Print product on demand

• US 6,578,476 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2001
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: National Pen Co. LLC (Cimpress Plc)
• Original Assignee: TLCD Corporation
• Inventors: Liguori, Thomas A., Jennings, Robert T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirshfeld, Andrew H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hinze, Leo T.
• Application Number:
  US09/800,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20020162472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 101/488, 101/33, 101/34, 101/38.1, 101/40.1, 101/8, 101/5, 101/93, 101/220, 358/1.12, 358/1.14, 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/1.9, 156/238, 156/240, 156/541
• US Class Current: 101/40.1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2045/14737 decorations printed on the insert by a digital imaging technique
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/14688 Coating articles provided with a decoration
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/08 for printing on filamentary or elongated articles, or on articles with cylindrical surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 3/12 Transfer pictures or the like, e.g. decalcomanias processes for producing decorative surface effects B44C1/00; B41M5/0256 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0256 the transferable ink pattern being obtained by means of a computer driven printer, e.g. an ink jet or laser printer, or by electrographic means
• CPC Class Codes: B43K 19/16 Making non-propelling pencils making slate-pencil writing-cores B28D
• CPC Class Codes: B44C 1/1729 Hot stamping techniques

Abstract

A system and process for placing printed color images on a series of objects including: generating digital data representing a plurality of different color images; providing a print medium composed of a substrate carrying a releasable coating which is formulated to retain printing inks; supplying the generated digital data to a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads; feeding the print medium through the printer while operating the print heads under control of the generated data; and placing a portion of the printed coating in contact with an objects and transferring the image to the object. The printed medium may be incorporated into a mold.

Alternatively, this may be accomplished by: providing a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads; feeding the objects to be printed upon past the printer; and operating the print heads under control of the generated digital data to print the color images on the objects.

Claims

1. A process for placing printed color images on a series of objects, each object having a curved exterior surface, the process comprising the steps of:

generating digital data for printing onto a print medium to form a plurality of color images, wherein the data represents a plurality of color images and a location where the colors may be printed to form the images;

providing a print medium, said medium having first and second sides, with the first carrying a coating which is releasable from the medium and is formulated to retain printing inks, wherein the print medium is constituted by an elongated web which is in the form of a roll;

providing a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads for dispensing printing inks of respectively different colors;

supplying the generated digital data to the printer;

feeding the print medium through the printer and past the print heads such that the web is unwound from the roll for feeding through the printer and operating the print heads under control of the generated data to print the color images on the coating;

arranging the images to be printed onto the coating of the print medium to form at least one column of images;

providing a transfer positioning conveyor for placing the objects to be printed at a desired location relative to the print medium;

moving a succession of the objects to be printed by the conveyor to a position adjacent to the print medium;

placing a portion of the coating on which an image has been printed in contact with the object; and

applying heat by means of a heater to the print medium, wherein the conveyor is disposed adjacent to the first side of the print medium and the heater is disposed adjacent to the second side of the print medium; and

transferring the image to the curved exterior surface of the object by rotating the object such that (i) the curved exterior surface of the object comes into contact along a portion of the coating on which an image has been printed;

(ii) printing of the object begins and ends at predetermined times; and

(iii) the object and coating are maintained in a non-sliding contact with one another.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein each color image is generated by a respective one of a plurality of data sources.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the coating is formed from one of the group consisting of an acrylic resin solution and a styrene acrylic emulsion.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the transferring step comprises pressing the object against the coating portion by means of rollers which advance the object relative to the web while maintaining the object in non-sliding contact with the coating.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein a portion of the object which comes into contact with the coating is coated with adhesive prior to contact with the coating.

6. The process of claim 1, further including providing a loading hopper to deliver objects to be printed to the transfer positioning conveyor.

