GB2301601A

GB2301601A - Process for fabricating embossed and marbled paper

Info

Publication number: GB2301601A
Application number: GB9620017A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Luis Iniguez-Pimienta
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-03-28
Filing date: 1995-03-24
Publication date: 1996-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2015-03-24
Also published as: GB2301601B; AU2149395A; GB9620017D0; WO1995026876A1

Abstract

A decorative embossed and marbled paper is obtained by applying a process comprising the following steps: a) adhering one of the faces of a tracing paper to one of the faces of a substrate, by using a non water-soluble adhesive, in order to obtain a product which comprises an external face of substrate as front side and an external face of tracing paper as back side; b) wetting the product thus obtained on at least one section of the external face of the tracing paper; c) drying the wet product; and, d) subjecting the dried product to a finishing step.

Description

wPROCBSS FOR MANUFACTURING EMBOSSED AND WXTSRMaRKSD PAPER" FIETD OF THE IJVEPJTION This invention refers to the technique for manufacturing ornamental paper within the Transformation Industry; and more specifically, it relates to a process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, and the product obtained with same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known that in the current technique there are different processes for manufacturing and treating paper for ornamental purposes, which permit products that are pleasing to the eye to be obtained, as well as products that are suitable for use in all types of activities involved with decoration in general.

Within the already known processes, there exist other, different processes connected with the manufacture of corrugated paper, which allow ribbed corrugations to be obtained on the sheet of paper; or, processes connected with the manufacture of curled paper, which allow smooth and wrinkled sheets of paper with certain characteristics to be obtained.

These processes are well known in the state of the art and on an industrial level; however, they require very specific conditions for operation and the use of equipment specially designed for these conditions.

In addition, there are processes in the current technique for stamping the paper in relief, in which the stamp is effectuated using pressure and heat, utilizing blocks engraved in relief; or, processes to coat paper with motifs in relief, in which the relief is formed by applying some sort of paint or some kind of polymeric covering to the paper.

In these types of processes, as well as in the above-mentioned processes, the use of rather complicated operations is required, in addition to the utilization of specially designed equipment that functions under certain conditions of pressure and/or temperature.

Moreover, in the present technique, it is also known that when sheets of vegetable paper are moistened with water, they tend to change their appearance; their entire surface wrinkles and adopts various unpredictable shapes.

All of the unpredictable shapes adopted by the sheet of paper are different from each other, since the type of shape depends upon the type of paper being utilized, as well as the humidity and temperature of the environment.

In application for Mexican Patent No. 9401327 by the same inventor as this invention, a process for manufacturing watermarked vegetable paper is claimed, which covers the stages of adhering a sheet of translucent plastic to a sheet of vegetable paper, and later, in a subsequent stage, the paper-plastic combination is moistened, and finally, said paper-plastic combination is left to dry at room temperature, thereby obtaining a sheet of vegetable paper with attractive watermarks.

In an additional embodiment of the same invention, two sheets of vegetable paper are attached, moistened, and dried, thereby obtaining a sheet of double watermarked paper.

The paper obtained in the first embodiment has the drawback that the watermark is only formed on the sheet of vegetable paper, since the translucent plastic, due to effects of temperature, tends to collapse during the drying process; while in the second embodiment, the watermark obtained has the drawbacks that it is rather unstable, it is difficult to control during the manufacturing process, and it is not very attractive for ornamental purposes.

As a consequence of the above, an attempt has been made to eliminate the drawbacks of the processs and products of the foregoing technique, and to provide a process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper that permits a highly stable product with attractive ornamental characteristics to be obtained.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Taking into account the defects of the foregoing technique, one of the objects of this invention is to provide a process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper which, via a series of simple, practical, and economical operations, allows a highly stable, durable, and decorative product to be obtained.

Another object of this invention is to produce embossed and watermarked paper, which in addition to being attractive, allows different types of paper to be utilized to obtain the desired embossment and watermark.

The above objects, as well as other objects and advantages of the invention, are achieved through a process that includes the following steps: a) Adhering one side of a sheet of vegetable tracing paper to one side of a substrate, utilizing a water insoluble adhesive, thereby obtaining a product which consists of an outer surface of substrate on the front and an outer surface of vegetable tracing paper on the other side; b) Moistening the product obtained on at least one section of the outside surface of the sheet of vegetable tracing paper; c) Drying the moistened product; and d) Subjecting the dried product to a finishing stage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TEE DRAWINGS The innovative aspects believed to distinguish this invention will be established specifically in the attached claims. However, the invention itself, both due to its organization as well as its method of operation, along with the other objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood in the following description of a specific embodiment, when read in connection with the attached drawings, wherein:: Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a sheet of embossed and watermarked paper, obtained in accordance with a specific embodiment from the process for this invention; Figure 2 is a back view of the sheet of embossed and watermarked paper in figure 1; Figure 3 is a view in perspective of a sheet of embossed and watermarked paper obtained in accordance with a second specific embodiment from the process for this invention; Figure 4 is a view in perspective of a sheet of embossed and watermarked paper, obtained in accordance with a third specific embodiment from the process for this invention; Figure 5 is a view in perspective of a sheet of embossed and watermarked paper, obtained in accordance with a fourth specific embodiment from the process for this invention.

