GB2443498A

GB2443498A - A method of manufacture of an identification plate

Info

Publication number: GB2443498A
Application number: GB0714527A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Cordell
Original assignee: Hills Numberplate Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Hills Numberplate Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2007-07-26
Filing date: 2007-07-26
Publication date: 2008-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 2027-07-26
Also published as: GB2443498B; IE20080127A1; GB0714527D0

Abstract

A method of manufacture of an identification plate, the method comprises; providing a length of transparent plastics panel material 20; attaching an adhesive layer 21 onto a major surface of the plastics panel material; cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material and adhesive layer to form a blank 22; and securing a sheet material to the adhesive layer of the blank either before or after cutting and/or trimming. Preferably the plastics panel material is 2 metres wide or wider. Optionally the plastics panel member may be trimmed or cut to have beveled edges or radiused corners. Laser cutting apparatus may be used to trim the material and indicia may be applied using printing means prior to the sheet material being secured to the adhesive layer. The sheet material can be reflective or retroreflective.

Description

IDENTIFICATION PLATES

This invention relates to methods of manufacturing identification plates, specifically but not exclusively, to plates, which indicate the provenance of an object to which they are attached. Such plates are conventionally termed licence or number plates when attached to a motor vehicle.

One conventional identification plate design consists of a transparent substrate on a major surface of which is laminated a sheet having a retro-reflective surface carrying indicia thereon, wherein the retro-reflective surface is in contact with a major surface of the substrate.

Typically, such an identification plate design is manufactured by: * providing a length of transparent plastics material such as an acrylic; * applying a protective cover to the plastics length; * cutting, with a saw, the plastics length into a substrate-sized blank; * trimming the blanks to the appropriate size with bevelled edges and radiused corners to provide a finished blank; * laminating an adhesive layer having a removable protective layer to the blank; * providing a sheet material which is slightly larger than the finished blank and which includes a retro-reflective surface; * printing indicia on the retro-reflective surface using a printer; * removing the protective layer from the adhesive; * securing the retro-retlective sheet material to the finished blank; and * trimming the retro-reflective sheet material such that it is coextensive with the finished blank.

Trimming of the blanks is required in order to compensate for the inaccuracies of the cutting machines and to provide the bevelled edges and radiused corners.

Trimming of the retro-reflective sheet is required in order to compensate for the misalignment when the sheet is secured to the finished blank.

It will be appreciated that the above method results in a considerable amount of wasted acrylic material, when it is used for large scale manufacture. Additionally the trimming of the acrylic to form the blank produces swarf, which tends to be attracted to the blank as a result of static electricity. Even when the blank is processed through a cleaning system there is still some risk of contamination during the laminating process which results in a scrapped blank and adhesive.

It has now been discovered that the process can be greatly simplified by reducing the number of steps required to form an identification plate.

Indeed, it is a non-exclusive object of this invention to provide a method of fabricating an identification plate which is quicker, cheaper, more efficient and convenient than has previously been achievable. It is a further non-exclusive object of the invention to reduce waste in the manufacture of identification plates.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacture of an identification plate, the method comprising: * providing a length of plastics panel material; * attaching an adhesive layer onto a major surface of the plastics panel material; * either prior to, during or after attaching the adhesive layer applying a removable protective layer to the adhesive layer * cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material and adhesive layer to form a blank; * removing the protective layer; and * securing a sheet material to the adhesive layer of the blank.

The length of plastics panel material may be formed with a size such that a plurality of substrate-sized blanks can be cut and/or trimmed therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, the length of plastics panel material is up to 2 metres wide and of any convenient length.

When vehicle identification plates are to be fabricated, the finished plates are generally 520 x 111 mm and of a thickness sufficient to impart the plate with the necessary bend strength and impact resistance. Conventionally, the up to 2m wide plastics sheet is cut with a saw to about 522-523 x 113 mm. The blanks are then passed to a trimming machine which cuts the blanks to the appropriate size, bevels the edges and provides radiused corners. Therefore, about seventeen blanks can be formed across a 2m wide sheet.

Accordingly, when operating the present invention and when forming a 2m wide plastics panel material length, the adhesive and removable protective layer is, say, laminated over the entire sheet and the so-formed laminate may be cut to form eighteen blanks.

