JP7368930B2 - Multilayer printed matter manufacturing system and multilayer printed matter manufacturing device - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Published on the website on August 29, 2017. Exhibited at SIGN & DISPLAY SHOW 2017 from August 31, 2017 to September 2, 2017. Catalog distributed on September 11, 2017.

The present invention relates to a multilayer printed matter production system and a multilayer printed matter production apparatus that produce multilayer printed matter in which multiple layers are printed on a medium.

Conventionally, transparent or translucent sheets with designs printed on both the front and back sides have been known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the sheet described in Patent Document 1, when the sheet is illuminated from the front side but not illuminated by a light source on the back side, the designs on the front side are mainly visible from the front side. On the other hand, in the sheet described in Patent Document 1, when the light from the front side is suppressed and the light from the light source is applied to the back side, the pattern on the back side is illuminated by the light from the light source. Because it is transparent to the front side, the pattern on the back side is easier to see from the front side than when no light is applied from the light source on the back side.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-128734

However, in the sheet described in Patent Document 1, even when light is shining from the front side and no light is shining from the light source on the back side, the pattern on the back side is transparent to the front side. Since it is visible, there is a problem that the pattern on the back side is visible from the front side.

Therefore, the inventor of the present application has developed a method for printing on a medium two pattern layers on which a pattern is formed and a concealing layer that is placed between the two pattern layers and hides one side of the two pattern layers from the other. Invented multilayer printed matter.

Multilayer printed matter differs from regular printed matter in that a large number of layers have to be printed, and therefore requires much longer printing time compared to regular printed matter. Therefore, after all layers are printed on a medium by a special printing machine, an operator manually moves the medium with all the layers printed from the special printing machine to a special cutting machine, and then the medium is cut by the special cutting machine. When manufacturing a multilayer printed product by separating it from the media by cutting, an operator manually transfers the media printed by the printing machine from the printing machine to the cutting machine. It is necessary to wait for a long time from the start to the end of the printing of the layer. As a result, when a worker starts work in the morning, for example, he or she may have to work until late at night on the same day or until the morning of the next day.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multilayer printed matter manufacturing system and a multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus that can reduce the burden on workers who manufacture multilayer printed materials.

The multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention includes two pattern layers on which patterns are formed, and a concealing layer that is arranged between the two pattern layers and hides one side of the two pattern layers from the other. A multilayer printed matter production system that produces multilayer printed matter printed on a medium, the system comprising: an inkjet head that executes printing by ejecting ink onto the medium; a medium cutting means that cuts the medium; A moving means for relatively moving the inkjet head and the medium cutting means, and a print cut control means for controlling printing by the inkjet head and cutting by the medium cutting means, and the print cut control means is configured to move the inkjet head and the medium cutting means relative to each other. a printing step of relatively moving the medium and the inkjet head to print the pattern layer and the hiding layer on the inkjet head with respect to the medium, and after the printing step, moving the medium and the inkjet head by the moving means. A cutting step of relatively moving the medium cutting means to cause the medium cutting means to cut the medium is performed.

With this configuration, the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention executes the cutting step in which the moving means relatively moves the medium and the medium cutting means after the printing step in which the moving means relatively moves the medium and the inkjet head, so the printing step The operator does not have to manually move the printed media for the cutting step, compared to technology where the operator manually moves the media from a print-only machine to a cut-only machine. The burden on manufacturing workers can be reduced.

In the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention, the moving means includes a feeding section that supports the medium before printing by the inkjet head so as to be fed out in a rolled state, and a feeding section that supports the medium before printing by the inkjet head so as to be able to feed it out, and the medium after printing by the inkjet head. It may also include a winding section that supports the winding in a rolled state.

This configuration allows the multilayer print manufacturing system of the present invention to perform printing on long media, so that the printing step can take a very long time, and when the printing step takes a long time, the multilayer The advantage of being able to reduce the burden on workers who manufacture printed matter is greater.

In the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention, the print/cut control means moves the medium wound into a roll onto the winding section in the printing step from the winding section to the feeding section side in the cutting step. A return operation may also be performed.

In the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention, the medium cutting means has a cutting blade that cuts the medium, and the print cutting control means controls the penetration depth of the cutting blade into the medium before the cutting step. A test cut step is performed to determine the print layer group, and the test cut step is to cut a print layer group having the same thickness as the print layer group at the part to be cut in the cut step of the multilayer printed material onto the medium. The method may be a step of printing with an inkjet head, and then inserting the cutting blade into the medium through the group of printed layers to perform the cutting.

With this configuration, the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention causes the inkjet head to print a group of printed layers having the same thickness as the thickness of the printed layer group at the part to be cut in the cut step in the multilayer printed material, and then, Since a test cut step is performed in which a cutting blade is inserted into the medium through the printed layer group to perform a cut, it is possible to easily confirm the effect that the thickness of the printed layer group in a multilayer printed matter has on cutting.

The multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes two pattern layers on which patterns are formed, and a concealing layer that is disposed between the two pattern layers and hides one side of the two pattern layers from the other. A multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus for producing a multilayer printed matter printed on a medium, the apparatus comprising: an inkjet head that performs printing by ejecting ink onto the medium; a medium cutting means that cuts the medium; A moving means for relatively moving the inkjet head and the medium cutting means, and a print cut control means for controlling printing by the inkjet head and cutting by the medium cutting means, and the print cut control means is configured to move the inkjet head and the medium cutting means relative to each other. a printing step of relatively moving the medium and the inkjet head to print the pattern layer and the hiding layer on the inkjet head with respect to the medium, and after the printing step, moving the medium and the inkjet head by the moving means. A cutting step of relatively moving the medium cutting means to cause the medium cutting means to cut the medium is performed.

With this configuration, the multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention executes the cutting step in which the moving means relatively moves the medium and the medium cutting means after the printing step in which the moving means relatively moves the medium and the inkjet head, so the printing step The operator does not have to manually move the printed media for the cutting step, compared to technology where the operator manually moves the media from a print-only machine to a cut-only machine. The burden on manufacturing workers can be reduced.

