Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M7/00—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock
  • B41M7/0045—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock using protective coatings or film forming compositions cured by mechanical wave energy, e.g. ultrasonics, cured by electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams, or cured by magnetic or electric fields, e.g. electric discharge, plasma
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
  • B41M3/14—Security printing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M7/00—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock
  • B41M7/0081—After-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
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M7/00—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock
  • B41M7/0027—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock using protective coatings or layers by lamination or by fusion of the coatings or layers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for the preparation of an improved carrier of information.
• ID card In recent years, with the progress of information-oriented society several types of identification (ID card) cards have come into use. For instance, cards involved in the electronic transfer of money include bank cards, pay cards, credit cards and shopping cards. Different types of security cards authorize access to the bearer of the card to particular areas such as a company (employee ID card), the military, a public service, the safe department of a bank, etc. For long time national states have issued identity cards to establish the national identity of their civilians. Still other types of identification cards include social security cards, membership cards of clubs and societies, and driver's licence cards.
• Such ID cards usually contain information referring both to the authority issuing the card on the one hand and to the owner of the card.
• the first type of information may be general information such as a name and/or logo of the issuing authority, or security marks, such as a watermark and security print, e.g a repeating monochrome pattern or a gradually changing colour pattern which are difficult to counterfeit.
• the second type includes e.g. the unique card number, personal data such as a birth day, a photo of the owner, and a signature.
• the card can further contain hidden information and therefore contain a magnetic strip or an electronic chip ("smart cards").
• a large set of ID cards are usually prepared on a large carrier of information such as a web or sheet by a step and repeat process, after which the information carrier is cut into multiple items with the appropriate dimensions each representing a personal ID card.
• Smart cards and ID cards have now the standardized dimensions of 85.6 mm x 54.0 mm x 0.76 mm.
• the card is protected by a plastic sheet material such as by lamination of the card to a plastic sheet or, as it is usually the case by lamination between two plastic sheets.
• a "security seal” is best explained by describing what happens if an attempt is made to pull a plastic sheet material from the surface of a card bonded to the plastic. If a "security seal” exists, all or at least portions of the adhered surface will be removed from the card together with the plastic sheet material. Accordingly, a "security seal” is normally established between the information-bearing surface of the card or document and the plastic. Under such circumstances, removal of the plastic should also remove substantial portions of the information-bearing surface of the card to render the card unusable for alteration purposes.
• Adhesives or adhesive systems which can provide "security seals" are described in e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,582,439, 3,614,839 and 4,115,618. According to US 4,322,461 a security seal can be provided by applying heat-sealable polymers so as to obtain a sealed envelop-type pouch.
• a tamper proof document consisting of an information carrier comprised of a sheet having photographic information and laminated with at least one foil, which carries an adhesive layer containing a polymer hardened by radical crosslinking by high energy radiation or by initiators capable of being activated by UV light or by heat.
• the information carrier thus obtained is able to contain at least two different types of information.
• the ID cards which can be cut from the information carrier are tamper proof.
• the UV curable composition is applied pattern-wise whereby the obtained pattern serves as a watermark, so that the presence of the first set of information (described in step 1) becomes optional.
• the final assemblage further comprises a protective transparent top foil applied by lamination before the UV curing step.
• the support for use in the present invention can be chosen from paper type and polymeric type supports well-known from photographic technology.
• Paper types include plain paper, cast coated paper, polyethylene coated paper and polypropylene coated paper.
• Polymeric supports include cellulose acetate propionate or cellulose acetate butyrate, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, polyamides, polycarbonates, polyimides, polyolefins, poly(vinylacetals), polyethers and polysulfonamides.
• Other examples of useful high-quality polymeric supports for the present invention include opaque white polyesters and extrusion blends of polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene. Polyester film supports and especially polyethylene terephthalate are preferred because of their excellent properties of dimensional stability.
• a subbing layer may be employed to improve the bonding of the ink-receiving layer to the support.
