CA2159718A1 - Process for producing printed smart cards - Google Patents

Abstract

The description relates to a process for producing printed smart cards in which a plastic substrate is printed by u/v offset printing using u/v inks to form labels and dried. The finished labels are inserted in a mould in which they are made into a composite material by means of a second plastic. A chip is then inserted, thus producing a smart card printed on at least one side.
The process is applicable to in-mould labelling (IML).

Description

27~0g~95 12:01 HUG INTERLI~E~Z +41 1 360171~ ~ 4165951163 ~R.855 D02 NETHO~ FO~ PRO W ~ING PRINI~.S~ART C~R~S

Th~ prese~t invention relates t.o a method for producing printed sm~rt cards accordin~ to claim 1. A s~art card is a eredit car~, which c~n be produ~ed in ~ particul~rl~ ~dvanta~eous m~nn'~r and ~o~sequen~ly also h3,s ~ disposable chax~cter.

Hitherto ~rious printiny processes have been used ~or pri~ting plastics, such as screen, flex~graphic, pad and gravure pri~tin~. These processes ha~e been more p~rticularly used due to their good drying char~cteri~tics. P~rticularl~ in the case of ccreen, flexograp~c an~ gra,~ure printing highly volatile solvents are used, such a~ hen~ne d~rivatives and the like.
~his le~ds to ~ a~vantage of such processes, because such solv~n~s cannot be used in ~n unobjectlonable ~anner and for mai~ ing the ~xi~lm permitted work place conce~trati~ns, in gene~al ~ostly eYh~ t air systems or ~entila~ion plants m~st be used.

In additi~n, o~f~et printing process~s are kn~wn, which now cons~itute the ~ost wid~ly used processes throu~hout ~he world and are wid~ly used dua t~ the ~rin~ing quality ~nd efficiency for ~he printin~ of bro~hures, jo~s and packs. ~he ultr~violet or W o~fset pro~ess uses W in~$, which cont~in photoiniti~or a~d are crosslinked followin~ ~pp~ication by using W . rhus, th~re is n~ need fo~ a sol~ent. This process is ~ain~ly suitabl~ for printlng surfaces m~de ~r~m non ~bsor~cnt materials, partic~larly pla~ic~.

The ~roblem of the invention is to p~opos~ a ~r~cess for producing printed smar~ cards, ~hi~h supplies by means of a W
proced~e ~ rough printed product, which is p~epared and pl~ced in a mould, where it is further pr~cesso~ to a prirlted smart card,.

;

27~09~15 12: t~l HUG INTERLI2EN~ +41 1 3601717 ~ 4165351163 NR. 855 D03 _ ` 2159718 .

Ac~qrding ~o ~he invention thi~ pr~lem i~ solved ~y ~ proce~s accordin~ to claim 1. ~mbo~imer.~s ~e described in claims 2 to 4. Claim ~ relate~ ~o a prefe~xed ~se. Th~ process ~ccording to the invention is explained in g~re~ter detail with referenc~ to ~he ~low chart o the single drawi~, which æhows the general steps ~sed. For the ~e~crip~io~, o~ the ~i~ferent process steps the ~eference numerals of the flow chart are used, where they are ~iven ~ox the subdivision o~ the individual steps.
E~b~ments thereo~ ~re descriked in exa~ples 1 to 3.

~h~ single drawing show~, the flo~ ~h,3r~ for a proce~,s fo~ the prod~ction of printed ~ma~t car~C, describ~d in gre,~er detail hereinafter xelati~e to the te,p~ 1 to 6 .

1 r ~ri~inq w;~ UY Inks The ~tartin~ point fur ~he pro~çss is a pl~stic suhstr~te, whic~ generally çompr~ses a f~l~ o~ ~heet m~terial, which i~
usually ~vailable in roll form. The usable plastics ~re acrylonitrile~b~tadiene/s~yre~e ~ABS~, ~olycarbonate ~PC), polyi~i~yl chluride ~PVC), ~olypropylene ~PP), polyethylene (PE~, ~ol~styrene ~PS) and the like, used in ~hic~nesses of ~0 to liSO ~m a~d ~y~ically 50 to 100 ~m~ The roll m~terial is ~u~
into sheets a~d in this way i~ ~up~lied in ~tack f o~n to an offset printing press~ rhe inks used are so-cellled ultra~riolet inks fo~ wet ~nd d~ offset.