The multilayer printed matter manufacturing system and multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can reduce the burden on workers who manufacture multilayer printed materials.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a multilayer printed matter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the multilayer printed matter shown in FIG. 1; (a) It is a top view of the surface layer shown in FIG. (b) It is a top view of the white layer shown in FIG. (a) It is a top view of the black layer shown in FIG. (b) is a plan view of the back layer shown in FIG. 2; 2 is a side view of a display device including the multilayer printed matter shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the multilayer printed matter when light is applied from the light source shown in FIG. 5 in a state in which light from the surface layer side is suppressed; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the computer shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a printing operation for the multilayer printed matter shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a preview screen executed by the preview execution means shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the preview screen shown in FIG. 10 with a check box checked. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of a display device including a multilayer printed matter different from the multilayer printed matter shown in FIG. 1; 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of printing a surface layer, a white layer, a black layer, and a back layer using the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a method of printing a surface layer, a white layer, a black layer, and a back layer using the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 7, which is different from the example shown in FIG. 13. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a method of printing a surface layer, a white layer, a black layer, and a back layer using the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 7, which is different from the example shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of the serial head type inkjet printer shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 17 is a schematic side view of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 17 is a block diagram of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of the manufacturing system shown in FIG. 7. 17 is a flowchart of the operation of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 16 when executing a print cut test. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a test condition reception screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. 20. FIG. (a) It is a front view of the holder which holds the cutting blade shown in FIG. 16. (b) It is a top view of the holder shown in FIG. 22(a). (a) It is a front cross-sectional view of a multilayer printed matter when it is cut by a cut blade having an appropriate blade extension amount shown in FIG. 22. (b) is a front cross-sectional view of the multilayer printed matter when the multilayer printed matter is cut by the cutting blade with an excessively large blade length shown in FIG. 22; (c) It is a front sectional view of the multilayer printed matter when it is cut by the cutting blade whose blade extension amount is too small as shown in FIG. 22.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below using the drawings.

First, the structure of the multilayer printed matter according to this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a multilayer printed matter 10 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the multilayer printed product 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the multilayer printed matter 10 includes a medium 20 and a printed layer group 30 formed on the medium 20.

The medium 20 may be, for example, a transparent medium or an opaque medium.

The printed layer group 30 includes a surface layer 31 , a white layer (hereinafter referred to as "white layer") 32 , a black layer (hereinafter referred to as "black layer") 33 , and a back layer 34 .

FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the surface layer 31. FIG. 3(b) is a plan view of the white layer 32. FIG. 4A is a plan view of the black layer 33. FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of the back layer 34.

The surface layer 31 represents a pattern as shown in FIG. 3(a), and constitutes the pattern layer of the present invention.

The white layer 32 shown in FIG. 3B is arranged between the surface layer 31 and the back layer 34 as shown in FIG. The surface layer 31 is made visible from the surface layer 31 side by reflecting the light, and constitutes the hiding layer of the present invention. The white layer 32 is printed with white ink. The white layer 32 is printed at, for example, 200%, where 100% is when the white ink lands on all pixels to be printed on the medium 20.

The black layer 33 shown in FIG. 4(a) is arranged between the white layer 32 and the back layer 34 to hide the back layer 34 from the surface layer 31 side, as shown in FIG. It constitutes a hidden layer. Since the black layer 33 is printed with black ink, it has higher light shielding performance than the white layer 32 which is printed with white ink. As shown in FIG. 2, the black layer 33 includes a portion 33a that does not exist in the stacking direction shown by the arrow 10a with respect to the surface layer 31. The black layer 33 is printed at, for example, 30% to 70%, assuming that the case where the black ink lands on all pixels to be printed on the medium 20 is 100%. The black layer 33 has higher light shielding performance than the white layer 32 when compared with the white layer 32 at the same thickness.

The back layer 34 represents a pattern, as shown in FIG. 4(b), and constitutes the pattern layer of the present invention.

Next, the configuration of a display device including the multilayer printed matter 10 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a display device 40 with a multilayer printed matter 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display device 40 includes a multilayer printed matter 10 and a light source 50 disposed on the side opposite to the front layer 31 with respect to the back layer 34 of the multilayer printed matter 10.

The display device 40 allows the user 60 to visually recognize the multilayer printed matter 10 from the side opposite to the back layer 34 with respect to the front layer 31 of the multilayer printed material 10.

Next, the operation of the display device 40 will be explained.

When the multilayer printed matter 10 is exposed to light from the surface layer 31 side but not from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side, the design on the surface layer 31 is visually recognized by the user 60 as shown in FIG. Ru.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the multilayer printed matter 10 when light is applied from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side while the light from the front layer 31 side is suppressed.

When the multilayer printed matter 10 is illuminated with light from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side while the light hitting it from the front layer 31 side is suppressed, the pattern on the back layer 34 is illuminated by the light source 50 as shown in FIG. Since the surface layer 31 side can be seen through due to the applied light, the user 60 can visually recognize the pattern in which the pattern on the surface layer 31 and the pattern on the back layer 34 are combined.

Next, the configuration of the system for manufacturing the multilayer printed matter 10 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system 70 for manufacturing multilayer printed matter 10. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the manufacturing system 70 includes an inkjet printer 80 that prints on the medium 20 (see FIG. 2), and a computer 90 such as a PC (Personal Computer) that sends print data to the inkjet printer 80. and constitutes the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention.

The inkjet printer 80 may be, for example, UCJV-300 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., which can print on the rolled medium 20, or may be another inkjet printer. The inkjet printer 80 has the function of a cutting plotter, and constitutes the multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of computer 90.

As shown in FIG. 8, the computer 90 includes an operation unit 91 that is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse through which various operations are input, and a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays various information. A display unit 92, a communication unit 93 which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or directly by wire or wirelessly without going through a network, and various types of communication units. It includes a storage section 94 that is a nonvolatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) for storing information, and a control section 95 that controls the entire computer 90 .

The storage unit 94 stores an image data generation program 94a for generating image data, a preview execution program 94b for executing a preview of a multilayer printed product, and a print data generation program 94c for generating print data. ing. The image data generation program 94a, the preview execution program 94b, and the print data generation program 94c may each be installed in the computer 90 during the manufacturing stage of the computer 90, or may be stored in a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a CD (Compact Disk). , may be additionally installed on the computer 90 from an external storage medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or may be additionally installed on the computer 90 from a network.

The control unit 95 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and various data in advance, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is used as a work area for the CPU. ing. The CPU is configured to execute programs stored in the ROM or the storage unit 94.

The control unit 95 implements an image data generation means 95a that generates image data for each of the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 by executing the image data generation program 94a. By executing the preview execution program 94b, the control unit 95 realizes a preview execution unit 95b that executes a preview of the multilayer printed matter to be printed based on the image data generated by the image data generation unit 95a. By executing the print data generation program 94c, the control unit 95 implements a print data generation unit 95c that generates print data based on the image data generated by the image data generation unit 95a.

Next, a method for manufacturing the multilayer printed matter 10 will be explained.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the printing operation of the multilayer printed matter 10.

As shown in FIG. 9, the operator causes the computer 90 to execute the image data generation program 94a, and generates image data for each of the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 from the operation unit 91. Instruct (S101). Therefore, the image data generation means 95a generates image data for each of the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 in response to instructions via the operation unit 91.

After the step S101, the operator causes the computer 90 to execute the preview execution program 94b, and instructs from the operation unit 91 to execute a preview of the multilayer printed matter to be printed based on the image data generated in S101 (S102). ). Therefore, the preview execution unit 95b executes a preview of the multilayer printed matter to be printed based on the image data generated in S101.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a preview screen 110 executed by the preview execution means 95b.