If operating the method on a smaller scale, the length of plastics may be formed, say, 113 mm wide and then have an adhesive layer laminated thereto, a single cut can then be made to separate the length into, say, 522 mm lengths and those lengths may then be passed to a trimmer for final shaping.

Clearly, any width of plastics length may be used, the above-identified widths are illustrative only.

The plastics panel is typically 2 to 6mm thick.

Advantageously, the plastics panel material is cut to 520 x 111 mm and/or cut and trimmed to 520 x 111 mm in a single step. The cutting and/or trimming step or steps may comprise cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material to have bevelled edges and/or radiused corners.

Any suitable means may be used for the cutting and/or trimming stage. The cutting and/or trimming step or steps may comprise cutting the plastics panel material using a laser cutting apparatus. Preferably, the plastics panel material is simultaneously cut and trimmed using the laser cutting apparatus. Such an arrangement precludes the need for cutting the plastics material into oversized blanks for subsequent trimming and thus reduces waste.

The sheet material may be pre-cut to the size of the finished blanks. Preferably, the sheet material is secured to the adhesive layer using a jig, for example a multi-pin jig, for example the jig disclosed in GB2321033, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The method may comprise applying indicia, for example using printing means, on the sheet material prior to securing it to the adhesive layer. The indicia may be applied or printed in a normal or reverse orientation. Preferably, the sheet material comprises a first surface, which is secured to the adhesive layer. More preferably, the applying or printing stage comprises applying or printing indicia on the first surface. If the identification plate is to be used as a vehicle licence plate, the indicia will be indicative of the vehicle to which the plate is to be attached.

The printing means preferably comprises a thermal mass transfer printer, laser printer or an ink jet printer.

The plastics panel material may be transparent and/or may be formed from acrylic, for example transparent or translucent acrylic, although other plastics materials which impart a necessary impact resistance and/or bend strength and/or transparency may be used.

In one embodiment the sheet material may be a retro-reflective sheet material.

Suitable retro-reflective sheet materials are either coated or non-coated. In such coated sheet materials, a thin acrylic layer is applied to the beaded surface, thereby providing those reflective particles with a lens and imbuing the sheet material with retroreflective characteristics. In non-coated retro-reflective sheet materials the surface is only provided with a retro-reflective character once a lens has been applied to it. With such non-coated retro-reflective sheet materials, when used in the methods disclosed above, the lens is provided by the transparent plastics panel material and it is only once this material has been applied to the retro-reflective material that the whole sandwich' acts retro-reflectively. Whilst non-coated retro-reflective materials are typically less expensive than the coated ones and for that reason may be preferred, it is possible to use either in the method disclosed herein.

The retro-reflective sheet material may be engineer-grade, diamond-grade or high intensity grade, all sold by 3M ot St. Pauls, Minnesota, USA. Of course, any other suitable retro-reflective material may be used. The above-mentioned retro-reflective sheet materials are available in up to 2m wide lengths.

W02006/1 36847 discloses an identification plate comprising transparent plastics panel having a first and second major face, a reflective or retroreflective material being adhered to a first major face of the panel and a transparent sheet adhered to the second major face and indicia between the transparent sheet and the second major face of the panel. The advantages of such a panel design will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In particular, laminating transparent sheet material to the panel provides additional rigidity thereto, which allows for a thinner panel. Also, there may be some advantage in printing to a smooth, transparent sheet material rather than to a hard uneven retroreflective sheet material.

Accordingly, in a further embodiment the sheet material comprises a transparent flexible sheet material. The transparent sheet material is preferably a plastics, polymeric material, for example it may be selected from polyester (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or other known transparent polymer sheet materials. The transparent sheet is preferably less than 150 pm thick, more preferably less than 1 OOpm thick.

When the sheet material is transparent, the applying or printing of indicia preferably comprises reverse applying or printing the indicia on a surface of the transparent sheet material.

The method may further comprise attaching or laminating a retro-reflective sheet material to the or a further major surface of the plastics panel material, for example before the cutting and/or trimming stage. Preferably, the further major surface is opposite the major surface onto which the adhesive layer is secured. More preferably, the retro-reflective sheet material is attached to the further major surface using an adhesive, which may be applied prior to cutting and/or trimming of the length of plastics material.