7. An apparatus for placing printed color images on a series of objects, each object having a curved exterior surface, through the intermediary of a print medium, said print medium having a first and a second side, with the first side carrying a coating, which is releasable from the medium and is formulated to retain printing inks, and wherein said print medium is constituted by an elongated web and wherein the images are arranged side by side on the coating to form at least one column of images, the apparatus comprising:

means for generating digital data representing at least one color image;

a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads;

a printing controller connected to receive the digital data from the means for generating digital data and for supplying printer control signals to the print heads; and

means for feeding the print medium through the printer and past the print heads while operating the print heads under control of the printer control signals to print the color images on the coating;

a transfer positioning conveyor for placing the objects to be printed at a desired location relative to the print medium;

heating means for supplying heat to the print medium, wherein the conveyor is disposed adjacent to the first side of the print medium and the heating means is disposed adjacent to the second side of the print medium; and

rotating means for rotating the object such that(i) the curved exterior surface of the object comes into contact along the portion of the coating on which the image to be transferred has been printed;

(ii) the printing of the object begins and ends at predetermined times; and

(iii) the object and coating are maintained in non-sliding contact with one another.

8. The apparatus as in claim 7, wherein the coating is formed of one of the group consisting of an acrylic resin solution and a styrene acrylic emulsion.

9. The apparatus as in claim 7, wherein the rotating means includes an element selected from the group consisting of a plurality of rollers, a mandrel and a non-planar platform.

10. The apparatus as in claim 7, wherein each color image is generated by a respective one of a plurality of data sources.

11. The apparatus as in claim 7, further including means for coating a portion of the object with adhesive.

12. The apparatus as in claim 7, further including an exit conveyor.

13. A process for placing printed color images on a series of objects, each object having a curved exterior surface, the process comprising the steps of:

generating digital data for printing onto a print medium to form a plurality of color images, wherein the data represents a plurality of color images and a location where the colors may be printed to form the images;

providing a print medium, said medium having first and second sides, with the first carrying a coating which is releasable from the medium and is formulated to retain printing inks, wherein the print medium is constituted by an elongated web which is in the form of a roll;

providing a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads for dispensing printing inks of respectively different colors;

supplying the generated digital data to the printer;

feeding the print medium through the printer and past the print heads such that the web is unwound from the roll for feeding through the printer and operating the print heads under control of the generated data to print the color images on the coating;

arranging the images to be printed onto the coating of the print medium to form at least one column of images;

providing a transfer positioning conveyor for placing the objects to be printed at a desired location relative to the print medium;

moving a succession of the objects to be printed by the conveyor to a position adjacent to the print medium;

coating one of the objects to be printed with adhesive;

placing a portion of the coating on which an image has been printed in contact with the object; and

applying heat by means of a heater to the print medium, wherein the conveyor is disposed adjacent to the first side of the print medium and the heater is disposed adjacent to the second side of the print medium; and

transferring the image to the curved exterior surface of the object by rotating the object such that (i) the curved exterior surface of the object comes into contact along a portion of the coating on which an image has been printed;

(ii) printing of the object begins and ends at predetermined times; and

(iii) the object and coating are maintained in a non-sliding contact with one another.

14. An apparatus for placing printed color images on a series of objects, each object having a curved exterior surface, through the intermediary of a print medium, said print medium having a first and a second side, with the first side carrying a coating, which is releasable from the medium and is formulated to retain printing inks, and wherein said print medium is constituted by an elongated web and wherein the images are arranged side by side on the coating to form at least one column of images, the apparatus comprising:

means for generating digital data representing at least one color image;

a digitally controlled color printer having a plurality of print heads;

a printing controller connected to receive the digital data from the means for generating digital data and for supplying printer control signals to the print heads; and

means for feeding the print medium through the printer and past the print heads while operating the print heads under control of the printer control signals to print the color images on the coating;

coating means for coating a portion of an object to be printed with adhesive;

a transfer positioning conveyor for placing the objects to be printed at a desired location relative to the print medium;

heating means for supplying heat to the print medium, wherein the conveyor is disposed adjacent to the first side of the print medium and the heating means is disposed adjacent to the second side of the print medium; and

rotating means for rotating the object such that (i) the curved exterior surface of the object comes into contact along the portion of the coating on which the image to be transferred has been printed;

(ii) the printing of the object begins and ends at predetermined times; and

(iii) the object and coating are maintained in non-sliding contact with one another.