A preview screen 110 shown in FIG. 10 includes a preview area 111 in which a preview of a multilayer printed matter to be printed based on image data is displayed, and a display device 40 as shown in FIG. A check box 112 is used to select whether or not to display a preview of the multilayer printed matter when illuminated with light from the light source 50 when the multilayer printed matter is used for the purpose of the present invention.

The preview screen 110 shown in FIG. 10 is a preview screen 110 in which the check box 112 is not checked. Therefore, in the preview area 111 shown in FIG. 10, a preview of the multilayer printed matter is displayed in a state in which light is being applied from the front layer 31 side and no light is being applied from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the preview screen 110 in a state where the check box 112 is checked.

A preview screen 110 shown in FIG. 11 is a preview screen 110 in which a check box 112 is checked. Therefore, the preview area 111 shown in FIG. 11 displays a preview of the multilayer printed matter when light is applied from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side while the light hitting from the front layer 31 side is suppressed. .

As shown in FIG. 9, the operator determines whether or not the image data needs to be corrected based on the preview in S102 (S103).

If the operator determines in S103 that the image data needs to be corrected, the operator executes the process in S101.

If the operator determines in S103 that the image data does not need to be corrected, he causes the computer 90 to execute the print data generation program 94c, and instructs printing based on the image data generated in S101 from the operation unit 91 ( S104). Therefore, the print data generation unit 95c generates print data based on the image data generated in S101, and transmits the generated print data to the inkjet printer 80. When the inkjet printer 80 receives the print data transmitted from the computer 90, it forms the print layer group 30 on the medium 20 based on the received print data. That is, the inkjet printer 80 manufactures the multilayer printed matter 10 shown in FIG. 5 by sequentially printing the back layer 34, black layer 33, white layer 32, and surface layer 31 on the medium 20.

Note that the inkjet printer 80 can also manufacture a multilayer printed matter 120 shown in FIG. 12 by sequentially printing a surface layer 31, a white layer 32, a black layer 33, and a back layer 34 on the medium 20.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method of printing the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 using the inkjet printer 80.

An inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13 includes inkjet heads 81 to 86 that eject ink. Inkjet heads 81 to 86 are inkjet heads for serial head type. The colors of ink ejected by the inkjet heads 81 to 86 are cyan, magenta, yellow, black, white, and white, respectively.

The surface layer 31 and the back layer 34 are printed mainly with ink ejected by inkjet heads 81 to 84. White layer 32 is printed with ink ejected by inkjet heads 85 and 86. The black layer 33 is printed with ink ejected by an inkjet head 84.

The inkjet heads 81 to 86 are mounted on a carriage 87, and are moved relative to the medium 20 by moving the carriage 87 relative to the medium 20.

In the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13, when one of the inkjet heads 81 to 86 and the medium 20 is moved relative to the other in the main scanning direction indicated by an arrow 80a, the inkjet heads 81 to 86 direct the ink toward the medium 20. to be discharged.

In the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13, when the inkjet heads 81 to 86 eject ink toward the medium 20, an arrow 80b perpendicular to the main scanning direction is located in the ink ejection area of the inkjet heads 81 to 86. The printing areas 81a, 82a, 83a, 84a, 85a and 86a of the back layer 34 are printed in black in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction shown by the arrow 80c in the sub-scanning direction. Areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, 85b and 86b for printing on the layer 33, areas 81c, 82c, 83c, 84c, 85c and 86c for printing on the white layer 32, areas 81d, 82d for printing on the surface layer 31, 83d, 84d, 85d and 86d.

Note that, as described above, since the white layer 32 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet heads 85 and 86, the regions 81c, 82c, 83c, and 84c are not actually used. Similarly, since the black layer 33 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet head 84, areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 85b and 86b are not actually used.

Regions 81d, 82d, 83d, and 84d of the inkjet heads 81 to 84 constitute a first head. Areas 85c and 86c of inkjet heads 85 and 86 constitute a second head. A region 84b of the inkjet head 84 constitutes a third head. Regions 81a, 82a, 83a, and 84a of the inkjet heads 81 to 84 constitute a fourth head. Regions 81d, 82d, 83d and 84d, regions 85c and 86c, region 84b, and regions 81a, 82a, 83a and 84a are arranged in a direction opposite to the direction indicated by arrow 80c, that is, from upstream to downstream in a specific direction. They are arranged in this order.

In the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13, each time printing in the main scanning direction by the inkjet heads 81 to 86 is completed, the medium 20 is transferred to the inkjet heads 81 to 86 for a length of ejection area 80d in the subscanning direction. The multilayer printed matter 10 shown in FIG. 5 can be manufactured by relatively moving in the direction shown by the arrow 80c by 1/16 of the length.

Note that, in the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13, each time the inkjet heads 81 to 86 finish printing in the main scanning direction, the medium 20 is moved to the inkjet heads 81 to 86 by a length of 1/16 of the length 80d. , when relative movement is made in the direction shown by the arrow 80c, arbitrary locations are printed four times in the main scanning direction by the inkjet heads 81 to 86 on each of the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34. In other words, it is completed in four passes. Therefore, the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13 completes printing at any location on the multilayer printed matter 10 in 16 passes. However, the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13 employs a number of passes other than 4 as the number of passes to complete printing of arbitrary locations on each of the front layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34. Also good.

In the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 13, each time the inkjet heads 81 to 86 finish printing in the main scanning direction, the medium 20 is transferred to the inkjet heads 81 to 86 by, for example, 1/16 of the length 80d. By relative movement in the direction opposite to the direction shown by arrow 80c, a multilayer printed product 120 shown in FIG. 12 can be produced.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a method of printing the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 using the inkjet printer 80, which is different from the example shown in FIG. 13.

An inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 14 includes inkjet heads 181 to 191 that eject ink. Inkjet heads 181 to 191 are inkjet heads for serial head type. The colors of ink ejected by the inkjet heads 181 to 191 are cyan, magenta, yellow, black, black, white, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (black). black). The ink ejected by the inkjet heads 181 to 191 is UV ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet light.

An inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 14 includes an ultraviolet irradiation device 192 and an ultraviolet irradiation device 193 for irradiating ink ejected by inkjet heads 181 to 191 with ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet irradiation device 192 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 193 are arranged at positions sandwiching the inkjet heads 181 to 191 in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow 80a.

The back layer 34 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet heads 181 to 184. The black layer 33 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet head 185. White layer 32 is printed with ink ejected by inkjet heads 186 and 187. The surface layer 31 is printed with ink ejected by inkjet heads 188-191.

Inkjet heads 188 to 191 constitute a first head. Inkjet heads 186 and 187 constitute a second head. Inkjet head 185 constitutes a third head. Inkjet heads 181 to 184 constitute a fourth head. Inkjet heads 188 to 191, inkjet heads 186 and 187, inkjet head 185, and inkjet heads 181 to 184 are arranged in a direction opposite to the direction shown by arrow 80c, that is, from upstream to downstream in a specific direction. They are arranged in this order.

The inkjet heads 181 to 191, the ultraviolet irradiation device 192, and the ultraviolet irradiation device 193 are mounted on a carriage 194, and are moved relative to the medium 20 by moving the carriage 194 relative to the medium 20.

The method of manufacturing multilayer printed matter 10 and multilayer printed matter 120 using inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 14 is basically the same as the method of manufacturing multilayer printed material 10 and multilayer printed material 120 using inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. However, in the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 14, immediately after the ink ejected by the inkjet heads 181 to 191 lands on the medium 20 side, one of the ultraviolet ray irradiation devices 192 and 193 moves the carriage 194 toward the medium 20. The ultraviolet rays are irradiated and cured by an ultraviolet irradiation device on the upstream side in the direction of relative movement in the main scanning direction.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a method of printing the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 using the inkjet printer 80, which is different from the example shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

An inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 15 includes inkjet heads 281 to 291 that eject ink. The inkjet heads 281 to 291 are line head type inkjet heads. The colors of ink ejected by the inkjet heads 281 to 291 are cyan, magenta, yellow, black, black, white, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (black). black). The ink ejected by the inkjet heads 281 to 291 is UV ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet light.

An inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 15 includes ultraviolet irradiation devices 292 to 296 for irradiating ink ejected by inkjet heads 281 to 291 with ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet irradiation device 292 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 293 are arranged at positions sandwiching the inkjet heads 281 to 284 in the direction shown by the arrow 80b. The ultraviolet irradiation device 293 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 294 are arranged at positions sandwiching the inkjet head 285 in the direction shown by the arrow 80b. The ultraviolet irradiation device 294 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 295 are arranged at positions sandwiching the inkjet heads 286 and 287 in the direction shown by the arrow 80b. The ultraviolet irradiation device 295 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 296 are arranged at positions sandwiching the inkjet heads 288 to 291 in the direction shown by the arrow 80b.

The back layer 34 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet heads 281 to 284. The black layer 33 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet head 285. White layer 32 is printed with ink ejected by inkjet heads 286 and 287. The surface layer 31 is printed with ink ejected by the inkjet heads 288 to 291.

Inkjet heads 288 to 291 constitute a first head. Inkjet heads 286 and 287 constitute a second head. Inkjet head 285 constitutes a third head. Inkjet heads 281 to 284 constitute a fourth head. Inkjet heads 288 to 291, inkjet heads 286 and 287, inkjet head 285, and inkjet heads 281 to 284 are arranged in a direction opposite to the direction shown by arrow 80c, that is, from upstream to downstream in a specific direction. They are arranged in this order.

The relative positions of the inkjet heads 281 to 291 and the ultraviolet irradiation devices 292 to 296 are fixed.

When manufacturing a multilayer printed matter 10, the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. to 291 to eject ink toward the medium 20. In addition, in the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 15, when manufacturing the multilayer printed matter 10, ink ejected by the inkjet heads 281 to 284, ink ejected by the inkjet head 285, ink ejected by the inkjet heads 286 and 287, Immediately after the inks ejected by the inkjet heads 288 to 291 land on the medium 20 side, they are irradiated with ultraviolet rays by ultraviolet irradiation devices 293, 294, 295, and 296, respectively, and are cured.

When manufacturing a multilayer printed matter 120, the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. , ink is ejected toward the medium 20 by the inkjet heads 281 to 291. In addition, in the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 15, when manufacturing the multilayer printed matter 120, ink ejected by the inkjet heads 281 to 284, ink ejected by the inkjet head 285, ink ejected by the inkjet heads 286 and 287, Immediately after the inks ejected by the inkjet heads 288 to 291 land on the medium 20 side, they are irradiated with ultraviolet rays by ultraviolet irradiation devices 292, 293, 294, and 295, respectively, and are cured.

The method of printing the surface layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 using the inkjet printer 80 may be other than the methods shown in FIGS. 13 to 15.

FIG. 16 is a schematic front view of an inkjet printer 80 for serial head type. FIG. 17 is a schematic side view of the inkjet printer 80 shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the inkjet printer 80 includes an inkjet head 310, a cut blade 320 as a medium cutting means for cutting the medium 20, and a position facing the inkjet head 310 and the cut blade 320. a platen 330 that supports the medium 20 before printing by the inkjet head 310; a feeding roller 341 as a feeding section that supports the medium 20 in a rolled state so as to be able to feed the medium 20 before printing by the inkjet head 310; A winding roller 342 as a winding section that supports the medium 20 in a rolled state, a driving roller 343 for conveying the medium 20, and a driven roller 344 for pressing the medium 20 against the driving roller 343. We are prepared.

The inkjet printer 80 does not include a drive source for rotating the feeding roller 341. The inkjet printer 80 includes a take-up roller motor (not shown) as a drive source for rotating the take-up roller 342, and a torque of a certain magnitude or more from the take-up roller motor to the take-up roller 342. It is equipped with a sliding torque limiter (not shown) to prevent the torque from being applied. The inkjet printer 80 includes a drive roller motor (not shown) as a drive source for rotating the drive roller 343. The inkjet printer 80 does not include a drive source for rotating the driven roller 344.

When there is no slack in the medium 20 between the feeding roller 341 and the driving roller 343, the feeding roller 341 rotates as the medium 20 wound around itself is pulled by the driving roller 343, and the medium 20 is fed out.

The driven roller 344 is rotated by the drive roller 343 moving the medium 20 that is in contact with the driven roller 344 itself.

The take-up roller motor always generates power only in the rotational direction in which the medium 20 is taken up on the take-up roller 342. The torque limiter prevents the take-up roller 342 from applying torque exceeding a certain level from the take-up roller motor. Therefore, the medium 20 between the drive roller 343 and the take-up roller 342 is always maintained under a constant tension.

When the drive roller 343 is rotated by the drive roller motor and the medium 20 is moved by the drive roller 343 from the feed roller 341 side to the take-up roller 342 side, there is a gap between the drive roller 343 and the take-up roller 342. media 20 is wound up by take-up roller 342 by the length moved by drive roller 343 .

When the drive roller 343 is rotated by the drive roller motor and the medium 20 is moved by the drive roller 343 from the take-up roller 342 side to the feed-out roller 341 side, the medium 20 wound around the take-up roller 342 The take-up roller 342 is rotated by being pulled by the drive roller 343, and the medium 20 is unwound from the take-up roller 342. At this time, the medium 20 between the feeding roller 341 and the driving roller 343 is not wound up by the feeding roller 341, so that slack occurs.

In FIGS. 16 and 17, the support mechanism that supports the inkjet head 310 and the cutting blade 320 is not depicted, so the inkjet head 310 and the cutting blade 320 are floating in the air. However, the inkjet head 310 and the cutting blade 320 are actually supported by a support mechanism (not shown). This support mechanism supports the inkjet head 310 and the cutting blade 320 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction indicated by an arrow 300a.

In FIG. 16, the left-right direction in the figure is the main scanning direction indicated by an arrow 80a. In FIG. 17, the left-right direction in the figure is the sub-scanning direction indicated by an arrow 80b. The main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction are perpendicular to the vertical direction.

Inkjet head 310 means inkjet heads 81 to 86 when inkjet printer 80 is shown in FIG. 13, and inkjet heads 181 to 191 when inkjet printer 80 is shown in FIG. It means.

16 and 17 show an inkjet printer 80 for a serial head type. However, the inkjet printer 80 may include a line head type inkjet head as shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the inkjet printer 80.

As shown in FIG. 18, the inkjet printer 80 includes an inkjet head 310, a moving device 340 as a moving means for relatively moving the medium 20, the inkjet head 310, and the cut blade 320, and buttons for inputting various operations, for example. The operation unit 351 is an input device such as an input device, and the display unit 352 is a display device such as an LCD that displays various information. a communication unit 353 that is a communication device that communicates with the inkjet printer 80; a storage unit 354 that is a nonvolatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information; and a control unit that controls the entire inkjet printer 80. 355.

The moving device 340 includes the above-described feed roller 341, take-up roller 342, drive roller 343, driven roller 344, take-up roller motor, torque limiter, drive roller motor, and support mechanism. The moving device 340 moves the inkjet head 310 and the cutting blade by feeding out the medium 20 from the feeding roller 341 and winding it up by the winding roller 342, or feeding out the medium 20 from the winding roller 342 and winding it up by the feeding roller 341. 320, the medium 20 can be moved in the sub-scanning direction. Furthermore, the moving device 340 moves the inkjet head 310 and the cut blade 320 in the main scanning direction relative to the medium 20 by moving the inkjet head 310 and the cut blade 320 supported by the support mechanism in the main scanning direction. be able to. The moving device 340 may be able to further move the cutting blade 320 supported by the support mechanism in the sub-scanning direction.

The control unit 355 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and a RAM that is used as a work area for the CPU. The CPU executes a program stored in the ROM or storage unit 354.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the operation of the manufacturing system 70.

As shown in FIG. 19, the computer 90 causes the moving device 340 to move the medium 20 and the inkjet head 310 relative to each other by transmitting print data to the inkjet printer 80 as described above. A printing step (S401) is executed to print a surface layer 31, a white layer 32, a black layer 33, and a back layer 34 on 310. Here, during printing by the inkjet head 310, the inkjet printer 80 retracts the cut blade 320 to the end in the main scanning direction, that is, outside the printable range by the inkjet head 310.

After the printing step in S401, the computer 90 causes the moving device 340 to relatively move the medium 20 and the cut blade 320 by transmitting the cut data as well as the print data to the inkjet printer 80, so that the medium 20 and the cut blade 320 are transferred to the cut blade 320. A cutting step (S402) for cutting 20 is executed. Here, during the cutting by the cut blade 320, the inkjet printer 80 retracts the inkjet head 310 to the end in the main scanning direction, that is, outside the range where the cut blade 320 can cut.

In this way, the computer 90 constitutes a print/cut control unit that controls printing by the inkjet head 310 and cutting by the cut blade 320.

Next, a test of both the print step and the cut step (hereinafter referred to as "print cut test") in the inkjet printer 80 will be described. The print cut test constitutes a test cut step for determining the penetration depth of the cut blade 320 into the medium 20 prior to the cut step.

The operator can instruct the inkjet printer 80 to start the print cut test process via the operation unit 351. The control unit 355 of the inkjet printer 80 executes the operation shown in FIG. 20 when the print cut test is instructed.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the operation of the inkjet printer 80 when performing a print cut test.

As shown in FIG. 20, the control unit 355 displays a test condition acceptance screen 440 (see FIG. 21) on the display unit 352 for accepting designation of print cut test conditions (S421).

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the test condition acceptance screen 440.

As shown in FIG. 21, the test condition reception screen 440 includes a layer number reception section 441 for accepting the designation of the number of layers in a group of printed layers in multilayer printing as a condition for a print cut test, and a layer number reception section 441 for accepting the designation of the number of layers in a group of printed layers in multilayer printing as a condition for a print cut test. It includes a pattern reception unit 442 for accepting designation of a cut pattern, and an execution button 443 for instructing execution of a print step and a cut step.

Note that the print data and cut data used in the print cut test are prepared in advance. That is, print data and cut data corresponding to patterns that can be accepted by the pattern receiving section 442 are stored in the storage section 354 for each pattern. The cut position specified in this cut data overlaps with the position in the image printed with this print data.

The patterns that can be accepted by the pattern receiving section 442 include two pattern layers in which a pattern is formed, and at least one pattern layer that is arranged between these pattern layers and hides the other pattern layer from one side of the pattern layer. A pattern is included in which a printing layer group including a hiding layer is printed.

As shown in FIG. 20, after the process of S421, the control unit 355 determines whether the execution button 443 has been pressed until it determines that the execution button 443 has been pressed (S422).

When the control unit 355 determines in S422 that the execution button 443 has been pressed, the control unit 355 prints the inkjet head with the number of layers accepted by the layer number acceptance unit 441 based on the print data corresponding to the pattern accepted by the pattern acceptance unit 442. 310 and the mobile device 340 execute printing on the medium 20 (S423). That is, the control unit 355 executes the printing step.

Next, the control unit 355 causes the cutting blade 320 and the moving device 340 to cut the medium 20 based on the cut data according to the pattern accepted by the pattern accepting unit 442 (S424). That is, the control unit 355 executes the cut step.

Next, the control unit 355 displays the parts printed in S423 and the parts cut in S424 so that the operator can easily check the parts printed in S423 and the parts cut in S424. The moving device 340 transports the medium 20 until the position (hereinafter referred to as "test processing position") reaches a specific position (S425), and the operation shown in FIG. 20 ends.

In addition, in the operation shown in FIG. 20, the control unit 355 automatically transports the medium 20 by the moving device 340 through the process of S425 until the test processing position reaches a specific position. However, the control unit 355 does not have to be configured to automatically transport the medium 20 by the moving device 340 until the test processing position reaches a specific position. For example, when a specific instruction is input via the operation unit 351, the control unit 355 may cause the moving device 340 to transport the medium 20 until the test processing position reaches a specific position.

In the operation shown in FIG. 20, when the moving device 340 transports the medium 20 until the test processing position reaches a specific position, the control unit 355 controls the movement when a specific instruction is input via the operation unit 351. The device 340 may return the medium 20 to its original position.

As described above, the control unit 355 constitutes a print/cut control unit that controls printing by the inkjet head 310 and cutting by the cut blade 320 when executing a print/cut test.

After the cut is executed in S424, the operator preferably checks the state of the nozzles of the inkjet head 310 by checking the printed area in S423 when the test processing position is at a specific position. , various information regarding printing can be determined from the print result. The operator can then adjust the inkjet printer 80 based on the determination result.

Furthermore, by checking the cut location in S424, the operator can determine various information regarding the cut from the cut result. The operator can then adjust the inkjet printer 80 based on the determination result. For example, when the operator confirms whether the depth of the cut is excessive or insufficient for a portion of the medium 20 where multilayer printing is performed, or when the operator confirms cracks in the printed layer group due to cutting, the operator uses the cutting blade 320 to It is possible to adjust the output amount, adjust at least one of the cutting pressure and speed of the inkjet printer 80, and the like.

FIG. 22(a) is a front view of the holder 460 that holds the cutting blade 320. FIG. 22(b) is a top view of the holder 460.

As shown in FIG. 22, the holder 460 is formed with an object contact surface 461 for contacting the object to be cut by the cut blade 320, and a hole 462 that opens in the object contact surface 461 and into which the cut blade 320 is inserted. has been done. The holder 460 includes an adjustment knob 463 for changing the length from the tip of the cutting blade 320 inserted into the hole 462 to the target contact surface 461, that is, the blade extension amount 460a. The blade extension amount 460a of the holder 460 is changed by rotating the adjustment knob 463 around the central axis 460b.

FIG. 23(a) is a front cross-sectional view of a multilayer printed matter 480 cut by a cutting blade 320 with an appropriate blade extension 460a. FIG. 23(b) is a front cross-sectional view of the multilayer printed matter 480 when the cut blade 320 has an excessively large blade extension 460a. FIG. 23(c) is a front cross-sectional view of the multilayer printed matter 480 when it is cut by the cutting blade 320 whose blade extension 460a is too small.

A multilayer printed matter 480 shown in FIG. 23 is composed of a medium 20 and a printed layer group 481 formed on the medium 20. Here, the medium 20 is composed of a mount 482 and a sticker 483 affixed to the mount 482. A printed layer group 481 is formed on the seal 483. The printed layer group 481 is a simulated printed layer group 30 of the multilayer printed material 10 or the multilayer printed material 120 that is to be cut in the cut step, and is generated with the same thickness as the printed layer group 30. be done.

When checking the cut portion of the multilayer printed material 480 in S424, the operator determines whether the multilayer printed material 480 has been completely cut in the thickness direction of the multilayer printed material 480. Here, if the operator determines that the multilayer printed material 480 is completely cut in the thickness direction of the multilayer printed material 480, the operator can determine that the blade extension amount 460a is too large as shown in FIG. 23(b). .

When checking the cut portion of the multilayer printed matter 480 in S424, the operator must check whether the sticker 483 is completely cut in the thickness direction of the sticker 483 after actually peeling the sticker 483 from the mount 482. to judge. Here, if the operator determines that the seal 483 is not completely cut in the thickness direction of the seal 483, the operator can determine that the blade extension amount 460a is too small as shown in FIG. 23(c).

Then, if the operator determines that the multilayer printed matter 480 is not completely cut in the thickness direction of the multilayer printed material 480 and also determines that the seal 483 is completely cut in the thickness direction of the sticker 483, the As shown in (a), it can be determined that the blade extension amount 460a is appropriate.

Since the multilayer printed matter 480 includes a thick printed layer group 481, the printed layer has a greater influence on cutting than a normal printed matter with only one printed layer, and the adjustment work for the blade length 460a is difficult. is necessary. In order to adjust the blade extension amount 460a, it is necessary to actually check the effect that the thickness of the printed layer group 481 in the multilayer printed matter 480 has on cutting. The inkjet printer 80 causes the inkjet head 310 to print a print layer group 481 having the same thickness as the print layer group 30 at the location to be cut in the cut step in the multilayer print 10 or the multilayer print 120, and then , a print cut test is performed in which the cut blade 320 enters the medium 20 through the print layer group 481 and cuts are performed (S423 and S424), so the influence of the thickness of the print layer group 481 in the multilayer printed matter 480 on the cut is It is possible to facilitate the confirmation of

Note that in the print cut test, it is sufficient that the thickness of the multilayer printed material 10 or the multilayer printed portion 120 can be ensured at the location to be cut. Therefore, the print data used in the print cut test does not have to be prepared in advance. For example, the control unit 355 of the inkjet printer 80 may create pseudo data for the pattern layer or the hidden layer on the spot based on the solid print pattern specified by the operator when executing the print cut test. Similarly, the cut data used in the print cut test does not have to be prepared in advance.

In the above, the control unit 355 of the inkjet printer 80 starts the print cut test process in response to instructions from the operator. However, the control unit 355 may automatically start the print cut test process without receiving instructions from the operator.

In the above, the control unit 355 of the inkjet printer 80 executes a print cut test in which both printing and cutting are performed as a test cut step. However, the control unit 355 may execute a test cut step in which only cutting is performed. That is, the operator can have the inkjet printer 80 print the print layer group for cutting in the test cut step before the test cut step. Then, the control unit 355 may simply cause the cut blade 320 to cut the portion of the printed layer group formed on the medium 20 in the test cut step.

In the above description, the portion cut in the test cutting step is the portion where both the pattern layer and the concealing layer are formed. However, the portion cut in the test cutting step may be a portion where only either the pattern layer or the concealing layer is formed.

Note that when the inkjet printer 80 is equipped with an ejection device such as a dispenser for ejecting a substance other than ink onto the printing layer, the control unit 355 controls whether the ejection device is used in the print cut test shown in FIG. The ejection may be performed between the process of S423 and the process of S424. The substance discharged by this discharge device includes, for example, a transparent substance that has high viscosity in an uncured state and hardens under specific conditions.

As described above, the manufacturing system 70 includes the inkjet printer 80 that is equipped with the inkjet head 310 that prints on the medium 20 and the cut blade 320 that cuts the medium 20. Once the medium 20 is set, after a printing step (S401) in which the medium 20 and the inkjet head 310 are relatively moved by the moving device 340 of the inkjet printer 80, the inkjet printer 80, which is the same device that executed printing on the medium 20, A cutting step (S402) can be performed in which the moving device 340 of the printer 80 moves the medium 20 and the cutting blade 320 relative to each other. Therefore, the manufacturing system 70 eliminates the need for an operator to manually move the medium 20 printed by the printing step for the cutting step, and allows the operator to manually move the medium 20 from the print-only machine to the cut-only machine. Compared to the moving technique, the burden on the worker who manufactures the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the manufacturing system 70 includes an inkjet printer 80 equipped with a feed roller 341 and a take-up roller 342, and when the medium 20 that is wound into a roll is targeted, the manufacturing system 70 is configured to process a long medium. Since printing can be performed in 20 seconds, the time taken for the printing step can be very long. Further, in the manufacturing system 70, when each layer of the multilayer printed material 10 and the multilayer printed material 120 is printed in multiple passes, as the number of passes increases, the time required for the printing step increases in accordance with the number of passes. Furthermore, in the manufacturing system 70, as the number of layers of the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 increases, the time required for the printing step increases in accordance with the number of layers. The manufacturing system 70 has the advantage of being able to reduce the burden on the workers who manufacture the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 when the printing step takes a long time.

In the manufacturing system 70, the computer 90 executes a return operation in which the medium 20 wound up into a roll on the take-up roller 342 in the printing step is returned from the take-up roller 342 to the payout roller 341 side in the cutting step by the driving roller 343. . The cutting of the medium 20 in the cutting step may be performed when the medium 20 is returned from the take-up roller 342 to the feed-out roller 341 side by the drive roller 343, or when the medium 20 is returned from the take-up roller 342 to the feed-out roller 341 side by the drive roller 343. It may be executed when the returned medium 20 is conveyed again from the feed roller 341 side to the take-up roller 342 side by the drive roller 343.

Note that the computer 90 may suppress the length in the sub-scanning direction of the area printed on the medium 20 in one printing step to less than a specific length. When the length in the sub-scanning direction of the area printed on the medium 20 in one printing step is suppressed to less than a specific length, the computer 90 determines the length of the image to be printed on the medium 20 in the sub-scanning direction. is greater than or equal to a certain length, divide this image into multiple areas such that the length of each area in the sub-scanning direction is less than a certain length, and perform a printing step for each area in turn. and the cutting step may be repeated.

The inkjet printer 80 can accurately cut the pattern formed by printing by matching the origin position of the cut in the cut step with the origin position of the print in the print step.

Since the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 are provided with a white layer 32 and a black layer 33 as concealing printed layers between the surface layer 31 and the back layer 34, the back layer 34 is exposed to light from the surface layer 31 side. On the other hand, when light is not applied from the light source 50 on the side opposite to the surface layer 31 side, the user 60 When visually recognized by the user, the hiding property of the backing layer 34 can be improved. In other words, the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 can improve the concealability of the designs on the light source 50 side among the plurality of designs from the front side when the light source 50 on the back side is not shining on them.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, when comparing the white layer 32 and the black layer 33 at the same thickness, the black layer 33 has a higher light-shielding performance than the white layer 32, so it is possible to perform concealment printing using only the white layer 32. The same hiding performance can be obtained even if the overall thickness of the printing layer for hiding is made thinner than when a layer is formed. That is, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the thickness of the entire concealing printed layer can be reduced. Therefore, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, when light is applied to the back layer 34 from the light source 50 on the side opposite to the front layer 31 side while the light hitting from the front layer 31 side is suppressed, When the light emitted from the light source 50 passes through the concealing printed layer, the amount of light scattered by the concealing printed layer can be suppressed, and as a result, the light from the light source 50 clearly illuminates the back layer 34 toward the surface layer 31 side. You can make it transparent. For example, in the case of the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, when light is applied to the back layer 34 from the light source 50 on the side opposite to the front layer 31 side while the light hitting from the front layer 31 side is suppressed, The outline of the design on the back layer 34 can be clearly seen through to the surface layer 31 side by the light from the light source 50.

The multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 include two concealing printed layers made of different materials with different light-shielding performance, that is, a white layer 32 and a black layer 33. The same hiding performance can be obtained even if the material of the layer 32, that is, the thickness of the entire concealing print layer is made thinner than when the concealing print layer is formed using only white ink. Therefore, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, by reducing the overall thickness of the concealing printed layer, for example, the amount of ink for printing the concealing printed layer can be reduced. Furthermore, depending on the method of printing the concealing print layer, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the printing time of the concealing print layer can be shortened by reducing the thickness of the entire concealing print layer. For example, when the positions of the inkjet heads 81 to 86 in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the medium 20 are the same, the number of relative movements of the inkjet heads 81 to 86 in the main scanning direction with respect to the medium 20, that is, the number of passes is increased. When the printing method increases the amount of ink ejected from the inkjet heads 81 to 86 toward the medium 20, the thickness of the entire concealing printing layer is reduced, that is, the amount of ink ejected from the inkjet heads 81 to 86 to the medium 20 is reduced. By reducing the amount of ink ejected toward the mask, the printing time for the concealing print layer can be shortened.

Note that in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, if the light shielding performance of the concealing printed layer on the back layer 34 side (hereinafter referred to as "back layer side concealing printed layer") is too low, light from the user 60 side, That is, when exposed to ambient light, the pattern on the back layer 34 is easily visible to the user 60. Furthermore, if the light-shielding performance of the backside concealing printing layer is too high, the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 may be damaged by the user 60 from the side opposite to the light source 50 even when light is applied from the light source 50. 34 design is difficult to see. Therefore, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, it is preferable that the black density of the backside concealing printing layer is an appropriate density that is neither too low nor too high. For example, in the case of the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, when the thickness of the medium 20 is reduced, the light from the light source 50 becomes easier to pass through the medium 20, so the black density of the backside concealing printed layer is increased. is preferred. In addition, when the light from the user 60 side, that is, the environmental light becomes strong, the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 make it easier for the user 60 to see the pattern on the back layer 34, so the back layer side concealment printing It is preferable to increase the black density of the layer.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, when light from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side is applied while light from the front layer 31 side is suppressed, the black layer 33 is stacked in the stacking direction with respect to the front layer 31. Since the light from the light source 50 easily passes through the area 10b (see FIG. 6) that does not exist in the area 10b, the light from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side is applied while the light hitting from the surface layer 31 side is suppressed. In this case, when viewed by the user 60 from the side opposite to the light source 50 side, the region 10b where the black layer 33 is not present in the stacking direction with respect to the surface layer 31 can be highlighted.

Note that in the present embodiment, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, a portion 33a that does not exist in the lamination direction with respect to the surface layer 31 exists in the black layer 33. However, in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, a portion may exist in the white layer 32 that does not exist in the lamination direction with respect to the surface layer 31.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the backside concealing printed layer is the black layer 33, and even if the backside concealing printed layer is thin, it exhibits high light-shielding performance. The thickness can be reduced. Note that in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the backside concealing printed layer does not have to be black.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the concealing printed layer on the surface layer 31 side (hereinafter referred to as the "surface side concealing printed layer") is the white layer 32, and the lightness of the surface side concealing printed layer is high. When the surface layer 31 is visually recognized by the user 60 from the side opposite to the light source 50 side when the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side is not shining on the surface layer 31 side, the surface layer 31 The brightness of the displayed pattern can be improved by the brightness of the surface-side concealing printing layer. Note that in the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the surface-side concealing printed layer does not have to be white.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed material 120, the light-shielding performance of the material of the back-side concealing printed layer is higher than the light-shielding performance of the material of the front-side concealing printed layer, so the brightness of the front-side concealing printed layer is suppressed by the back-side concealing. printing layer. In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the brightness of the white layer 32, which is the front-side concealing printed layer, is higher than the black layer 33, which is the back-side concealing printed layer, so that the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 can be printed with light from the front layer 31 side. When the surface layer 31 is viewed by the user 60 from the side opposite to the light source 50 when no light is applied from the light source 50 on the back layer 34 side, the brightness of the pattern represented by the surface layer 31 is determined by the white layer 32. The brightness can be improved.

In the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120, the back side concealing printed layer has a higher light shielding performance than the back side concealing printed layer when compared with the front side concealing printed layer at the same thickness, and has a higher light reflection property. Performance is low. Differences in light shielding performance and light reflection performance can be achieved by differences in materials, and even if the materials are the same, they can also be achieved by differences in structure. Here, the difference in structure is, for example, a difference in the size and content of particles contained in the ink.

In the multilayer printing method shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the medium 20 is moved in one particular direction in the sub-scanning direction indicated by an arrow 80b with respect to inkjet heads 81 to 86, inkjet heads 181 to 191, and inkjet heads 281 to 291, respectively. It is possible to simultaneously print the four layers of the front layer 31, white layer 32, black layer 33, and back layer 34 by simply moving them relative to each other. The positional accuracy between layers can be improved, and high-quality multilayer printed matter 10 and multilayer printed matter 120 can be manufactured.

In the inkjet printer 80 in this embodiment, the medium 20 returned from the take-up roller 342 to the feed-out roller 341 side by the drive roller 343 is not wound up by the feed-out roller 341 . However, the inkjet printer 80 is equipped with a motor as a driving source for rotating the feed roller 341, so that the medium 20 returned from the take-up roller 342 to the feed roller 341 side by the drive roller 343 is wound by the feed roller 341. You can take it.

In this embodiment, the inkjet printer 80 employs a roll-to-roll processing method as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. However, the inkjet printer 80 may employ a processing method other than the roll-to-roll method. For example, the inkjet printer 80 may employ a flatbed processing method in which the medium 20 is placed on a flat platen and the inkjet head 310 and cutting blade 320 are moved without moving the medium 20.

In this embodiment, the inkjet printer 80 includes a cut blade 320 as a medium cutting means of the present invention. However, the medium cutting means of the present invention may have a configuration other than a cutting blade. For example, the medium cutting means of the present invention may cut the medium 20 using a laser.

In the manufacturing system 70, a computer 90 constitutes a print/cut control means in this embodiment. However, the manufacturing system 70 may configure the print/cut control means using other configurations. For example, the manufacturing system 70 may configure the print/cut control means by cooperating with the control unit 355 of the inkjet printer 80 and the computer 90, or may configure the print/cut control unit only by the control unit 355. . When the print cut control means is composed of only the control section 355, the inkjet printer 80 alone constitutes the multilayer printed matter manufacturing system of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 include two layers, a white layer 32 and a black layer 33, as concealing layers. However, multilayer printed matter 10 and multilayer printed matter 120 may include a number of hiding layers other than two. That is, the multilayer printed matter 10 and the multilayer printed matter 120 may include only one hiding layer, or may include three or more layers.

10 Multilayer printed matter 20 Medium 30 Print layer group 31 Surface layer (design layer)
32 White layer (hidden layer)
33 Black layer (hidden layer)
34 Back layer (design layer)
70 Manufacturing system (multilayer printed matter manufacturing system)
80 Inkjet printer (multilayer printed matter manufacturing equipment, multilayer printed matter manufacturing system)
81-86 Inkjet head 90 Computer (print/cut control means)
120 Multilayer printed matter 181-191 Inkjet head 281-291 Inkjet head 310 Inkjet head 320 Cut blade (medium cutting means)
340 Mobility device (transportation means)
341 Feeding roller (feeding part)
342 Winding roller (winding section)
355 Control unit (print cut control means)
480 Multilayer printed matter 481 Printed layer group

Claims (4)

two pattern layers on which the pattern is formed;
a concealing layer disposed between the two pattern layers and concealing one side of the two pattern layers from the other, a multilayer printed matter manufacturing system for producing a multilayer printed matter printed on a medium,
an inkjet head that performs printing by ejecting ink onto the medium;
a medium cutting means for cutting the medium;
moving means for relatively moving the medium, the inkjet head, and the medium cutting means;
and a print/cut control unit that controls printing by the inkjet head and cutting by the medium cutting unit,
The print cut control means includes:
a printing step of relatively moving the medium and the inkjet head by the moving means to cause the inkjet head to print the pattern layer and the concealing layer on the medium;
After the printing step, performing a cutting step of relatively moving the medium and the medium cutting means by the moving means and causing the medium cutting means to cut the medium,
The medium cutting means has a cut blade that cuts the medium,
The print cut control means executes a test cut step to determine the penetration depth of the cut blade into the medium before the cut step;
In the test cutting step, a group of printed layers having the same thickness as the printed layer group at the part to be cut in the cutting step of the multilayer printed material is printed on the medium by the inkjet head, and then, the printed layer group is printed on the medium by the inkjet head. performing the cut by penetrating the cutting blade into the medium through a group ;
The hiding layer includes a white layer,
The white layer is the pattern layer which is placed on the medium side with respect to the concealing layer, with respect to the surface layer side which is the pattern layer which is placed on the side opposite to the medium side with respect to the concealing layer. What is claimed is: 1. A multilayer printed matter production system, characterized in that a certain back layer is concealed, and light incident from the front layer side is reflected to make the front layer visible from the front layer side. The transportation means is
a feeding unit that supports the medium before being printed by the inkjet head so that the medium can be fed out in a rolled state;
The multilayer printed matter manufacturing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a winding unit that supports the medium after printing by the inkjet head in a rolled state. The printing/cutting control means is characterized in that in the printing step, the medium wound up into a roll on the winding section is returned from the winding section to the feeding section side in the cutting step. The multilayer printed matter manufacturing system according to claim 2. two pattern layers on which the pattern is formed;
a concealing layer disposed between the two pattern layers and concealing one side of the two pattern layers from the other;
an inkjet head that performs printing by ejecting ink onto the medium;
a medium cutting means for cutting the medium;
moving means for relatively moving the medium, the inkjet head, and the medium cutting means;
and a print/cut control unit that controls printing by the inkjet head and cutting by the medium cutting unit,
The print cut control means includes:
a printing step of relatively moving the medium and the inkjet head by the moving means to cause the inkjet head to print the pattern layer and the concealing layer on the medium;
After the printing step, performing a cutting step of relatively moving the medium and the medium cutting means by the moving means and causing the medium cutting means to cut the medium,
The medium cutting means has a cut blade that cuts the medium,
The print cut control means executes a test cut step to determine the penetration depth of the cut blade into the medium before the cut step;
In the test cutting step, a group of printed layers having the same thickness as the printed layer group at the part to be cut in the cutting step of the multilayer printed material is printed on the medium by the inkjet head, and then, the printed layer group is printed on the medium by the inkjet head. performing a cut by penetrating the cutting blade into the medium through a group ;
The hiding layer includes a white layer,
The white layer is the pattern layer which is arranged on the medium side with respect to the concealing layer, with respect to the surface layer side which is the pattern layer which is arranged on the side opposite to the medium side with respect to the concealing layer. A multilayer printed matter manufacturing apparatus characterized in that a certain back layer is hidden, and light incident from the front layer side is reflected to make the front layer visible from the front layer side.

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