Apparatus for forming high definition lithographic images on containers

• US 9,962,924 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2016
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ball Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ball Corporation
• Inventors: Carreras, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, ANTHONY H
• Application Number:
  US15/231,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20160347048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 101453
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/08 for printing on filamentary or elongated articles, or on articles with cylindrical surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/14 on articles of finite length
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/22 by rolling contact
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 7/16 for printing on non-deformable material, e.g. sheet metal
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/04 Flexographic printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/06 Lithographic printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/20 by applying differently-coloured inks simultaneously to different parts of the printing surface
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/22 Metallic printing; Printing with powdered inks
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/28 on metals
• 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: B41N 1/006 made entirely of inorganic materials other than natural stone or metals, e.g. ceramics, carbide materials, ferroelectric materials

Abstract

The present invention relates to using soft photopolymer plates in a printing process, and more specifically, to an apparatus and methods of using soft photopolymer materials to decorate an exterior surface of cylindrical metallic containers with high definition graphics and other indicia.

Claims

1. An apparatus for forming a high-definition lithographic image on an exterior surface of a metallic container, comprising:

a first inker operable to transfer a first ink to a first printing plate attached to a circumference of a first plate cylinder;

a second inker operable to transfer a second ink to a second printing plate attached to a circumference of a second plate cylinder, wherein the second printing plate includes a relief area that will not receive the second ink;

a blanket cylinder having one or more printing blankets affixed to a circumference of the blanket cylinder, each of the printing blankets having an image with a depth extending below a plane defined by a face portion of a printing blanket, the blanket cylinder operable to move the printing blankets into rotational contact with the first and second printing plates attached to the first and second plate cylinders, wherein the first ink is transferred from the first printing plate to the image on each of the printing blankets, and wherein the second ink is transferred from the second printing plate to a portion of each of the printing blankets, and wherein the relief area will not transfer the second ink to the image on each of the printing blankets; and

a support cylinder operable to move the metallic container into contact with a printing blanket affixed to the blanket cylinder, wherein the first and second inks are transferred from the printing blanket to the exterior surface of the metallic container to form the high-definition lithographic image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the printing blankets includes a relief area positioned around an image formed on the printing blanket.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the relief area does not accept ink from the printing plates such that an uninked area is formed on the metallic container.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the printing blankets comprises a photopolymer material with a different image formed thereon, and wherein each of the different images are formed by creating a film negative of each different image, placing the film negatives on predetermined portions of the printing blankets, exposing the printing blankets and the film negatives to light, removing the film negatives from the printing blankets, and cleaning the photopolymer material to remove unexposed material.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the images are formed in a same location on each of the printing blankets and the images align with the relief area of the second printing plate.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the depth is from about 0.0009 inch to about 0.089 inch.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the images are formed by removing material from the face portions of the printing blankets.

8. A decorator to decorate exterior surfaces of a plurality of metallic containers with different images, comprising:

a first plate cylinder with a first printing plate which includes a first ink receiving region and a relief area that will not receive ink;

a first inker to transfer a first ink to the first ink receiving region;

a second plate cylinder with a second printing plate which includes a second ink receiving region;

a second inker to transfer a second ink to the second ink receiving region; and

a blanket cylinder aligned with the first and second plate cylinders, the blanket cylinder including a first transfer plate and a second transfer plate, the first transfer plate including a first image and the second transfer plate including a second image, at least a portion of the first and second images having a depth that extends below a face portion of the respective first and second transfer plates, wherein the blanket cylinder is operable to rotate with respect to the first and second plate cylinders such that the first ink receiving region of the first printing plate transfers the first ink to a portion of each of the first and second transfer plates and the second ink receiving region of the second printing plate transfers the second ink to the first and second images, wherein the relief area of the first printing plate aligns with the first and second images, wherein the first transfer plate subsequently contacts an exterior surface of a first metallic container which is decorated with the first ink and with the first image, and wherein the second transfer plate subsequently contacts an exterior surface of a second metallic container which is decorated with the first ink and with the second image.

9. The decorator of claim 8, wherein the first transfer plate comprises a photopolymer material from which some of the

photopolymer material has been removed from the face portion to reveal the first image.

10. The decorator of claim 9, wherein portions of the first image have different depths.

11. The decorator of claim 8, wherein the first image of the first transfer plate is surrounded by a relief area that will not receive ink from the first and second printing plates such that the first image formed on the first metallic container is surrounded by a non-inked area.

12. The decorator of claim 8, further comprising a support cylinder to move the first and second metallic containers into contact with the first and second transfer plates.

13. The decorator of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second transfer plates is comprised of at least one of an elastomer which is curable by a photopolymerization process, a chloroprene cross-linked with trimethylolpropane triacrylate, and a styrene-isoprene rubber with a polyacrylate.

14. The decorator of claim 8, wherein no portion of the first image projects above a first plane defined by the face portion of the first transfer plate.

15. The decorator of claim 8, wherein the depth of the first image on the first transfer plate is from about 0.0009 inch to about 0.089 inch.

16. A decorator with a photopolymer plate to decorate an exterior surface of a generally cylindrical container, comprising:

a blanket cylinder;

a first photopolymer plate affixed to the blanket cylinder, the first photopolymer plate including a first image formed thereon, wherein at least a portion of the first image has a depth that is lower than a first plane defined by a face portion of the first photopolymer plate and no portion of the first image projects above the first plane;

a first plate cylinder;

a first printing plate interconnected to the first plate cylinder, wherein the first printing plate is operable to transfer a first ink to at least a portion of the first photopolymer plate;

a second plate cylinder;

a second printing plate interconnected to the second plate cylinder, the second printing plate including a second image, wherein the second printing plate is operable to transfer a second ink from the second image to the first photopolymer plate, and wherein the second printing plate does not transfer the second ink to the first image; and

a support element to move the generally cylindrical container into contact with the first photopolymer plate, wherein the first and second inks are transferred from the first photopolymer plate to the exterior surface of the generally cylindrical container to form the first and second images on the generally cylindrical container.

17. The decorator of claim 16, wherein the first photopolymer plate is comprised of a photo-curable material that has been cured by light to form the first image.

18. The decorator of claim 16, wherein the first image on the first photopolymer plate is a negative comprising relief areas that will not receive ink from the first printing plate.

19. The decorator of claim 16, further comprising a second photopolymer plate affixed to the blanket cylinder, the second photopolymer plate including a third image formed thereon, wherein the first printing plate is operable to transfer the first ink to at least a portion of the second photopolymer plate and the second printing plate is operable to transfer the second ink from the second image to the second photopolymer plate, wherein the second printing plate does not transfer the second ink to the third image, and wherein the first and second inks are subsequently transferred from the second photopolymer plate to an exterior surface of a second generally cylindrical container to form the second and third images on the second generally cylindrical container.

20. The decorator of claim 16, wherein the first image on the exterior surface of the generally cylindrical container is formed of the first ink and the second image is formed of the second ink.