JPH0698876B2 - Hydraulic transfer method and plate determination method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for printing an arbitrary desired pattern on an object having a so-called uneven surface such as a curved surface or an irregularly shaped surface.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for printing a pattern on an object having a so-called uneven surface such as a curved surface or an irregularly shaped surface, ordinary printing is performed on one surface of the thin film, and the film is printed with the printing surface upward. A so-called hydraulic transfer method is widely known in which a transfer target is floated on a liquid surface, and the transfer target is lowered from above toward the printing surface to transfer the pattern to the transfer target by hydraulic pressure. In addition, multi-color printing is carried out by a conventional method in advance, and a thin film that has been once dried is directly roll-coated on a thin film that has a solvent capable of swelling a printing ink or a liquid agent such as an adhesive before being floated on the liquid surface A method of performing spray coating or the like to impart tackiness to the ink again is disclosed in JP-A-54-33115 and JP-A-55-148190, and these methods are currently used. It has been implemented.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the former method has a problem in multicolor printing, and the latter method causes drying of ink for each color and re-tackiness of the dried ink. The extra step is required.

In any of the former and latter cases, so-called printing plates are used for pattern printing on thin film, so this platemaking cost greatly affects the cost, and the pattern is three-dimensional on the object. The printing plate of the base is made empirically, by trial and error, and made flat,
Since it is a one-shot game, it is not a technique that can be changed according to the unevenness of the object, for example, if the grain is at least likely A pattern of goodness or a pattern unrelated to the unevenness of the object, such as a camouflage color tone or a polka dot tone, was preferred.

As a result, it is unsuitable for small-quantity multi-product processing and objects with complicated irregularities, which has hindered the further popularization of the so-called hydraulic transfer method.

Since modern times are also times of playfulness and sensation, not only simple patterns, but even highly-designed patterns such as paintings can be individually and immediately responded to each unevenness of the object. There is a need.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the hydraulic transfer method of the present invention uses two or more colors of ink and is coded using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core. While performing information processing on the information and ejecting the ink of each color from the two or more nozzles as droplets on the surface of the thin film based on the processing result, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzle is relatively changed, A desired pattern is deposited on the film, and then this thin film is floated on a liquid with the pattern facing up. At that time, when an ink having tackiness is used until transfer, as it is, When an ink that loses or reduces tackiness by forming a dry film is used, tackiness is regained on the ink before or after liquid deposition. A part of the transfer target is applied while the transfer target is brought into contact with the thin film on the liquid while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness by applying an activator or the like to Alternatively, by submerging the whole in the liquid, the thin film is brought into close contact with the transfer target by hydraulic pressure, and an arbitrary desired pattern obtained immediately before the liquid deposition is applied to the transfer target according to the calculation processing result of the encoded information. It is characterized in that the thin film film remaining on the surface of the transferred material is removed after the transfer, and as a result, the pattern and the unevenness of the transferred material are matched. If not, the above-mentioned steps are repeated by modifying the arithmetic processing until a match is found. Further, in the determination method of the present invention, if the best pattern is finally obtained in this way, the final pattern obtained by performing the arithmetic processing at that time again is taken out without floating on the liquid. The printing plate is caused to occur based on the final pattern.

Action In the above method, since the inks of each color are ejected as droplets from the nozzle onto the surface of the thin film, it is possible to deposit a multicolor printing pattern on the thin film without trouble even if two or more inks of different colors are used. Furthermore, since this pattern is a pattern drawn based on the processing result while arithmetically processing information encoded using a so-called microcomputer whose core is a microprocessor, for example, enlargement, partial enlargement, partial Various modifications such as reduction, repetition, and inversion can be easily and immediately performed. Such a pattern is floated on the liquid, and while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness, the transfer target is lowered and brought into close contact with the pattern. An arbitrary desired multicolored pattern determined and drawn on the spot is transferred onto the transfer target.

In addition, the coded information is subjected to arithmetic processing to gradually deform the pattern, and the pattern is sequentially floated on the liquid to perform transfer, and as a result, the quality of the design applied to the transfer target is immediately confirmed. If the judgment result is reflected and the judgment result is reflected again as an arithmetic processing instruction for pattern deformation, the best pattern can be obtained.