The retro-reflective sheet material may be provided with pre-applied indicia and/or other markings or pie-printed or pie-formed with indicia and/or other markings (e.g. the indicia and/or other markings may be applied or printed onto or formed on the retro-reflective sheet material before it is secured to the length or blank of plastics panel material). Such indicia and/or other markings may be, inter a/ia, one or more of a euro flag, a border, a manufacturer identifier, a barcode and so on.

The cutting and/or trimming may be optically controlled by reference to indicia and/or markings on the retro-reflective or may be mechanically controlled by reference to a pre-programmed or pre-arranged cutting sequence.

The printing of indicia may take place in accordance with GB2376437, the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.

Thus, a more specific aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing an identification plate, the method comprising: * advancing a substrate-sized length of transparent sheet material to a printing station, the sheet material having an opaque substance in contact with one major surface thereof; * preferably optically sensing passage of the leading edge of the substrate-sized length of transparent sheet material by attenuation of an optical beam by the opaque substance; * printing indicia in reverse on the other major surface of the sheet material; * removing a removable protective layer from a relatively thick rigid blank of plastics panel material to expose an adhesive layer attached thereto; * securing the printed transparent sheet material to the exposed adhesive layer; and * removing the opaque material from the transparent sheet material, * wherein the plastics blank is formed by attaching an adhesive layer to a major surface of a transparent plastics panel material and cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material and adhesive layer to form a blank.

The transparent sheet material may be supplied on a roll, or as individual blank-sized lengths. If the transparent sheet material is supplied on a roll, it may be shaped as a repeating pattern, each repeat thereof corresponding to a blank-sized length.

The opaque material may be a release sheet, in one embodiment a paper release sheet. Alternatively, the opaque material may be a plastics release sheet, such as a polypropylene sheet. The release sheet may be provided with a pressure sensitive emulsion adhesive layer, the transparent material may have a silicone layer applied thereto, the silicone layer which is contacted by the adhesive layer of the release sheet facilitates separation of the release sheet and sheet material. The silicone layer and adhesive layer allow the release sheet and sheet material two to be releasably adhered, such that the release sheet may be re-applied to the transparent material.

Said printing means may be arranged to print over some, most, or all of the transparent sheet material.

The transparent sheet material may have secondary and/or other information printed on the other major surface prior to being advanced to the printing station. The printing, on the transparent sheet material, of any secondary and/or other information may be completed off-line', which is to say that information may be printed and the transparent sheet material stored or held for future use. The printing of secondary and/or other indicia may be completed immediately before or after printing of the primary indicia.

A further aspect of the invention provides a length of plastics panel material, for example transparent plastics panel material, having a width of 0.5m or wider, preferably 1 m or wider, having an adhesive layer attached to a major surtace thereof and a removable protective layer applied to the adhesive layer.

A yet further aspect of the invention provides a length of panel material, for example transparent plastics panel material, having a width of 0.5m or wider, preferably 1 m or wider, and having a sheet material, for example reflective or retroreflective sheet material, adhered thereto.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a flow chart showing a prior art method; Figure 2 is a flow chart showing a method according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a part of the method of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the formation of a vehicle identification plate using a blank formed using the method of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a flow chart showing a method according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a part of the method of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a schematic representation of the formation of a vehicle identification plate using a blank formed using the method of Figure 5.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 there is shown a flow chart exemplifying the prior art.

The flow chart identifies the nine steps 1-9 necessary to form a vehicle licence plate.

Referring now to Figure 2, it is readily seen that the inventive method of the current application requires only six steps 10-15 to fabricate a vehicle licence plate.

As will be appreciated by the skilled addressee, the method of the invention will not only be quicker and more convenient that the prior art method due to the fewer number of steps but it will also result in less waste. For example, step 4 of the prior art method requires that the individual lengths, which are slightly larger than that of a finished blank, are trimmed to provide accurate sizing and bevelled edges and radiused corners. This step is not necessary in the method of Figure 2 as the blank is trimmed, bevelled and radiused simultaneously using the laser cutting apparatus, thus reducing the amount of wasted panel material.

Furthermore, the retro-reflective sheet material and adhesive layer must be slightly larger than the finished blank in the prior art method. The sheet and adhesive layer must be trimmed after they are secured to the finished blank to mitigate any misalignment therebetween.

The method of Figure 2 mitigates this issue by applying the adhesive to the plastics panel length prior to the cutting stage and so the retro-reflective sheet need not comprise an adhesive thereon. Accordingly, even if an oversized retro-reflective sheet material were laminated to the plastics panel and subsequently trimmed as in the prior art method, adhesive would not be wasted during the trimming stage.

