PRINTED MATTER MANUFACTURING METHOD, THERMAL TRANSFER PRINTING DEVICE, DETERMINATION SYSTEM, AND PRINTED MATTER

Micro characters are expressed by a thermal fusion transfer technique. In a printed matter manufacturing method, a printed matter is manufactured by heating a thermal transfer sheet in accordance with image data, the thermal transfer sheet including a base member, a release layer disposed on the base member and containing a wavelength conversion material that emits visible light with excitation by invisible light, and a thermally fusible ink layer disposed on the release layer, and by transferring the thermally fusible ink layer to a transfer-receiving body. In this method, the image data includes a first pattern and a second pattern. The second pattern is disposed on the first pattern and has a maximum width of a predetermined value or less. When the thermally fusible ink layer is transferred to the transfer-receiving body, a region in the thermal transfer sheet, the region corresponding to the first pattern except for the second pattern, is heated, a region therein corresponding to the second pattern is not heated, and the thermally fusible ink layer in a region corresponding to the first pattern and including the second pattern is transferred to the transfer-receiving body.