CA2233151C - Textured image laminating film - Google Patents
Textured image laminating film Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2233151C CA2233151C CA002233151A CA2233151A CA2233151C CA 2233151 C CA2233151 C CA 2233151C CA 002233151 A CA002233151 A CA 002233151A CA 2233151 A CA2233151 A CA 2233151A CA 2233151 C CA2233151 C CA 2233151C
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- Prior art keywords
- film
- image
- gel
- adhesive
- transparent
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B7/00—Layered products characterised by the relation between layers; Layered products characterised by the relative orientation of features between layers, or by the relative values of a measurable parameter between layers, i.e. products comprising layers having different physical, chemical or physicochemical properties; Layered products characterised by the interconnection of layers
- B32B7/04—Interconnection of layers
- B32B7/12—Interconnection of layers using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
- B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
- B44F11/00—Designs imitating artistic work
- B44F11/02—Imitation of pictures, e.g. oil paintings
Abstract
A method of forming an image laminating film. The method comprises applying an adhesive to one surface of a polymer film, applying an acrylic gel to the opposed surface of the polymer film, imprinting a texture to the acrylic gel and then drying the acrylic gel to retain the textured surface, and laminating a transparent protective layer to the surface of the gel using an adhesive. The textured film may be laminated over an image to provide texture to the surface of the image.
Description
CA 022331~1 1998-10-09 ~l~-LUKED IMAGE LAMINATING FILM
The present invention relates to a textured image laminating film, and especially to a method of forming such a film. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of applying a textured surface to an image e.g. a print, and to the resultant print with textured surface.
Oil paintings have an appeal to a significant portion of the population. While a substantial part of the appeal is in the subject matter of the oil painting, and the skill with which the oil painting has been applied to a surface, at least part of the appeal lies in the texture of the surface of the oil painting. To many people, oil paintings have a character that is not present in various kinds of prints. Thus, whereas photographic prints, prints formed by a variety of printing techniques and other images may be of high quality in a technical sense or have significant appeal for other reasons, such prints lack the perceived quality of an oil painting.
Techniques have been developed for stripping a photograph or lithograph from a substantial portion of its backing followed by the bonding of the photograph or lithograph to a textured backing at elevated temperatures and pressure, to provide an image with a textured surface. Such a process is described in U.S. Patent No.
4,528,233. Processes for making tri-dimensional photographs, known as photoreliefography, are described in U.S. Patent No. 3,772,106. A process for producing an image on canvas or other backing in which a thin acrylic polymer continuous self-supporting film is formed, with an image being formed subsequently on the surface of the film is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,589,955. It is also known to laminate a protective layer on a photograph to extend the life of the photograph and prevent gradual CA 022331~1 1998-10-09 deterioration due to environmental conditions, as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,378,392.
Techniques for producing a textured surface on a print, poster, photograph, water colour print, or other image in an economical manner are still required.
Methods have now been found for forming a textured image laminating film, and for forming textured laminated images, as well as the film and the prints thus obtained.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a method of forming an image laminating film comprlslng:
a) applying an adhesive to one surface of a polymer film, said film being transparent and capable of being bonded to acrylic polymers;
b) applying an acrylic gel to the opposed surface of the polymer film;
c) imprinting a texture to said acrylic gel;
d) heating said textured acrylic gel to dry said gel and retain the textured surface, the dried gel being transparent; and e) laminating a transparent protective layer to the surface of the gel using an adhesive, said transparent protective layer conforming to the textured surface;
said adhesives and film being selected so that the image laminating film so obtained is transparent.
In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the protective layer is laminated by applying an adhesive to the surface of the dried gel and laminating the protective layer to the adhesive on the gel.
In another preferred embodiment, the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
In yet another embodiment, the acrylic gel applied in step (b) is an acrylic gloss gel.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 peelable release sheet is applied to the heat-activated adhesive on the one surface of the polymer film, especially prior to applying the acrylic gel.
In another embodiment, the polymer film of step (a) is a polyolefin film, especially polypropylene film, and the transparent protective layer is polyethylene film or polyvinylidene chloride film.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image laminating film comprising:
a) an adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
In a preferred embodiment of the image laminating film of the present invention, a release sheet is laminated to the adhesive surface on the polymer film.
In another preferred embodiment, the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of providing texture to the surface of an image on a substrate comprising of:
a) forming a sandwich of said substrate and a transparent textured film, said textured film having opposed surfaces with an adhesive on one surface and a protective layer on the opposed surface, said adhesive being placed in contact with the image on said substrate;
and b) heating said sandwich under pressure for a period of time to effect bonding of the textured film to CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 the image and substrate.
An additional aspect of the present invention provides a laminate of an image on a substrate, said image having laminated thereto, in sequence, an adhesive, a textured film formed from an acrylic gel, a second adhesive and a protective film.
In a preferred embodiment of the laminated image on a substrate, the image is in the form of a photograph, print, poster, water coloured painting or image transferred onto canvas.
In another embodiment, the substrate is canvas, batik, hardboard, masonite, foam sheet, foam core or clipboard.
In another embodiment, the protective layer has a matte finish or a gloss finish.
The present invention is illustrated by the embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a texturing processi Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a textured laminate;
Figure 3 is a schematic representation of laminating of a print to a substratei Figure 4 is a photocopier reproduction of a portion of a colour print of pansies prior to lamination according to the invention; and Figure 5 is a photocopier reproduction of a portion of a colour print of pansies after lamination according to the invention.
Figure 1 shows a texturing process, generally indicated by 1. Texturing process 1 has polymer film roll 2 from which polymer film 3 is unwound. Polymer film 3 passes first adhesive roller 4, at which adhesive is rolled onto polymer film 3. Such adhesive may be and preferably is a heat-activated adhesive for bonding of the film to the substrate.
Release film 6 is unwound from release film roll 5.
Polymer film 3 with adhesive thereon is brought into contact with release film 6 to form first laminate 7.
First laminate 7 is in the form of release film 6 in contact with polymer film 3, with adhesive at the interface. At this stage in the process, polymer film 3 and release film 6 are in a peelable state.
First laminate 7 is then passed by acrylic gel roller 8, at which the acrylic gel is rolled to the upper surface of first laminate 7 i.e. it is rolled on the surface opposed to release film 6. First laminate 7 is then passed by texturing apparatus 9. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, texturing apparatus 9 is in the form of a press with a textured surface, but it is preferred that texturing apparatus 9 be in the form of rollers or stamping apparatus, or the like, having a textured surface and adapted to imprint the texturing onto the acrylic gel. Thus, for instance, the texturing apparatus could consist of two or more rollers e.g. 6-10 rollers, through which the first laminate 7 is passed, the roller in contact with the acrylic gel having a textured surface.
First laminate 7 with the textured acrylic gel on the surface thereof is then passed through oven 10 at which stage the acrylic gel is dried. For instance, the period of drying might be 5-10 minutes at 65-95~C.
Protective film 12 is fed from protective film roll 11 passed second adhesive spray 13. Adhesive is applied to the protective film at second adhesive spray 13, and would be an adhesive for bonding of the acrylic gel to the protective film, for example, a cold liquid spray adhesive, an example of which is 3M aerosol adhesive.
Subsequently, the protective film is brought into contact with the acrylic gel layer on first laminate 7. The resultant laminate, being second laminate 14, is passed into contact with press roller 15. Press roller 15 would normally be a heated roller to effect lamination between protective film 12 and second laminate 14. In particular, CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 press roller 15 is preferably a combination of a heated roller and a second roller between which the laminate is passed. However, it is preferred to cut the film to a suitable size e.g. 36" X 48" and use a heat/vacuum press.
The resultant laminate is rolled on laminate roll 16 or stacked depending on the lamination technique that is used.
The laminate formed in the process of Figure 1 is shown schematically in Figure 2. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the laminate for ease of viewing. Starting from the bottom of the laminate, the first layer 6 is the release film, adjacent from which in sequence are adhesive 20, polymer film 3, textured acrylic gel 21, adhesive 22 and protective film 12. It is understood that textured acrylic gel layer 21 is formed from the acrylic gel spray 8, as described with reference to Figure 1. All of the layers of laminate of Figure 1 are bonded together to form a single laminate, except for release layer 6 which is peelable from the laminate, before use of the laminate.
An embodiment of forming a laminated image is shown in Figure 3. A sandwich is formed of a print 30, textured film 31 and sponge pad 32. The sandwich is placed between lower press plate 33 and upper press plate 34. The upper press plate 34 is then lowered, so that pressure is applied to the laminate between upper press plate and lower press plate 33. It is understood that one and preferably both of the press plates 33 and 34 are heated to a controlled temperature suitable for the lamination process, the temperature being controlled to effect lamination but not adversely affect the quality of the print. After a period of time, usually a controlled period of time, the upper press plate 34 is moved away from lower press plate 33 and the resultant laminated textured print is removed. In another embodiment, the press may be a vacuum press.
In the process of Figure 3, the sponge pad is CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 particularly used to protect the laminate that is being formed. Such use of sponge pads is known, but a variety of other protective layers may be used. In particular, the protective layer that is used may be depend on the laminating apparatus in which laminating is effected.
In other embodiments, the sandwich of print and image laminating film could be passed through heated rollers to effect the lamination process.
Figures 4 and 5 are photocopier representations of a portion of a colour print of pansies before and after lamination with an image texturing film according to the invention. The print after lamination exhibits texture and an impression more closely resembling that of an oil painting.
The release film may be selected from a variety of films having release properties from its adjacent adhesive. The release film would have the properties understood for such a film, including being peelable prior to use. Examples of such films include wax and silicone coated papers.
The polymer film is a transparent film that may be bonded to the acrylic gel and to the image and substrate.
The polymer film must have the ability to adhere to the acrylic gel, as well as not adversely affecting the quality of the print in any significant manner over a period of time, preferably over a period of several years. Examples of such films include polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride (saran), polyolefins e.g. polyethylene and polypropylene, polyester and the like. Films that are acid-free films are preferred, as such films exhibit minimal effects on the image. A
preferred film is polypropylene. It is understood that the nature of the image will have an affect on the choice of the polymer films e.g. photographic prints are susceptible to effects of acids, whereas other types of images e.g. prints, may be less sensitive.
The protective film is also a transparent film, and CA 022331~1 1998-10-09 is preferably scratch resistance and capable of being wiped to clean the surface. This film must be capable of conforming to the texture in the acrylic gel, and not mask that texture. Examples of such films are known, and include polyethylene and polyvinylidene chloride.
A wide variety of substrates may be used. The substrates include flexible substrates e.g. paper, plastic films, canvas or the like. The substrates also include more rigid substrates e.g. cardboard, wood substrates e.g. hardboard or natural wood products, metal substrates e.g. aluminum, or the like.
The adhesives must be transparent, in order to retain the aesthetic qualities of the print. In addition, the adhesives must be capable of bonding to the films and/or acrylic gel, as the case may be. Water-based adhesives should not be used.
The polymer and protective films should not exhibit shrinkage during the steps in the process involving heat.
For instance, the films should exhibit a shrinkage of less than about 5%. The films should also be transparent, with minimal cloudiness. Preferably loss of transmission of light should be less than 10%. It is also preferred that the films be colourless, although in embodiments the films could be transparent but coloured (tinted). For example, one or more of the films could be tinted with sepia colours, especially if the print is black and white. Other colours could be used.
The gel is preferably an acrylic gloss gel. Acrylic matte gels could be used but are less transparent and more cloudy, and thus less preferred.
In embodiments, the adhesives applied for lamination of the protective layer may be dried before the protective layer is applied, and then bonded with heat, or bonded prior to drying.
The present invention provides a textured image laminating film, particularly for use with prints, photographic images, posters, water colour paintings and CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 other images, and to the laminated images that are obtained. The textured images may be on a wide variety of substrates, as discussed above. In addition to providing texturing, the laminating film also provides protection to the image.
The present invention is illustrated by the following examples.
Example I
A polypropylene film having a thickness of 3 mil was coated with a heat-activated adhesive from 3M. A release film was contacted with the adhesive.
Acrylic gloss gel from Tri-Art Manufacturing Inc.
was applied to the polymer film and, using a press with a textured surface, imprinted with a texture that was random and with an appearance of being wrinkled or of a crumpled sheepskin. The gel was dried in an oven for 5-10 minutes at about 65-95~C. A protective film was bonded to the textured surface. The protective film used was 0.5-1 mil polyethylene film for a matte finish or polyvinylidene chloride film for a gloss finish.
The resultant textured laminating film was cut slightly larger than the size of a lithographic print on a hardboard substrate. The release sheet was peeled off the textured film, and the adhesive surface of the textured film was contacted with the print. The resultant sandwich was heated in a press at 80-99~C for 2-5 minutes using a mechanical or vacuum heat press to effect bonding.
The resultant prints had the appearance of a print with a textured surface, resembling an oil painting.
The print does not necessarily have to pre-mounted on a substrate e.g. hardboard, but there is less tendency for wrinkling of the print if it is mounted.
With respect to the protective layer, it was found that increasing the thickness of the polyethylene film to greater than 1 mil tended to resulted in failure of the CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 film to conform to the contours of the acrylic gel.
Similar difficulties were encountered with polypropylene film e.g. the greater flexibility and ability to mould or conform to contours exhibited by polyethylene film compared with polypropylene film resulted in a superior product with polyethylene film. However, polypropylene film e.g. at a thickness of 3 mil, is a preferred film as the layer near the print i.e. the "polymer" film, because of increased stiffness.
The present invention relates to a textured image laminating film, and especially to a method of forming such a film. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of applying a textured surface to an image e.g. a print, and to the resultant print with textured surface.
Oil paintings have an appeal to a significant portion of the population. While a substantial part of the appeal is in the subject matter of the oil painting, and the skill with which the oil painting has been applied to a surface, at least part of the appeal lies in the texture of the surface of the oil painting. To many people, oil paintings have a character that is not present in various kinds of prints. Thus, whereas photographic prints, prints formed by a variety of printing techniques and other images may be of high quality in a technical sense or have significant appeal for other reasons, such prints lack the perceived quality of an oil painting.
Techniques have been developed for stripping a photograph or lithograph from a substantial portion of its backing followed by the bonding of the photograph or lithograph to a textured backing at elevated temperatures and pressure, to provide an image with a textured surface. Such a process is described in U.S. Patent No.
4,528,233. Processes for making tri-dimensional photographs, known as photoreliefography, are described in U.S. Patent No. 3,772,106. A process for producing an image on canvas or other backing in which a thin acrylic polymer continuous self-supporting film is formed, with an image being formed subsequently on the surface of the film is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,589,955. It is also known to laminate a protective layer on a photograph to extend the life of the photograph and prevent gradual CA 022331~1 1998-10-09 deterioration due to environmental conditions, as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,378,392.
Techniques for producing a textured surface on a print, poster, photograph, water colour print, or other image in an economical manner are still required.
Methods have now been found for forming a textured image laminating film, and for forming textured laminated images, as well as the film and the prints thus obtained.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a method of forming an image laminating film comprlslng:
a) applying an adhesive to one surface of a polymer film, said film being transparent and capable of being bonded to acrylic polymers;
b) applying an acrylic gel to the opposed surface of the polymer film;
c) imprinting a texture to said acrylic gel;
d) heating said textured acrylic gel to dry said gel and retain the textured surface, the dried gel being transparent; and e) laminating a transparent protective layer to the surface of the gel using an adhesive, said transparent protective layer conforming to the textured surface;
said adhesives and film being selected so that the image laminating film so obtained is transparent.
In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the protective layer is laminated by applying an adhesive to the surface of the dried gel and laminating the protective layer to the adhesive on the gel.
In another preferred embodiment, the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
In yet another embodiment, the acrylic gel applied in step (b) is an acrylic gloss gel.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 peelable release sheet is applied to the heat-activated adhesive on the one surface of the polymer film, especially prior to applying the acrylic gel.
In another embodiment, the polymer film of step (a) is a polyolefin film, especially polypropylene film, and the transparent protective layer is polyethylene film or polyvinylidene chloride film.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image laminating film comprising:
a) an adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
In a preferred embodiment of the image laminating film of the present invention, a release sheet is laminated to the adhesive surface on the polymer film.
