JPH09216475A - Screen process printing plate and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a screen process printing plate with high strength, plate wear and dimensional stability which can be maintained despite the fact that an ink film thickness can be made small and a film thickness dispersion is minimized, and a method for manufacturing a screen process printing plate with a high yield under the easy control of manufacturing step conditions. SOLUTION: This screen process printing plate is composed of a metal plate consisting of a metal film for forming a printed pattern laminated on a metal film for forming a mesh with a self-supporting property, and the metal plate is divided into a printed area 1 and a non-printed are 2. In addition, mesh-like holes are opened in a metal film for forming the mesh in the printed area 1 and at the same time, print pattern-like holes are opened in a metal film for forming a print pattern to allow passage of an ink in a print pattern fashion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screen printing plate, and more particularly to a screen printing plate suitable for magnetic bar code printing in prepaid cards and the like and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional screen printing plate.
Shown in First, the conventional screen printing plate shown in FIG. 7A is obtained by laminating a stainless mesh plate (hereinafter, stainless mesh plate) 41 in which a stainless wire is knitted and a photoresist 42 with a print pattern opening 43. Is.

This type is generally the most widely used, and is formed by knitting a stainless wire having a wire diameter of about 20 to 160 μm to form a mesh. There is also one in which the joining is strengthened by plating the intersection of the threads of the book. However, since such a stainless mesh plate is formed by braiding a wire having a diameter of 20 μm to 160 μm, the screen thickness is 40 μm to 3 μm.
There is a problem that the thickness becomes as thick as 10 μm, and as a result, the ink film becomes thick. In addition, since the lines are crossed, the cross-sectional shape becomes complicated, and the resistance when ink passes through is high. Therefore, the ink will not escape easily in the narrow bar code width, and the ink film with the wide bar code width There is also a problem that a thickness difference occurs. Furthermore, as the wire diameter on the screen becomes thinner during squeegee operation, expansion and contraction occur,
There is also a problem that the dimensional stability is insufficient and the strength is insufficient.

Further, the conventional screen printing plate shown in FIG. 1B is a screen plate plate having a film thickness of 20 μm to 40 μm (hereinafter referred to as a plate plate) in which holes of 250 lines / inch or 400 lines / inch are formed by electroforming.
Photoresist 52 is laminated on a plate plate 51 with print pattern openings 53.

Compared with the stainless mesh plate, this plate plate has a smoother cross-sectional shape so that ink can be easily removed and the plate thickness can be made thinner. It is possible to obtain a film which is not affected by the width and has a small film thickness difference. However, conventional plate plates are manufactured by applying a resist for printing pattern formation after forming a mesh, but it is difficult to make uniform when applying, and manufacturing know-how is required. If there is a mesh, it becomes more difficult to apply the resist uniformly. Therefore, although the mesh-shaped holes are usually formed over the entire surface of the plate, there are problems that uneven plating occurs and defects such as clogging and missing of mesh due to pinholes occur, resulting in low yield. Further, there is a problem that a large area of plating on the entire surface of the plate plate or a resist work is required, which imposes a heavy load on condition management of the manufacturing process. Further, the film thickness is as thin as 20 μm to 40 μm, and even if the resist is laminated in a print pattern, there is a problem that the strength is low, the printing durability is insufficient, and the dimensional stability is not sufficient.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first object of the present invention is screen printing which is excellent in strength, printing durability and dimensional stability even though the ink film thickness can be reduced and the film thickness difference can be reduced. Available in edition.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a screen printing plate, which makes it easy to control the conditions of the manufacturing process and can be manufactured with a high yield.

[0008]

The screen printing plate of the present invention comprises a metal plate in which a metal film for forming a mesh and a metal film for forming a printing pattern are laminated on a metal film for forming a mesh, which itself has a supporting property, and the metal plate is a printing area. A screen printing plate divided into a non-printing area and a mesh-shaped hole in the mesh-forming metal film in the printing area and a print-pattern-shaped hole in the print-pattern-forming metal film. Is opened to allow the ink to pass through in a printing pattern.

Further, in the above metal plate, the mesh forming metal film is a metal film made of nickel having a film thickness of 20 μm to 30 μm, and the print pattern forming metal film has a film thickness of 1 μm.
It is characterized in that it is a metal film made of copper having a thickness of μm to 10 μm.

The method for producing a screen printing plate of the present invention is the above-mentioned method for producing a screen printing plate, wherein the metal plate is (1) forming a printing pattern forming metal film on a release plate by plating. And (2) a step of laminating a resist film on the print pattern forming metal film and then developing the resist film into a mesh pattern, (3) a mesh forming metal film through the developed resist film. To form a metal film laminate by electroforming the metal film laminate, (4) peeling the metal film laminate from the release plate, (5) printing pattern formation in the peeled metal film laminate Of laminating a resist film on the metal film for application, and then developing the resist film in a printed pattern, (6) Metal film for mesh formation via the developed resist film Then, a step of etching the print pattern forming metal film into a print pattern using an etching solution that does not work, and a step (7) of removing the resist remaining between the mesh patterns and between the print patterns are sequentially performed. It is formed.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The screen printing plate of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which the metal plate 10 is attached to the frame body 4. In FIG.
Is a metal plate, 1 is a printing area, 2 is a non-printing area, 3 is a metal plate supporting mesh part, 4 is a frame, and 5 is a bonding part between the metal plate supporting mesh part and the metal plate.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the screen printing plate of the present invention, the metal plate 10 is attached to the frame body 4 via the metal plate supporting mesh portion 3, and the metal plate 10 is used.
Are divided into a printing area 1 and a non-printing area 2 having printing ink transmission holes. When printing on the printing material, the printing area 1 on the metal plate is, for example,
Taking the plan view of the prepaid card or the like shown in FIG. 6B as an example, its printing portion corresponds, and the non-printing area 2 also corresponds to the non-printing portion. In the case shown in FIG. 1, the metal plate 1
0 shows the case where 15 printing areas 1 are provided in 0, but the arrangement relationship between the printing area 1 and the non-printing area 2,
Further, the number and shape of the print areas may be appropriately set according to the shape of the material to be printed and the shape of the printed portion.

Next, the print area 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows a print area 1 and a non-print area 2.
2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2A, in which 1 is a printing area, 2 is a non-printing area, and 11 is a mesh pattern. 12
Indicates a print pattern, and 13 indicates a print pattern opening.

The print pattern 12 shown in FIG. 2 is indicated by a dotted line portion in FIG. 2A and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. This is an example of the case of printing. Further, in FIG. 2A, the front surface is the squeegee surface, the back surface is the printing surface, in FIG. 2B, the upper mesh portion is the squeegee surface, and the lower print pattern portion 12 is the printing surface.

The mesh pattern 11 is formed to a thickness of 20 μm to 30 μm by electroforming (mesh forming) a metal film for forming a mesh such as a nickel metal film or a nickel alloy film through a mesh pattern resist. It has a supportive property by itself. The aperture ratio in the mesh pattern may be 10% to 50%, and the mesh pitch may be 200 lines / inch to 400 lines / inch.

The printed pattern metal film is made of a metal such as copper, iron, tin or zinc, preferably copper, and has the shape of a printed negative pattern, and the film thickness is 1 μm to 10 μm.
It is good to set it to μm.

Mesh pattern 11 and print pattern 12
The film thickness of the metal plate made of is 21 μm to 40 μm, and preferably 33 μm to 38 μm.

Since the bar code pattern of the prepaid card or the like is usually arranged at the end of the back surface of the card, it is not necessary to form the mesh pattern on the entire surface of the metal plate. In the metal plate of the present invention, unlike the conventional screen printing plate, it is not necessary to provide a mesh pattern on the entire surface, the non-printing area 2 and the printing area 1 can be appropriately arranged, and the printing area 1 can be a limited area. A uniform resist work is possible, and there is no uneven plating, the etching work can be performed accurately, the yield is high, and the condition control of the manufacturing process is easy.

Further, unlike the conventional screen printing plate, the printing pattern is not the resist layer but the metal film layer for forming the printing pattern, so that the printing pattern is strong and has excellent printing durability, and is dimensionally stable. It can be made to have excellent properties.

Next, a method for manufacturing the screen printing plate of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of forming a mesh pattern. In the figure, reference numeral 15 is a peeling plate, 17 is a resist film, and the same reference numerals as those in FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 1A, gold, silver, copper, I is formed on stainless steel, 4,2 alloy, copper or glass plate.
The metal film 12 for print pattern is formed by plating on the conductive substrate 15 provided with a conductive film such as TO.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a resist is applied or laminated on the printed pattern metal film 12 to form a resist film 17. It is necessary that the resist has a resolution of 30 μm or more and that the width of the exposed and developed pattern can be made narrower than the thickness. Examples of such a resist include a high-resolution dry film and a liquid resist. Specific examples of the dry film include Dialon (manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) and ALPHO (manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), and the liquid resist is APR (manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.). Etc. are illustrated.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, exposure is performed so that the resist-free portion becomes a mesh pattern.
develop.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, the mesh forming metal film 11 is laminated on the printing pattern metal 12 via the resist film 17 by electroforming in a mesh pattern shape.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7E, the peeling plate 15 is peeled from the metal plate.

Next, the metal plate separated in the above step is
As shown in FIG. 4, it is laminated on a support and subjected to the next step of forming a print pattern. FIG.
A plan view of the support, FIG. 2B is a BB line in FIG.
It is sectional drawing in a line, and the figure (c) is a figure which shows the state which laminated | stacked the metal plate on the support body. In the figure, 30 is a support, 3
1 is a stainless steel mesh, 32, 34 and 35 are adhesive parts,
33 is a frame.

The method of manufacturing the support 30 is similar to that of a general screen printing plate, and a predetermined stainless mesh 31 is provided on the frame 33 with an epoxy type, urethane type,
After fixing with a cyanoacrylate adhesive 34, a photosensitive emulsion is bucket coated and dried. Then, it is exposed and developed in a pattern that exposes the area other than the adhesive portion 32. As a result, only the adhesive portion 32 has no emulsion but only the mesh, and the other stainless steel mesh forms the support 30 coated with the emulsion. The emulsion-forming portion of the support also functions as a support during printing.

A metal plate is adhered to this support at its end. The method is as follows. First, the squeegee surface of the metal plate, that is, the metal film on which the mesh is formed, is placed on top and the glass plate or the like has good planarity. The support 30 is placed on a flat plate, the support 30 is overlaid on the metal plate, the end of the metal plate is aligned with the emulsion-free adhesive portion 32 of the mesh, and the adhesive portion is epoxy-based, urethane-based, or cyanoacrylate-based from the support side. An adhesive 35 such as is applied and cured to fix the adhesive. Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, only the mesh layer inside the adhesive portion 32 of the support is cut out and removed, and the attachment of the metal plate to the support is completed.

Next, the print pattern forming step will be described with reference to FIG. Incidentally, in the drawing, the support is omitted.

The metal plate shown in FIG. 4A is a metal plate peeled off in the mesh pattern forming step, and the same reference numerals represent the same contents. In the figure, 11 'is a metal film for mesh formation corresponding to the non-printed area, and 19 is a resist film.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a resist layer 19 is formed on the surface of the print pattern metal film 12. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, this resist layer is exposed in a negative pattern of a printing pattern, developed, and a resist film 19 which is a printing negative pattern is formed.

Then, with this resist pattern,
The print pattern forming metal film 12 is etched into a print pattern. At the time of etching, it is necessary to use an etching solution that does not act on the mesh pattern. As the etching solution, when the printed pattern metal film is copper, an aqueous solution of ammonium persulfate or ammonium chloride may be used, and when it is zinc, an etching solution containing hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid as a main material may be used.

The resist 17 remaining after etching,
The screen printing plate of the present invention can be produced by subjecting 19 to a release treatment.

In the above process, the peeling of the resist 17 for forming the mesh was peeled off at the same time as the resist 19 after forming the print pattern. This is because if the resist 17 is peeled off before that, the print pattern forming process is performed. This is because in the etching step in (1), the etching liquid is turned around to make it difficult to form a print pattern. However, the resist 17 may be peeled off before the formation of the print pattern, but in this case, another resin needs to be injected into the mesh so that the etching solution does not get around to the back.

In the above process, the metal plate was laminated on the support and subjected to the print pattern forming process. However, the print pattern may be directly formed on the metal plate without using the support, In actual work, it is not preferable to process only a thin metal plate because scratches and the like are likely to occur and the yield is reduced. Further, instead of the frame body, it is naturally possible to temporarily adhere to a sheet of vinyl chloride resin, acrylic resin or the like, or to temporarily adhere to the frame body to form the print pattern, but in this case, After the printing pattern is formed, it is attached to a frame body as shown in FIG. 4 to make a screen printing plate.

FIG. 6 (a) is a diagram showing a printing method using the screen printing plate of the present invention, and FIG. 6 (b) is a diagram for explaining the printing condition on the back surface of the printed prepaid card. In the figure, 20 is a squeegee, 21 is ink for printing barcodes, 22 is an object to be printed such as a prepaid card, and 23.
Is a bar code.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when the bar code printing ink 21 is used with the mesh forming metal film side as the squeegee surface and the squeegee 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow to print on the printing area. As shown in FIG. 7B, the bar code 23 can be printed on the back surface of the prepaid card, for example. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

[0038]

[Examples] SUS304 was used as a release substrate, one surface thereof was roughened by brush polishing or sand blasting, the other surface was protected by an adhesive tape, and then immersed in a copper plating bath to a film thickness of 5 μm. A copper plating layer was laminated.

A dry film (manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) was thermocompression-bonded on the copper-plated layer by a laminating method to form a resist layer having a film thickness of 30 μm, and then parallel light was applied through a photomask having a mesh pattern. The resist was exposed to light and cured, and further developed using a 5% aqueous solution of calcium carbonate to remove the resist in the unexposed area to form a negative mesh pattern. Then, it was immersed in a nickel plating bath, and a nickel plating layer having a film thickness of 30 μm was laminated by electroforming.

