EP1162079B1 - Device for the cross-linking of ink by UV radiation - Google Patents

Device for the cross-linking of ink by UV radiation Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1162079B1
EP1162079B1 EP01117496A EP01117496A EP1162079B1 EP 1162079 B1 EP1162079 B1 EP 1162079B1 EP 01117496 A EP01117496 A EP 01117496A EP 01117496 A EP01117496 A EP 01117496A EP 1162079 B1 EP1162079 B1 EP 1162079B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
ink
ultraviolet
point
inked
printing
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EP01117496A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP1162079A2 (en
EP1162079A3 (en
Inventor
Paul Morgavi
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Gemplus SA
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Gemplus Card International SA
Gemplus SA
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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41MPRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/0041Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper
    • B41M5/0047Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper by ink-jet printing
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41JTYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J11/00Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
    • B41J11/0015Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing
    • B41J11/002Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
    • B41J11/0021Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation
    • B41J11/00214Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation using UV radiation
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41MPRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/0041Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper
    • B41M5/0064Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper on plastics, horn, rubber, or other organic polymers
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41MPRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M7/00After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock
    • B41M7/0081After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock using electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41MPRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/0041Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper
    • B41M5/0076Digital printing on surfaces other than ordinary paper on wooden surfaces, leather, linoleum, skin, or flowers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of printing based on photosensitive inks, that is to say, inks that are dryable or polymerizable by light radiation, especially ultraviolet radiation.
  • a crippling disadvantage of solvent-based inks is the harmfulness of the solvents employed, of the acetone type. Printing with such inks requires complex devices collecting rejected solvents and important precautions of implementation.
  • Polymeric inks do not have these disadvantages of use and are particularly suitable for point-to-point printing, particularly by inkjet printing.
  • these inks In the liquid phase, these inks have a fluidity which makes it possible to mechanically deposit, especially in an offset process, ink drops of very fine size or to project drops point by point on a support.
  • the final fixing of the polymer inks is carried out during a so-called ink-curing step which follows the deposition of the ink drops.
  • the crosslinking consists in polymerizing or crystallizing the ink, the polymers constituting the ink binding together to form longer polymeric chains and attach to the support.
  • a crosslinking step thus makes it possible to solidify the ink and fix it to the support.
  • Plastic such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), poly-ethyl tetraethylene (PET), polycarbonates (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and Other organic polymers are quite naturally suitable for printing with polymer ink, the ink polymers and the carrier polymers being firmly attached to each other during crosslinking.
  • PVC polyvinyl chloride
  • PE polyethylene
  • PET poly-ethyl tetraethylene
  • PC polycarbonates
  • ABS acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
  • Other organic polymers are quite naturally suitable for printing with polymer ink, the ink polymers and the carrier polymers being firmly attached to each other during crosslinking.
  • the crosslinking is obtained by exposing the inked support under ultraviolet radiation.
  • ultraviolet radiation curable ink abbreviated UV ink.
  • the energy of ultraviolet photons allows the polymerization of the polymer chains together.
  • the substrate must be exposed under ultraviolet light and for a sufficient time, so that the ink is fixed to the support and hardens completely.
  • Figures 1 and 2 show schematic known printing techniques based on crosslinkable UV ink.
  • Figure 1 shows a polychrome offset printing of a support.
  • the carrier 10 advances between a drive roll 15 and contact rolls 11, 12, 13, and 14.
  • Each roll 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 contains a frame of the image to be printed.
  • the hollows of the frames of each roll are inked with a black or colored ink, in particular cyan, magenta or yellow ink.
  • Several color frames are thus deposited on the support to constitute a final image in polychromy.
  • the inking step is followed by a step of crosslinking by continuous exposure 19 of the support 10 under an ultraviolet lamp 18.
  • the offset printing can be monochrome by providing a single black or color ink roll. .
  • Figure 2 schematizes a polychrome inkjet printing process.
  • Several reservoirs 21, 22, 23 and 24 containing the black polymer inks of different colors feed at least one ink drop ejection nozzle, each reservoir preferably having its own line of ejection nozzles, the line of impression being transverse to the direction of movement of the support.
  • the drops of ink are deposited point by point on the support, a device for moving the support and computer programming of the print image controlling the ejection of the drops by each nozzle of the line with a possible control of drop volume ejected.
  • the computer system defines the spatial locations of the points to be inked and controls the ejection or non-ejection of the drops according to this location.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a printing alternative in which each inking step is followed by a crosslinking step to dry each ink before subsequent inking of different color.
  • the printing device of FIG. 2 thus comprises in this example four ultraviolet lamps 25, 26, 27 and 28 for drying each ink individually.
  • US-A-5,502,310 discloses a UV irradiation apparatus and a photosensitive ink crosslinking process, comprising a step of inking a plastic support, followed by a step of irradiating the entire surface of the support with a UV light source constituted by a lamp tube disposed in a two-part reflective housing.
  • GB-A-203/298 discloses a laser apparatus which can produce a coherent beam of light.
  • the coherent beam is directed at a selected drawing to dry or crosslink.
  • ultraviolet lamps give off a lot of heat.
  • the polymerizable ink printing devices must therefore include a costly and bulky cooling system.
  • so-called cold UV lamps designed to emit less infra-red radiation and therefore less heat, does not eliminate the need for cooling when high print speeds are desired.
  • a disadvantage of known ultraviolet radiation curable ink printing devices is therefore high heat generation at the crosslinking steps.
  • Another disadvantage is the premature aging of the supports and their yellowing under the effect of ultraviolet radiation crosslinking.
  • An object of the invention is to provide an ink curing process for printing at a high rate, without the aforementioned drawbacks.
  • a particular object of the invention is to avoid the yellowing of the support in order to allow a lasting impression of quality.
  • crosslinking is carried out by an ultraviolet laser beam concentrated on the drops of ink deposited on the surface of the support, the white surfaces of the support not being scanned by the laser beam.
  • the invention is particularly applicable to the printing and the crosslinking of ink on a plastic support.
  • the ink crosslinking according to the invention is particularly applicable to point-to-point inkjet printing and / or a polychromatic printing process.
  • the invention is advantageously intended to be implemented following conventional printing steps.
  • FIG. 3 Various known printing processes provide, as illustrated in FIG. 3, an inking of the surface of a support 38, the inking being able to be carried out in particular by mechanical contact under pressure or by projection 37 of drops 36 of ink, especially when a point-by-point inkjet print.
  • the invention thus comprises a preliminary step of anchoring the support, the inking being carried out with a photosensitive ink of the type ultraviolet radiation crosslinkable ink.
  • the inking is carried out according to the invention by depositing drops of ultraviolet radiation polymer ink point by point on a printing medium.
  • the support 38 comprises inked surfaces and non-inked surfaces, the inked surfaces being constituted by inked points 31 arranged contiguously or in isolation.
  • the method according to the invention provides for applying a concentrated ultraviolet beam to the inked dots, excluding non-inked surfaces of the support.
  • FIG. 3 thus shows an optical device 33 34 schematically provided with an ultraviolet light source 33 and a beam concentrator 34 for concentrating the ultraviolet rays on an inked dot 31.