In another preferred embodiment, the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of providing texture to the surface of an image on a substrate comprising of:
a) forming a sandwich of said substrate and a transparent textured film, said textured film having opposed surfaces with an adhesive on one surface and a protective layer on the opposed surface, said adhesive being placed in contact with the image on said substrate;
and b) heating said sandwich under pressure for a period of time to effect bonding of the textured film to CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 the image and substrate.
An additional aspect of the present invention provides a laminate of an image on a substrate, said image having laminated thereto, in sequence, an adhesive, a textured film formed from an acrylic gel, a second adhesive and a protective film.
In a preferred embodiment of the laminated image on a substrate, the image is in the form of a photograph, print, poster, water coloured painting or image transferred onto canvas.
In another embodiment, the substrate is canvas, batik, hardboard, masonite, foam sheet, foam core or clipboard.
In another embodiment, the protective layer has a matte finish or a gloss finish.
The present invention is illustrated by the embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a texturing processi Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a textured laminate;
Figure 3 is a schematic representation of laminating of a print to a substratei Figure 4 is a photocopier reproduction of a portion of a colour print of pansies prior to lamination according to the invention; and Figure 5 is a photocopier reproduction of a portion of a colour print of pansies after lamination according to the invention.
Figure 1 shows a texturing process, generally indicated by 1. Texturing process 1 has polymer film roll 2 from which polymer film 3 is unwound. Polymer film 3 passes first adhesive roller 4, at which adhesive is rolled onto polymer film 3. Such adhesive may be and preferably is a heat-activated adhesive for bonding of the film to the substrate.
Release film 6 is unwound from release film roll 5.
Polymer film 3 with adhesive thereon is brought into contact with release film 6 to form first laminate 7.
First laminate 7 is in the form of release film 6 in contact with polymer film 3, with adhesive at the interface. At this stage in the process, polymer film 3 and release film 6 are in a peelable state.
First laminate 7 is then passed by acrylic gel roller 8, at which the acrylic gel is rolled to the upper surface of first laminate 7 i.e. it is rolled on the surface opposed to release film 6. First laminate 7 is then passed by texturing apparatus 9. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, texturing apparatus 9 is in the form of a press with a textured surface, but it is preferred that texturing apparatus 9 be in the form of rollers or stamping apparatus, or the like, having a textured surface and adapted to imprint the texturing onto the acrylic gel. Thus, for instance, the texturing apparatus could consist of two or more rollers e.g. 6-10 rollers, through which the first laminate 7 is passed, the roller in contact with the acrylic gel having a textured surface.
First laminate 7 with the textured acrylic gel on the surface thereof is then passed through oven 10 at which stage the acrylic gel is dried. For instance, the period of drying might be 5-10 minutes at 65-95~C.
Protective film 12 is fed from protective film roll 11 passed second adhesive spray 13. Adhesive is applied to the protective film at second adhesive spray 13, and would be an adhesive for bonding of the acrylic gel to the protective film, for example, a cold liquid spray adhesive, an example of which is 3M aerosol adhesive.
Subsequently, the protective film is brought into contact with the acrylic gel layer on first laminate 7. The resultant laminate, being second laminate 14, is passed into contact with press roller 15. Press roller 15 would normally be a heated roller to effect lamination between protective film 12 and second laminate 14. In particular, CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 press roller 15 is preferably a combination of a heated roller and a second roller between which the laminate is passed. However, it is preferred to cut the film to a suitable size e.g. 36" X 48" and use a heat/vacuum press.
The resultant laminate is rolled on laminate roll 16 or stacked depending on the lamination technique that is used.
The laminate formed in the process of Figure 1 is shown schematically in Figure 2. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the laminate for ease of viewing. Starting from the bottom of the laminate, the first layer 6 is the release film, adjacent from which in sequence are adhesive 20, polymer film 3, textured acrylic gel 21, adhesive 22 and protective film 12. It is understood that textured acrylic gel layer 21 is formed from the acrylic gel spray 8, as described with reference to Figure 1. All of the layers of laminate of Figure 1 are bonded together to form a single laminate, except for release layer 6 which is peelable from the laminate, before use of the laminate.