DBTkITRn DBSCRIPTION Making particular reference at this time to a specific embodiment of this invention, the process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper described below includes a primary adhesion phase which basically consists of attaching one side of a sheet of vegetable tracing paper to the opposite side of a substrate.

For attaching the substrate and the sheet of vegetable tracing paper, synthetic water insoluble adhesives are utilized, preferably organosiloxane polymers, whereby the adhesive is first added to either side to be attached, in order to subsequently attach said sides.

In a preferred embodiment for this invention, in order to attach the substrate and the vegetable tracing paper, a substrate is used that already has the adhesive added to one side, as occurs with self-adhesive substrates, which consist of a front side and a back side with adhesive.

The product obtained once the substrate and the vegetable tracing paper are attached, is a product made up of an outer surface of substrate on the front and an outer surface of vegetable tracing paper on the back.

The substrate utilized is preferably paper of any kind, such as: cellulose fiber paper (coated paper, bond, autographic paper, crepe paper, printer paper, Japanese paper, Bristol board, parchment paper, etc.) metallic paper (tinfoil, aluminum foil, silverfoil, etc.), or synthetic paper (made from polyester, polypropylene, etc.), etc.

The vegetable tracing paper utilized is preferably of the type known as albanene paper, of varying thicknesses, which has the physical properties of expanding when moistened with water, and of contracting to a smaller size than its original size, when subjected to a drying process.

Once the self-adhesive substrate and the vegetable tracing paper are attached, the product obtained is subjected to a humidification stage which basically involves moistening at least one section of the outer surface of the vegetable tracing paper with water.

Because of the physical properties of the vegetable paper, when it is moistened on at least one area of its outer surface, it is able to expand only on the portions that are moistened, or on its entire outer surface, if it has been completely moistened, thereby causing tensional stress between the attached surfaces (inner surface of the self-adhesive paper and the inner surface of the vegetable paper) and the adhesive attaching them.

Once the vegetable tracing paper has stopped expanding, the product obtained is subjected to a drying stage. The drying of the product may be carried out through the direct exposure of the product to the environment, or else by utilizing any drying apparatus that works with hot air, such as blowdryers, drying chambers, drying tunnels, etc.

During the drying operation, the vegetable tracing paper, due to its physical properties, shrinks to a smaller size than its original size, thereby causing the generation of contraction stress between the attached surfaces (inner surface of the self-adhesive paper and the inner surface of the vegetable paper) and the adhesive attaching them, as well as the formation of a multitude of wrinkles and embossments randomly distributed both on the inner surface of the vegetable tracing paper as well as on its outer surface, and the formation of a multitude of randomly distributed embossments and watermarks on the outer surface of the substrate.

Once the embossments and watermarks have ceased to form, the product obtained is a sheet of embossed and watermarked paper, which in a later stage is subjected to a finishing process, by applying some type of coating to improve its final appearance; preferably utilizing paint, varnish or some kind of polymeric resin as a coating.

The now coated product is subjected to a process for trimming extra material, wherein all of the extra portions obtained during the manufacturing process are eliminated from the product.

After trimming off the extra portions, the trimmed product is subjected to a quality control phase, via a visual inspection of same, in order to insure the quality of the final product obtained.

Once the final product has been approved, it is sent to the storage area where the product is stored at room temperature.

It is important to note that the embossed and watermarked paper that is obtained as a final product is a unique product, which, in the event the elements comprising it are separated from one another, loses all of the characteristics obtained during its manufacturing process (embossments, wrinkles, and watermarks).

In an additional embodiment of this invention, during the humidification stage, the product is completely moistened with water, thereby causing both the vegetable tracing paper as well as the substrate to expand, although in different proportions, due to the unique characteristics of each material; consequently, upon subjecting the product to the drying stage, the substrate and the vegetable paper also shrink in different proportions, thereby causing the attached surfaces of both materials and the adhesive attaching them, to undergo contraction stresses of different magnitudes, giving rise to the formation of a multitude of randomly distributed embossments and watermarks which are different from those obtained in the first embodiment.

The formation of the multitude of randomly distributed embossments and watermarks of different shapes and sizes, obtained both in the first embodiment as well as in the second embodiment, depends upon the physical properties of the materials being utilized.

In the second embodiment mentioned hereinabove, both the physical properties of the substrate, as well as the physical properties of the vegetable tracing paper are at work expanding and contracting; while in the first embodiment, wherein only the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper is moistened, only the properties of expansion and contraction of the vegetable tracing paper are at work.