  • An advantage of the invention is that the light power of the ultraviolet light source 33 is concentrated on the single point 31 whose crosslinking is then very fast. Therefore, one can provide a very fast scanning inked dots, applying the concentrated beam on each point for a period of time corresponding to the energy that must receive the ink drop to be fully crosslinked.
  • An advantage of such an arrangement is that aging and yellowing of the support is avoided, especially on non-inked surfaces.
  • Another advantage is that the applied light energy is lower compared to the methods of exposure to ultraviolet lamps, no radiation power being dispensed unnecessarily on the non-inked surfaces.
  • Such an arrangement is easily achieved by providing that the beam 32 is concentrated on a surface substantially equal to the surface of a drop of ink. Scanning means of the support and distribution of the beam will be detailed below in two preferred embodiments of device implementing the method according to the invention.
  • the invention is carried out using an ultraviolet laser, although it is possible to envisage an intense ultraviolet source of the arc lamp or rotary cathode lamp type.
  • FIG. 4 thus illustrates a laser 43 emitting a coherent beam 42 of ultraviolet radiation.
  • the beam 42 ' is deflected to focus on an inked point 41' to be crosslinked.
  • An advantage of the laser is that the beam 42 'of emitted rays can easily have very small dimensions while remaining substantially parallel.
  • the beam 42 can thus be concentrated on a surface as microscopic as the surface of offset printing dots in polychromy such as the points 51a, 51b, 51c and 52a to 55c shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4.
  • an ultraviolet laser can have a very intense light power, which allows a very fast exposure of each point to be crosslinked.
  • crosslinking time of a support having few inked dots is thus advantageously reduced compared to known methods.
  • a laser emission device 43 emitting a beam continuously or by pulse.
  • the exposure time of a drop under the continuous beam or the number of laser pulses applied to the drop is determined so that the drop receives the light energy of crosslinking.
  • the application of the ultraviolet beam is performed by scanning point by point of the support.
  • FIG. 4 thus illustrates a scanning device 46 comprising a motor orienting a mirror 46 to deflect the laser beam 43 towards each point of the support.
  • the device 45, 46 for deflecting the beam 42 provides a transverse scanning of the support 43 by the beam 42 ', 42 ", 42"' so as to cross-link all the points 41 ', 41 ", 41 The support is then moved in a longitudinal direction to crosslink a subsequent line of dots.
  • the scanning device 45, 46 is coupled to a point-by-point computer printing system, indicating to the scanner the exact location of each inked dot of the text or image in print.
  • the scanning device can in particular receive a command similar to the order of positioning a printhead point by point.
  • the scanning provided by the first embodiment can be carried out continuously or discretely, according to two variants.
  • the angle of deflection of the ultraviolet beam 42 varies continuously, the beam 42 'being deflected progressively along the transverse line of the support.
  • a component 44 for cutting the beam 42 thus prevents the beam 42 'from being concentrated on non-inked points.
  • This cut-off component is advantageously coupled to the point-to-point computer printing system which triggers its shutter when the deflected beam 42 'is directed towards non-inked surfaces 40.
  • the cutoff component 44 must have a very short reaction time.
  • the component 44 is for example a "Q-switch" device as used in optronics. Other means of interrupting the beam 42 are within the reach of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
  • the beam interruption means may be an integral part of the laser 43.
  • the laser delivers ultraviolet radiation pulses on command when the scan 45, 46 is aimed at an inked dot 41 'and does not deliver a pulse when the scanning device 45, 46 is aimed at a non-inked dot 40.
  • the scanning device 45, 46 is programmed to deflect the beam 42 'to an inked point 41' and pass directly to another deflection angle, the beam 42 '' going to another inked point 41 ' .
  • the scanning control of the device 46 is then discontinuous and the position of the mirror 45 passes without transition from one angular value to another discrete angular value.
  • a second embodiment of the method according to the invention provides another mode of application of the ultraviolet beam on the points of the support, instead of the scanning step.
  • the second embodiment comprises, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a linear strip 70 of parallel optical fibers 71 to 77, the output of which is arranged facing the surface of the support to be crosslinked. Equivalently, a two-dimensional array of optical fibers with parallel outputs can be provided.
  • the laser beam 32 is injected at the input of the optical fibers 71 to 77.
  • the fibers 71 to 77 advantageously have their inputs gathered together. that the incoming laser radiation is distributed substantially equally between all the fibers.
  • the initial laser beam 82 is divided into a multitude of parallel rays, each ray being directed and concentrated towards an inked point of the support 68.
  • optical fibers used are quartz or glass transmitting ultraviolet radiation, an ordinary glass optical fiber not transmitting wavelengths beyond the violet.
  • the device 70 for distributing the beam 82 further comprises means for interrupting the ultraviolet beam, each optical fiber 71 being provided for example with a ray cutting component to avoid exposing a non-inked point 60 of the support 68. .
  • This second embodiment is particularly suitable for printing processes comprising dot screening.
  • the second embodiment advantageously applies to inkjet printing processes that allow printing line by line, a line of dots being inked instantly.
  • a device using an in-line inkjet generally comprises a linear array 100 of ink drop generators.
  • a series of ink drops 101, 102, 103 is emitted simultaneously towards the points of the support that is to be inked.
  • each colored point 51 is formed for example of three or four elementary points 51a, 51b, 51c inked in fundamental colors or in black.
  • the inked dots of different colors can be crosslinked according to the invention by applying a laser beam to each colored dot.
  • the elementary points usually microscopic, are very close and can possibly overlap.
  • the effect of polychrome is obtained, during the offset printing, by modulating the dimensions of each microscopic elementary point to reconstitute all the possible colors. According to one variant, by modulating the overlap and the dimension of each point, a polychromic effect is also obtained.
  • the invention to modulate the concentrated beam applied on such inked points so that each point receives the energy sufficient to cross-link the ink volume of the point.
  • the laser beam interruption means are then replaced by means for modulating the intensity of the beam.
  • Such a means is constituted for example an optical modulator of the orientable diffraction blade type.
  • the possibility of modulating the power of the ultraviolet beam makes it possible to adapt the crosslinking step to the inks used and to the printing speed of the support.
  • the crosslinking process can be applied once after all the steps of color inking as illustrated in FIG. 5.
  • the device 70 distributing the beam then comprises a tight network of optical fibers, the fibers being distributed spatially according to the maximum dot matrix inked that can be trained to print.
  • the printing installation can then comprise several crosslinking devices arranged at the output of each monochromatic inking device.
  • the method according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to provide total or partial gelation of the inks during crosslinking between each inking step, the partial gelation being obtained for example by modulating the power of the ultraviolet laser beam.
  • the essential advantage of the crosslinking process according to the invention is, as previously reported, to eliminate the disadvantage inherent to ultraviolet radiation, namely the bleaching or yellowing action on the polymers constituting the support.
  • the method according to the invention extends to the crosslinking of photosensitive ink on any type of printing medium such as paper, cardboard, wood to advantageously replace water-based ink printing or solvents while avoiding any browning of the support .
  • the crosslinking process according to the invention advantageously contributes to increasing the rates of the printing device in which it is integrated.
  • the invention thus advantageously makes it possible to obtain a higher crosslinking speed at the ink jet inking speeds, so that the printing rate is no longer limited by the crosslinking step.
  • the disclosure of the invention is based on ultraviolet radiation, the invention is not limited to a precise spectrum of light, but can be applied with any type of light radiation suitable for the polymerization and drying of light. photosensitive inks.
  • crosslinking process can be used with photosensitive paints, the same constituents and the same pigments being used in polymeric ink and polymeric paint.