An embodiment of forming a laminated image is shown in Figure 3. A sandwich is formed of a print 30, textured film 31 and sponge pad 32. The sandwich is placed between lower press plate 33 and upper press plate 34. The upper press plate 34 is then lowered, so that pressure is applied to the laminate between upper press plate and lower press plate 33. It is understood that one and preferably both of the press plates 33 and 34 are heated to a controlled temperature suitable for the lamination process, the temperature being controlled to effect lamination but not adversely affect the quality of the print. After a period of time, usually a controlled period of time, the upper press plate 34 is moved away from lower press plate 33 and the resultant laminated textured print is removed. In another embodiment, the press may be a vacuum press.
In the process of Figure 3, the sponge pad is CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 particularly used to protect the laminate that is being formed. Such use of sponge pads is known, but a variety of other protective layers may be used. In particular, the protective layer that is used may be depend on the laminating apparatus in which laminating is effected.
In other embodiments, the sandwich of print and image laminating film could be passed through heated rollers to effect the lamination process.
Figures 4 and 5 are photocopier representations of a portion of a colour print of pansies before and after lamination with an image texturing film according to the invention. The print after lamination exhibits texture and an impression more closely resembling that of an oil painting.
The release film may be selected from a variety of films having release properties from its adjacent adhesive. The release film would have the properties understood for such a film, including being peelable prior to use. Examples of such films include wax and silicone coated papers.
The polymer film is a transparent film that may be bonded to the acrylic gel and to the image and substrate.
The polymer film must have the ability to adhere to the acrylic gel, as well as not adversely affecting the quality of the print in any significant manner over a period of time, preferably over a period of several years. Examples of such films include polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride (saran), polyolefins e.g. polyethylene and polypropylene, polyester and the like. Films that are acid-free films are preferred, as such films exhibit minimal effects on the image. A
preferred film is polypropylene. It is understood that the nature of the image will have an affect on the choice of the polymer films e.g. photographic prints are susceptible to effects of acids, whereas other types of images e.g. prints, may be less sensitive.
The protective film is also a transparent film, and CA 022331~1 1998-10-09 is preferably scratch resistance and capable of being wiped to clean the surface. This film must be capable of conforming to the texture in the acrylic gel, and not mask that texture. Examples of such films are known, and include polyethylene and polyvinylidene chloride.
A wide variety of substrates may be used. The substrates include flexible substrates e.g. paper, plastic films, canvas or the like. The substrates also include more rigid substrates e.g. cardboard, wood substrates e.g. hardboard or natural wood products, metal substrates e.g. aluminum, or the like.
The adhesives must be transparent, in order to retain the aesthetic qualities of the print. In addition, the adhesives must be capable of bonding to the films and/or acrylic gel, as the case may be. Water-based adhesives should not be used.
The polymer and protective films should not exhibit shrinkage during the steps in the process involving heat.
For instance, the films should exhibit a shrinkage of less than about 5%. The films should also be transparent, with minimal cloudiness. Preferably loss of transmission of light should be less than 10%. It is also preferred that the films be colourless, although in embodiments the films could be transparent but coloured (tinted). For example, one or more of the films could be tinted with sepia colours, especially if the print is black and white. Other colours could be used.
The gel is preferably an acrylic gloss gel. Acrylic matte gels could be used but are less transparent and more cloudy, and thus less preferred.
In embodiments, the adhesives applied for lamination of the protective layer may be dried before the protective layer is applied, and then bonded with heat, or bonded prior to drying.
The present invention provides a textured image laminating film, particularly for use with prints, photographic images, posters, water colour paintings and CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 other images, and to the laminated images that are obtained. The textured images may be on a wide variety of substrates, as discussed above. In addition to providing texturing, the laminating film also provides protection to the image.
The present invention is illustrated by the following examples.
Example I
A polypropylene film having a thickness of 3 mil was coated with a heat-activated adhesive from 3M. A release film was contacted with the adhesive.