The final product obtained with the process for this invention is an embossed and watermarked sheet of paper that consists of an outside surface of substrate on the front, which includes a multitude of randomly distributed embossments and watermarks of different shapes and sizes on its surface, and an outer surface of vegetable tracing paper on the other side, which includes a multitude of randomly distributed wrinkles and embossments of different shapes and sizes.

Following are some examples for application, which are only included to illustrate this invention and not to limit its scope.

EXAMPLE A sheet of albanene type vegetable tracing paper is used, to which a sheet of shiny gold polyester paper is attached using a water insoluble synthetic adhesive.

The product obtained in this matter is moistened with water and left to dry at room temperature until it is dry, thereby obtaining the embossed and watermarked paper shown in figures 1 and 2, which is pleasing to the eye and of great application for decorative purposes.

ExLE2 A sheet of albanene type vegetable tracing paper is used, to which a sheet of aluminum foil paper is attached utilizing a water insoluble synthetic adhesive.

The outside surface of the albanene paper is moistened with water using a sponge.

The product obtained in this manner is left to dry at room temperature until it dries, thereby obtaining the embossed and watermarked paper shown in figure 3.

ExAMPLE3 A sheet of albanene type vegetable tracing paper is used, to which a sheet of matte silver bond paper is attached using a water insoluble synthetic adhesive.

The product obtained in this manner is moistened with water on both sides (front and back), and is left to dry at room temperature until it dries, thereby obtaining the embossed and watermarked paper shown in figure 4.

EXAMPLE4 A sheet of albanene type vegetable tracing paper is used, to which a sheet of matte white coated paper is attached using a water insoluble synthetic adhesive.

The outside surface of the coated paper is completely moistened with water, and the outside surface of the albanene paper is partially moistened with water using a specially designed sponge.

The product obtained is left to dry at room temperature until it dries, thereby obtaining the embossed and watermarked paper shown in figure 5.

In accordance with the foregoing description, it can be seen that the process for this invention has been conceived in order to offer a practical and functional solution to the problems currently experienced in obtaining embossed and watermarked paper products that are highly stable, durable, and decorative, using a series of simple, practical, and economical operations.

Although certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it should be noted that there are numerous possible modifications to them, such as the case that on the outside surface of the substrate, in addition to the formation of the multitude of embossments and watermarks, there is also a multitude of different sized and randomly distributed wrinkles formed. This invention, therefore, should not be considered as limited, except within the requirements of the foregoing technique and in the essential aspects of the attached claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, comprising the steps of: a) attaching one side of a sheet of vegetable tracing paper to one side of a substrate, utilizing a water insoluble adhesive, thereby obtaining a product consisting of one outer surface of substrate on the front and an outer surface of vegetable tracing paper on the back, said sheet of vegetable tracing paper having different degree of expansion when moistened and different degree of contraction when dried than said substrate, and being capable of shrinking to a smaller size than its original size when dried; b) moistening the product obtained on at least one area of the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper; c) drying the moistened product; and d) subjecting the dried product to a finishing stage, by applying a coating in order to improve its final appearance.

2.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein for the adhesion of the substrate and the vegetable tracing paper, the water insoluble synthetic adhesive is added to one side of the substrate or of the vegetable tracing paper which will be fastened together, in order to subsequently attach said surfaces.

3.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 2, wherein the synthetic adhesive utilized is preferably composed of organosiloxane polymers.

4.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked pauper, according to claim 1, wherein the substrate utilized is a self-adhesive substrate, which has the water insoluble synthetic solution already added to the opposite side of said substrate.

5.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the substrate utilized is preferably paper of any kind.

6.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 5, wherein the paper is selected from among cellulose fiber paper, metallic paper, polymeric paper, etc.

7.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable tracing paper utilized is preferably albanene type paper.

8.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper is completely moistened.

9.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper and the outside surface of the substrate are completely moistened.

10.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the outside surface of the substrate is totally moistened, and the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper is partially moistened.

11.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the outside surface of the substrate is partially moistened, and the outside surface of the vegetable tracing paper is totally moistened.

12.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the drying stage is carried out via direct exposure of the product to the environment.

13.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 1, wherein the drying stage is carried out by utilizing a drying apparatus that works with hot air.

14.- A process for manufacturing embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 13, wherein the drying apparatus is selected from among blowdryers, drying chambers, drying tunnels, etc.

15.- Embossed and watermarked paper, comprising an outer surface of substrate on the front, which includes a multitude of embossments and watermarks of different sizes and shapes distributed randomly over its surface; and an outer surface of vegetable tracing paper on the other side, which includes a multitude of wrinkles and embossments of different shapes and sizes randomly distributed over its surface, said vegetable tracing paper having different degree of expansion when moistened and different degree of contraction when dried than said substrate, and being capable of shrinking to a smaller size than its original size when dried.

16.- Embossed and watermarked paper, according to claim 15, wherein the outside surface of the substrate includes a multitude of randomly distributed wrinkles in different shapes and sizes.