Abstract

The ink drop fixing method has a preliminary stage of applying an ultraviolet beam (32) concentrated on the ink drops (31) on the surface, avoiding exposure of the plastic support (30) for the printing. The ink drops are deposited point-by-point on the surface. The ink is made of a material that is polymerisable under ultra-violet radiation. The ultra-violet radiation is provided by an ultra-violet laser (43), which is swept point-by-point across the printed surface. The ultra-violet beam is directed by an optic fibre (71) of a network (70) of optic fibres. The beam is interrupted when it is directed toward the un-inked surface.

Description

L'invention concerne le domaine de l'impression à base d'encres photosensibles, c'est-à-dire d'encres séchables ou polymérisables par rayonnement de lumière, notamment par rayonnement ultraviolet.The invention relates to the field of printing based on photosensitive inks, that is to say, inks that are dryable or polymerizable by light radiation, especially ultraviolet radiation.

L'impression sur des supports tels que les matériaux plastiques n'absorbant pas les encres traditionnelles à base d'eau, d'alcool ou d'huile, a été permise par la mise au point d'encres à base de solvants adaptés au matériau et concurremment d'encres polymères capables de se solidifier et d'adhérer au matériau.Printing on substrates such as plastics that do not absorb traditional water, alcohol or oil-based inks has been made possible by the development of solvent-based inks suitable for the material and concurrently polymeric inks capable of solidifying and adhering to the material.

Un inconvénient rédhibitoire des encres à base de solvant est la nocivité des solvants employés, du type acétone. L'impression avec de telles encres nécessite de complexes dispositifs collectant les solvants rejetés et d'importantes précautions de mise en oeuvre.A crippling disadvantage of solvent-based inks is the harmfulness of the solvents employed, of the acetone type. Printing with such inks requires complex devices collecting rejected solvents and important precautions of implementation.

Les encres polymères n'ont pas ces inconvénients d'emploi et se prêtent particulièrement bien à une impression point par point, notamment par jet d'encre.Polymeric inks do not have these disadvantages of use and are particularly suitable for point-to-point printing, particularly by inkjet printing.

En phase liquide, ces encres ont une fluidité qui permet de déposer mécaniquement, notamment selon un procédé offset, des gouttes d'encre de dimension très fine ou de projeter des gouttes point par point sur un support.In the liquid phase, these inks have a fluidity which makes it possible to mechanically deposit, especially in an offset process, ink drops of very fine size or to project drops point by point on a support.

La fixation définitive des encres polymères est effectuée pendant une étape dite de réticulation d'encre qui suit le dépôt des gouttes d'encre.The final fixing of the polymer inks is carried out during a so-called ink-curing step which follows the deposition of the ink drops.

La réticulation consiste à polymériser ou à cristalliser l'encre, les polymères constituant l'encre se liant entre eux pour former des chaînes polymériques plus longues et se fixer au support. Une étape de réticulation permet donc de solidifier l'encre et de la fixer au support.The crosslinking consists in polymerizing or crystallizing the ink, the polymers constituting the ink binding together to form longer polymeric chains and attach to the support. A crosslinking step thus makes it possible to solidify the ink and fix it to the support.

Les supports constitués de matière plastique, tels que le chlorure de polyvinyle (PVC), le polyéthylène (PE), le poly-éthyl-tétraéthylène (PET), les polycarbonates (PC), l'acrylonitrile-butadiène-styrène (ABS) et autres polymères organiques conviennent tout naturellement à une impression par encre polymère, les polymères de l'encre et les polymères du support se fixant solidement entre eux lors de la réticulation.Supports made of plastic, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), poly-ethyl tetraethylene (PET), polycarbonates (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and Other organic polymers are quite naturally suitable for printing with polymer ink, the ink polymers and the carrier polymers being firmly attached to each other during crosslinking.

La réticulation est obtenue par exposition du support encré sous un rayonnement ultraviolet. On parlera donc par la suite d'encre réticulable par rayonnement ultraviolet, en abrégé encre UV. L'énergie des photons ultraviolet permet la polymérisation des chaînes polymériques entre elles. Toutefois le support doit être exposé sous une puissance de rayonnement ultraviolet et pendant un temps suffisants, pour que l'encre se fixe bien au support et durcisse complètement.The crosslinking is obtained by exposing the inked support under ultraviolet radiation. We will speak thereafter of ultraviolet radiation curable ink, abbreviated UV ink. The energy of ultraviolet photons allows the polymerization of the polymer chains together. However, the substrate must be exposed under ultraviolet light and for a sufficient time, so that the ink is fixed to the support and hardens completely.

Les figures 1 et 2 schématisent des techniques connues d'impression à base d'encre UV réticulable. La figure 1 schématise une impression offset polychrome d'un support. Le support 10 avance entre un cylindre d'entraînement 15 et des rouleaux 11, 12, 13 et 14 d'impression par contact. Chaque rouleau 11 ou 12 ou 13 ou 14 contient une trame de l'image à imprimer. Les creux des trames de chaque rouleau sont encrés avec une encre noire ou de couleur, notamment cyan, magenta ou jaune. Plusieurs trames de couleur sont ainsi déposées sur le support pour constituer une image finale en polychromie. L'étape d'encrage est suivie d'une étape de réticulation par exposition continue 19 du support 10 sous une lampe à ultraviolet 18. Bien entendu l'impression offset peut être monochrome en prévoyant un seul rouleau d'encrage noir ou bien de couleur.Figures 1 and 2 show schematic known printing techniques based on crosslinkable UV ink. Figure 1 shows a polychrome offset printing of a support. The carrier 10 advances between a drive roll 15 and contact rolls 11, 12, 13, and 14. Each roll 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 contains a frame of the image to be printed. The hollows of the frames of each roll are inked with a black or colored ink, in particular cyan, magenta or yellow ink. Several color frames are thus deposited on the support to constitute a final image in polychromy. The inking step is followed by a step of crosslinking by continuous exposure 19 of the support 10 under an ultraviolet lamp 18. Of course the offset printing can be monochrome by providing a single black or color ink roll. .

La figure 2 schématise un procédé d'impression polychrome par jet d'encre. Plusieurs réservoirs 21, 22, 23 et 24 contenant les encres polymères noire et de différentes couleurs alimentent au moins une buse d'éjection de gouttes d'encre, chaque réservoir ayant de préférence sa propre ligne de buses d'éjection, la ligne d'impression étant transversale à la direction de déplacement du support. Les gouttes d'encre se déposent point par point sur le support, un dispositif de déplacement du support et de programmation informatique de l'image à imprimer commandant l'éjection des gouttes par chaque buse de la ligne avec un contrôle éventuel de volume de goutte éjectée. Le système informatique définit les localisations spatiales des points à encrer et commande l'éjection ou la non-éjection des gouttes selon cette localisation. L'encrage du support 20 est suivi d'une étape de réticulation, toujours par exposition continue, le support avançant sous une lampe à ultraviolet. La figure 2 illustre une alternative d'impression dans laquelle chaque étape d'encrage est suivie d'une étape de réticulation afin de sécher chaque encre avant un encrage ultérieur de couleur différente. Le dispositif d'impression de la figure 2 comporte donc dans cette exemple quatre lampes à ultraviolet 25, 26, 27 et 28 pour sécher chaque encre individuellement.Figure 2 schematizes a polychrome inkjet printing process. Several reservoirs 21, 22, 23 and 24 containing the black polymer inks of different colors feed at least one ink drop ejection nozzle, each reservoir preferably having its own line of ejection nozzles, the line of impression being transverse to the direction of movement of the support. The drops of ink are deposited point by point on the support, a device for moving the support and computer programming of the print image controlling the ejection of the drops by each nozzle of the line with a possible control of drop volume ejected. The computer system defines the spatial locations of the points to be inked and controls the ejection or non-ejection of the drops according to this location. The inking of the support 20 is followed by a crosslinking step, always by continuous exposure, the support advancing under an ultraviolet lamp. Fig. 2 illustrates a printing alternative in which each inking step is followed by a crosslinking step to dry each ink before subsequent inking of different color. The printing device of FIG. 2 thus comprises in this example four ultraviolet lamps 25, 26, 27 and 28 for drying each ink individually.

Le document US-A-5,502,310 décrit un apparail d'irradiation U.V. et un procédé de réticulation d'encre photosensible, comportant une étape d'encrage d'un support plastique, suivie d'une étape consistant à irradier toute la surface du support avec une source d'éclairage U.V. constituée par un tube de lampe disposé dans un logement réflecteur en deux parties.US-A-5,502,310 discloses a UV irradiation apparatus and a photosensitive ink crosslinking process, comprising a step of inking a plastic support, followed by a step of irradiating the entire surface of the support with a UV light source constituted by a lamp tube disposed in a two-part reflective housing.

Le document GB-A-203/298 décrit un appareil laser qui puisse produire un faisceau de lumière cohérent. Le faisceau cohérent est dirigé sur un dessin sélectionné à secher ou réticuler.GB-A-203/298 discloses a laser apparatus which can produce a coherent beam of light. The coherent beam is directed at a selected drawing to dry or crosslink.

Pour augmenter les cadences d'impression, il a été proposé d'augmenter la puissance des lampes à ultraviolet en diminuant ainsi le temps d'exposition du support, le support recevant toujours une énergie suffisante pour sécher et fixer l'encre.To increase print speeds, it has been proposed to increase the power of the ultraviolet lamps thereby reducing the exposure time of the medium, the medium always receiving sufficient energy to dry and fix the ink.

Toutefois les lampes à ultraviolet dégagent beaucoup de chaleur. Les dispositifs d'impression à encre polymérisable doivent donc comporter un système de refroidissement couteux et encombrant. L'adoption de lampes UV dites froides, conçues pour émettre moins de rayonnement infra-rouge donc moins de chaleur, ne dispense pas de prévoir un refroidissement lorsqu'on désire des cadences d'impression élevées.However, ultraviolet lamps give off a lot of heat. The polymerizable ink printing devices must therefore include a costly and bulky cooling system. The adoption of so-called cold UV lamps, designed to emit less infra-red radiation and therefore less heat, does not eliminate the need for cooling when high print speeds are desired.

Un inconvénient des dispositifs d'impression connus à encre réticulable par rayonnement ultraviolet est donc le dégagement de chaleur élevé aux étapes de réticulation.A disadvantage of known ultraviolet radiation curable ink printing devices is therefore high heat generation at the crosslinking steps.

Un autre inconvénient est le vieillissement prématuré des supports et leur jaunissement sous l'effet des rayonnements ultraviolets de réticulation.Another disadvantage is the premature aging of the supports and their yellowing under the effect of ultraviolet radiation crosslinking.

Un but de l'invention est de réaliser un procédé de réticulation d'encre permettant l'impression à cadence élevée, sans les inconvénients précités.An object of the invention is to provide an ink curing process for printing at a high rate, without the aforementioned drawbacks.

Un but particulier de l'invention est d'éviter le jaunissement du support afin de permettre une impression durable de qualité.A particular object of the invention is to avoid the yellowing of the support in order to allow a lasting impression of quality.

Succinctement ces buts sont atteints, selon l'invention, en prévoyant que la réticulation est opérée par un faisceau de laser ultraviolet concentré sur les gouttes d'encre déposées à la surface du support, les surfaces blanches du support n'étant pas balayées par le faisceau laser.Briefly, these objects are achieved, according to the invention, by providing that the crosslinking is carried out by an ultraviolet laser beam concentrated on the drops of ink deposited on the surface of the support, the white surfaces of the support not being scanned by the laser beam.

L'invention est réalisée en prévoyant l'installation selon les revendications jointes.The invention is achieved by providing the installation according to the appended claims.

L'invention s'applique particulièrement à l'impression et à la réticulation d'encre sur un support en matière plastique.The invention is particularly applicable to the printing and the crosslinking of ink on a plastic support.

De façon avantageuse, la réticulation d'encre selon l'invention s'applique particulièrement à l'impression point par point par jet d'encre et/ou à un procédé d'impression polychromatique.Advantageously, the ink crosslinking according to the invention is particularly applicable to point-to-point inkjet printing and / or a polychromatic printing process.