After forming the nickel-plated layer, the laminate is peeled off from the peeling substrate and then adhered onto the stainless mesh of the support shown in FIG. 3 by using an epoxy resin, and then the stainless mesh on the back surface of the laminate. Cut out.

Thereafter, a dry film (manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was thermocompression bonded onto the copper plating layer in the laminate,
A resist layer having a film thickness of 15 μm is laminated, exposed through a photomask having an alignment mark and a bar code pattern, cured, and then developed using a 5% calcium carbonate aqueous solution, and the resist in the unexposed portion is removed. did. Furthermore, spray etching was performed using a 20% aqueous solution of ammonium persulfate to remove the copper plating layer not protected by the resist. Finally, the remaining resist was removed using a 15% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution to produce the screen printing plate of the present invention shown in FIG.

The printing area of the screen printing plate is
A screen printing plate having a mesh pattern with a pitch of 300 lines / inch and an aperture ratio of 30% and a film thickness of 35 μm was obtained.

[0043]

Since the screen printing plate of the present invention is formed of a metal plate, a limited area can be used as a printing area, a high yield can be obtained, and the condition control of the manufacturing process can be facilitated. You can Further, the strength, printing durability, and dimensional stability can be improved as compared with a screen printing plate having a full mesh.

Further, the screen printing plate of the present invention is one in which the printing pattern portion is formed of a metal film, which can be excellent in the uniformity of the ink thickness, and is superior to the resist film.
The bondability with the mesh pattern is excellent, and the strength and printing durability are also excellent.

According to the present invention, since the film thickness of the screen printing plate can be made thin, the ink film can be made thin, and the ink thickness is excellent in uniformity, so that the concealment of the bar code can be improved.

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the hole through which the ink passes is simple, and the plate thickness ratio can be made small with respect to the narrow bar opening width (100 μ). Good removal, less affected by aperture width, ink thickness can be stabilized, and barcode output can be stabilized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a screen printing plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a printing area on a screen printing plate.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of forming a mesh pattern.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of attaching a support.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a process of forming a print pattern.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a printing method and a printed matter.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional screen printing plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a printing area, 2 is a non-printing area, 3 is a metal plate supporting mesh part, 4 is a frame body, 5 is a bonding part between the metal plate supporting mesh part and the metal plate, 10 is a metal plate, 11 is a mesh pattern, 12 Is a print pattern, 13 is a print pattern opening, 15 is a release plate, 17 is a resist film, 19 is a resist film, 20 is a squeegee, 21 is a bar code printing ink, 22 is an object to be printed such as a prepaid card, and 23 is a bar. Cord, 30 is support, 31 is stainless mesh, 3
2, 34 and 35 are adhesive parts, 33 is a frame, 41 is a stainless mesh plate, 42 is a resist film, 43 is a print pattern opening, 51 is a plate plate, 52 is a resist film, and 53 is a print pattern opening. .

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A screen printing method comprising a metal plate having a metal film for forming a mesh and a metal film for forming a printing pattern laminated on a metal film for forming a mesh, the metal plate being divided into a printing area and a non-printing area. In the plate, a mesh-shaped hole is opened in the metal film for forming a mesh in the printing area, and a hole in a print pattern is formed in the metal film for forming a print pattern to allow ink to pass in the print pattern. A screen printing plate characterized by 2. The metal film for forming a mesh has a thickness of 20 μm
The screen printing plate according to claim 1, wherein the screen printing plate is a metal film made of nickel having a thickness of 30 μm, and the metal film for printing pattern formation is a metal film made of copper having a thickness of 1 μm to 10 μm. 3. The method of manufacturing a screen printing plate according to claim 1, wherein the metal plate in the screen printing plate comprises (1) forming a printing pattern forming metal film on the release plate by plating. 2) a step of laminating a resist film on the printed pattern forming metal film and then developing the resist film into a mesh pattern, (3) electroforming the mesh forming metal film through the developed resist film. A step of producing a metal film laminate by laminating in a mesh pattern, (4) a step of peeling the metal film laminate from the release plate, and (5) a metal film for forming a print pattern in the peeled metal film laminate. A step of laminating a resist film on the substrate, and developing the resist film into a printed pattern,
(6) A step of etching the print pattern forming metal film into a print pattern using an etchant that does not act on the mesh forming metal film through the developed resist film, (7) the above mesh A method for manufacturing a screen printing plate, which is formed by sequentially performing a step of removing a resist remaining between patterns and between printing patterns.