Method of finishing golf balls employing direct digital-to-surface printing of indicia

• US 20020178951A1
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Lutz, Mitchell E., Bresnahan, Steven A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,736,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 101/483
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/001 Pad printing apparatus or machines
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 101/40 Means to print on golf balls

Abstract

A method for finishing a golf ball comprising the steps of providing a golf ball having a three-dimensional dimpled surface; preparing the surface for receiving at least one indicia; providing a digital image having at least one color; transferring the image to the surface with an inkjet head; and treating the surface with a coating comprising a clear coat, a top coat, a primer, or a mixture thereof.

Claims

1. A method for finishing a golf ball comprising the steps of:

providing a golf ball having a three-dimensional dimpled surface;

preparing the surface for receiving at least one indicia;

providing a digital image having at least one color;

transferring the image to the surface with an inkjet head; and

treating the surface with a coating comprising a clear coat, a top coat, a primer, or a mixture thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of preparing the surface for receiving at least one indicia further comprises at least one of buffing, sand blasting, or plasma treating the dimpled surface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital image comprises a plurality of colors.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of colors are separated into the individual colors of a predetermined color space.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the color space is selected from the group consisting of RGB color space, CMYK color space, CMYKOG color space, 4-color color space, 6-color color space, 8-color color space, 12-color color space, or a mixture thereof.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the color space is CMYK.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the image on the three-dimensional surface requires no more than about 30 seconds to cure.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the image transferred by the inkjet head has an ink thickness of about 4 μ

m to about 50 μ

m.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the thickness of the ink is from about 4 μ

m to about 20 μ

m.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the image transferred by the inkjet head comprises solvent evaporating inks, oxidation curing inks, reactive (catalyst curing or two-component) inks, baking inks, UW curable inks, sublimation inks, and ceramic and glass inks.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the inkjet image comprises at least one spot color, a plurality of different colors, a shading effect, a gradient of colors, or a mixture thereof.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of treating the surface with a coating comprising a clear coat, a top coat, a primer occurs prior to transferring the image to the surface with the inkjet head.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of curing the image in a dry room.

11. The method of claim 11, wherein the image transferred by the inkjet head further comprises an additive comprising binders, reactive prepolymers, thinners, low-viscosity mono and poly-functional monomers, photoinitiators, stabilizing additives, flow control agents, wetting agents, pigments, extenders, or a mixture thereof.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the dry room is maintained at an elevated temperature.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the dry room temperature is at least about 40°

C.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the printed golf balls are kept in the dry room for at least about 4 hr.