D'autres caractéristiques, buts et avantages de l'invention apparaîtront à la lecture de la description qui va suivre, en regard des dessins annexés, donnés à titre d'exemples non-limitatifs et sur lesquels :

  • la figure 1, précédemment décrite, représente une impression et une réticulation d'encre UV selon un procédé connu,
  • la figure 2, précédemment décrite, représente une impression et une réticulation d'encre UV selon un autre procédé connu,
  • la figure 3 représente un procédé de réticulation d'encre photosensible selon l'invention,
  • la figure 4 représente un premier mode de réalisation du procédé de réticulation d'encre photosensible selon l'invention, et
  • la figure 5 représente un second mode de réalisation du procédé de réticulation d'encre photosensible selon l'invention.
Other characteristics, objects and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples and in which:
  • FIG. 1, previously described, represents an impression and a crosslinking of UV ink according to a known method,
  • FIG. 2, previously described, represents an impression and a crosslinking of UV ink according to another known method,
  • FIG. 3 represents a process for the crosslinking of photosensitive ink according to the invention,
  • FIG. 4 represents a first embodiment of the photosensitive ink crosslinking process according to the invention, and
  • FIG. 5 represents a second embodiment of the photosensitive ink crosslinking process according to the invention.

L'invention est avantageusement destinée à être mise en oeuvre à la suite d'étapes classiques d'impression.The invention is advantageously intended to be implemented following conventional printing steps.

Divers procédés d'impressions connus fournissent, comme illustré en figure 3, un encrage de la surface d'un support 38, l'encrage pouvant notamment être effectué par contact mécanique sous presse ou par projection 37 de gouttes 36 d'encre, notamment lors d'une impression à jet d'encre point par point.Various known printing processes provide, as illustrated in FIG. 3, an inking of the surface of a support 38, the inking being able to be carried out in particular by mechanical contact under pressure or by projection 37 of drops 36 of ink, especially when a point-by-point inkjet print.

L'invention comporte ainsi une étape préliminaire d'encrage du support, l'encrage étant effectué avec une encre photosensible du type encre réticulable par rayonnement ultraviolet. De préférence l'encrage est effectué selon l'invention en déposant des gouttes d'encre polymérisable par rayonnement ultraviolet point par point sur un support d'impression.The invention thus comprises a preliminary step of anchoring the support, the inking being carried out with a photosensitive ink of the type ultraviolet radiation crosslinkable ink. Preferably the inking is carried out according to the invention by depositing drops of ultraviolet radiation polymer ink point by point on a printing medium.

A l'issue de l'impression ou plus précisément de cette étape d'encrage, le support 38 comporte des surfaces encrées et des surfaces 30 non-encrées, les surfaces encrées étant constituées de points 31 encrés disposés de façon contigüe ou isolement.At the end of the printing or more precisely of this inking step, the support 38 comprises inked surfaces and non-inked surfaces, the inked surfaces being constituted by inked points 31 arranged contiguously or in isolation.

Quelle que soit la connexité des surfaces encrées, le procédé selon l'invention prévoit d'appliquer un faisceau ultraviolet concentré sur les points encrés, à l'exclusion des surfaces non encrées du support.Whatever the connectivity of the inked surfaces, the method according to the invention provides for applying a concentrated ultraviolet beam to the inked dots, excluding non-inked surfaces of the support.

La figure 3 montre ainsi un dispositif optique 33 34 doté schématiquement d'une source de rayons ultraviolets 33 et d'un concentrateur 34 de faisceau, pour concentrer les rayons ultraviolets sur un point 31 encré.FIG. 3 thus shows an optical device 33 34 schematically provided with an ultraviolet light source 33 and a beam concentrator 34 for concentrating the ultraviolet rays on an inked dot 31.

Un avantage de l'invention est que la puissance lumineuse de la source 33 de rayons ultraviolets est concentrée sur le seul point 31 dont la réticulation est alors très rapide. Par conséquent, on peut prévoir un balayage très rapide des points encrés, en appliquant le faisceau concentré sur chaque point pendant un laps de temps correspondant à l'énergie que doit recevoir la goutte d'encre pour être totalement réticulée.An advantage of the invention is that the light power of the ultraviolet light source 33 is concentrated on the single point 31 whose crosslinking is then very fast. Therefore, one can provide a very fast scanning inked dots, applying the concentrated beam on each point for a period of time corresponding to the energy that must receive the ink drop to be fully crosslinked.

On prévoit selon l'invention de ne pas appliquer de faisceau ultraviolet sur les surfaces non-encrées.It is provided according to the invention not to apply ultraviolet beam on the non-inked surfaces.

Un avantage d'une telle disposition est que le vieillissement et le jaunissement du support est évité, notamment sur les surfaces non-encrées.An advantage of such an arrangement is that aging and yellowing of the support is avoided, especially on non-inked surfaces.

Un autre avantage est que l'énergie lumineuse appliquée est moindre par rapport aux procédés d'exposition à des lampes à ultraviolet, aucune puissance de rayonnement n'étant dispensée inutilement sur les surfaces non-encrées.Another advantage is that the applied light energy is lower compared to the methods of exposure to ultraviolet lamps, no radiation power being dispensed unnecessarily on the non-inked surfaces.

Une telle disposition se réalise aisément en prévoyant que le faisceau 32 est concentré sur une surface sensiblement égale à la surface d'une goutte d'encre. Des moyens de balayage du support et de répartition du faisceau seront détaillés ci-après dans deux modes de réalisation préférés de dispositif mettant en oeuvre le procédé selon l'invention.Such an arrangement is easily achieved by providing that the beam 32 is concentrated on a surface substantially equal to the surface of a drop of ink. Scanning means of the support and distribution of the beam will be detailed below in two preferred embodiments of device implementing the method according to the invention.

L'invention est réalisée en mettant en oeuvre un laser ultraviolet, bien qu'on puisse envisager une source intense d'ultraviolet de type lampe à arc ou lampe à cathode tournante.The invention is carried out using an ultraviolet laser, although it is possible to envisage an intense ultraviolet source of the arc lamp or rotary cathode lamp type.

La figure 4 illustre ainsi un laser 43 émettant un faisceau 42 cohérent de rayonnement ultraviolet. Le faisceau 42' est dévié pour se concentrer sur un point 41' encré à réticuler.FIG. 4 thus illustrates a laser 43 emitting a coherent beam 42 of ultraviolet radiation. The beam 42 'is deflected to focus on an inked point 41' to be crosslinked.

Un avantage du laser est que le faisceau 42' de rayons émis peut avoir facilement des dimensions très réduites en restant sensiblement parallèle. Le faisceau 42 peut ainsi être concentré sur une surface aussi microscopique que la surface de points d'impression offset en polychromie tels que les points 51a,51b,51c et 52a à 55c représentés en vue agrandie sur la figure 4.An advantage of the laser is that the beam 42 'of emitted rays can easily have very small dimensions while remaining substantially parallel. The beam 42 can thus be concentrated on a surface as microscopic as the surface of offset printing dots in polychromy such as the points 51a, 51b, 51c and 52a to 55c shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4.

