Method and apparatus for ink jet printing on textiles

• US 6,467,898 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2001
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: L&P Property Management Company (Leggett & Platt Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: L&P Property Management Company (Leggett & Platt Incorporated)
• Inventors: Collan, William W., Codos, Richard N., Quattrociocchi, Angelo, Comerford, Robert B., Badovinac, Milan
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Do, An H.
• Application Number:
  US09/823,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20010038408A1
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• Field of Search: 347/96, 347/100, 347/101, 347/102, 399/251
• US Class Current: 347/102
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0015 for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing selective coating B41J2/2114
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/002 Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0021 using irradiation
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/00214 using UV radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0022 using convection means, e.g. by using a fan for blowing or sucking air
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0024 using conduction means, e.g. by using a heated platen
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16585 for paper-width or non-reciprocating print heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4078 Printing on textile
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0047 by ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0064 on plastics, horn, rubber, or other organic polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/0081 using electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/009 using thermal means, e.g. infrared radiation, heat
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 11/00 Machines for sewing quilts or mattresses control of workpiece-holding frames, or of sewing machines, in order to obtain particular seam configuration D05B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 33/00 Devices incorporated in sewing machines for supplying or removing the work
• CPC Class Codes: D05D 2305/12 transversally
• CPC Class Codes: D05D 2305/22 Physico-chemical treatments
• CPC Class Codes: D06P 5/2005 Treatments with alpha, beta, gamma or other rays, e.g. stimulated rays
• CPC Class Codes: D06P 5/30 Ink jet printing

Abstract

Ink jet printing is provided onto fabric using ultraviolet (UV) light curable ink. The ink is first partially cured with UV light and then is subjected to heating to more completely cure the ink and to remove by evaporation or otherwise, the uncured monomers and producing a printed image of ink having an amount of unpolymerized monomers and polymerization reactants and byproducts that is less than a food industry packaging standard of 100 PPM, and as low as 10 PPM. The printing is provided in a quilting machine having a quilting station and a printing station located upstream of the quilting station. Preferably, at the printing station, only a top layer of fabric is printed with a multi-colored design under the control of a programmed controller. UV curable ink is jetted onto the fabric with a dot volume of about 75 picoliters. A conveyor moves the printed fabric from the printing station through a UV curing station where a UV curing light head moves either with the print head or independent of the print head to expose the deposited drops of UV ink with a beam of about 300 watts per linear inch of energy, at a rate that applies about 1 joule per square centimeter. The conveyor then conveys the fabric through a heated drying station or oven where the fabric is heated to about 300° F. for from about 30 seconds up to about three minutes. Forced hot air is preferably used to apply the heat in the oven, but other heating methods such as infrared or other radiant heaters may be used. Before, or preferably after, the heat curing, the fabric is combined with other material layers and a quilted pattern is applied in program controlled coordination with the printed pattern.

Claims

1. A method of printing on fabric comprising the steps of:

jetting an ink composition containing a UV curable ink component and a dye component onto a fabric;

then

substantially curing at least the UV curable jetted ink component on the fabric by exposing the UV curable ink component to UV light, the curing resulting in a substantially cured UV ink component on the fabric containing uncured monomers of the UV curable ink and the dye component;

then

heating the fabric having the substantially cured UV cured ink component thereon and thereby reducing the level of the uncured monomers of the UV curable ink component on the fabric and affecting the dying of the fabric with the dye component.

2. A method of printing on textile comprising the steps of:

jetting onto a textile substrate a substance containing a UV curable component and a dye component;

then

substantially curing at least the UV curable jetted component on the substrate by exposing the UV curable component on the substrate to UV radiation;

then

heating the substance containing the substantially cured exposed UV component and the dye component on the substrate.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the substance is a UV curable ink having a pigment contained and the dye component therein.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the substantially cured UV curable component includes at least some uncured monomers and the heating of the substance includes reducing the amount of uncured monomers on the substrate.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the heating includes contacting the substrate with a heated plate.

6. A printing method useful for printing on large area substrates comprising:

printing onto a substrate a dye contained in a substance that is stable until contacted with a curing medium;

at least partially curing of the substance on the substrate by applying the curing medium thereto;

then

heating the dye contained in the at least partially cured substance on the substrate to dye the substrate.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein:

printing includes jetting the substance having the dye contained therein onto the substrate.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the substance is a UV curable ink having a pigment and the dye suspended therein.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the at least partially cured substance includes at least some uncured monomers and the heating includes reducing the amount of uncured monomers on the substrate.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the at least partial curing of the substance on the substrate includes freezing the substance on the substrate by applying the curing medium to the substance immediately upon the printing thereof to reduce the spread of the substance on the substrate.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the at least partial curing of the substance on the substrate includes freezing the substance on the substrate by exposing the substance to UV light immediately upon the printing thereof onto the substrate to reduce the spread of the substance on the substrate.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the heating includes contacting the substrate with a heated plate.

13. A method of printing onto a substrate comprising:

depositing a polymerizable substance containing a dye onto a substrate;

polymerizing the substance by initiating a polymerizing reaction in the substance and maintaining the reaction until the substance is substantially polymerized;

then

heating the substantially polymerized substance and the dye contained therein while on the substrate to affect the dying of the substrate.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the depositing includes the jetting of the substance onto the substrate.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the substance is a UV curable ink having a pigment contained therein.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the substantially polymerized substance includes at least some unpolymerized monomers and the heating includes reducing the amount of unpolymerized monomers on the substrate.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the heating includes contacting the substrate with a heated plate.

18. An ink jet printing method comprising:

jetting onto a substrate a curable liquid having a dye component contained therein;

then

substantially curing the liquid on the substrate;

then

heating the substantially cured liquid on the substrate so as to affect the dying of the substrate.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein:

the curable liquid is a UV curable polymer; and

the curing of the liquid on the substrate includes exposing the UV curable component on the substrate to UV radiation.

20. An ink jet printing method comprising:

jetting onto a substrate a curable liquid polymer having dye suspended therein;

then

substantially curing the liquid polymer on the substrate to fix the position of the suspended dye on the substrate;

then

heating the substantially cured liquid polymer on the substrate to activate the dye and thereby affect the dying of the substrate.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein:

the dye is a sublimation dye; and

the heating includes heating the dye to sublime the dye to dye the substrate.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein:

the curable liquid polymer is a UV curable substance;

the dye is a sublimation dye;

the curing includes exposing the substance to UV light a sufficiently short time after jetting the substance onto the substrate to at least partially prevent a spreading of the polymer on the substrate; and

the heating includes heating the dye to sublime the dye.