• Useful subbing layers for this purpose are well known in the photographic art and include, for example, polymers of vinylidene chloride such as vinylidene chloride /acrylonitrile /acrylic acid terpolymers or vinylidene chloride /methyl acrylate /itaconic acid terpolymers.
• the support is colored or whitened polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene terephthalate.
• the ink receiving layer is porous and opaque and contains a binder and a pigment.
• the binder can be chosen from a list of compounds well-known in the art including hydroxyethyl cellulose; hydroxypropyl cellulose; hydroxyethylmethyl cellulose; hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose; hydroxybutylmethyl cellulose; methyl cellulose; sodium carboxymethyl cellulose; sodium carboxymethylhydroxethyl cellulose; water soluble ethylhydroxyethyl cellulose; cellulose sulfate; polyvinyl alcohol; vinylalcohol copolymers; polyvinyl acetate; polyvinyl acetal; polyvinyl pyrrolidone; polyacrylamide; acrylamide/acrylic acid copolymer; polystyrene, styrene copolymers; acrylic or methacrylic polymers; styrene/acrylic copolymers; ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer; vinylmethyl ether/maleic acid copolymer; poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulf
• a preferred binder for the practice of the present invention is a polyvinylalcohol (PVA), a vinylalcohol copolymer or modified polyvinyl alcohol.
• the polyvinyl alcohol is a silanol modified polyvinyl alcohol.
• Most useful commercially available silanol modified polyvinyl alcohols can be found in the POVAL R polymer series, trade name of Kuraray Co., Japan.
• This R polymer series includes the grades R-1130, R-2105, R-2130, R-3109, which differ mainly in the viscosity of their respective aqueous solutions.
• the silanol groups are reactive to inorganic substances such as silica or alumina.
• R-polymers can be easily crosslinked by changing the pH of their aqueous solutions or by mixing with organic substances and can form water resistant films.
• the pigment may be chosen from the inorganic pigments well-known in the art such as silica, talc, clay, hydrotalcite, kaolin, diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, basic magnesium carbonate, aluminosilicate, aluminum trihydroxide, aluminum oxide (alumina), titanium oxide, zinc oxide, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, zinc sulfide, satin white, boehmite (alumina hydrate), zirconium oxide or mixed oxides.
• inorganic pigments well-known in the art such as silica, talc, clay, hydrotalcite, kaolin, diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, basic magnesium carbonate, aluminosilicate, aluminum trihydroxide, aluminum oxide (alumina), titanium oxide, zinc oxide, barium sulfate, calcium sulfate, zinc sulfide, satin white, boehmite (alumina hydrate), zirconium oxide or mixed oxides.
• the main pigment is chosen from silica, aluminosilicate, alumina, calcium carbonate, alumina hydrate, and aluminum trihydroxide.
• aluminum oxide examples include ⁇ -Al 2 O 3 types, such as NORTON E700, available from Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics, Inc, ⁇ -Al 2 O 3 types, such as ALUMINUM OXID C from Degussa, Other Aluminum oxide grades, such as BAIKALOX CR15 and CR30 from Baikowski Chemie; DURALOX grades and MEDIALOX grades from Baikowski Chemie, BAIKALOX CR80, CR140, CR125, B105CR from Baikowski Chemie; CAB-O-SPERSE PG003 tradeamrk from Cabot, CATALOX GRADES and CATAPAL GRADES from from Sasol, such as PLURALOX HP14/150; colloidal Al 2 O 3 types, such as ALUMINASOL 100; ALUMINASOL 200, ALUMINASOL 220, ALUMINASOL 300, and ALUMINASOL 520 trademarks from Nissan Chemical Industries or NALCO 8676 trademark from OND
• a useful type of alumina hydrate is ⁇ -AlO(OH), also called boehmite, such as, in powder form, DISPERAL, DISPERAL HP14 and DISPERAL 40 from Sasol, MARTOXIN VPP2000-2 and GL-3 from Martinswerk GmbH.; Liguid boehmite alumina systems, e.g. DISPAL 23N4-20, DISPAL 14N-25, DISPERAL AL25 from Sasol.