De plus un laser ultraviolet peut avoir une puissance lumineuse très intense, ce qui autorise une exposition très rapide de chaque point à réticuler.In addition, an ultraviolet laser can have a very intense light power, which allows a very fast exposure of each point to be crosslinked.

Le temps de réticulation d'un support comportant peu de points encrés est ainsi avantageusement réduit par rapport aux procédés connus.The crosslinking time of a support having few inked dots is thus advantageously reduced compared to known methods.

On peut choisir un dispositif 43 d'émission laser émettant un faisceau en continu ou par impulsion. Le temps d'exposition d'une goutte sous le faisceau continu ou le nombre d'impulsions de laser appliquées à la goutte est déterminée de sorte que la goutte reçoive l'énergie lumineuse de réticulation.It is possible to choose a laser emission device 43 emitting a beam continuously or by pulse. The exposure time of a drop under the continuous beam or the number of laser pulses applied to the drop is determined so that the drop receives the light energy of crosslinking.

Selon un premier mode de réalisation du procédé selon l'invention, l'application du faisceau ultraviolet est effectuée par balayage point par point du support.According to a first embodiment of the method according to the invention, the application of the ultraviolet beam is performed by scanning point by point of the support.

La figure 4 illustre ainsi un dispositif de balayage 46 comportant un moteur orientant un miroir 46 pour défléchir le faisceau laser 43 vers chaque point du support.FIG. 4 thus illustrates a scanning device 46 comprising a motor orienting a mirror 46 to deflect the laser beam 43 towards each point of the support.

Selon la disposition illustrée figure 4, le dispositif 45, 46 de déflexion du faisceau 42 assure un balayage transversal du support 43 par le faisceau 42',42",42"' de façon à réticuler tous les points 41',41",41"' d'une ligne transversale du support 48. Le support est déplacé ensuite dans un sens longitudinal pour réticuler une ligne suivante de points.According to the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4, the device 45, 46 for deflecting the beam 42 provides a transverse scanning of the support 43 by the beam 42 ', 42 ", 42"' so as to cross-link all the points 41 ', 41 ", 41 The support is then moved in a longitudinal direction to crosslink a subsequent line of dots.

De préférence, le dispositif 45, 46 de balayage est couplé à un système informatique d'impression point par point, indiquant au dispositif de balayage la localisation exacte de chaque point encré du texte ou de l'image en impression. Le dispositif de balayage peut notamment recevoir une commande similaire à la commande de positionnement d'une tète d'impression point par point.Preferably, the scanning device 45, 46 is coupled to a point-by-point computer printing system, indicating to the scanner the exact location of each inked dot of the text or image in print. The scanning device can in particular receive a command similar to the order of positioning a printhead point by point.

Le balayage prévu par le premier mode de réalisation peut être effectué de façon continue ou discrète, selon deux variantes.The scanning provided by the first embodiment can be carried out continuously or discretely, according to two variants.

Dans la première variante, l'angle de déflexion du faisceau ultraviolet 42 varie continûment, le faisceau 42' étant défléchi progressivement tout le long de la ligne transversale du support.In the first variant, the angle of deflection of the ultraviolet beam 42 varies continuously, the beam 42 'being deflected progressively along the transverse line of the support.

Pour éviter d'appliquer le faisceau sur des surfaces 40 "blanches", il est prévu d'interrompre le faisceau 42 lorsqu'il est défléchi en direction des surfaces non-encrées 40.To avoid applying the beam on "white" surfaces 40, it is intended to interrupt the beam 42 when it is deflected towards the non-inked surfaces 40.

Un composant 44 de coupure du faisceau 42, schématisé sur la figure 4, empêche ainsi de concentrer le faisceau 42' sur des points non-encrés. Ce composant de coupure est avantageusement couplé au système informatique d'impression point par point qui déclenche son obturation lorsque le faisceau défléchi 42' se dirigerait vers des surfaces 40 non-encrées.A component 44 for cutting the beam 42, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, thus prevents the beam 42 'from being concentrated on non-inked points. This cut-off component is advantageously coupled to the point-to-point computer printing system which triggers its shutter when the deflected beam 42 'is directed towards non-inked surfaces 40.

Pour une réticulation très rapide, le composant 44 de coupure doit avoir un temps de réaction très court. Le composant 44 est par exemple un dispositif "Q-switch" tel que utilisé en optronique. D'autres moyens d'interruption du faisceau 42 sont à la portée de l'homme du métier sans sortir du cadre de la présente invention.For very rapid crosslinking, the cutoff component 44 must have a very short reaction time. The component 44 is for example a "Q-switch" device as used in optronics. Other means of interrupting the beam 42 are within the reach of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

On notera en outre que les moyens d'interruption du faisceau peuvent faire partie intégrante du laser 43. Ainsi, le laser délivre sur commande des impulsions de rayonnement ultraviolet lorsque le dispositif de balayage 45, 46 vise un point encré 41' et ne délivre pas d'impulsion lorsque le dispositif de balayage 45,46 vise un point non-encré 40.It will further be noted that the beam interruption means may be an integral part of the laser 43. Thus, the laser delivers ultraviolet radiation pulses on command when the scan 45, 46 is aimed at an inked dot 41 'and does not deliver a pulse when the scanning device 45, 46 is aimed at a non-inked dot 40.

Dans la seconde variante, le dispositif de balayage 45, 46 est programmé pour défléchir le faisceau 42' vers un point encré 41' et passer directement à un autre angle de déflexion, le faisceau 42'' se dirigeant vers un autre point encré 41''. La commande de balayage du dispositif 46 est alors discontinue et la position du miroir 45 passe sans transition d'une valeur angulaire à une autre valeur angulaire discrète.In the second variant, the scanning device 45, 46 is programmed to deflect the beam 42 'to an inked point 41' and pass directly to another deflection angle, the beam 42 '' going to another inked point 41 ' . The scanning control of the device 46 is then discontinuous and the position of the mirror 45 passes without transition from one angular value to another discrete angular value.

Il est prévu de corriger l'étalement du faisceau lorsque le faisceau 42"' tombe sous un angle faible sur le support, c'est-à-dire lorsque la déflexion du faisceau est importante. Cette correction est obtenue en prévoyant une optique de correction dite à champ plat qui réduit l'étalement du faisceau dans de telles conditions et le focalise de façon ponctuelle.It is intended to correct the spreading of the beam when the beam 42 "falls at a low angle on the support, that is to say when the deflection of the beam is important.This correction is obtained by providing correction optics so-called flat field which reduces the spreading of the beam in such conditions and focuses it punctually.

Un second mode de réalisation du procédé selon l'invention prévoit un autre mode d'application du faisceau ultraviolet sur les points du support, au lieu de l'étape de balayage.A second embodiment of the method according to the invention provides another mode of application of the ultraviolet beam on the points of the support, instead of the scanning step.

Le second mode de réalisation comporte comme illustré figure 5, une barrette 70 linéaire de fibres optiques 71 à 77 parallèles, dont la sortie est disposée en regard de la surface du support à réticuler. De façon équivalente, un réseau à deux dimensions de fibres optiques à sorties parallèles peut être prévu. Le faisceau 32 de laser 33 est injecté en entrée des fibres optiques 71 à 77. Les fibres 71 à 77 ont avantageusement leurs entrées rassemblées de sorte que le rayonnement laser entrant se repartit sensiblement également entre toutes les fibres.The second embodiment comprises, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a linear strip 70 of parallel optical fibers 71 to 77, the output of which is arranged facing the surface of the support to be crosslinked. Equivalently, a two-dimensional array of optical fibers with parallel outputs can be provided. The laser beam 32 is injected at the input of the optical fibers 71 to 77. The fibers 71 to 77 advantageously have their inputs gathered together. that the incoming laser radiation is distributed substantially equally between all the fibers.

Ainsi le faisceau 82 laser initial est divisé en une multitude de rayons parallèles, chaque rayon étant dirigé et concentré vers un point encré du support 68.Thus, the initial laser beam 82 is divided into a multitude of parallel rays, each ray being directed and concentrated towards an inked point of the support 68.

Les fibres optiques utilisées sont en quartz ou en verre transmettant les rayonnement ultraviolet, une fibre optique en verre ordinaire ne transmettant pas les longueurs d'ondes au-delà du violet.The optical fibers used are quartz or glass transmitting ultraviolet radiation, an ordinary glass optical fiber not transmitting wavelengths beyond the violet.

Le dispositif 70 de répartition du faisceau 82 comporte en outre des moyens d'interruption de faisceau ultraviolet, chaque fibre optique 71 étant doté par exemple d'un composant de coupure du rayon pour éviter d'exposer un point non-encré 60 du support 68.The device 70 for distributing the beam 82 further comprises means for interrupting the ultraviolet beam, each optical fiber 71 being provided for example with a ray cutting component to avoid exposing a non-inked point 60 of the support 68. .

Ce second mode de réalisation convient tout particulièrement aux procédés d'impression comportant un tramage de points. En adaptant le pas d'écartement des sorties de fibres de la barrette 70 linéaire au pas de tramage de l'impression, on obtient une série de rayons lasers concentrés sur les coordonnées précises des points de la trame d'impression.This second embodiment is particularly suitable for printing processes comprising dot screening. By adapting the spacing pitch of the fiber outputs of the linear bar 70 to the screening pitch of the print, a series of laser beams concentrated on the precise coordinates of the points of the print frame is obtained.

Comme illustré figure 5, le second mode de réalisation s'applique avantageusement aux procédés d'impression par jet d'encre qui permettent une impression ligne par ligne, une ligne de points étant encrés instantanément.As illustrated in FIG. 5, the second embodiment advantageously applies to inkjet printing processes that allow printing line by line, a line of dots being inked instantly.

Un dispositif utilisant un jet d'encre en ligne comporte généralement une barrette 100 linéaire de générateurs de gouttes d'encre. Une série de gouttes d'encres 101, 102, 103 est émise simultanément en direction des points du support que l'on veut encrer.A device using an in-line inkjet generally comprises a linear array 100 of ink drop generators. A series of ink drops 101, 102, 103 is emitted simultaneously towards the points of the support that is to be inked.

De tels dispositifs sont notamment utilisés en impression offset polychrome en disposant plusieurs barrettes 100,110,120 génératrices alimentées par des réservoirs 109, 119, 129 d'encres de couleurs différentes. Toutes les nuances de couleurs et de teinte sont obtenues en modulant le volume des gouttes d'encres, et en utilisant des encres correspondant aux couleurs fondamentales et éventuellement au noir. Comme détaillée sur la figure 4, chaque point 51 coloré est formé par exemple de trois ou quatre points élémentaires 51a,51b,51c encrés de couleurs fondamentale ou en noir.Such devices are used in particular in polychromatic offset printing by having several strips 100, 110, 120 generators fed by reservoirs 109, 119, 129 of inks of different colors. All shades of color and hue are obtained by modulating the volume of the ink drops, and using inks corresponding to the fundamental colors and possibly black. As detailed in FIG. 4, each colored point 51 is formed for example of three or four elementary points 51a, 51b, 51c inked in fundamental colors or in black.

Les points encrés de différentes couleurs peuvent être réticulés selon l'invention en appliquant un rayon laser sur chaque point coloré.The inked dots of different colors can be crosslinked according to the invention by applying a laser beam to each colored dot.

Les points élémentaires, généralement microscopiques, sont très proches et peuvent éventuellement se chevaucher.The elementary points, usually microscopic, are very close and can possibly overlap.

L'effet de polychromie est obtenu, lors de l'impression offset, en modulant les dimensions de chaque point élémentaire microscopique pour reconstituer toutes les couleurs possibles. Selon une variante, en modulant le chevauchement et la dimension de chaque point, on obtient aussi un effet de polychromie.The effect of polychrome is obtained, during the offset printing, by modulating the dimensions of each microscopic elementary point to reconstitute all the possible colors. According to one variant, by modulating the overlap and the dimension of each point, a polychromic effect is also obtained.

De façon avantageuse, il est prévu selon l'invention de moduler le faisceau concentré appliqué sur de tels points encrés pour que chaque point reçoive l'énergie suffisant à la réticulation du volume d'encre du point. Les moyens d'interruption de faisceau laser sont alors remplacés par des moyens de modulation de l'intensité du faisceau. Un tel moyen est constitué par exemple d'un modulateur optique de type lame de diffraction orientable.Advantageously, it is provided according to the invention to modulate the concentrated beam applied on such inked points so that each point receives the energy sufficient to cross-link the ink volume of the point. The laser beam interruption means are then replaced by means for modulating the intensity of the beam. Such a means is constituted for example an optical modulator of the orientable diffraction blade type.

De façon générale, la possibilité de moduler en puissance le faisceau ultraviolet permet d'adapter l'étape de réticulation aux encres employées et à la vitesse d'impression du support.In general, the possibility of modulating the power of the ultraviolet beam makes it possible to adapt the crosslinking step to the inks used and to the printing speed of the support.

Le procédé de réticulation peut être appliqué une seule fois après toutes les étapes d'encrages de couleurs comme illustré figure 5. Le dispositif 70 répartiteur du faisceau comporte alors un réseau serré de fibres optiques, les fibres étant reparties spatialement selon la trame maximale de points encrés que l'on peut former à l'impression.The crosslinking process can be applied once after all the steps of color inking as illustrated in FIG. 5. The device 70 distributing the beam then comprises a tight network of optical fibers, the fibers being distributed spatially according to the maximum dot matrix inked that can be trained to print.

De façon alternative, on peut procéder à une réticulation selon l'invention après chaque encrage d'une couleur lors d'une impression polychrome.Alternatively, it is possible to carry out a crosslinking according to the invention after each inking of a color during a polychrome printing.

L'installation d'impression peut alors comporter plusieurs dispositifs de réticulation disposés en sortie de chaque dispositif d'encrage monochromatique.The printing installation can then comprise several crosslinking devices arranged at the output of each monochromatic inking device.

Le procédé selon l'invention permet avantageusement de prévoir une gélification totale ou partielle des encres lors de la réticulation entre chaque étape d'encrage, la gélification partielle étant obtenue par exemple en modulant la puissance du faisceau laser ultraviolet.The method according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to provide total or partial gelation of the inks during crosslinking between each inking step, the partial gelation being obtained for example by modulating the power of the ultraviolet laser beam.

L'avantage essentiel du procédé de réticulation selon l'invention est, comme signalé auparavant, d'éliminer l'inconvénient inhérent aux radiations ultraviolettes, à savoir l'action décolorante ou jaunissante sur les polymères constituant le support.The essential advantage of the crosslinking process according to the invention is, as previously reported, to eliminate the disadvantage inherent to ultraviolet radiation, namely the bleaching or yellowing action on the polymers constituting the support.

Prévu initialement pour s'appliquer aux supports en matière plastique, le procédé selon l'invention s'étend à la réticulation d'encre photosensible sur tout type de support d'impression comme le papier, le carton, le bois pour remplacer avantageusement l'impression à encre à base d'eau ou de solvants tout en évitant tout brunissement du support.Initially intended to apply to plastic supports, the method according to the invention extends to the crosslinking of photosensitive ink on any type of printing medium such as paper, cardboard, wood to advantageously replace water-based ink printing or solvents while avoiding any browning of the support .

Enfin, l'utilisation rationnelle de la puissance lumineuse de réticulation selon l'invention et les fortes intensités lumineuses que l'on peut obtenir avec un laser ont l'avantage d'augmenter la rapidité de l'étape de réticulation par rapport aux lampes UV d'insolation traditionnelles.Finally, the rational use of the crosslinking light power according to the invention and the high light intensities that can be obtained with a laser have the advantage of increasing the speed of the crosslinking step compared with UV lamps. traditional insolation.

Consécutivement le procédé de réticulation selon l'invention contribue avantageusement à augmenter les cadences du dispositif d'impression où il est intégré.Consequently, the crosslinking process according to the invention advantageously contributes to increasing the rates of the printing device in which it is integrated.

L'invention permet ainsi d'obtenir avantageusement une vitesse de réticulation supérieure aux vitesses d'encrage par jet d'encre, si bien que la cadence d'impression n'est plus limitée par l'étape de réticulation.The invention thus advantageously makes it possible to obtain a higher crosslinking speed at the ink jet inking speeds, so that the printing rate is no longer limited by the crosslinking step.

Bien que l'exposé de l'invention soit basé sur les rayonnements ultraviolets, l'invention n'est pas limitée à un spectre précis de lumière, mais peut être appliquée avec tout type de rayonnement lumineux adapté à la polymérisation et au séchage d'encres photosensibles.Although the disclosure of the invention is based on ultraviolet radiation, the invention is not limited to a precise spectrum of light, but can be applied with any type of light radiation suitable for the polymerization and drying of light. photosensitive inks.

De plus, le procédé de réticulation peut être utilisé avec des peintures photosensibles, les mêmes constituants et les mêmes pigments étant utilisés en encrage polymérique et en peinture polymérique.In addition, the crosslinking process can be used with photosensitive paints, the same constituents and the same pigments being used in polymeric ink and polymeric paint.

Claims (9)

  1. An installation for cross-linking ink dots (31) disposed on a medium (38), said installation being characterized in that it comprises a cross-linking device that applies an ultraviolet beam to the medium (38) so as to concentrate the beam on ink dots (31) to the exclusion of non-inked areas (30).
  2. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the beam (42) is a coherent light beam emitted by an ultraviolet laser (43).
  3. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the ultraviolet beam (42) is emitted by an arc lamp or by a rotary-cathode lamp.
  4. An installation according to any preceding claim, characterized in that it includes a scanning device (45, 46) for scanning the medium (48) dot (41') by dot (41", 41"') with the beam.
  5. An installation according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the application optical device for applying the beam comprises an optical fiber (71) or an array (70) of optical fibers (71-77).
  6. An installation according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the application device interrupts (44) the ultraviolet coherent beam (42) when it is directed towards the non-inked areas (40) of the medium (48).
  7. An installation according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the application device modulates the power of the ultraviolet coherent beam (42) concentrated onto the inked dots.
  8. An installation (100) for ink-jet printing dot-by-dot, characterized in that it includes a cross-linking installation according any preceding claim.
  9. A polychrome printing installation (100, 110, 120) for polychrome printing with light-sensitive inks of different colors, said installation being characterized in that it includes at least one installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
EP01117496A 1997-06-23 1998-06-18 Device for the cross-linking of ink by UV radiation Expired - Lifetime EP1162079B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9708176A FR2764844B1 (en) 1997-06-23 1997-06-23 U.V. INK CROSSLINKING
FR9708176 1997-06-23
EP98932230A EP0993378B1 (en) 1997-06-23 1998-06-18 Ink cross-linking by uv radiation

Related Parent Applications (1)

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JP (1) JP4125796B2 (en)
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AT (2) ATE321671T1 (en)
CA (1) CA2293551C (en)
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ES (2) ES2165688T3 (en)
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Also Published As

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CA2293551C (en) 2005-11-08
CA2293551A1 (en) 1998-12-30
WO1998058806A1 (en) 1998-12-30
EP0993378A1 (en) 2000-04-19
FR2764844A1 (en) 1998-12-24
DE69833974T2 (en) 2007-01-11
EP1162079A2 (en) 2001-12-12
ES2262582T3 (en) 2006-12-01
DE69801823T2 (en) 2002-06-13
CN1260753A (en) 2000-07-19
FR2764844B1 (en) 1999-08-06
ATE321671T1 (en) 2006-04-15
EP1162079A3 (en) 2002-11-13
DE69833974D1 (en) 2006-05-18
ES2165688T3 (en) 2002-03-16
EP0993378B1 (en) 2001-09-26
ATE206090T1 (en) 2001-10-15
US6562413B1 (en) 2003-05-13
CN1178799C (en) 2004-12-08
JP4125796B2 (en) 2008-07-30
JP2002504873A (en) 2002-02-12
DE69801823D1 (en) 2001-10-31

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