However, the method of Figure 2 precludes the need for trimming the retro-reflective material, thus further minimising wasted material. Removal of the trimming stage requires accurate alignment between the retro-reflective sheet material and the plastics panel blank, which is made possible by use of the multi-pin jig.

Figure 3 shows part of a sheet 20 of transparent acrylic having an adhesive layer 21 laminated to a major surface of the acrylic sheet 20 and a removable protective layer 24 laminated to the adhesive layer. Shown on the sheet material 20 are nominal cut lines 22 which a laser cutting apparatus (not shown) will run along to provide individual blanks 23 of 520 x 111 mm with bevelled edges and radiused corners. This operation is pre-programmed or pre-arranged and is carried out automatically.

Referring to Figure 4 there is shown a length of medium 51 to be printed upon, comprising a length of blank-sized sheet 52 having a retro-reflective surface 53, which is advanced in the direction of arrow A. The medium 51 is brought to a printer which is a thermal transfer printer having a printing head 56 and a ribbon 57.

Mounted either externally or internally of the printer 55 is an optical sensing device 58, comprising an optical beam generator 59 and a detector 60, located on opposite sides of the path of travel of the medium 51.

The output of the optical beam generator 59 is detected by the detector 60 in the usual way so that any non-optically transparent medium which interrupts the beam causes a reduction in the signal detected by the detector 60. The signal detected by the detector 60 can be used to control operation of the printing head 56. For example, if the detected signal is interrupted, the interruption is detected by signal processing means 61, such as a computer, which, in turn, controls the printing head 56 to print on the retro-reflective sheet 52. Clearly, the speed at which the medium 51 is conveyed should be monitored and/or controlled. Monitoring the time between signals and the speed at which the medium 51 is conveyed allows accurate control of the location of so-printed indicia.

As the medium 51 passes through the optical beam, the signal detected by the detector 60 is interrupted. The signal processing means 61 responds to the interruption of detected signal to control the printing head 56 to start and finish printing the desired indicia on the retro-reflective sheet 52.

A computer, which may or may not be the same as the signal processing means 61, holds a store of the indicia desired to be printed onto the medium 51. The information is transmitted to the printer 55 which preferably arranges the formatting of the desired indicia. An eminently suitable and preferred printer is a QLS-4100 series, supplied by Astromed Incorporated of Rhode Island, USA. The print rate of such a printer can be as high as 20.4 cm per second, but is more typically operated at 7.6 cm per second. Therefore, using such a printer with optical control, up to 1200 standard British vehicle licence plates (52.1 x 11.1 cm) per hour can be produced automatically.

The resulting printed medium 65 is advanced to a lamination station 17. A blank 23 comprising transparent acrylic, formed in accordance with the above-described method, is also advanced to the lamination station 17. The protective layer 24 is removed as the blank 23 is advanced to the lamination station 17.

The lamination station 17 preferably includes a jig (not shown) to ensure accurate registration of the printed retro-reflective sheet 65 and the blank 23. The jig comprises a substrate having a plurality, preferably five, pins extending perpendicularly therefrom. The pins are arranged to surround the periphery of the blank sized plastics panel and/or retro-reflective sheet material to ensure accurate registration therebetween. The resulting laminated composite 80, or identification plate 80, is then ready for installation on a motor vehicle.

The printed medium 65, comprising the sheet 52 having a retro-reflective surface 53, and the blank 23 are shown as being rectangular, with right-angle corners.

Other shaped corners are possible, for example, each of the components 52, 53, 23 may have curved or radiused corners. Preferably, the blank 23 is formed with a bevelled edge formed by the laser cutting apparatus.

The above description has concentrated on what may be called individual or single-shot' printing. However, what may be termed continuous, batch' or web printing may also be used, wherein a length of printable medium comprising a web of sheet material having a retro-reflective surface is delineated into substrate-sized lengths by transverse perforations. The individual lengths are shaped with rounded corners.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the method according to the invention comprising seven steps 110 to 116. The method of Figure 5 is similar to that of Figure 2 but includes laminating a length of retro-reflective sheet material to a second major surface of the plastics panel material, opposite the surface carrying the adhesive and removable protective layer, prior to the cutting stage and subsequently laminating a printed transparent sheet to the adhesive layer.

