Method for decorating substrates and decorated substrate

• US 10,479,072 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2014
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marabu Gmbh & Co. Kg
• Original Assignee: Marabu Gmbh & Co. Kg
• Inventors: Schaefer, Wolfgang, Rodrigo-Fuentes, Markus, Hehl-Heinz, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Burkhart, Elizabeth A
• Application Number:
  US15/029,400
• Publication Number:
  US 20160243814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,875 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 15/02 Manually-operable devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 15/0877 of varying cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/30 for printing on curved surfaces of essentially spherical, or part-spherical, articles
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 19/02 with embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 23/005 of non-flat articles
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/14 Multicolour printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/18 Printing one ink over another
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/20 by applying differently-coloured inks simultaneously to different parts of the printing surface
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/24 combined with embossing printing machines for carrying out printing operations combined with embossing B41F19/02
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/40 Printing on bodies of particular shapes, e.g. golf balls, candles, wine corks sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design B41M5/035
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/00 After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock pre-treatment or treatment during printing B41M5/0011; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/0081 using electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2219/00 Printing presses using a heated printing foil
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2219/43 Three-dimensional articles
• CPC Class Codes: B44C 1/1729 Hot stamping techniques
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/32 with synthetic or natural resins C03C17/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/72 Decorative coatings

Abstract

A method for decorating substrates, in particular packaging, comprising the steps: printing at least one first decorative pattern (2) on the substrate using a first radiation-curable, preferably UV-curable, printing ink composition (3); printing at least one second decorative pattern (4), using a second radiation-curable, preferably UV-curable, printing ink composition (5), on at least part of the substrate (1) in a region near to the first pattern (2), chronologically before, after, or during the printing of the first pattern; radiation curing of the first and second printing ink compositions (3, 5), preferably directly after the printing of each pattern, the radiation-cured second printing ink composition having a lower glass transition temperature than the radiation-cured first printing ink composition; application of a decorative coating to the second pattern by means of a hot foil stamping process, a hot stamping foil comprising a decorative coating material being pressed against the printed substrate by means of a stamping tool under the application of heat and pressure such that the decorative coating adheres to the second pattern but not to the first pattern.

Claims

1. A method for decorating substrates, comprising the following steps:

printing at least one first decorative pattern (2) with a first printing ink composition (3) onto the substrate (1), the substrate being a glass vessel,

printing at least one second decorative pattern (4) with a second printing ink composition (5) onto the substrate (1), at least sectionally in a region adjacent to the first pattern (2), temporarily before, after, or during the printing of the first pattern,

wherein the second printing ink composition (5) when radiation-cured, has a lower glass transition temperature than the first printing ink composition (3) when radiation-cured, and wherein a hot stamping method (10) is used to apply a decorative coating to the second pattern (4), for which purpose hot stamping foil comprising a decorative coating material is pressed with exposure to heat and pressure, by means of a stamping tool (12) against the printed substrate (1), at least sectionally in the region of the first and second patterns (4), so that the decorative coating adheres to the second pattern (4), but not to the first pattern (2),

wherein the first and the second printing ink compositions (3, 5) are radiation-curable and wherein the first and second printing ink compositions (3, 5) are radiation-cured before the hot stamping method, and wherein the second printing ink composition (5) comprises a base composition having at least one radical photoinitiator and no cationic photoinitiator, and

wherein the base composition comprises at least one epoxy resin based on bisphenol A, which is in solution in a UV-curing monomer, and also a resin having functional groups which free functional hydroxy, epoxide, acid, acid anhydride and/or acrylate groups, and further a wax, and wherein on irradiation of the second printing ink composition (5), the epoxy resin based on bisphenol A is not crosslinked with the UV-curable monomer, but is instead merely physically embedded, and wherein a weight fraction of a heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive in the second printing ink composition (5) is between 10% and 25%.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate to be printed is a drinking glass, perfume bottle, or a glass bottle and/or the first printing ink composition (3) is a first glass color or a first glass lacquer and the second printing ink composition (5) is a glass color or a glass lacquer, and wherein the heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive is formed on the basis of UV-crosslinking polymers/monomers.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the UV-crosslinking polymers/monomers are selected from the group consisting of polyurethane acrylates, polyacrylates, and monofunctional (meth) acrylate monomers.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate (1) to be printed is plastic tube or a plastic label, and/or wherein the heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive is formed on the basis of UV-crosslinking polymers/monomers.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating parameters of the hot stamping are selected such that the second printing ink composition (5) of the second pattern (4) is heated to a temperature, above its glass transition temperature, and the first printing ink composition (3) of the first pattern (2) is heated to a temperature below its glass transition temperature.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass transition temperature of the second printing ink composition (5) is at least 10°

C. lower than the glass transition temperature of the first printing ink composition (3).

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the glass transition temperature of the second printing ink composition (5) is at least 10°