2 . 13rv inc~

Foll~wing th~ p~inting proce~ the printed shee~ c~r printec~
film materi~31 is dried in known ~nnpr~ whlch e.~. t~}~es place by me~ns ~f W s~urces. Following drying a ~rinted, rough printed produ~t is av~ilabl~.
I

~7f~ q5 1~:02 HUG INTERLIZENZ +41 1 36~3171~ ~ 41~951163 NR.855 [~34 -_. ` 2159718 3. Proc~ssin~

The 'rouyh p~i~ted product, ~hiah is e.g. i~ the fo~ of ~ she~
with multiple usesi is notlq pur~hed o~ cut, so th~ the desired end produ~t format is obt~ined. For example, the punching tc:ol s~ be chosen in ~uch a w~y th&~ i~ alxea~ has ~he finAl form~ of ~ ~redit c~d, includling the t~:>leran~es recluired the~on in accordance wit.h ISO st~ndards 7810 ar~d 7816.
Folliowing thi~; p~oc~essinS~ s ~ep a prepared printed product, al~io c~ a label, in final fonnat form exists.

4. ~ntxp~l]eti on lnto the ~ulcl With the prep~ed prin~ed produ~ a ~nould is now formed, whic~
can ;e . g ~ e ~n inje~tion m~uld ~r~d this can take pl~c~ in sing,le or do~ble n~nnrl-, indep~ndently of whe~ther ~he re~uirement is to produce ~ s~n~rt ~ard printed on ~ne o~ two s idejs .

5. Irliectinq Mould Blowina. Dee~-Dr~win~

In ~n ir~jection moulding, b~owing or deep-d~awir~ pro~es~ a se~ond plastic~ is applied in su~h a way that the latter is moulde~ lown or de~p-~awx~ or~ the inserted printed product or product~ Th~s, the rough prin~ed p~oduct and th~ a~lied, second plastic form a co~posite. Thc choice ~f th~s seeond plastic is based on the plas~:ic su~strate used in s~ep 1.
Advantageously i~ belongs to thç sane s~roup of pl2-~t~ cs and ideally is identi~ o the pl~sti~ su}~tra~e. The ~rerecluisite for being suitabl~ is the pxoce~sabili'c~, i . e . the labels m~st h,~ve an ~e~tely good adhesi~ to t~e smart car~ as surp~isinSIt y be~n found that irl, this way a high st~eng~h ~omp~site materi~l is o~tairle~, which ~ulfils al~ ~he reguirements made on ~ s~na~'c ca~d, ~uch as the br~king ~trength, elasticit~ and din~n~3io~1 sta~ility. From the ç~uality s~and~oint ehis ~mart s~rd is eguivalent to the , 27f09~'95 12:0~ HlJG It~TERLI~ENZ +41 1 3~ 17 ~ 41f~59511~3 I`IR. 8~5 Dl~!5 .
215971~

hitherto kno~n çredi~ ç~r~s, bu~ is superio~ thereto with respect to the speed of it~ pr~uction ~nd the cost str~tu~.
Followin~ the removal ~f ~he p~oduct from the mould a printed sma~t card exist~, in which generally a win~ow is provi~e~ for the chip.

6. Insertin~ the C~hi In ~he aforementi3ned window is now inserted ~he chi~, which t~k~s place in known ~anner ~y sealing, bond~ng or melting in, whiç~ need not be described in detail here. Obviousl~, in place of a chip, it is possible to i~sert a ~agneti~ tap~ ~r strip, or some type of programma~le i~ormation c~rrier. ~ow ~
flni'shed, printed smart card is available, whieh onl~ needs pro~r~mi n~ .

~he pro~ess des~ribed with s~e~s 1 to 6 makes it possible to sa~e important op~ations, bec~use there i~ r.o lon~er a~y need for ~ ~ard blank, which in ~ se~ond step must b~ pri~ted or p~o~i~ed with labels. The afor~entione~ proce~3 to a ce~tAin extent c~nstitutes a reverse p:~ocess, in that the p~inting process ~akes pla~e firs~ and the volu~lnous ~ards are p~oduo~d on d~mand in an injection m~uld;n~ blowin~ or dee~-drawing pro_es~. A fu~tho~ a~v~nta~e r~s~l~s fro~ the fact that for a s~a~t card ~rinted on both sides, ~ouldin~ thereof can take place in one step on the label3. In the hitherto known processes, startin~ from a ca~lg,hla~k, i~ was nec~ss~ry ~o h~ve a first printing proçess for the front an~ then a second printing p~ocess for the back, which require~ co~licated handling ~nd is o~ ted in the proces~ accordins~ to the inven~ion.

~he procqss has ~he particular advantage that the smart cards produced in this way ar~ recyc~able when ~he s~e or similar plastics are us~d for the plas~ic substxate an~ the second plas~i~, because they com~r~se a monomer ~omposite.