Acrylic gloss gel from Tri-Art Manufacturing Inc.
was applied to the polymer film and, using a press with a textured surface, imprinted with a texture that was random and with an appearance of being wrinkled or of a crumpled sheepskin. The gel was dried in an oven for 5-10 minutes at about 65-95~C. A protective film was bonded to the textured surface. The protective film used was 0.5-1 mil polyethylene film for a matte finish or polyvinylidene chloride film for a gloss finish.
The resultant textured laminating film was cut slightly larger than the size of a lithographic print on a hardboard substrate. The release sheet was peeled off the textured film, and the adhesive surface of the textured film was contacted with the print. The resultant sandwich was heated in a press at 80-99~C for 2-5 minutes using a mechanical or vacuum heat press to effect bonding.
The resultant prints had the appearance of a print with a textured surface, resembling an oil painting.
The print does not necessarily have to pre-mounted on a substrate e.g. hardboard, but there is less tendency for wrinkling of the print if it is mounted.
With respect to the protective layer, it was found that increasing the thickness of the polyethylene film to greater than 1 mil tended to resulted in failure of the CA 022331~1 1998-03-26 film to conform to the contours of the acrylic gel.
Similar difficulties were encountered with polypropylene film e.g. the greater flexibility and ability to mould or conform to contours exhibited by polyethylene film compared with polypropylene film resulted in a superior product with polyethylene film. However, polypropylene film e.g. at a thickness of 3 mil, is a preferred film as the layer near the print i.e. the "polymer" film, because of increased stiffness.
Claims (42)
1. A method of forming an image laminating film comprising:
a) applying an adhesive to one surface of a polymer film, said film being transparent and capable of being bonded to acrylic polymers;
b) applying an acrylic gel to the opposed surface of the polymer film;
c) imprinting a texture to said acrylic gel;
d) heating said textured acrylic gel to dry said gel and retain the textured surface, the dried gel being transparent; and e) laminating a transparent protective layer to the surface of the gel using an adhesive, said transparent protective layer conforming to the textured surface;
said adhesives and film being selected so that the image laminating film so obtained is transparent.
a) applying an adhesive to one surface of a polymer film, said film being transparent and capable of being bonded to acrylic polymers;
b) applying an acrylic gel to the opposed surface of the polymer film;
c) imprinting a texture to said acrylic gel;
d) heating said textured acrylic gel to dry said gel and retain the textured surface, the dried gel being transparent; and e) laminating a transparent protective layer to the surface of the gel using an adhesive, said transparent protective layer conforming to the textured surface;
said adhesives and film being selected so that the image laminating film so obtained is transparent.
2. The method of Claim 1 in which the protective layer is laminated by applying an adhesive to the surface of the dried gel and laminating the protective layer to the adhesive on the gel.
3. The method of Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which a peelable release sheet is applied to the adhesive on the one surface of the polymer film.
4. The method of any one of Claim 1-3 in which the adhesive is a heat-activated adhesive.
5. The method of Claim 3 or Claim 4 in which the peelable release sheet is applied prior to applying the acrylic gel.
6. The method of any one of Claims 1-5 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
7. The method of any one of Claims 1-5 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is tinted and transparent.
8. The method of Claim 7 in which the image laminating film is tinted and transparent.
9. The method of Claim 8 in which the image laminating film is tinted with a sepia colour.
10. The method of any one of Claims 1-9 in which the acrylic gel applied in step (b) is an acrylic gloss gel.
11. The method of any one of Claims 1-10 in which the polymer film of step (a) is a polyolefin film.
12. The method of Claim 11 in which the polyolefin film is polypropylene film.
13. The method of any one of Claims 1-12 in which the transparent protective layer is polyethylene film or polyvinylidene chloride film.
14. An image laminating film comprising:
a) a heat-activated adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
a) a heat-activated adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
15. The image laminating film of Claim 14 in which the adhesive of (a) is a heat-activated adhesive.
16. The image laminating film of Claim 15 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
17. The image laminating film of Claim 15 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is tinted and transparent.
18. The image laminating film of Claim 17 in which the image laminating film is tinted with a sepia colour.
19. The image laminating film of any one of Claims 14-18 in which the acrylic gel is an acrylic gloss gel.
20. The image laminating film of any one of Claims 14-19 in which the polymer film is a polyolefin film.
21. The image laminating film of Claim 20 in which the polyolefin film is polypropylene film.
22. The image laminating film of any one of Claims 14-21 in which the transparent protective layer is polyethylene film or polyvinylidene chloride film.