As will be appreciated by the skilled addressee, the method of the invention will not only be quicker and more convenient than prior art methods of manufacturing such an identification plate design due to the fewer number of steps, but it will also result in less waste. The methods disclosed above require that a substrate-sized length of retro-reflective material is laminated to a blank to form a substrate. Generally, the blank and the retro-reflective sheet are not the same size and so a further trimming step is required.

By contrast, because the retro-reflective material is laminated in step 112 prior to the cutting of the plastics panel length, trimming is not required and issues related to registration are prevented. Therefore, there will be a reduction in the amount of waste blanks.

Turning to Figure 6, there is shown a part of a sheet of plastics panel material having a retro-reflective sheet material 125 laminated to a major surface thereof and an adhesive layer (not shown) covered by a removable protective layer 126. The plastics panel material has nominal cut lines 127 which are not visible and only shown for illustrative purposes. The retro-reflective sheet material 125 has been pre-printed or formed with a series of Euro' flags 128 and a series of borders 129.

The nominal cut lines 127 thereby define individual blanks.

As the plastics panel material passes a laser cutting apparatus (not shown), the apparatus optically recognises the position of the Euro flag 128 and/or the border 129 and cuts an individual blank according to the location of that flag 128 and/or border 129. Therefore, if the retro-reflective sheet material 125 is laminated to the plastics panel material so that their principal axes are not parallel, the laser will still accurately cut an individual blank.

As will be appreciated, optical or mechanical control may be utilised. The retro-reflective surface may be provided with guide lines at the intended corner of a blank for control of the laser cutting apparatus.

Referring to Figure 7 there is shown a length of medium 151 to be printed upon, comprising a length of transparent film 152 having an opaque release liner 153 in contact with one major surface thereof, which is advanced in the direction of arrow A. Among other advantages, which will become apparent, the release liner 153 provides the length of film 152 with some rigidity, making it easier to handle. The transparent film 152 is preferably polyester film with a thickness of about 50 pm. The opaque release liner 153 is preferably paper or polypropylene with a thickness of aboutlOopm.

The release liner 153 has a pressure sensitive adhesive emulsion layer applied thereto, that layer is typically 10 to 15 pm thick. The transparent polyester film 152 has a layer of silicone applied thereto, which is typically about 3 to 5 pm thick. The silicone layer is in contact with the adhesive emulsion layer. The silicone layer prevents complete adhesion between the adhesive emulsion layer and transparent film 152, and allows the release liner 153 to be removed and reapplied to the transparent film 152. This allows inspection of the completed plate and re-application of the release liner 153 to protect the surface during transit to a point of use or storage.

The printable medium 151 is brought to a printer 155 which is a thermal transfer printer having a printing head 156 and a ribbon 157. Mounted either externally or internally of the printer 155 is an optical sensing device 158, comprising an optical beam generator 159 and a detector 160, located on opposite sides of the path of travel of the medium 151.

The output of the optical beam generator 159 is detected by the detector 160 in the usual way so that any non-optically transparent medium which interrupts the beam causes a reduction in the signal detected by the detector 160. The signal detected by the detector 160 can be used to control operation of the printing head 156. For example, if the detected signal rapidly decreases, due to attenuation of the beam, the reduction is detected by signal processing means 161, such as a computer, which, in turn, controls the printing head 156 to print on the film 152. Clearly, the speed at which the medium 151 is conveyed should be monitored and/or controlled.

Monitoring the time between maximum signals and the speed at which the medium 151 is conveyed allows accurate control of the location of so-printed indicia.

As the printable medium 151 passes through the optical beam, the signal detected by the detector 160 decreases, due to the presence of the opaque release liner 153.

The signal processing means 161 responds to the reduction of detected signal to control the printing head 156 to start and finish printing the desired indicia on the transparent film 152, in reverse. That is to say that the printer 155 prints on the underside, as shown in Figure 5, of the transparent film 152. The opaque liner 153, which has a rougher surface than the transparent sheet material 152 and adds extra effective thickness, enables the rollers of the printer to both grip the medium 151 and keep it in accurate registration and thereby print onto the transparent film 152.