27~09~'9~ 12: ~3 HUG INTERLIZEN~ ~41 1 3601717 ~ 4165~51163 hR.855 D06 F:~r~le 1 describes ~he production of a smart card st~rting from a ~0 ~ tbick A~S film. Roll ~naterial of ~n ~0 llm thi~k AE~S film. Roll m~teri~l ~f an 80 ,~m thick acrylorlitrileJ
buta~iene/st~ene film ~Kunstst,offwerk Stallfen (KWS), Germ~ny~
ith a wid~h of 1 m is cut to 50 x 3 5 cm sheets . These sheets are printe~ with W ink~ ~SICPP~, L~u5anne, Swi~zerland~ u~ing an dffset prin~ing pres~ ~Mille~r TP 74~ with W offset prin~ing pla~es and ~, 500 prints~hour. q~e printçd shee~s are ~hen dried wit~ W lanps at 3 x 120 W~cma. ,Using ~n erod~3d pun~;:hing tool on ~ ~usch punch press the l~b~ls wexe punche~l out to give them their fl~al form~t. The l?repar~d printed prc)ducts are now ap~lied pairwise to the inside ~f ~n injection Dnould. Injection moulding takes pl~ce at ~80~ with ABS ~S, Ge~m~ny). Af~er remo~ing the p~oduct fro~ the rllould a chip ~ Sie~nens J is inserted ~herein giving a sm~rt ca~d printe~ on both sides.

Exam~le 2 descri~3es the produc~ icm of ~ smaxt card starting f~om ~ lC0 ~m thick polyea~borl~.te film. Roll material of ~ lO0 hick polycarbonate film IGe~er~l Ele~trlc, US~) with a width of 1. 5 m is c:ut to 50 x 3 5 cm sheets . ~rhe~;e shee~s ~re print~d in two steps with W inks ~Amra, T,~hen, Swit~erl~nd) usin~ an off~et prin~ing press ~Miller TP74) with W o~fset prinlting plates and 3, 000 print$~houx. Followin~ the fiLs~ ~wo inks, ~here was ar~ intermediate dryin~ with W lalr~s of ~ x 70 W/c~, ~he ~inal drying ~akes pla~e after printing with the rem~inin~ inks at 3 x 1~0 WJcm~, ~Jsing an eroded pllnrhin~ ~ool orl a BUcch punch press the lz~ls were p~lnç~e~ out wi~h their fin~l format. trhe th~s prep~red p~inte~l p~oduc~t or label is now indi~idually ~pplied to the inside o~ an inje~ion mould.
Inje~tion moll1Ain~ takes place at 160C with ~igid PVC. Af~er removing the pro~uct from the m~uld a chip (Philips ) is inserted ~exein, giving a srnar~ card prin~ed on one side.

Exa~le 3 deecribes ~he produc~tion of a sm~r~ ca~d startir~
from a 80 ,~n thick polystyxene film. Sheet rnaterial with the sions 70 x 100 cm o~ a 80 llm thi~k p~lysty~ene ~ilm (Dow 27f09/g5 1~:03 HUG INTERLIZEI`I~ +41 1 3601717 ) 41~59511~3 NR. 855 ~07 Che~c:al, USA) are printed with W ir~ks IZeller Gmelin, G~rffl~ny) using ~n offset printi,ng press ~Miller TP74; ~ith W
o~fset print~ng plat~s ~nd 5, OGO print~heu~ printed sheets ~re then d~ied with ~1 1amp9 at 3 x 120 W/cm~. Usirlg an eroded ~url~hin~ tool on a Busc~i punch ~ress the la~els are punched out of their fin2~1 forma~. The prepared printed prod~cts a~e now l~rought pairwise 3~to the insidE~ of an injection mould. Injection moulding take~3 piace at 3îOC using ABS (KW5, Gerrn~ny). After remo~i~i~g t~e produc~ from the mould a chip ~ Philip~ ~ is ins~rted th~3rein, giving a ~rnar~ ca~d pL-i~ted ~n both side~.

It is essential to ~he in~rention ~h~t ~ plastic subs~rate is p~iIYted with W inks in a W of f~3et prirl~ing process to l~bels and then d~ied. The labels are prep~ed and placed in a ~nould, whe~e they ~e processed ~i~h a. second plastic to a composite.
This is followed by the inserti.on of ~ ~hip, .~o as to l?roduce a sma~t c~rd prin~ed on at leas~ one side, without res[uiring a bla~k in the rlormal sense. This interesting process is use~ for sma~t ezlrds in in mould labelling (~).

Claims (5)

1. Process for producing printed smart cards comprising a plastic substrate printed by means of a UV printing process, and a second plastic, characterized in that the plastic substrate is printed with UV inks (step 1), that the printed plastic substrate is dried (step 2) and in this way a rough printed product is obtained, that the latter is processed to a prepared printed product (step 3) that the latter is fed at least once into a mould (step 4) that the second plastic is applied in the mould (step 5), so that the prepared printed product and the second plastic form a composite, that a chip is inserted (step 6) and that as a result a smart card printed on at least one side is obtained.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that as the plastic substrate films with a thickness of 20 to 150 µm are used.

3. Process according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the prepared printed product is produced by punching, embossing or cutting.

4. Process according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the second plastic is applied by injection moulding, blowing or deep-drawing.

5. Use of the process according to claims 1 to 4 in in mould labelling (IML).