EP0909642A1 - Procédé pour la fabrication d'un pochoir-stencil - Google Patents

Procédé pour la fabrication d'un pochoir-stencil Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0909642A1
EP0909642A1 EP98307721A EP98307721A EP0909642A1 EP 0909642 A1 EP0909642 A1 EP 0909642A1 EP 98307721 A EP98307721 A EP 98307721A EP 98307721 A EP98307721 A EP 98307721A EP 0909642 A1 EP0909642 A1 EP 0909642A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
stencil
screen
forming layer
chemical agent
areas
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP98307721A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0909642B1 (fr
Inventor
John William Jones
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MacDermid Autotype Ltd
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Autotype International Ltd
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Publication date
Application filed by Autotype International Ltd filed Critical Autotype International Ltd
Publication of EP0909642A1 publication Critical patent/EP0909642A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0909642B1 publication Critical patent/EP0909642B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41CPROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES
    • B41C1/00Forme preparation
    • B41C1/14Forme preparation for stencil-printing or silk-screen printing
    • B41C1/147Forme preparation for stencil-printing or silk-screen printing by imagewise deposition of a liquid, e.g. from an ink jet; Chemical perforation by the hardening or solubilizing of the ink impervious coating or sheet

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the production of stencils for screen printing.
  • One method, referred to as the "direct method" of producing screen printing stencils involves the coating of a liquid light-sensitive emulsion directly onto a screen mesh. After drying, the entire screen is exposed to actinic light through a film positive held in contact with the coated mesh in a vacuum frame. The black portions of the positive do not allow light to penetrate to the emulsion which remains soft in those areas. In the areas which are exposed to light, the emulsion hardens and becomes insoluble, so that, after washing out with a suitable solvent, the unexposed areas allow ink to pass through onto a substrate surface during a subsequent printing process.
  • Another method referred to as the "direct/indirect method” involves contacting a film, consisting of a pre-coated unsensitised emulsion on a base support, with the screen mesh by placing the screen on top of the flat film. A sensitised emulsion is then forced across the mesh from the opposite side, thus laminating the film to the screen and at the same time sensitising its emulsion. After drying, the base support is peeled off and the screen is then processed and used in the same way as in the direct method.
  • a film base is pre-coated with a pre-sensitised emulsion.
  • the film is exposed to actinic light through a positive held in contact with the coated film. After chemical hardening of the exposed emulsion, the unexposed emulsion is washed away.
  • the stencil produced is then mounted on the screen mesh and used for printing as described above for the direct method.
  • a pre-coated and pre-sensitised film base is adhered to one surface of the mesh by the capillary action of water applied to the opposite surface of the mesh. After drying, the film is peeled off and the screen then processed and used as described for the direct method.
  • hand-cut stencils can be used. These are produced by cutting the required stencil design into an emulsion coating on a film base support. The cut areas are removed from the base before the film is applied to the mesh. The emulsion is then softened to cause it to adhere to the mesh. After drying, the base is peeled off. The screen is then ready for printing. This method is suitable only for simple work.
  • CA-A-2088400 (Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.) describes a method and apparatus in which a blocking composition is ejected directly onto the screen mesh surface in a pre-programmed manner in accordance with data representative of the desired image.
  • the blocking composition directly occludes areas of the screen mesh to define the desired stencil pattern.
  • EP-A-0492351 (Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.) describes a method and apparatus where an unexposed light-sensitive emulsion layer is applied to a screen mesh surface and a graphic is directly ink-jet printed on the emulsion layer by means of a printing mechanism, using a printing ink, to provide a mask through which the emulsion is exposed before the screen is further processed.
  • the apparatus described has been commercialised under the name "Gerber ScreenJet", which is marketed as a screen imaging system for textile screen printing.
  • the apparatus comprises a mechanism for mounting variously sized screen frames in a horizontal position and orientated with respect to the X, Y and Z printing axes of the apparatus, a control computer providing data defining the graphic, an ink-jet facility with one or more print heads which are movable in the X and Y directions and an ultraviolet lamp assembly for exposure of the light sensitive emulsion layer on the screen mesh surface.
  • a control computer providing data defining the graphic
  • an ink-jet facility with one or more print heads which are movable in the X and Y directions and an ultraviolet lamp assembly for exposure of the light sensitive emulsion layer on the screen mesh surface.
  • Several other similar ink-jet screen imaging systems are also available, including the "Luscher JetScreen", utilising a hot-melt ink-jet process, and a horizontal flat-bed ink-jet machine from Swiss company Mantel.
  • Dropwise liquid application apparatus such as ink-jet printers operate by ejecting a liquid onto a receiving substrate in controlled patterns of closely spaced liquid droplets. By selectively regulating the pattern of droplets, ink-jet printers can be used to produce a wide variety of printed materials, including text, graphics and images on a wide range of substrates.
  • ink is printed directly onto the surface of the final receiving substrate.
  • An ink-jet printing system where an image is printed on an intermediate image transfer surface and subsequently transferred to the final receiving substrate is disclosed in US-A-4538156 (AT&T Teletype Corp.).
  • US-A-5380769 (Tektronix Inc.) describes reactive ink compositions containing at least two reactive components, a base ink component and a curing component, that are applied to a receiving substrate separately.
  • the base ink component is preferably applied to the receiving substrate using ink-jet printing techniques and, upon exposure of the base ink component to the curing component, a durable, crosslinked ink is produced.
  • EP-A-0635362 (Riso Kagaku Corp.) describes in example 5 a process which involves direct selective dissolution by a water-based solvent, which can be applied dropwise, of a resin layer coated on a polyester fibre cloth.
  • a method of producing a screen-printing stencil having open areas and blocked areas for respectively passage and blocking of a printing medium comprising:
  • the stencil is formed by chemical means without the need to use either special lighting conditions or actinic radiation.
  • the stencil-forming layer can be applied to the screen by any convenient means.
  • a coated film comprising a support base on which the stencil-forming agent is coated.
  • the coated film can be adhered to the screen by application of a liquid, for example water. This can be done by placing the coated film with its coated surface uppermost on a solid flat surface and placing the screen mesh on top such that there is close contact between the mesh and the coated film.
  • the coated film can be rolled down a screen mesh which has been thoroughly wetted with a gentle spray of a liquid, for example water. After drying, the support base can be peeled away from the mesh to leave the stencil-forming layer.
  • the stencil-forming layer may be coated directly onto the screen mesh, for example in the form of an emulsion applied by use of a coating trough or squeegee, preferably to both sides of the screen simultaneously.
  • the dropwise application of the chemical agent is conveniently carried out by means of an apparatus of the kind described, in which the coated screen is first positioned.
  • the chemical agent may be produced in situ by reaction between two or more precursor materials, separately applied to the stencil-forming layer, at least one of which is applied in the said areas corresponding to the blocked areas of the stencil to be produced. This may conveniently be achieved by use of a plurality of drop-ejection heads, in a suitable apparatus of the kind described.
  • the dropwise application is controlled according to data encoding the desired pattern of blocked and open areas of the stencil to be produced.
  • This control may be by a computer, for example a personal computer.
  • data representative of the desired output pattern is input to a controller as prerecorded digital signals which are used by the ejection head to deposit or not deposit the liquid containing the chemical agent as it scans the surface of the stencil forming layer.
  • the material of the stencil-forming layer is selected to react with the chemical agent to produce lower solubility areas corresponding to the said blocked areas.
  • Figure 1 shows the coated film which consists of a stencil-forming layer 1 coated on a flexible support base 2, the film having been applied to a screen mesh 3, mounted in a suitable screen frame 4.
  • Figure 2 of the drawings shows the coated screen after the support base 2 has been peeled away.
  • Figure 3 shows a chemical agent 5 being applied to the stencil-forming layer 1 in droplets 5 which are ejected from an ejection head (not shown) of an apparatus of the kind described controlled by a computer.
  • the chemical agent 5 is absorbed into the stencil-forming layer 1 to form areas 6 corresponding to the areas that have reacted with the chemical agent to produce areas of insoluble material.
