METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECORDING COLOR IMAGE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for recording full color images to a cholesteric liquid crystal compound with the use of a general heater such as a thermal printer or the like. SOLUTION: In the method and the apparatus for recording color images, a thermal recording layer including a thermotropic liquid crystal compound for forming a cholesteric liquid crystal phase is formed between two substrates at least one of which is transparent. The thermal recording layer is heated to a temperature where an isotropic phase or the cholesteric liquid crystal phase is represented, and then cooled at a specific cooling speed, whereby a cholesteric glass phase having a spiral molecular sequence of the cholesteric liquid crystal phase solidified is formed. Images showing a selective reflection color resulting from the spiral molecular sequence are thus recorded. A thermal head having a plurality of heating units and capable of selectively heating the individual heating units is used in the method and the apparatus. A peak wavelength of the selective reflectance of the cholesteric glass phase is controlled by changing an energy applied to the heating units.