JP3035687B2 - Hydraulic transfer printing - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hydraulic transfer printing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in the hydraulic transfer printing method, a transfer film (a film mainly composed of polyvinyl alcohol) having a desired pattern printed on one surface is fed out from a supply roller and floated on a water surface in a transfer tank. A printing technology that transfers the pattern on the transfer film to the transferred object by pushing the transferred surface into the water from above the transfer film while transferring the transferred object by a conveyor while sending it out. However, since this printing method has a feature that printing on a three-dimensional curved surface is accurate and easy, it is recently used for surface printing of various three-dimensional products in various applications. Some proposals have been made to improve the hydraulic transfer printing method (JP-B-60-50597, JP-A-57-45090, JP-A-58-59090).
-31754 JP, JP-A-4-119850 JP, JP-A-4-122647
Issue publication).

[0003] In this type of printing method, usually,
In order to increase the adhesiveness of the print layer by swelling the transfer film and ensure good hydraulic transfer, before floating the transfer film fed from the supply roller on the water surface in the transfer tank, for example, by a roll coating device A process of applying an activator solution such as a barium sulfate-based methyl cellosolve solution to a printing surface of a transfer film is performed. Also, the transfer body printed according to the above procedure is usually applied by applying a clear paint to the transfer surface thereafter.
The final printed product whose surface is covered with a transparent resin is finished.

[0004]

However, a transfer printing product finally finished through such a process has a very smooth surface. Depending on the use of the product, the type of printed pattern, etc., a printed product having a high surface smoothness will be more demanded. However, in the case of a product printed with a wood grain pattern or a precious stone (marble etc.) pattern, the surface does not necessarily have to be completely smooth. It is desirable to be left on the surface. Genuine wood, precious stones, and the like originally have surface irregularities that can be seen by the human eye.
Even if these are coated with clear paint, the surface irregularities are not completely lost but remain to some extent,
For transfer printing products having a name stone pattern, etc., by forming such surface irregularities, not only visual but also
There is a need to be able to obtain a real feeling by touch. Especially in the field of car interiors,
In recent years, the use of wood-grained decorative items has been favored. Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of transfer printing products that can provide a tactile sensation similar to the surface of a clear-painted wood product in addition to the wood-grained pattern. It is currently growing.

However, with the conventional hydraulic transfer printing method, fine irregularities on the surface of a printed product cannot be expressed. Therefore, in a product on which patterns such as wood grain and name stone are transferred and printed, The feeling when touching the surface is significantly different from the case of clear coating on the surface of actual wood, precious stones, etc., and the tactile sensation unique to the product that would be obtained if it was a wood product, stone product etc. There was a disadvantage that it could not be obtained at all.

As one method of giving such a tactile sensation, a transfer film in which wood powder, stone powder, or the like is previously adhered to the surface of the film, in addition to wood-grained and stone-patterned printing ink, is used in the hydraulic transfer process. A method is conceivable. However, in this method, since such a special transfer film needs to be prepared and prepared in advance in a separate pre-process from the normal hydraulic transfer process, there is a disadvantage that the production process is further increased by one process. In addition, there are drawbacks such as the necessity of a dedicated coating device used in the process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has been made to solve the drawbacks of the conventional hydraulic transfer printing technology. For products on which patterns such as precious stones are transferred and printed, the same tactile sensation as that of actual wood, precious stones and other products with clear painted surfaces can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic transfer printing method which can be performed in a normal hydraulic transfer process and does not require any additional steps.

[0008]

In the hydraulic transfer printing method according to the present invention, a transfer film on which a pattern is printed is floated on a water surface in a transfer tank after applying an activator by using a hydraulic transfer device. In the printing method of transferring the pattern on the transfer film to the transfer target by transferring the transfer target body by a conveyor above the transfer surface and pushing the transfer target surface into water from above the transfer film. A non-smoothing agent having a size of 5 μ to 50 μ selected from at least one selected from the group consisting of powders, plastic powders, rubber powders, inorganic powders and pigments, is mixed into a solution of the activator; Is attached to the printing surface of the transfer film at the same time as the application. In summary, the present invention relates to a method for preparing a non-smoothing agent in the form of a relatively large powder, such as wood flour, alone or in the form of a mixture in a normal transfer printing process using a conventional hydraulic transfer apparatus. By mixing in the solution and attaching the non-smoothing agent to the printing layer surface of the transfer film at the same time as the application of the activator, fine unevenness is formed on the product surface together with the printed pattern through hydraulic transfer. It was done.