• Patents on alumina hydrate include EP 500021, EP 634286, US 5,624,428, EP 742108, US 6,238,047, EP 622244, EP 810101, etc..
• Useful aluminum trihydroxides include Bayerite, or ⁇ -Al(OH) 3 , such as PLURAL BT, available from Sasol, and Gibbsite, or ⁇ -Al(OH) 3 , such as MARTINAL grades from Martinswerk GmbH, MARTIFIN grades, such as MARTIFIN OL104, MARTIFIN OL 107 and MARTIFIN OL111 from Martinswerk GmbH , MICRAL grades, such as MICRAL 1440, MICRAL 1500; MICRAL 632; MICRAL 855; MICRAL 916; MICRAL 932; MICRAL 932CM; MICRAL 9400 from JM Huber company; HIGILITE grades, e.g.
• HIGILITE H42 or HIGILITE H43M from Showa Denka K.K.
• HYDRAL GRADES such as HYDRAL COAT 2, HYDRAL COAT 5 and HYDRAL COAT 7, HYDRAL 710 and HYDRAL PGA, from Alcoa Industrial Chemicals.
• zirconium oxide is NALCO OOSS008 trademark of ONDEO Nalco, acetate stabilized ZrO2, ZR20/20, ZR50/20, ZR100/20 and ZRYS4 trademarks from Nyacol Nano Technologies.
• Useful mixed oxides are SIRAL grades from Sasol, colloidal metaloxides from Nalco such as Nalco 1056, Nalco TX10496, Nalco TX11678.
• Silica as pigment in ink receiving elements is disclosed in numerous old and recent patents, e.g. US 4,892,591, US 4,902,568, EP 373573, EP 423829, EP 487350, EP 493100, EP 514633, etc..
• Different types of silica may be used, such as crystalline silica, amorphous silica, precipitated silica, gel silica, fumed silica, spherical and non-spherical silica, calcium carbonate compounded silica such as disclosed in US 5,281,467, and silica with internal porosity such as disclosed in WO 00/02734.
• the main pigment can be chosen from organic particles such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, silicones, melamine-formaldehyde condensation polymers, ureaformaldehyde condensation polymers, polyesters and polyamides. Mixtures of inorganic and organic pigments can be used. However, most preferably the pigment is an inorganic pigment.
• the pigment must be present in a sufficient coverage in order to render the ink receiving layer sufficiently opaque and porous.
• the lower limit of the ratio by weight of the binder to the total pigment in the first ink receiving layer is preferably about 1:50, most preferably 1:20, while the upper limit thereof is about 2:1, most preferably 1:1. If the amount of the pigment exceeds the upper limit, the strength of the ink receiving layer itself is lowered, and the resulting image hence tends to deteriorate in rub-off resistance and the like. On the other hand, if the binder to pigment ratio is too great, the ink-absorbing capacity of the resulting ink-receiving layer is reduced, and so the image formed may possibly be deteriorated.
• the refraction indices of the pigment on the one hand, and of the UV-curable composition (see description lateron) on the other hand should match each other as closely as possible. The closer the match of the refraction indices the better the transparency which will be obtained after impregnation of the receiver layer with the photopolymerizable lacquer composition.
• the most preferred pigment is a silica type, more particularly an amorphous silica having a average particle size ranging from 1 ⁇ m to 15 ⁇ m, most preferably from 2 to 10 ⁇ m.
• a most useful commercial compound is the amorphous precipitated silica type SIPERNAT 570, trade name from Degussa Co. It is preferably present in the receiving layer in an amount ranging from 5 g/m 2 to 30 g/m 2 . It has following properties :
• a receiver layer containing a porous alumina pigment such as MARTINOX GL-1 does not become completely transparent on impregnation with a UV-curable lacquer since its refraction index is 1.6.
