein the coloring material-receptive sheet and the support are closely adhered through a primer layer.

4. The sheet according to claim 3, wherein the coloring material-receptive layer comprises an ionically modified polyurethane, the support comprises a polyester or a vinyl chloride polymer, and the primer comprises a saturated polyester.

5. A graphics-displaying sheet comprising a sheet for forming graphics according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and a graphics formed from a coloring material received on the coloring material-receptive layer with the application of a printing means on the back surface of the coloring material-receptive layer.