In the present invention, the non-smoothing agent refers to a powdery material capable of forming fine irregularities on the surface of a transfer printing product by performing hydraulic transfer while being attached to the printing surface of the transfer film. In the present invention, at least one selected from the group consisting of wood powder, plastic powder, rubber powder, inorganic powder and pigment is used. The wood flour may be finely pulverized natural wood, crushed wood chips, wood chips, and the like. The tree type, color, and the like are selected according to the type of printing pattern. As the plastic powder, rubber powder and inorganic powder, various plastics and rubbers, or various precious stones and the like may be powdered, and the material, color and the like are selected according to the design of the printed pattern. You. Further, the type of the pigment is not particularly limited, either, and is selected and used in accordance with the hue of the print pattern to be formed.

The powder as a non-leveling agent is 5 to 50
μ, more preferably 10 to 30 μ, is suitable. However, the size of the powder is appropriately adjusted within this range depending on the form of the printed pattern, the type of the product to be printed, and the like.

The non-smoothing agent is usually used in an amount of 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the solution of the activator (specific gravity: 1.00 to 1.10).
To 30 parts by weight, more preferably about 14 parts by weight. If the amount of the non-smoothing agent is less than 10 parts by weight, the amount of adhesion to the transfer film is too small, so that fine irregularities are not satisfactorily formed on the surface of the printed product. If the compounding amount exceeds 30 parts by weight, the amount of adhesion to the transfer film becomes excessive, so that it becomes difficult to perform the application of the activator and the satisfactory hydraulic transfer. When the compounding amount of the non-smoothing agent is within the above range, the amount of adhesion to the transfer film becomes appropriate, and satisfactory fine irregularities are formed on the surface of the printed product without inhibiting application of the activator and hydraulic transfer. Can be.

Further, the hydraulic transfer printing method of the present invention comprises:
The basic process is the same as the conventional printing method of this type. That is, the present method also unwinds a transfer film on which a desired pattern is printed from a supply roller, subsequently applies an activator, and sends the activator over the transfer tank to float it on the water surface while floating above the transfer tank. While the transfer object is conveyed on a conveyor, the transfer surface is pushed into the water from above the transfer film, so that the print pattern on the transfer film is transferred to the transfer object. Printed products that have been hydraulically transferred according to the method of the present invention are also typically subsequently coated with a clear resin coating on the printing surface. The thickness of the clear resin coating is usually 10 to 50μ,
More preferably, it is about 20μ.

[0013]

In the present invention, a non-smoothing agent such as wood powder is attached to the printing layer surface of the transfer film at the same time as the application of the activator, and subsequently, the transfer film to which the non-smoothing agent is attached is applied. The hydraulic transfer is carried out in the usual manner by using, and as a result, fine irregularities are formed on the surface of the product together with the printed pattern. By appropriately selecting the type, size, form, etc. of the non-smoothing agent, for example, for a product on which a grain pattern is transferred and printed, it is possible to obtain a tactile sensation similar to the tactile sensation of a product in which the actual surface of wood is clear-coated. Can be. Also, in the case of producing a printed product having a marble pattern or the like, it is possible to obtain a tactile sensation similar to the tactile sensation of a clear coated product made of such a material by the same means.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a hydraulic transfer apparatus suitable for carrying out the method of the embodiment. In this hydraulic transfer apparatus, a transfer tank 1 filled with water (a indicates a water surface).
And a transfer film supply device 3 for feeding out a transfer film 2 (PVA-based film, usually 600 m in length) on which a grain pattern is printed from a supply roller 9 and sending the transfer film 2 floating on the water surface in the transfer tank 1. A transfer conveyor 4 for transferring the printed pattern on the transfer film to the surface of the transfer object 5 by pushing the transfer surface into the water from above the transfer film 2 while transferring the transfer object 5 above.
And is composed of

The transfer tank 1 is divided into a main tank 11 and a sub-tank 12 located on the rear side, and a collection pipe from the sub-tank 12 is connected to a pump 10 via a filter (F). The outflow pipe from is introduced from the front side of the main tank 11. Accordingly, the operation of the pump 10 causes the water in the tank to overflow the side wall of the main tank 11 into the sub-tank 12 as shown in the figure, and the overflow water recovered is filtered again after the filtration. It is a tank of a system that constantly circulates so as to be supplied into the tank 11, so that the surface flow p is formed on the water surface a in the tank during operation.

The transfer conveyor 4 has two chains 13,
13 are arranged in parallel, each chain 13 is stretched between three pulleys 14... And several holders 6.
The pulleys 14... Connected thereto are rotated by the operation of the motor 15, and the chains 13, 13 move around, and the holder 6 is transferred with the rotation. The holder 6 has a structure in which a frame-shaped jig 20 on which the transfer target body 5 is mounted can be hung so as to be able to be detached. The conveyor 4 has a place where the holder 6 descends and a place where the holder 6 rises later. The former is the position of arrival and the latter is the position of unloading.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer film supply device 3 includes a supply roller 9 having a transfer film 2 having a length of about 600 m wound in an apparatus cover 16, and a transfer film unwound from the supply roller 9. 2, a neutralizing roller 17 provided to be able to move forward and backward so as to be in contact with and away from the transfer film 2, a tension roller 18 for applying a necessary tension to the transfer film 2, and then an activator is applied to the surface of the transfer film 1. The apparatus includes a roller coating device 8 for coating and a feed conveyor 19 for pulling the transfer film 2 so as to be sent out above the transfer tank 1. The transfer film 2 is fed out from the supply roller 9 during operation. Then, the vehicle travels while maintaining the necessary tension, and after the activator is applied on the way, it is sent out above the transfer tank 1.

Thus, the hydraulic transfer is performed by the film supply device 3
, The transfer film 2 is continuously supplied into the transfer tank 1 and sent out while floating on the water surface a, and the transfer conveyor 4 is operated. Then, while transferring this, the transfer surface is pushed into the water from above the transfer film 2 to transfer the print pattern on the transfer film 2 to the surface of the transfer object 5. The transfer is performed by the procedure of unloading the transfer-receiving body 5 from the holder 6 at the position where the holder 6 is raised. After a while
The hydraulically transferred printed product is coated with a clear resin, and a transparent resin coating having a thickness of 10 to 50 μm, more preferably about 20 μm is formed on the printed surface of the product.

The printing method according to the present embodiment using the above-described apparatus employs a non-smoothing agent (size: 5-50 μm) selected from the group consisting of wood powder, plastic powder, rubber powder, inorganic powder and pigment. ) Alone or in the form of a mixture, in a solution 7 (specific gravity: 1.00-1.10) of an activator, for example, a CF primer (active ingredient: mainly barium sulfate, solvent: methyl cellosolve, manufactured by The Inktec Co., Ltd.) To
10-30 parts by weight are mixed with 100 parts by weight of the activator solution, and the non-smoothing agent is applied simultaneously with the application of the activator to the transfer film 2
Is to be attached to the printing surface.

Thus, according to the present method, fine irregularities can be formed on the surface of a printed product together with the printed grain pattern simply by performing normal hydraulic transfer, and the type and size of the non-smoothing agent can be formed. By appropriate selection of the size and shape, it was possible to obtain a tactile sensation similar to the tactile sensation of an actual product with a clear painted surface of wood.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
For printed products, fine irregularities on the surface can be formed, and in the case of products on which patterns such as wood grain and precious stones have been transferred and printed, the tactile sensation of products with actual wood, precious stones, etc. The same tactile sensation can be obtained, and the processing for giving such a tactile sensation can be performed in a normal hydraulic transfer process, so that it is possible to obtain the effect that it is not necessary to separately provide a separate step and equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a hydraulic transfer apparatus suitable for performing a printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 transfer tank 2 transfer film 3 transfer film supply device 4 transfer conveyor 5 object to be transferred 6 holder 7 activator solution mixed with non-smoothing agent 8 roller coating device 9 supply roller a water surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41F 16/00 B44C 1/175

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Using a hydraulic transfer device, a transfer film on which a pattern is printed is floated on the water surface in a transfer tank following application of an activator, and the transfer object is conveyed above the transfer film by a conveyor. In a printing method in which the pattern on the transfer film is transferred to the transfer target by transferring the transfer surface and pushing the transfer surface into water from above the transfer film, wood powder, plastic powder, rubber powder, inorganic powder, and pigment are used. Mixing a non-smoothing agent of at least one selected from the group consisting of 5μ to 50μ in a solution of the activator, and attaching the non-smoothing agent to the printing surface of the transfer film simultaneously with the application of the activator; And a hydraulic transfer printing method.