• a layer with this pigment undergoes a strong improvement in adhesion between support and ink jet receiver layer on impregnation with a UV-curable lacquer.
• a cationic substance acting as mordant may be present in the ink receiving layer.
• Such substances increase the capacity of the layer for fixing and holding the dye of the ink droplets.
• a particularly suited compound is a poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) or, in short, a poly(DADMAC). These compounds are commercially available from several companies, e.g. Aldrich, Nalco, CIBA, Nitto Boseki Co., Clariant, BASF and EKA Chemicals.
• DADMAC copolymers such as copolymers with acrylamide, e.g NALCO 1470 trade mark of ONDEO Nalco or PAS-J-81, trademark of Nitto Boseki Co., such as copolymers of DADMAC with acrylates, such as Nalco 8190, trademark of ONDEO Nalco; copolymers of DADMAC with SO 2 , such as PAS-A-1 or PAS-92, trademarks of Nitto Boseki Co., copolymer of DADMAC with maleic acid, e.g.
• PAS-410 trademark of Nitto Boseki Co., copolymer of DADMAC with diallyl(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)amine hydrochloride, eg. PAS-880, trademark of Nitto Boseki Co., dimethylamine-epichlorohydrine copolymers, e.g.
• Nalco 7135 trademark of ONDEO Nalco or POLYFIX 700, trade name of Showa High Polymer Co.
• other POLYFIX grades which could be used are POLYFIX 601, POLYFIX 301, POLYFIX 301A, POLYFIX 250WS, and POLYFIX 3000 ;
• NEOFIX E-117 trade name of Nicca Chemical Co., a polyoxyalkylene polyamine dicyanodiamine, and REDIFLOC 4150, trade name of EKA Chemicals, a polyamine;
• MADQUAT methacryloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride
• CYPRO 514/515/516, SUPERFLOC 507/521/567 cationic acrylic polymers, such as ALCOSTAT 567, trademark of CIBA, cationic cellulose derivatives such as CELQUAT L-200, H-100, SC-240C, SC-230M, trade names of Starch & Chemical Co., and QUATRISOFT LM200, UCARE polymers JR125, JR400, LR400, JR30M, LR30M and UCARE polymer LK; fixing agents from Chukyo Europe: PALSET JK-512, PALSET JK512L, PALSET JK-182, PALSET JK-220, WSC-173, WSC-173L, PALSET JK-320, PALSET JK-320L and PALSET JK-350; polyethyleneimine and copolymers, e.g.
• LUPASOL trade name of BASF AG
• triethanolamine-titanium-chelate e.g. TYZOR, trade name of Du Pont Co.
• copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone such as VIVIPRINT 111, trade name of ISP, a methacrylamido propyl dimethylamine copolymer; with dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate such as COPOLYMER 845 and COPOLYMER 937, trade names of ISP
• vinylimidazole e.g.
• LUVIQUAT CARE, LUVITEC 73W, LUVITEC VPI55 K18P, LUVITEC VP155 K72W, LUVIQUAT FC905, LUVIQUAT FC550, LUVIQUAT HM522, and SOKALAN HP56 all trade names of BASF AG; polyamidoamines, e.g. RETAMINOL and NADAVIN, trade marks of Bayer AG; phosphonium compounds such as disclosed in EP 609930 and other cationic polymers such as NEOFIX RD-5, trademark of Nicca Chemical Co.
• the ink receiving layer may further contain well-known conventional ingredi ⁇ nts, such as surfactants serving as coating aids, hardening agents, plasticizers, whitening agents and matting agents.
• surfactants serving as coating aids, hardening agents, plasticizers, whitening agents and matting agents.
• Surfactants may be any of the cationic, anionic, amphoteric, and non-ionic ones as described in JP-A 62-280068 (1987).
• the surfactants are N-alkylamino acid salts, alkylether carboxylic acid salts, acylated peptides, alkylsulfonic acid salts, alkylbenzene and alkylnaphthalene sulfonic acid salts, sulfosuccinic acid salts, ⁇ -olefin sulfonic acid salts, N-acylsulfonic acid salts, sulfonated oils, alkylsulfonic acid salts, alkylether sulfonic acid salts, alkylallylethersulfonic acid salts, alkylamidesulfonic acid salts, alkylphosphoric acid salts, alkyletherphosphoric acid salts, alkylallyletherphosphoric acid salts, alkyl and alkylallylpoly
• Useful cationic surfactants include N-alkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, palmityl trimethyl ammonium chloride, dodecyldimethylamine, tetradecyldimethylamine, ethoxylated alkyl guanidine-amine complex, oleamine hydroxypropyl bistrimonium chloride, oleyl imidazoline, stearyl imidazoline, cocamine acetate, palmitamine, dihydroxyethylcocamine, cocotrimonium chloride, alkyl polyglycolether ammonium sulphate, ethoxylated oleamine, lauryl pyridinium chloride, N-oleyl-1,3-diaminopropane, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine lactate, coconut fatty amide, oleyl hydroxyethyl imidazoline, isostearyl ethylimidonium ethosulphate, lauramidopropyl PEG-d
• These surfactants are commercially available from DuPont and 3M.
• the concentration of the surfactant component in the ink-receiving layer is typically in the range of 0.1 to 2 %, preferably in the range of 0.4 to 1.5 % and is most preferably 0.75 % by weight based on the total dry weight of the layer.
• the ink-receiving layer may be crosslinked to provide such desired features as waterfastness and non-blocking characteristics.
• the crosslinking is also useful in providing abrasion resistance and resistance to the formation of fingerprints on the element as a result of handling.
• crosslinking agents also known as hardening agents - that will function to crosslink film forming binders. Hardening agents can be used individually or in combination and in free or in blocked form.
• a great many hardeners, useful for the present invention are known, including formaldehyde and free dialdehydes, such as succinaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, blocked dialdehydes, active esters, sulfonate esters, active halogen compounds, isocyanate or blocked isocyanates, polyfunctional isocyanates, melamine derivatives, s-triazines and diazines, epoxides, active olefins having two or more active bonds, carbodiimides, zirconium complexes, e.g.
• BACOTE 20 ZIRMEL 1000 or zirconium acetate, trademarks of MEL Chemicals, titanium complexes, such as TYZOR grades from DuPont, isoxazolium salts subsituted in the 3-position, esters of 2-alkoxy-N-carboxy-dihydroquinoline, N-carbamoylpyridinium salts, hardeners of mixed function, such as halogen-substituted aldehyde acids (e.g.
• mucochloric and mucobromic acids onium substituted acroleins and vinyl sulfones and polymeric hardeners, such as dialdehyde starches and copoly(acroleinmethacrylic acid), and oxazoline functional polymers, e.g. EPOCROS WS-500, and EPOCROS K-1000 series, and maleic anhydride copolymers, e.g. GANTREZ AN119
• the ink-receiving layers and the optional supplementary layers of the present invention may also comprise a plasticizer such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, glycerol monomethylether, glycerol monochlorohydrin, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, tetrachlorophthalic anhydride, tetrabromophthalicanhydride, urea phosphate, triphenylphosphate, glycerolmonostearate, propylene glycol monostearate, tetramethylene sulfone, n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, n-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone.
• a plasticizer such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, glycerol monomethylether, glycerol monochlorohydrin, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, tetrachlorophthalic anhydride,
• the ink-receiving layers and optional extra layers of the present invention may also comprise ingredients to improve the lightfastness of the printed image, such as antioxidants, UV-absorbers, peroxide scavengers, singlet oxygen quenchers such as hindered amine light stabilizers, (HALS compounds) etc..Stilbene compounds are a preferred type of UV-absorber.
• the essential ingredients of the UV-curable photopolymerizable composition to be applied on top of the ink receiving layer are a monomer and a photoinitiator.
• Suitable monomers include the monomers disclosed in DE-OS Nos. 4005231, 3516256, 3516257, 3632657 and US 4,629,676, unsaturated esters of polyols, particularly such esters of the ⁇ -methylene carboxylic acids, e.g.
• divinyl succinate divinyl adipate, divinyl phthalate, divinyl butane-1,4-disulphonate; and unsaturated aldehydes, e.g. sorbaldehyde (hexadienal).
• the photopolymerizable composition may also comprise polymers and/or oligomers comprising two or more different polymerizable functions, e.g. acrylated epoxies, polyester acrylates, urethane acrylates, etc..
• Suitable compounds include n-octylacrylate, decylacrylate, decylmethacrylate, stearylacrylate, stearylmethacrylate, cyclohexylacrylate, cyclohexylmethacrylate, phenylethylacrylate, phenylethylmethacrylate.
• the most preferred compounds comprise one or more (meth)acrylate functional groups.
• photopolymerizable compounds containing one or more (meth)acrylate groups are reactive multifunctional monomers as disclosed in EP 502562.
• Suitable photoinitiators are a wide variety of compounds or compound combinations which are known for this purpose. Examples are benzoin ethers, benzil ketals, polycyclic quinones, benzophenone derivatives, triarylimidazolyl dimers, photosensitive trihalomethyl compounds, for example trichloromethyl-s-triazines. Preference is given to 2,3-bisarylquinoxalines, as described in US-A 3,765,898, and 2-aryl-4,6-bistrichloromethyl-s-triazines.
• the amount of photoinitiator or photoinitiator combination is generally between 1 and 25% by weight, preferably between 5 and 15% by weight.
• the UV curable composition may also contain a minor amount of a heat polymerization inhibitor which prevents premature polymerization before the UV curing step.
• a heat polymerization inhibitor which prevents premature polymerization before the UV curing step.
• examples of such inhibitors include p-methoxyphenol, hydroquinone, aryl- or alkyl substituted hydroquinone, t-butylcatechol, pyrogallol, copper(I) chloride, phenothiazine, chloranil, naphtylamine, ⁇ -naphtol, 2,6-di-t-butyl-p-cresol, etc.
• a preferred polymerization inhibitor is 2-methyl hydroquinone.
• the heat polymerization inhibitors are preferable used in an amount of 0.001 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts of monomer.
• composition may also contain a minor amount of organic solvent, e.g. ethyl acetate.
• organic solvent e.g. ethyl acetate.
• the information carrier having a web or sheet form is printed with a first set of information before application of an ink receiving layer.
• This first set of information information is preferably general information and/or security print
• This general information may, for instance, include name, abbreviation or logo of the issuing authority.
• the security print may, for instance, include a concrete recognizable design, or an abstract periodically repeating monochrome or multichrome pattern, or a gradually changing colour pattern, which gradually changes in hue and/or density of the colours, and is in this way difficult to counterfeit.
• the spectral characteristics of the inks of the security print are chosen so that they are difficult to copy by means of a commercial colour copier.
• This general information or security print can be applied by any known printing technique, e.g. letterpress, lithographic printing, gravure printing, silk screen printing, etc.
• a preferred technique is driographic printing being a waterless variant of lithographic printing whereby no fountain solution is applied to the printing press.
• the printed general information and/or security print pattern in repeatedly applied over multiple areas of the web or sheet by a step and repeat process thus giving rise to multiple identical items.
• an ink receiving layer is coated the composition of which is extensively explained above.
• This ink receiving layer may be coated onto the support by any conventional coating technique, such as dip coating, knife coating, extrusion coating, spin coating, slide hopper coating and curtain coating.
• the first set of information is also printed on top of this ink receiving layer and not on the rigid support.
• this ink receiving layer is printed with a digitally stored second set of information, different from the first set, by means of an ink jet printer.
• this other type of information is personalized information different for each individual item present on the information carrier.
• this personalized information may be a unique individual card number assigned to the future bearer of the card, or the expiry date of the validity of the card, or personal data of the future bearer, e.g. a birth day, and/or a photo.
• the ink jet printing process may be performed by any known technique known in the art.
• a continuous droplet stream is created by applying a pressure wave pattern. This process is known as continuous ink jet printing.
• the droplet stream is divided into droplets that are electrostatically charged, deflected and recollected, and into droplets that remain uncharged, continue their way undeflected, and form the image.
• the charged deflected stream forms the image and the uncharged undeflected jet is recollected.
• several jets are deflected to a different degree and thus record the image (multideflection system).
• the ink droplets can be created “on demand” (“DOD” or “drop on demand” method) whereby the printing device ejects the droplets only when they are used in imaging on a receiver thereby avoiding the complexity of drop charging, deflection hardware, and ink recollection.
• DOD on demand
• the ink droplet can be formed by means of a pressure wave created by a mechanical motion of a piezoelectric transducer (so-called “piezo method”), or by means of discrete thermal pushes (so-called “bubble jet” method, or “thermal jet” method).
• Ink compositions for ink jet typically include following ingredients : dyes or pigments, water and/or organic solvents, humectants such as glycols, detergents, thickeners, polymeric binders, preservatives, etc.. It will be readily understood that the optimal composition of such an ink is dependent on the ink jetting method used and on the nature of the substrate to be printed.
• the ink compositions can be roughly divided in :
• the colorants present in the ink jet ink may be dyes which are molecularly dissolved in the ink fluid, e.g. acid dyes which are bound by a cationic mordant in the ink receiver, or they may be pigments which are finely dispersed in the ink fluid.
• the obtained assemblage carrying both sets of information is coated, sprayed or jetted with an UV curable lacquer, the composition of which is discussed in detail above.
• an UV curable lacquer the composition of which is discussed in detail above.
• the penetration time of the lacquer in the layer can be shortened by following measures : lowering of the viscosity of the lacquer by means of a temperature rise or by means of the addition of a diluent monomer such as isobornyl acrylate, or by minimizing the ratio of polymeric binder amount to pigment amount in the ink receiving layer. Furtheron, the higher the porosity of the receiving layer the shorter the penetration time.
• the applied lacquer layer may fully cover the information carrier so that all individal items become transparent over their total area and the first set of information is fully revealed. It is possible to impregnate each item on the information carrier only partially or even pattern-wise so that the first set of information is only partially or pattern-wise revealed. In the latter case the applied pattern becoming transparent can represent itself some type of general information or serve as a particular kind of watermark. In this case the first set of information may optionally be omitted.
• the thus obtained assemblage is laminated before curing with a protective transparent foil which optionally can be printed with a third set of information.
• a preferred protective foil is a thin polyethylene terephthalate foil.
• the finished assemblage is cured by means of UV radiation.
• Apparatuses for radiation curing are known to those skilled in the art and are commercially available.
• the curing proceeds with medium pressure mercury vapour lamps with or without electrodes, or pulsed xenon lamps.
• These ultraviolet sources usually are equipped with a cooling installation, an installation to remove the produced ozone and optionally a nitrogen inflow to exclude air from the surface of the product to be cured during radiation processing.
• An intensity of 40 to 240 W/cm in the 200-400 nm region is usually employed.
• An example of a commercially available ultraviolet medium-pressure electrodeless mercury vapour lamp is the model VPS/I600 curing system of Fusion UV systems Ltd., UK.
• a pulsed xenon flash lamp is commercially available from IST Strahlentechnik GmbH, Nürtingen, Germany. Using the Fusion model one has also the possibility to use metal halide doped Hg vapour or XeCl excimer lamps, each with its specific UV emission spectrum. This permits a higher degree of freedom in formulating the curing composition : a more efficient curing is possible using the lamp with the most appropriate spectral characteristics.