Furthermore, if the calculation process when the best pattern is obtained is executed again and the drawn pattern is taken out without floating on the liquid and the printing plate is raised based on the pattern, the conventional liquid High-quality transfer is possible even in the pressure transfer method.

EXAMPLES Next, the respective methods of the present invention will be described while specifically explaining the third method of the present invention in detail with reference to the illustrated examples.

The thin film used in this example is a water-soluble or water-swellable film, which has the property of absorbing water and swelling when floated on the water surface and easily extending by pushing the object from above the water surface to form the shape of the object. What is deformed along the line and is capable of being printed by ink droplets ejected from nozzles is used. Specifically as the water-soluble or water-swellable film, a starch-based film,
A polyvinyl alcohol resin film or a mixed resin film mainly composed of polyvinyl alcohol resin, for example, a mixed system of polyvinyl alcohol and starch, or a raw material of these films is used as a liquid such as paper, non-woven fabric, cloth, various porous films, etc. , A sheet which is coated or laminated on a base sheet having a property of permeating water, and a sheet which is peeled off from the peeling layer after printing with various peeling layers provided thereon, and the like, to prevent ink droplets from bleeding What can be accurately captured without reflection or reflection is used.
For this purpose, for example, the surface of the thin film is slightly moistened with water, or a transparent coating material containing a resin that can be a film after transfer as a vehicle is applied to the entire surface to make the surface sticky and to form ink droplets. You may secure adhesiveness.

Then, a pattern for transfer is formed by relatively changing the positional relationship between the film and the nozzles while ejecting the inks of the respective colors as droplets from these water-soluble or water-swellable films from two or more nozzles. For the ink for this purpose, a film that temporarily adheres to the film and does not form a dry film until it reaches water, or a resin that easily activates the activators described below even when the dry film is formed is used as a vehicle What is included as is used. In the case of the former, since the ink viscosity is high anyway, it tends to be difficult to control droplets when ejecting the ink from the nozzle, but an extra step of activation can be omitted. In addition, when it is necessary to apply an activator, the activator contains a solvent capable of swelling the ink and erodes the surface of the transfer target, or when it is undercoated with a paint, the transfer is performed. At times, it is desirable that the paint does not rapidly dissolve, and it is further desirable that a resin having an affinity with the solvent is added.

A so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core is used as a means for ejecting the ink of each color from the nozzle as droplets onto the surface of the thin film. For example, the piezoelectric element forming the wall of the ink chamber is vibrated to open the ink chamber. Any means can be used as long as it is capable of ejecting ink droplets from a barrel nozzle and at the same time relatively changing the positional relationship between the film and the nozzle. There are various methods such as a pressure pulse method and a charge control method. It can be used in ink jet printers in consideration of ink suitability and drawing speed. In this case, since the ink is ejected as droplets from each nozzle, even when two or more colors of ink are used,
You can draw a multicolored pattern at the same time.

In addition, this is controlled by being connected to a so-called microcomputer whose core is a microprocessor, and other peripheral devices in the microcomputer are used as cards, tapes, disks, etc. by replacing patterns with magnetism, light, etc. External storage device for reading and writing, image input device such as camera, scanner, etc. that directly captures the pattern optically,
An input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting a processing procedure and designating points, and a CRT, etc. are connected through each interface as necessary.

These are now widely used as CG and CAD system devices, and one pattern information is read out from the information group coded and stored in the storage medium, or a camera, a scanner, or the like. The image input device directly takes in image information from a photograph or the like, and the information as it is, or, for example, an instruction for enlargement, partial enlargement, partial reduction, repetition, inversion, etc. is input from a keyboard, etc. While performing these arithmetic processes based on the overall control, it is possible to draw any desired pattern by controlling the pressurization to each ink as the processing result, the scanning of the nozzle group, the paper feed, etc. As a means to implement, a large part of the hardware and software can be used.

Therefore, first, for example, a certain transfer pattern is read from a photograph or the like by an image input device, or one of the pattern information groups stored in a floppy disk or the like is read out and the pattern information is not changed and is not changed. Draw on the water-soluble or water-swellable film according to the pattern information. In the illustrated embodiment, the water-soluble or water-swellable film 1 wound in a roll is sequentially drawn out,
From the ink tank 32 and the ink chamber 31 which are partially wound around the platen 2 and which communicate with the nozzle 3 while scanning the nozzle 3 laterally (in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) from the nozzle 3 facing the platen 2. The ink 4 is ejected as droplets of the ink 4 to draw out a pattern. continue,
The film 1 is introduced onto the water surface 61 of the water tank 6 by the roll 51 in front of the platen 2 and the inclined conveyor 52.
The pattern in is the upper surface and is floated on the water surface 61. At this time, ink 4 is applied until the water surface 61 is reached and transfer is performed.
If the ink has tackiness, the transfer target 7 may be continuously pushed in to perform the transfer, but by that time, the ink 4 forms a dry film and loses the tackiness or becomes insufficient. If there is, it is necessary to apply the activators before the transfer onto the water surface 61 or before the transfer after the water contact. In this case, if this is done before reaching the surface of the water, means such as gravure coating, roll coating, and bar coating can be adopted,
If this is done after floating on the water surface, it can be carried out by means of spray coating, ultrasonic coating or the like after waiting for the film to absorb water and swell.

Therefore, if the water-soluble or water-swellable film absorbs some water and swells and develops spreadability while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness, the water surface 61 The transfer target 7 is lowered together with the water-soluble or water-swellable film 1 and a part or all of the transfer target 7 is pressed into water. Then, the film 1 is transferred to the transferred body 7.
The water will stick to it so that it will cling to it.
After that, the transferred body 7 is pulled up from the water, and a separate booth 8
Shower 81 with hot water to wash away the remaining film components, volatilize solvent components contained in ink, etc. by exposing to hot air or blowing hot air, and top coat if necessary to make a finished product .

Here, in lowering the transferred body 7, in the embodiment, a person holds the upper part of the transferred body 7 and pushes it in. However, the triangular shape disclosed in JP-A-58-31754 is disclosed. This can be done automatically with a conveyor that can be moved to the appropriate angle of incidence, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-195
It may be relatively and batchwise pushed into water by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 41 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-39964. The water in the water tank 6 is adjusted to an appropriate temperature depending on the properties of the water-soluble or water-swellable film. For example, when a starch-based film is used as the water-soluble or water-swellable film, the water temperature is preferably about 40 to 50 ° C., and amylase or the like is added to accelerate the dissolution at the time of removing the thin film. You may add about 2-4%.

Further, the water-soluble or water-swellable film 1 floated on the water surface 61 absorbs water, swells, and partially dissolves. Therefore, in the case of an extremely thin film, the transfer target is pulled up from the water. Although it may be completely dissolved by the time, it is usually necessary to wash to remove residual film components. At this time, the water temperature is generally 15 to 60 ° C, and the washing time is 1 ~ 10 minutes is enough.

Further, in the figure, the water-soluble or water-swellable film 1 is continuously supplied from the roll state and the water is caused to overflow 62 to flow out from one side to the other side, but the water in the water tank is forcibly circulated. Alternatively, the sheet-shaped films may be floated one by one. When a sheet-shaped film is used, the film can be wound around the entire circumference of the platen 2 and moved laterally while rotating the platen 2 or the nozzle 3, so that pattern misalignment can be reduced.

Therefore, it is possible to wash away the residual film components, dry them, and apply a top coat if necessary to make a finished product as it is,
If the pattern drawn as it is read from a floppy disk or the like is transferred, the unevenness of the transfer target may not match the pattern.

In such a case, at least at the stage when the transfer is performed or the residual film component is removed, the finish condition is immediately examined, and it is preferable to stretch or expand the pattern, or to shrink the pattern. Directly visually judge a good portion, a portion to be emphasized, and the like, and input an arithmetic processing command necessary for that purpose from the keyboard 10 of the computer 9.

At this time, what kind of command can be given to change what kind of pattern and what kind of pattern is drawn depends on the software as the system. On the other hand, the command for changing the input pattern and the actually transferred object are used. It may not be possible to grasp the relationship at the time of applying the pattern to the pattern at all, but by repeating the command for pattern deformation and transferring and evaluating it in sequence, it becomes possible to grasp the tendency during that, which is a trial and error process. However, so-called PLAN, DO, and SEE can be repeated within a very close time, so it is possible to apply patterns as desired.

Therefore, even if the unevenness of the transferred material is complicated and it is difficult to match the pattern with the unevenness, the pattern for that can be determined relatively quickly, and the actual transfer can be performed at the same time.

In addition, if there is a pattern that has been decided in this way, you can store it in a storage medium such as a floppy disk and read it later for immediate execution. And, at that time, if you input the command to draw the same pattern repeatedly,
Mass transfer is also possible. Therefore, it is possible to easily deal with the transfer target with slightly different shapes, and for transfer targets with greatly different shapes, if you read a certain amount of pattern information from the accumulated information group, you can transfer a small amount of various products. Can also be accommodated.

Furthermore, for a large number of transfer materials of the same shape, the optimum pattern is determined using the above method in the trial stage, and then a printing plate is created based on this, and the conventional liquid pressure is used in the mass production stage. According to the transfer method, it is possible to perform the method while activating the pattern on the thin film printed by the printing plate. In this case, when the finally decided pattern is reproduced for plate making, it may be on the film, but it may be drawn on a separate sheet and sent to the plate making step without floating on the water surface.

As the transferred material, ABS resin, acrylic resin, AS
Resin, vinyl chloride resin, polystyrene resin, noryl resin, phenol resin, urea resin, melamine resin, FR
P, an epoxy resin or other plastic material having unevenness may be used, or other metal or the like may be used. Particularly, in the case of an aluminum material, it is suitable for those having an anodized film formed on the surface thereof. is there.

Further, in the above examples, a water-soluble or water-swellable film was used as the thin film, but the thin film does not have to be dissolved, and even if it is not water-soluble, acids, alkalis, enzymes Any thin film that can be dissolved or swelled in an aqueous solution, a solvent, or other liquids can be used, and in some cases, the film components may be left and used as a substitute for the top coat. Similarly, liquid is not limited to water, but acid,
It may be an alkaline aqueous solution, a solvent, or other liquid.

Further, the means for ejecting ink of each color from the nozzle as droplets onto the surface of the thin film is not limited to that of the illustrated embodiment, and so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core ejects ink droplets from the nozzle. At the same time, any means that can relatively change the positional relationship between the film and the nozzle at the same time may be used, and various masking methods such as masking and two-layer liquid transfer may be used. The improvements can be applied almost as they are.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform multicolor printing without drying the ink for each color, and of course, a printing plate is not required, which is trial and error, So-called PLAN, DO, and SEE can be repeated within a very close time, and even if the transfer target has irregularities, it is possible to apply a pattern relatively quickly and surely.

Further, if a command for repeatedly drawing the same pattern is input, mass-production transfer is possible, which is suitable for small-quantity multi-product transfer work.

Furthermore, if an optimum pattern is determined and then a printing plate is created based on this, a highly designed pattern can be applied even in a conventional mass-production hydraulic transfer method.

