Drop-on-demand identification document printing with surface pre-treatment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A plastic card or passport page printing system, comprising:
- an input that can hold a plurality of plastic cards or passport pages prior to printing, the plastic cards and the passport pages having a width;
a plasma treatment station located downstream from the input, the plasma treatment station having a plastic card or passport page travel path along which one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages travels through the plasma treatment station;
the plasma treatment station includes a plasma nozzle, the plasma nozzle is oriented toward the travel path to discharge plasma onto a surface of one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages, the plasma nozzle has a plasma discharge width that is less than the width of the plastic cards or the passport pages;
the plasma nozzle is configured to move, during plasma treatment, relative to the travel path in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of travel of the plastic cards or the passport pages along the travel path; and
a printer located downstream of the input.
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Abstract
A single plasma nozzle of a plasma treatment station is used to treat the card surface prior to performing drop-on-demand printing on the card surface. The single plasma nozzle has a plasma discharge width that is less than the width of the card. The card and the plasma nozzle are moved relative to one another using a two direction control scheme during plasma treatment in order to be able to plasma treat a desired area of the card surface. The card and the plasma nozzle may also be moveable toward or away from one another to change the distance therebetween.
14 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A plastic card or passport page printing system, comprising:
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an input that can hold a plurality of plastic cards or passport pages prior to printing, the plastic cards and the passport pages having a width; a plasma treatment station located downstream from the input, the plasma treatment station having a plastic card or passport page travel path along which one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages travels through the plasma treatment station; the plasma treatment station includes a plasma nozzle, the plasma nozzle is oriented toward the travel path to discharge plasma onto a surface of one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages, the plasma nozzle has a plasma discharge width that is less than the width of the plastic cards or the passport pages; the plasma nozzle is configured to move, during plasma treatment, relative to the travel path in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of travel of the plastic cards or the passport pages along the travel path; and a printer located downstream of the input. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A plastic card or passport page printing system, comprising:
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an input that can hold a plurality of plastic cards or passport pages prior to printing, the plastic cards and the passport pages having a width; a plasma treatment station located downstream from the input, the plasma treatment station having a plastic card or passport page travel path along which one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages travels through the plasma treatment station; the plasma treatment station includes a plasma nozzle, the plasma nozzle is oriented toward the travel path to discharge plasma onto a surface of one of the plastic cards or one of the passport pages, the plasma nozzle has a plasma discharge width that is less than the width of the plastic cards or the passport pages; the plasma nozzle is mounted so as to permit movement thereof relative to the travel path in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of travel of the plastic cards or the passport pages along the travel path; a controller operatively connected to the plasma treatment station to control movement of the plasma nozzle in the direction that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plastic cards or the passport pages along the travel path; and a printer located downstream of the input. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification