GB2275653A - Ticket with foil on colour-forming thermal substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

A ticket which inhibits photocopying includes a foil extending over part of a thermal (or thermochromic) substrate in a substrate the produces colour under heat. The foil may be applied using a hot foil printing technique. The foil comprises a carrier layer, release layer and a metal layer. The ticket may be varnished or over-laquered. The term "ticket" includes labels, vouchers and coupons.

Description

TICKETS The present invention relates to tickets and a method of producing tickets and particularly, but not exclusively, to tickets and a method of producing tickets comprising hot foil printing on a thermal type material.

In the present description, the term "ticket" is taken to mean ticket, label, voucher, coupon or the like similar token.

The development of sophisticated photocopying machines, which have become generally publicly available, facilitates counterfeiting and fraud by making it possible for conventional tickets to be copied so that the false copy cannot be distinguished from the genuine original.

It is known to provide tickets formed by hot foil printing which involves transferring a thin foil onto a substrate, such as paper, acetate or vinyl, by the application of heat. Conventional hot foil printing techniques involve a heated press, a foil and a suitable engraved block or die. The block is mounted on a heater plate or platen of the press. The foil, generally a plastic film coated with heat sensitive transferable layers of metal or pigment, and the substrate material or tickets are fed beneath the block by means of an automated mechanism.

The heated block presses the foil into contact with the substrate material to which it transfers in the shape of the block design. The quality and adhesion of the transferred image are determined by the temperature, pressure and impression time used in the process. It will be appreciated that the term 'foil' is taken to include diffraction foil and foil containing a hologram.

Conventional tickets produced using the hot foil printing technique are not susceptible to fraudulent reproduction using sophisticated photocopying machines, because the reflective property of the foil cannot be reproduced.

It is often a requirement for tickets to have additional variable information added. This additional information could be, for example, specific details of the event, the date, time, row number, seat number, ticket number, price etc. This information can be added by various means, but is normally through some computerised system using printers such as impact printers, laser printers, ink jets, thermal or thermal transfer.

It has not been known to apply foil onto tickets produced on a thermal substrate. This is a heat sensitive substrate designed to produce colour under heat. It has, therefore, not been possible to take advantage of the anti fraud properties by the use of foil on thermal tickets.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned disadvantage and inhibit forgery by providing a method of producing a ticket on a thermal substrate which cannot be photocopied in the likeness of the original ticket.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of producing a ticket which includes transferring a foil onto at least part of a thermal substrate.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a ticket comprising a thermal substrate and a foil extending over part of said substrate.

Such tickets cannot be photocopied in the likeness of the original and so inhibit fraud and counterfeiting.

The substrate is a heat sensitive, thermal substrate designed to produce colour under heat and preferably comprises thermal paper or thermal card.

Ricoh Thermal Paper type 130NA is particularly suitable as the base substrate.

Transferring the foil onto the substrate may be by any suitable process and may involve hot foil printing techniques.

The foil may be transferred by the application of heat and pressure. Any suitable equipment may be used but preferably a rotary hot foil stamping unit, such as manufactured by Nilpeter, CA Nielsen & Petersen Maskinfabriker A/S, is used. The thermal substrate and foil may be fed through the stamping unit using appropriately located rollers.

The foil may have any suitable composition and may consist of one or more layers or coatings.

Generally the foil will comprise a carrier layer as a base to receive transferable coatings which may be in one or more layers on the carrier layer. The transferable coatings may include a release layer and a metal layer. The carrier layer may be of any suitable material such as glassine paper, viscose film or polyester film. Preferably, the foil comprises a Whiley foil series 16 having a polyester film carrier, a wax release layer, lacquer coatings comprising synthetic resins and dyes and a layer of vacuum deposited aluminium. The transferrable coatings on the carrier layer may include a pigment layer and an adhesive layer.

The pressure required to ensure transfer of the foil to the thermal substrate is determined according to the composition of the foil and substrate used and preferably is adjustable via an infinitely variable pressure control device. The actual pressure applied in practice may be subject to the skill of the machine operator to achieve the desired result.

The temperature required to ensure transfer of the foil to the thermal substrate, whilst at the same time preventing imaging of the thermal coating on the substrate is in the range of 80 - 130 degrees centigrade. The actual temperature required may be influenced by the running speed which will usually be about 1500 metres per hour and the ambient temperature prevailing at the time and the pressure applied.

The tickets may be varnished or over lacquered so that variable or additional data, such as date, times, venue and the like, may be overprinted on the tickets without damaging the ticket or the overprinting device. This may be important since, for example, the thermal head of a thermal printer may be damaged if the printer is used to overprint variable data on a foil printed thermal ticket.

The thermal head consists of a narrow band of material containing sensors which heat and cool very rapidly on receipt of a signal from a computer or the like, causing the chemicals contained on the ticket surface to interact and form an image. The thermal heads are delicate and easily damaged. Thus, lacquering the tickets allows them to be overprinted for example, by a thermal printer, without damaging the ticket or the thermal head.

Any suitable lacquer or coating composition may be used and, in particular, Coates Lorilleux Ultracure U1818F varnish may be used. The coating may extend over all or part of the ticket and may extend over the foil and/or the substrate.

The coating may be applied to the ticket by painting, spraying, printing or any other suitable means. Preferably, the lacquer is applied by a printing or inking process wherein the ticket web is fed through a suitable machine on fixed rollers and the lacquer is applied by a plate cylinder which receives the lacquer from a trough via suitably located lacquer transfer rollers. The coating or lacquer may be exposed to ultraviolet radiation for curing, if required.

The tickets may take any suitable shape or size and, for example, may be rectangular with dimensions of 2cm to 6cm in width and 10cm to 30cm in length.

The invention will be described further, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of an overprinted ticket; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a ticket that has not been overprinted; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section view of a ticket.

Referring to the drawings, a ticket comprises a thermal substrate layer 2 of thermal card onto which a thin metal foil 4 is transferred by hot foil printing using a heated engraved die and a platen. When the thin foil 4 and the card 2 to be printed are trapped between the heated engraved die and the platen, the foil 4 transfers to the card 2 upon the application of heat and pressure thereby forming the desired image 4, such as, for example, that shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The foil printed image 4 is then over lacquered as indicated at 6 in Fig. 3. The lacquer 6 acts as a barrier between the foil image 4 and the head of a thermal printer. Thus, variable data 8 can be reproduced on the ticket by means of a thermal printer.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above described embodiment, which is described by way of example only.

Claims (17)

1. A method of producing a ticket which includes transferring a foil onto at least part of a thermal substrate.

2. A ticket comprising a thermal substrate and a foil extending over part of said substrate.

3. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the substrate is a heat sensitive, thermal substrate designed- to produce colour under heat.

4. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the substrate comprises thermal paper or thermal card.

5. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the foil is transferred to the substrate by means of hot foil printing techniques.

6. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the foil is transferred to the substrate by means of hot foil printing techniques.

7. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the foil consists of one or more layers or coatings.

8. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the foil comprises a carrier layer and one or more layers or coatings.

9. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to claim 8 wherein the layers or coatings include a release layer and a metal layer.

10. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the carrier layer comprises glassine paper, viscose film or polyester film.

11. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the foil comprises a polyester film carrier, a wax release layer, lacquer coatings comprising synthetic resins and dyes and a layer of vacuum deposited aluminium.

12. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to claim 8 or any succeeding claim wherein the carrier layer includes a pigment layer and an adhesive layer.

13. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to any preceding claim wherein the ticket is varnished or over lacquered.

14. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to claim 13 wherein the varnish or lacquer is applied by a printing or inking process.

15. A ticket or a method of producing a ticket according to claim 13 or 14 wherein the varnish or lacquer coating is exposed to ultraviolet radiation for curing.

16. A method of producing a ticket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A ticket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.