Therefore, it can be expected that the hydraulic transfer method will be used more and more.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a partial cross section and a partial perspective view showing the flow of one embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Thin film, 3 ... Nozzle 4 ... Ink, 61 ... Water surface 7 ... Transfer target, 9 ... Computer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method in which two or more colors of ink having tackiness until transfer are used, and coded information is calculated by using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core, and based on the processing result, 2 While ejecting the inks of the respective colors as droplets from the above nozzles onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzles is relatively changed, and a desired pattern is attached onto the thin film. The thin film is floated on the liquid with the pattern facing upward, and while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness, the thin film on the liquid is contacted with the transfer target while A part or all of the transfer body is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is brought into close contact with the transfer target by hydraulic pressure to obtain the coded information immediately before the liquid deposition. Any desired pattern so as to transfer the transfer object, then, if necessary, liquid pressure transfer method so as to remove the thin film remaining on the transfer surface which. 2. Ink of each color is ejected from two or more nozzles based on the result of arithmetic processing of information encoded using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core, using inks of two or more colors. While spraying as droplets onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzle is relatively changed to deposit a desired pattern on the thin film, and then the thin film is placed on the liquid to form the pattern. Float on top, and at that time, an activator or the like that regains tackiness is applied to the ink before or after landing, and the ink forming the pattern has tackiness. While abutting the transfer target to the thin film on the liquid, part or all of the transfer target is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is adhered to the transfer target by hydraulic pressure. Any desired patterns obtained in said deposition solution immediately before so as to transfer the transfer object by Shimete operation result of encoded information, then, if necessary,
A hydraulic transfer method in which a thin film remaining on the surface of a transfer target is removed. 3. An ink having two or more colors having tackiness until transfer is used, and a coded information is calculated by using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core, and based on the processing result, 2 While ejecting the inks of the respective colors as droplets from the above nozzles onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzles is relatively changed, and a desired pattern is attached onto the thin film. The thin film is floated on the liquid with the pattern facing upward, and while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness, the thin film on the liquid is contacted with the transfer target while A part or all of the transfer body is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is brought into close contact with the transfer target by hydraulic pressure to obtain the coded information immediately before the liquid deposition. The desired and desired pattern is transferred to the transferred material, and then, if necessary, the thin film remaining on the surface of the transferred material is removed, and as a result, the pattern and the unevenness of the transferred material are removed. If there is no match,
A hydraulic transfer method in which the above-mentioned steps are repeated by correcting the arithmetic processing until a match occurs. 4. Ink of each color is ejected from two or more nozzles based on the result of arithmetic processing of information encoded by using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core and using two or more colors of ink. While spraying as droplets onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzle is relatively changed to deposit a desired pattern on the thin film, and then the thin film is placed on the liquid to form the pattern. Float on top, and at that time, an activator or the like that regains tackiness is applied to the ink before or after landing, and the ink forming the pattern has tackiness. While abutting the transfer target to the thin film on the liquid, part or all of the transfer target is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is adhered to the transfer target by hydraulic pressure. Any desired patterns obtained in said deposition solution immediately before so as to transfer the transfer object by Shimete operation result of encoded information, then, if necessary,
The thin film remaining on the surface of the transferred material is removed, and if the pattern and the unevenness of the transferred material do not match as a result, the arithmetic processing is modified and the above steps are repeated until they match. Hydraulic transfer method. 5. A method in which two or more colors of ink having tackiness until transfer are used, and encoded information is calculated by using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core, and based on the processing result, 2 While ejecting the inks of the respective colors as droplets from the above nozzles onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzles is relatively changed, and a desired pattern is attached onto the thin film. The thin film is floated on the liquid with the pattern facing upward, and while the ink forming the pattern has tackiness, the thin film on the liquid is contacted with the transfer target while A part or all of the transfer body is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is brought into close contact with the transfer target by hydraulic pressure to obtain the coded information immediately before the liquid deposition. The desired and desired pattern is transferred to the transferred material, and then, if necessary, the thin film remaining on the surface of the transferred material is removed, and as a result, the pattern and the unevenness of the transferred material are removed. If there is no match,
By repeating the above steps by modifying the above arithmetic processing until a match is obtained, and when the best one is finally obtained, the arithmetic processing at that time is executed again and the final pattern obtained is put on the liquid. A method of determining a plate which is taken out without floating and a printing plate is raised based on the final pattern. 6. An ink of two or more colors is used, and information encoded by using a so-called microcomputer having a microprocessor as a core is arithmetically processed, and the ink of each color is ejected from two or more nozzles based on the processing result. While spraying as droplets onto the surface of the thin film, the positional relationship between the thin film and the nozzle is relatively changed to deposit a desired pattern on the thin film, and then the thin film is placed on the liquid to form the pattern. Float on top, and at that time, an activator or the like that regains tackiness is applied to the ink before or after landing, and the ink forming the pattern has tackiness. While abutting the transfer target to the thin film on the liquid, part or all of the transfer target is immersed in the liquid, and the thin film is adhered to the transfer target by hydraulic pressure. Any desired patterns obtained in said deposition solution immediately before so as to transfer the transfer object by Shimete operation result of encoded information, then, if necessary,
The thin film remaining on the surface of the transferred material is removed, and if the pattern and the unevenness of the transferred material do not match as a result, the arithmetic processing is modified and the above steps are repeated until they match. Then, when the best one is finally obtained, the arithmetic process at that time is executed again, and the final pattern obtained is taken out without floating on the liquid, and the printing plate is raised based on the final pattern. How to decide which version to make.