• the finished information carrier is cut into its multiple individual items by known cutting means, each item having the proper dimensions of an ID card.
• Most types of ID cards have now the standardized dimensions of 85.6 mm x 54.0 mm x 0.76 mm. This final thickness can be reached by thermal lamination of one or more polymeric foils, e.g. PVC foils.
• the finished ID card can serve as an identity card, a security card, a driver's licence card, a social security card, a bank card, a membership card, a time registration card, a pay card and a credit card, etc..
• the finished ID card may comprise additional security elements or information carriers such as a hologram, a magnetice strip, or a chip ("smart cards").
• a dispersion A was prepared by mixing following ingredients :
• the support was a white opaque polyvinyl chloride (PVC) support, having a thickness of 165 ⁇ m, which was printed by means of driographic printing with security print consisting of a gradually changing colour pattern.
• PVC polyvinyl chloride
• the ink receiver composition was coated onto this support at a coverage of 120 g/m 2 and dried on air. Then the receiver layer was printed by means of an EPSON STYLUS COLOR 900 ink jet printer with multiple sets of digitally stored personalized information.
• the layer was applied with a Braive barcoater of 70 ⁇ m. About two minutes after the application of the solution curing was performed by means of a DRSE-120 conveyor with VPS/1600 UV lamp (240 W/cm, speed 33.5 cm/s). To obtain a complete curing two passes were necessary. After complete penetration of the UV lacquer the ink receiver layer became totally transparent so that the underlying driographic security print became clearly visible.
• a matt transparent PVC support was coated with the same ink receiver composition as in example 1. After drying the receiver layer was printed driographically by means of Presstek Pearl Dry printing plate on a AB Dick 9860 press with a security print pattern consisting of Holstmann/Steinberg Reflecta Magenta Dry ink. Upon this security print ink jet printing of multiple personalized information was performed by means of an EPSON STYLUS COLOR 900 ink jet printer.
• the obtained image containing assemblage was then overcoated with the same UV curable lacquer as in example 1.
• the opaque ink receiver layer became totally transparent.
• the driographically printed image was substractively visible through the ink jet image.
• Examples 1 and 2 were repeated with following additional steps. Before UV curing a protective foil, being a 23 ⁇ m thick PET foil, was laminated on top of the image carrying assemblage. After curing the finished information carrier was cut in multiple ID card each having the dimensions 85.6 mm x 54.0 mm x 0.76 mm.
• the final ID cards had a high mechanical and chemical resistance and were tamper proof.
• the ink receiver composition of example 1 was coated on a white opaque polyvinyl chloride support, having a thickness of 165 ⁇ m, which was printed before by means of driographic printing with gradually changing colour patterns, serving as security print.
• the wet coating thickness of this ink receiver layer was 60 ⁇ m.
• After drying the ink receiver layer was printed by means of EPSON STYLUS COLOR 900 ink jet printer with a set of digitally stored personal information, like photo, name, adress, birthday, birth place, identification number, etc..
• the obtained image containing assemblage was then pattern-wise (e.g. representing the word BELGIUM) overprinted two times in register with the UV curable lacquer composition which was used in example 1 by means of screen printing technique.
• a NBC monofilament polyester screen of 120 mesh/cm was used.
• the UV lacquer was able to penetrate in the opaque receiver layer and made it transparent in about one minute after application.
• a transparent protective PET foil (thickness 100 ⁇ m) was laminated on top of the UV-lacquer layer.
• the assemblage was subjected to UV light by means of a DRSE-120 conveyer provided with a VPS/1600 UV lamp (240 W/cm - speed 20 cm/s).
• the underlying driographic security print was only clearly revealed in those areas where the lacquer was locally applied thus clearly representing the applied pattern (e.g. the word BELGIUM).

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• 2002
  • 2002-05-16 EP EP20020100499 patent/EP1362710B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
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• 2003
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