  • Figure 4 of the drawings shows the final screen after the screen has been washed out so that the areas 6 of the stencil-forming layer to which the chemical agent was applied remains and the higher solubility areas have been washed away.
  • Figures 5 to 7 of the drawings correspond to figures 1 to 4 but show the production of a stencil by a method in which the stencil-forming layer is coated directly onto the screen without the use of a coated film.
  • the stencil-forming layer is formed from a stencil-forming agent composed of a liquid unsensitised emulsion which is directly coated onto both sides of a screen mesh mounted in a frame.
  • Figures 5 and 6 show operations corresponding to the operations of figures 1 and 3 and figure 7 corresponds to figure 4.
  • the key criterium in selecting a suitable combination of stencil-forming agent and chemical agent is that the chemical agent should form a good image on the layer formed from the stencil-forming agent; for example, a drop of the chemical agent should neither be so repelled by the layer as to produce a defective image nor it should not spread so far as to reduce the resolution of the image. Moreover, it should not spread so anisotropically (because of irregularities in the layer) as to deform the image.
  • the stencil-forming agent may comprise a polymer which reacts with the chemical agent and thus forms a part of the final screen stencil.
  • a typical example of such a polymer is polyvinyl alcohol which is preferably present in an amount of 5 to 100 wt.% of the stencil-forming layer with the balance comprising, for example, other suitable polymers and/or suitable fillers, binders and plasticisers.
  • the polyvinyl alcohol preferably has a degree of hydrolysis of 20 to 99.9 mole % and, independently thereof, a degree of polymerisation of 100 to 3500.
  • Suitable polymers include those that change their solubility characteristics on treatment with a suitable chemical agent. Examples of such polymers are:
  • the polymers and other components are chosen so that the chemical agent forms a good image when applied.
  • Layers that are not compatible with any solvent used in the chemical agent typically, water will produce insufficient spread of the liquid and a poor-quality image will result. If the layer has too great an affinity with the chemical agent, the liquid will spread too far, giving a blurred, low resolution image.
  • the stencil layer thickness is typically from 5 to 100 ⁇ m.
  • the support base may comprise a non-reactive polymer, preferably an organic resin support, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride or polystyrene.
  • the organic resin support can optionally be coated with a subbing layer to give desired adhesion properties with the stencil-forming layer.
  • the support base is removed as a coherent film in the screen production method, preferably prior to the application of the chemical agent to the stencil-forming layer.
  • the chemical agent is preferably applied dropwise to the stencil-forming layer by an apparatus of the kind described, for example a Gerber ScreenJet apparatus.
  • the liquid applied should exhibit desirable stability, surface tension and viscosity characteristics and may therefore contain surfactants, viscosity modifiers, light stabilisers and/or anti-oxidants.
  • the chemical agent may include a suitable carrier, for example a suitable solvent or dispersant for the active component(s).
  • Suitable active components include
  • the imaged screen is dried if necessary, then the resulting screen stencil can be developed by washing away the portion of higher solubility with a suitable solvent, for example water, thereby leaving behind areas of reduced solubility to occlude areas of the mesh.
  • a suitable solvent for example water
  • the stencil can be further toughened by a post-treatment, for example using extra chemicals, actinic radiation or heat.
  • the extra chemicals may be resident in the original stencil-forming agent, or may be supplied externally.
  • Examples of chemical toughening agents are ones operating at pH 7 or higher and include dialdehydes particularly glyoxal, and aqueous bases, for example aqueous potassium carbonate. It is presently believed that these toughening agents will only work when a boron salt is used as the chemical agent.
  • the screen produced is then ready for use as a printing medium using techniques familiar to those skilled in the art.
  • the chemicals used are those cited in the Examples 1 to 4 which follow, the broad physical properties, chemical resistances, washout solvent (water) and reclaim chemicals (typically periodate systems) will in many cases be those used routinely by screen printers. So, although the method of producing the stencil is new, the resulting product will often be familiar and highly acceptable to screen printers.
  • the stencil can be reclaimed with dilute acid without the use of the industry-standard periodate system.
  • This low cost and environmentally-friendlier reclaim system is a distinct added advantage.
  • a screen stencil can be produced directly from digital information sources; it is not necessary to use safelights during the stencil making process; there is no requirement for an exposure step utilising an actinic radiation source; and a finished stencil can be produced in a shorter time than by conventional screen printing techniques.
  • a liquid containing a chemical agent was prepared according to the formula:
  • the stencil-forming layer comprised a typical (but unsensitized) commercially available capillary screen film - "Autoline HD" (b) - consisting of a pigmented polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl acetate emulsion on a support base, with an approximate emulsion (stencil-forming agent) thickness of 15 ⁇ m.
  • a degreased screen mesh of mesh count 120 threads per cm was mounted in a suitable frame, then the mesh was wetted thoroughly with a gentle spray of water and the receptor element was rolled down the mesh using light pressure. Slight pressure was applied to the print side of the receptor element by squeegee, then excess water was removed from the opposite side of the screen, followed by drying the screen using a fan with a maximum temperature of 40 °C. The support base was removed from the mesh.
  • the resulting screen was positioned in a Gerber ScreenJet apparatus to the manufacturer's instructions, then the prepared chemical agent was applied to the stencil-forming layer of the screen from a cartridge in a preprogrammed manner to form the desired image.
  • the imaged screen was removed from the "ScreenJet" apparatus and dried by warm air fan (maximum 40 °C) to produce on the screen a stencil-forming layer having areas of lower and higher solubility. Any remaining unreacted part of the receptor element was removed and the screen was washed out using cold running water, until the portion of the assembly of higher solubility was washed away to waste.
  • the stencil was then placed in a standard screen printing machine and prints of an acceptable quality were obtained using standard solvent-based screen printing inks.
  • a liquid containing a chemical agent was prepared according to the formula:
  • the stencil-forming agent comprised a typical (but unsensitized) polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl acetate screen emulsion - "2000" (b). This was directly coated onto a suitably degreased screen mesh of 120 threads per cm., mounted in a suitable frame. Using a coating trough, two coats of this emulsion were applied, wet on wet, to the print side of the screen, followed by two coats, wet on wet, to the other side of the screen. The resulting screen was then dried horizontally, print side down using a warm air fan at a maximum temperature of 30 °C.
  • the resulting screen was positioned in the "ScreenJet" apparatus according to the manufacturer's instructions, then the prepared chemical agent was applied to the stencil-forming layer of the screen from a cartridge in a preprogrammed manner to form the desired image.
  • the imaged screen was removed from the "ScreenJet” apparatus and dried by warm air fan (maximum 40 °C) to produce on the screen a stencil-forming layer having areas of lower and higher solubility. Any remaining unreacted part of the receptor element was removed and the screen was washed out using cold running water, until the portion of the assembly of higher solubility was washed away to waste.
  • the stencil was then placed in a standard screen printing machine and prints of an acceptable quality were obtained using standard solvent-based screen printing inks.
  • Example 1 The procedure of Example 1 above was repeated exactly to produce a screen stencil.
  • This stencil was then treated with a 10 wt.% aqueous solution of potassium carbonate, which was applied by brush so as to cover the entire stencil area, then finally allowed to dry. This produced a toughened stencil.
  • the stencil was then placed in a standard screen printing machine and prints of an acceptable quality were obtained using standard solvent-based screen printing inks.
  • Example 1 The procedure of Example 1 above was repeated exactly to produce a screen stencil.
  • This stencil was then treated with a 2 wt.% solution of 35 wt.% hydrochloric acid, which was applied by brush so as to cover the entire stencil area. This treatment disrupted the screen stencil and allowed the resulting residue to be washed away to waste using a cold water spray, giving a reclaimed screen with no observable stain present.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Manufacture Or Reproduction Of Printing Formes (AREA)
  • Photosensitive Polymer And Photoresist Processing (AREA)
  • Printing Plates And Materials Therefor (AREA)
  • Printing Methods (AREA)
  • Materials For Photolithography (AREA)
  • Paints Or Removers (AREA)
  • Eyeglasses (AREA)
EP98307721A 1997-09-25 1998-09-23 Procédé pour la fabrication d'un pochoir-stencil Expired - Lifetime EP0909642B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9720322 1997-09-25
GB9720322A GB2329611B (en) 1997-09-25 1997-09-25 Screen printing stencil production

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0909642A1 true EP0909642A1 (fr) 1999-04-21
EP0909642B1 EP0909642B1 (fr) 2003-03-12

Family

ID=10819578

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98307721A Expired - Lifetime EP0909642B1 (fr) 1997-09-25 1998-09-23 Procédé pour la fabrication d'un pochoir-stencil

Country Status (9)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0909642B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH11188833A (fr)
AT (1) ATE234197T1 (fr)
AU (1) AU741425B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA2248599A1 (fr)
DE (1) DE69812027T2 (fr)
ES (1) ES2195282T3 (fr)
GB (1) GB2329611B (fr)
ZA (1) ZA988796B (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004039586A1 (fr) 2002-10-30 2004-05-13 National Research Council Of Canada Procede de production d'une image sur un cadre d'impression
EP1498262A1 (fr) * 2003-07-15 2005-01-19 Kesper Druckwalzen GmbH Méthode et appareil pour la fabrication d'un pochoir sérigraphique et un écran avec un pochoir

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2333997B (en) * 1998-02-06 2002-07-17 Autotype Internat Ltd Screen printing stencil production
GB2335392B (en) 1998-02-17 2001-11-07 Autotype Internat Ltd Screen printing stencil production
JP5504540B2 (ja) * 2011-09-02 2014-05-28 株式会社サンタイプ スクリーン版強化液、およびこのスクリーン版強化液によるスクリーン版の処理手法
WO2020007457A1 (fr) * 2018-07-04 2020-01-09 Duralchrome Ag Création de pochoir de sérigraphie à maillage direct

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1431462A (en) * 1972-11-03 1976-04-07 Agfa Gevaert Ag Process for the production of relief images
US5292556A (en) * 1992-12-22 1994-03-08 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Method for preparing negative-working wash-off relief images
EP0588399A1 (fr) * 1992-08-20 1994-03-23 Yoram Duchovne Procédé de sérigraphie
EP0671268A1 (fr) * 1993-07-31 1995-09-13 Sony Corporation Appareil d'enregistrement a jet d'encre
US5466653A (en) * 1994-06-29 1995-11-14 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Method for preparing negative-working wash-off relief images and non-photosensitive elements for use therein
US5654032A (en) * 1993-10-26 1997-08-05 The Chromaline Corporation Non-photosensitive aqueous blockout composition and blockout method for repairing flaws
EP0883026A1 (fr) * 1997-06-04 1998-12-09 Eastman Kodak Company Méthode pour former des images

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0635362B1 (fr) * 1993-07-20 1998-10-14 Riso Kagaku Corporation Pochoir d'impression

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1431462A (en) * 1972-11-03 1976-04-07 Agfa Gevaert Ag Process for the production of relief images
EP0588399A1 (fr) * 1992-08-20 1994-03-23 Yoram Duchovne Procédé de sérigraphie
US5292556A (en) * 1992-12-22 1994-03-08 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Method for preparing negative-working wash-off relief images
EP0671268A1 (fr) * 1993-07-31 1995-09-13 Sony Corporation Appareil d'enregistrement a jet d'encre
US5654032A (en) * 1993-10-26 1997-08-05 The Chromaline Corporation Non-photosensitive aqueous blockout composition and blockout method for repairing flaws
US5466653A (en) * 1994-06-29 1995-11-14 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Method for preparing negative-working wash-off relief images and non-photosensitive elements for use therein
EP0883026A1 (fr) * 1997-06-04 1998-12-09 Eastman Kodak Company Méthode pour former des images

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004039586A1 (fr) 2002-10-30 2004-05-13 National Research Council Of Canada Procede de production d'une image sur un cadre d'impression
EP1498262A1 (fr) * 2003-07-15 2005-01-19 Kesper Druckwalzen GmbH Méthode et appareil pour la fabrication d'un pochoir sérigraphique et un écran avec un pochoir

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2195282T3 (es) 2003-12-01
AU741425B2 (en) 2001-11-29
DE69812027T2 (de) 2004-03-18
AU8706498A (en) 1999-04-15
EP0909642B1 (fr) 2003-03-12
CA2248599A1 (fr) 1999-03-25
JPH11188833A (ja) 1999-07-13
GB2329611A (en) 1999-03-31
GB9720322D0 (en) 1997-11-26
ATE234197T1 (de) 2003-03-15
ZA988796B (en) 2000-06-26
DE69812027D1 (de) 2003-04-17
GB2329611B (en) 2002-05-08

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