C. lower than the glass transition temperature of all of any further patterns not to be stamped with hot stamping foil.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first printing ink composition (3) and the second printing ink composition (5) before the hot stamping step are cured by irradiating.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first printing ink composition and the second printing ink composition before the hot stamping step are cured by irradiating by means of updoped or doped mercury vapor lamps or LED emitters, during or immediately after printing of the respective pattern or in a joint irradiation step.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glass transition temperature of the second printing ink composition (5) is adjusted by addition of the heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive based on UV-crosslinking polymers/monomers to the base composition.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the glass transition temperature of the second printing ink composition is adjusted directly before the printing procedure, and wherein the base composition is a glass printing ink, a plastic printing ink, or a paper or cardboard printing ink.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and/or the second pattern (2, 4) are printed onto the substrate by means of screen printing, rotary screen printing, flexographic printing, and offset printing.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the patterns (2, 4) are applied to the substrate (1) with an apparatus which has a first printing station for printing and preferably radiation-curing the first pattern (2), and a second printing station (5) for printing and preferably radiation-curing the second pattern (4), and also a hot stamping station downstream of the printing stations in a substrate conveying direction.

14. A decorated substrate decorated by a decorating method as claimed in claim 1, comprising a substrate, there being provided on the surface of the substrate a first decorative printed pattern composed of a radiation-cured printing ink composition and, at least sectionally adjacent to the first printed pattern, a hot-stamped decorative coating under which a second printed pattern having the same peripheral contour as the decorative coating and composed of a second radiation-cured printing ink composition, the glass transition temperature of the radiation-cured second printing ink composition being lower than the glass transition temperature of the radiation-cured first printing ink composition.

15. The substrate as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second printing ink composition (5) has the same color as the decorative coating, with the substrate (1) being transparent.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hot stamping method (10) is a roll-to-roll method, wherein the decorative coating material is pressed in a continuous roll-to-roll operation, and wherein the stamping tool is a rotating stamping roll.

17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second printing ink compositions are UV-curable and are cured immediately after printing of the respective pattern.

18. A method for decorating substrates comprising the following steps:

printing at least one first decorative pattern (2) with a first printing ink composition (3) onto the substrate (1), the substrate being a plastic,

printing at least one second decorative pattern (4) with a second printing ink composition (5) onto the substrate (1), at least sectionally in a region adjacent to the first pattern (2), temporarily before, after, or during the printing of the first pattern,

wherein the second printing ink composition (5) when radiation-cured has a lower glass transition temperature than the first printing ink composition (3) when radiation-cured, and wherein a hot stamping method (10) is used to apply a decorative coating to the second pattern (4), for which purpose hot stamping foil comprising a decorative coating material is pressed with exposure to heat and pressure, by means of a stamping tool (12) against the printed substrate (1), at least sectionally in the region of the first and second patterns (4), so that the decorative coating adheres to the second pattern (4), but not to the first pattern (2),

wherein the first printing ink composition (3), formed as a plastic color or plastic lacquer, and the second printing ink composition (5), formed as a plastic color or plastic lacquer, are radiation-curable and wherein the first and second printing ink compositions (3, 5) are radiation-cured before the hot stamping method, and wherein a weight fraction of a heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive in the second printing ink composition (5) is between 10% and 25%.

19. A method for decorating substrates, comprising the following steps:

printing at least one first decorative pattern (2) with a first printing ink composition (3) onto the substrate (1), the substrate being paper or cardboard,

printing at least one second decorative pattern (4) with a second printing ink composition (5) onto the substrate (1), at least sectionally in a region adjacent to the first pattern (2), temporarily before, after, or during the printing of the first pattern,

wherein the second printing ink composition (5) when radiation-cured has a lower glass transition temperature than the first printing ink composition (3) when radiation-cured, and wherein a hot stamping method (10) is used to apply a decorative coating to the second pattern (4), for which purpose hot stamping foil comprising a decorative coating material is pressed with exposure to heat and pressure, by means of a stamping tool (12) against the printed substrate (1), at least sectionally in the region of the first and second patterns (4), so that the decorative coating adheres to the second pattern (4), but not to the first pattern (2),

wherein the first printing ink composition (3), formed as a paper or cardboard printing ink or as a paper or cardboard print varnish, and the second printing ink composition (5), formed as a paper or cardboard printing ink or as a paper or cardboard print varnish, are radiation-curable and wherein the first and second printing ink compositions (3, 5), are radiation-cured before the hot stamping method, and wherein a weight fraction of a heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive in the second printing ink composition (5) is between 10% and 25%.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the substrate to be printed is a label or a folding box, and/or wherein the heat-activatable pressure-sensitive adhesive component is formed on the basis of UV-crosslinking polymers/monomers.