A computer, which may or may not be the same as said signal processing means 161, holds a store of the indicia desired to be printed onto the medium 151. The information is transmitted to the printer 1 55 which preferably arranges the formatting of the desired indicia. An eminently suitable and preferred printer is a QLS-4100 series, supplied by Astro-med Incorporated of Rhode Island, USA. The print rate of such a printer can be as high as 20.4 cm per second, but is more typically operated at 7.6 cm per second. Therefore, using such a printer with optical control, up to 1200 standard British vehicle licence plates (52.1 x 11.1 cm) per hour can be produced automatically.

The resulting printed medium 165 is advanced to a lamination station 117. A blank 123 comprising transparent acrylic and retro-reflective sheet material, formed in accordance with the above-described method, is also advanced to the lamination station 117. As the blank 123 is advanced to the lamination station 117, the protective layer 124 is removed.

The lamination station 117 preferably includes a jig (not shown) to ensure accurate registration of the printed medium 165 and the blank 123.The jig comprises a substrate having a plurality, preferably five, pins extending perpendicularly therefrom. The pins are arranged to surround the periphery of the blank sized plastics panel and/or retro-reflective sheet material to ensure accurate registration therebetween.

The so-formed laminated composite 170 is advanced to a further point where the opaque releasable liner 153 is removed from the transparent film 152, thereby providing a finished identification plate 180. Removal of the release liner 153 may be carried out prior to or subsequent to installation of the plate 170 on a vehicle so that the surface of the plate 170 is protected during transit. The silicone layer will be removed by the action of the elements, precipitation, wind and so on.

The printed medium 165, comprising transparent film 152 and opaque release liner 153, and the blank 123 are shown as being rectangular, with right-angle corners.

Other shaped corners are possible, for example, each of the components 152, 153, 123 may have curved or radiused corners. Preferably, the blank 123 is formed with a bevelled edge formed by the laser cutting apparatus.

The above description has concentrated on what may be called individual or single-shot' printing. However, what may be termed continuous, batch' or web printing may also be used, wherein a length of printable medium comprising a web of transparent film provided with a releasable backing layer is delineated into substrate-sized lengths by transverse perforations, as shown in Figure 4 of our British patent application no. 0213896.4. The individual lengths are shaped with rounded corners.

The methods disclosed herein can be used to manufacture vehicle licence plates as well as other signage -warning signs, direction signs, room-use indicators and so on.

In any or all of the methods disclosed above, indicia may be applied or printed in a normal or reverse orientation.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of manufacture of an identification plate, the

method comprising: * providing a length of transparent plastics panel material; * attaching an adhesive layer onto a major surtace of the plastics panel material; * cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material and adhesive layer to form a blank; and * securing a sheet material to the adhesive layer of the blank either before or after cutting and/or trimming.
2. A method according to Claim 1, comprising providing the length of plastics panel material in a size such that a plurality of substrate-sized blanks can be cut and/or trimmed therefrom.
3. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the length of plastics panel material is 2 metres wide or wider.
4. A method according to any of Claims 1 to 3, comprising cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material to 520 x 111 mm.
5. A method according to any preceding Claim, comprising cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material to have bevelled edges and/or radiused corners.
6. A method according to any preceding Claim, comprising cutting and/or trimming the plastics panel material using a laser cutting apparatus.
7. A method according to any preceding Claim, comprising applying indicia, for example using printing means, on the sheet material prior to securing it to the adhesive layer.
8. A method according to Claim 7 comprising applying indicia in normal orientation to said sheet material.
9. A method according to any preceding Claim, wherein said sheet material is reflective or retroreflective sheet material.
10. A method according to Claim 7, comprising applying indicia in reverse to said sheet material.
11. A method according to Claim 10, wherein said sheet material is transparent sheet material.
12. A method according to Claim 10 or 11, further comprising attaching or laminating a retro-reflective sheet material to a further major surface of the plastics panel material, for example before the cutting and/or trimming stage.
13. A method according to Claim 12, comprising attaching the retro-reflective sheet material to the further major surface using an adhesive, which is preferably applied prior to cutting and/or trimming of the length of plastics material.
14. A method according to any of Claims 9, 12 or 13, comprising pre-printing or pre-forming the retro-reflective sheet material with indicia.
15. A method as hereinbefore described.
16. A length of plastics panel material having a width of 1 m or wider having an adhesive layer attached to a major surface thereof and a removable protective layer applied to the adhesive layer.
17. A length of transparent plastics panel material having a width of 1 m or wider and having a reflective or retroreflective sheet material adhered thereto.