23. The image laminating film of any one of Claims 14-22 in which a release sheet is laminated to the adhesive surface on the polymer film.
24. A method of providing texture to the surface of an image on a substrate comprising of:
a) forming a sandwich of said substrate and a transparent textured film, said textured film having opposed surfaces with an adhesive on one surface and a protective layer on the opposed surface, said adhesive being placed in contact with the image on said substrate;
and b) heating said sandwich under pressure for a period of time to effect bonding of the textured film to the image and substrate.
a) forming a sandwich of said substrate and a transparent textured film, said textured film having opposed surfaces with an adhesive on one surface and a protective layer on the opposed surface, said adhesive being placed in contact with the image on said substrate;
and b) heating said sandwich under pressure for a period of time to effect bonding of the textured film to the image and substrate.
25. The method of Claim 24 in which the transparent textured film comprises:
a) a heat-activated adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
a) a heat-activated adhesive layer on one surface of a polymer film;
b) a transparent acrylic gel on the opposed surface of the polymer film, said gel having a textured surface imprinted therein and having being dried;
c) an adhesive on the surface of the dried gel;
and d) a transparent protective layer on the adhesive on the gel, the adhesives being selected so that the image laminating film is transparent.
26. The method of Claim 24 or Claim 25 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is colourless and transparent.
27. The method of Claim 24 or Claim 25 in which the adhesives and protective layer are selected so that the image laminating film is tinted and transparent.
28. The method of Claim 27 in which the image laminating film is tinted with a sepia colour.
29. The method of any one of Claims 25-28 in which the acrylic gel is an acrylic gloss gel.
30. The method of any one of Claims 25-29 in which the polymer film is a polyolefin film.
31. The method of Claim 30 in which the polyolefin film is polypropylene film.
32. The method of any one of Claims 25-31 in which the transparent protective layer is polyethylene film or polyvinylidene chloride film.
33. The method of any one of Claims 25-32 in which a release sheet is laminated to the adhesive surface on the polymer film.
34. The method of any one of Claims 25-33 in which the image is in the form of a photograph, print, poster, water coloured painting or image transferred onto canvas.
35. The method of any one of Claims 25-34 in which the substrate is canvas, batik, hardboard, masonite, foam sheet, foam core or clipboard.
36. The method of any one of Claims 25-35 in which the protective layer has a matte finish.
37. The method of any one of Claims 25-35 in which the protective layer has a gloss finish.
38. A laminate of an image on a substrate, said image having laminated thereto, in sequence, an adhesive, a textured film formed from an acrylic gel, a second adhesive and a protective film.
39. The laminate of an image on a substrate of Claim 38 in which the image is in the form of a photograph, print, poster, water coloured painting or image transferred onto canvas.
40. The laminate of an image on a substrate of Claim 38 or Claim 39 in which the substrate is canvas, batik, hardboard, masonite, foam sheet, foam core or clipboard.
41. The laminate of an image on a substrate of any one of Claims 38-40 in which the protective layer has a matte finish.
42. The laminate of an image on a substrate of any one of Claims 38-40 in which the protective layer has a gloss finish.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002233151A CA2233151C (en) | 1998-03-26 | 1998-03-26 | Textured image laminating film |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002233151A CA2233151C (en) | 1998-03-26 | 1998-03-26 | Textured image laminating film |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2233151A1 CA2233151A1 (en) | 1998-04-26 |
| CA2233151C true CA2233151C (en) | 1999-05-25 |
Family
ID=4162247
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002233151A Expired - Fee Related CA2233151C (en) | 1998-03-26 | 1998-03-26 | Textured image laminating film |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2233151C (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA2442760C (en) * | 2003-09-25 | 2006-02-07 | Michael Chaimberg | Composite laminated print and frame and method of fabrication |
-
1998
- 1998-03-26 CA CA002233151A patent/CA2233151C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2233151A1 (en) | 1998-04-26 |
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| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |