JPH1086549A - Blanket, apparatus and method for printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a blanket, apparatus and method for printing for efficiently forming a pattern of high resolution and high accuracy by a printing method. SOLUTION: The blanket 1 is obtained by forming a surface rubber layer 3 having a thickness of 10 to 500μm on a base material film 2 having a thickness of 5 to 50μm. The printing apparatus comprises an intaglio, an ink supply unit for supplying ink to the intaglio, a doctor unit for scraping excess ink supplied from the supply unit to the intaglio, a blancket cylinder for once receiving the ink supplied to the intaglio and transferring it to a board to be printed, and a stage for placing the board. The blanket cylinder is obtained by mounting the blanket on the rubber layer of the peripheral surface. After continuous printing of the number of times responsive to the plate wear resistance of the blanket 1 is finished, only the blanket 1 is replaced with a new blanket, and again continuous printing is conducted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blanket, a printing apparatus, and a printing method for forming a high-resolution and high-precision pattern required in an electronic circuit, an image display device, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a method of forming a fine pattern such as an electronic circuit in an integrated circuit or a color filter of a liquid crystal display, a thin film etching method in which a thin film formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, plating or the like is etched by a photolithography method. Examples of the printing method include a thick film etching method in which a thick film formed by applying ink by a screen printing method is etched by a photolithography method, a screen printing method, an intaglio offset method, and the like.

However, in the above-described thin film etching method and thick film etching method, although it is possible to form a highly accurate electrode, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased due to the presence of the etching step. Also, for example, 4
When an electrode is formed on a substrate having a large area such as a large image display device having a size of 0 to 50 inches, a large number of large thin film forming apparatuses, a large exposure apparatus, and a large etching apparatus are required, which also increases the manufacturing cost. Had the problem of coming.

[0004] Screen printing is one of the printing methods.
Since there is no etching step, the manufacturing cost is expected to be reduced because the steps are simpler than the thin film etching method and the thick film etching method described above, but when the circuits are concentrated on a small area like an integrated circuit Also, in the case of an electrode used for an image display device which is increasing in size in recent years, for example, a plasma display panel (PDP) aiming for an increase in size of 40 to 50 inches, the required dimensional accuracy cannot be satisfied. There is a problem. In particular, when an electrode of a large-sized image display device is formed, a reduction in dimensional accuracy occurs in a peripheral portion thereof, and the electrode cannot be put to practical use.

[0005]

In the intaglio fset method among the printing methods, printing is performed by transferring ink from the intaglio to the blanket once, and then transferring the ink from the blanket to the substrate to be printed. A conventional blanket for printing a fine pattern has a surface rubber layer formed on a base material comprising a base fabric and a compression layer, and has a total thickness of 1.5 to 2.
It was about 0 mm. Such a blanket tends to have a variation in tension at the time of mounting the blanket, and a variation in thickness of each blanket and a variation in in-plane thickness become tens of μm or more. Printing pressure variations in the blanket surface are likely to occur due to such factors.In addition, it is necessary to strictly adjust the amount of blanket indentation to the intaglio and the substrate to be printed, and the time required for blanket mounting becomes longer. there were.

On the other hand, blankets are swelled by ink and the like, so continuous printing of fine patterns is limited.
It is necessary to replace it with a new blanket in a timely manner. However, since the setup time for blanket replacement is long as described above, it is necessary to set the printing durability of blankets per sheet high in order to maintain substantial throughput.
Here, in order to continuously print a high-resolution pattern, the transfer rate of the ink from the blanket to the substrate to be printed needs to be 100%, and such a transfer rate is continuously and stably secured. In order to improve the printing durability, it is necessary to increase the viscosity of the ink on the blanket. However, when the viscosity of the ink is set high, there is a problem that the transferability of the ink from the intaglio to the blanket is deteriorated, and the printing speed is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a blanket capable of efficiently forming a high-resolution, high-precision pattern by a printing method.
It is an object to provide a printing device and a printing method.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a blanket of the present invention comprises a base film, and a surface rubber layer provided on the surface of the base film,
The thickness of the base film is in the range of 5 to 50 μm,
The thickness of the surface rubber layer was in the range of 10 to 500 μm.

In the blanket of the present invention, the surface rubber layer has a critical surface tension of 20 to 27 dyne / cm and a viscoelasticity t.
The configuration was such that an δ was in the range of 0.05 to 0.25.

The printing apparatus of the present invention comprises an intaglio, an ink supply unit for supplying ink to the intaglio, a doctor unit for scraping unnecessary portions of the ink supplied from the ink supply unit to the intaglio, A blanket cylinder for once receiving the ink held in the intaglio and transferring it onto the substrate to be printed, and a stage for mounting the substrate to be printed, the blanket cylinder having a rubber layer on a peripheral surface, The blanket of the present invention as described above was mounted on the rubber layer.

The printing apparatus according to the present invention may be configured such that the rubber layer is fixedly formed on the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder, or the rubber layer winds a rubber sheet around the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder. It was configured to be pre-mounted.

Further, the printing apparatus of the present invention is configured such that the hardness of the rubber layer is in the range of 30 to 80 °.

In the printing method of the present invention, the blanket of the present invention described above is mounted on the rubber layer of a blanket cylinder having a rubber layer on the peripheral surface, and the ink held in the intaglio is temporarily transferred onto the blanket. After that, printing is continuously performed to transfer the ink from the blanket onto the substrate to be printed, and when the number of times of printing reaches the number of times corresponding to the printing durability of the blanket, only the blanket is replaced with a new blanket. After that, the configuration was such that continuous printing was similarly performed.

The present invention as described above has a thickness of 5 to 50 μm.
Since a blanket is formed by forming a surface rubber layer having a thickness of 10 to 500 μm on a base film of m, the blanket is extremely thin and has a uniform thickness as compared with a conventional blanket. When mounting on a blanket, variations in printing pressure hardly occur in the blanket surface. The blanket cylinder in the printing apparatus of the present invention has a rubber layer on its peripheral surface, and the blanket of the present invention is mounted on the rubber layer, so that the adjustment time at the time of mounting can be reduced, and the blanket can be easily replaced. Becomes

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view for explaining the structure of the blanket of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a blanket 1 includes a base film 2 and a surface rubber layer 3 formed on the surface of the base film 2.

As the base film 2, a polyethylene terephthalate film, a polyethylene film, a polyimide film, a polyester film, a polyvinyl chloride film, a polyvinyl chloride biphenyl film, or the like can be used, and the thickness thereof is 5 to 50 μm, preferably 10 to 50 μm. 20
Use one in the range of μm. If the thickness of the base film 2 is less than 5 μm, the tensile strength is reduced and the base film is not uniform, and if it exceeds 50 μm, the followability of the base film to the intaglio cells is reduced. However, the quality of the received ink pattern is undesirably deteriorated.

The surface rubber layer 3 has a thickness of 10 to 50.
0 μm, preferably 10 to 100 μm. When the thickness of the surface rubber layer 21 is less than 10 μm, the acceptability of ink from the intaglio becomes insufficient. Also,
If the thickness exceeds 500 μm, it is difficult to produce a blanket having a uniform thickness, and printing pressure variation is likely to occur when the blanket is mounted on a blanket cylinder as described later, and it takes time for adjustment, which is not preferable.

The surface rubber layer 3 has a critical surface tension of 20 to 27 dyne / cm and a viscoelasticity tan δ of 0.05 to 0.
It is preferably in the range of 25. Examples of the rubber material used for forming the surface rubber layer 3 include dimethylsiloxane, methylvinylsiloxane, methylfluorovinylsiloxane, methylphenylvinylsiloxane, and the like.
Blend and copolymer of the above polymer and NBR, EPDM, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), fluorine rubber, NBR, EPDM, SBR, etc. mixed with silicone oil etc. and NBR, EPDM, SBR in siloxane atmosphere Baked at 100-200 ° C. for about 1 hour in the form of a coating layer having a small surface energy.

The critical surface tension of the surface rubber layer 3 is determined by cutting a blanket to be measured into an appropriate size, and measuring the contact angle with a contact angle meter CA-.
It is determined from a Zisman plot measured with a type D (manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd.). The solvents used for the Zisman plot and their surface tensions are shown below.

Solvent name Surface tension (dyne / cm) Hexanol 27.8 2-butoxyethanol 28.2 2-ethoxybutanol 30.6 Dioxitol 31.9 Triethylene glycol 47.3 Ethylene glycol 50. 2. If the critical surface tension of the surface rubber layer 3 exceeds 27 dyne / cm, the wettability of the surface rubber layer 3 of the blanket 1 with ink is too high, and the ink transfer rate from the blanket 1 to the substrate to be printed becomes low, causing piling. Cause. On the other hand, if the critical surface tension is less than 20 dyne / cm, the transferability of the ink from the intaglio to the surface rubber layer 3 of the blanket 1 is reduced, and the reproducibility of fine lines and line width is undesirably reduced.

Next, the viscoelasticity of the rubber material whose critical surface tension is set to a predetermined value as described above is calculated as viscoelasticity t.
Adjust so that anδ is in the range of 0.05 to 0.25.

The viscoelasticity of the surface rubber layer 3 of the blanket 1 is determined by the density of cross-linking groups in the raw rubber, the state of localization of the cross-linking groups, the type of filler, the content, the particle size, the surface treatment, the type of cross-linking agent, and the primary. Vulcanization conditions (temperature, time, etc.) can be adjusted by the presence or absence of secondary vulcanization and the conditions. Here, fumed silica, crushed silica, precipitated silica, calcium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, diatomaceous earth, talc, quartz powder and the like can be used as the filler.

The viscoelasticity t of the surface rubber layer 3 of the blanket 1
When an δ is less than 0.05, the transferability of the ink from the intaglio to the blanket 1 is reduced, resulting in a thinned image and reduced edge accuracy.
Exceeding the viscosity of the surface rubber layer 3 of the blanket 1 becomes too large, which adversely affects the chucking of the substrate to be printed.

The viscoelasticity (tan δ) of the surface rubber layer 3 is as follows:
It is measured at a temperature of 20 ° C. and a frequency of 11 Hz using Leo Vibron DDV-II-EP (Orientec Co., Ltd.).

The blanket of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, an adhesive layer is formed on the back surface of the base film so as to improve workability at the time of mounting on a blanket cylinder described later. It may be. Such an adhesive layer can be formed using an acrylic adhesive, a rubber adhesive, an adhesive rubber material, or the like.

Next, the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the printing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the printing device 11
Is a cylindrical intaglio 12, an ink supply unit 13 for supplying ink to the intaglio 12, a doctor unit 14 for scraping unnecessary portions of the ink supplied to the intaglio 12,
The apparatus includes a blanket cylinder 15, a stage 16 on which the substrate S to be printed is placed, an ink wiping unit 17 for wiping the ink of the intaglio 12, and a blanket cleaning unit 18.

The intaglio 12 has an image portion and a non-image portion, and the image portion has a groove shape corresponding to an electronic circuit pattern or the like to be formed. Preferably, the direction is the cylinder circumferential direction of the intaglio 12.

Image area (pattern) formed on intaglio 12
Can correspond to various fine patterns such as an electronic circuit pattern and a color filter of a liquid crystal display device. The minimum line width of the groove constituting the image portion is about 20 μm, and the minimum width of the non-image portion ( Pattern minimum formation interval) 20 μm
Degree. Further, the depth (plate depth) of the groove constituting the image portion is preferably about 5 to 50 μm.

Such an intaglio 12 can be produced by a conventional intaglio plate making method, and is not particularly limited.

The ink supply unit 13 is not particularly limited, and an ink supply device having a conventionally known mechanism such as a dispenser or an inking roll can be used.

The contact pressure of the doctor section 14 to the intaglio 12 can be appropriately set by using a variable air pressure type or the like. The material of the doctor portion 14 is not particularly limited, and SK steel, stainless steel, and a material whose hardness is increased by plating the surface of the cutting edge (for example, a surface of SK steel or the like) are conventionally used as doctor members. (In which hardness is increased by plating nickel or ceramics). Further, the dimensions of the doctor section 14 can be appropriately set according to the effective width of the intaglio 12, the material of the doctor section 14, and the like.

Blanket cylinder 1 constituting printing apparatus 11
No. 5 has a rubber layer on the peripheral surface, and the blanket of the present invention is mounted on this rubber layer.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section of the blanket cylinder 15 perpendicular to the axial direction. Blanket cylinder 15 shown in FIG.
In the example, the blanket cylinder 15 has a rubber layer 21 on its peripheral surface.
The blanket 1 is attached and mounted on the rubber layer 21 so that the base film 2 is in close contact with the rubber layer 21. In the blanket cylinder 15, a rubber material such as NBR, EPDM, or silicone rubber is fixed to the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder to form a rubber layer 2.
1 is formed. Since such a rubber layer 21 is formed with a specified thickness and the printing pressure and the like are adjusted, it is possible to complete the mounting of the blanket only by pasting the blanket 1 on the rubber layer 21 so that printing is possible. Become. Further, in such a blanket cylinder 15, when the number of printed sheets of the blanket 1 has been reached, only the used blanket 1 can be removed and the new blanket 1 can be mounted without removing the rubber layer 21. As a result, blanket exchange can be performed in a short time, and printing efficiency can be greatly improved.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section perpendicular to the axial direction showing another example of the blanket cylinder 15. In the example of the blanket cylinder 15 shown in FIG. 4, the rubber layer 21 is formed by winding a rubber sheet around the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder 15. Then, the base film 2 is formed on the rubber layer 21.
The blanket 1 is stuck and attached with the side in close contact with the rubber layer 21. The rubber sheet used is NB
R, EPDM, silicone rubber, or the like can be directly formed, or a blanket of the above material can be used. Moreover, you may make it the structure which has a compression layer as needed. Such a rubber layer 21 is finely adjusted with a prescribed tension and mounted, and since the printing pressure is also adjusted, the blanket 1 is simply mounted on the rubber layer 21 to complete the mounting of the blanket. Printing becomes possible. Further, in such a blanket cylinder 15, when the number of printed sheets of the blanket 1 has been reached, only the used blanket 1 can be removed and the new blanket 1 can be mounted without removing the rubber layer 21. As a result, blanket exchange can be performed in a short time, and printing efficiency can be greatly improved.

The rubber layer 21 as described above has a hardness of 3
It is preferably in the range of 0 to 80 °. When the hardness of the rubber layer 21 is in the above range, the rubber layer 21 appropriately deforms with respect to the printing pressure, and a fine pattern with excellent reproducibility can be printed. The thickness of the rubber layer 21 is 0.5 to 2 m.
m is preferable. On the other hand, the blanket cylinder 15 preferably has a roundness of ± 10 μm or less and a cylindricity of ± 10 μm or less.

The formation of the adhesive layer on the rubber layer 21 makes it easier to mount the blanket of the present invention. Such an adhesive layer can be formed using an adhesive rubber, an acrylic adhesive, a rubber adhesive, or the like.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross section perpendicular to the axial direction showing another example of the blanket cylinder 15. In the example of the blanket cylinder 15 shown in FIG.
The rubber layer 21 is formed by fixing the above rubber material to the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder. Then, a long blanket 1 is attached and mounted on the rubber layer 21 so that the base film 2 is in contact with the rubber layer 21, and one of the blankets 1 is provided with the concave portion 15 a of the blanket cylinder 15. Roller 24a provided at
And the other is wound around a winding roller 24b. In such a blanket cylinder 15, when the number of printings of the blanket 1 located on the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder has been reached, a new blanket 1 is fed out from the feed roller 24a to the blanket cylinder peripheral surface, and the used blanket 1 is removed. By winding the blanket around the winding roller 24b, the blanket can be replaced very easily. Thereby, the printing efficiency can be greatly improved. In order to further facilitate such a blanket exchange, the blanket cylinder 15 and the rubber layer 21 are required.
Is provided, and air is blown out from the inside of the blanket cylinder through the hole 25 when the blanket is replaced, so that the blanket 1 can be lifted from the rubber layer 21 to facilitate movement.

In the blanket cylinder 15 shown in FIG. 5, the hardness of the rubber layer 21 is preferably in the range of 30 to 80 °.

As described above, by mounting the blanket of the present invention on the blanket cylinder 15, the transfer rate of ink from the blanket cylinder 15 to the substrate S to be printed becomes extremely high, and continuous printing of fine patterns can be performed. It becomes possible.

The stage 16 reciprocates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 with the substrate S to be printed placed thereon. The substrate 16 to be printed on the stage 16 may be held by any method such as mechanical holding by a chuck or the like and suction holding by suction. The flatness of the stage 16 is ± 10
μm or less is preferred. Such movement of the stage 16 can be performed by a known driving method such as a motor drive using a ball screw and a linear guide, and the positioning accuracy is ± 10 μm or less, the straightness is ± 10 μm or less, and the vertical movement is ± 10 μm or less. It is preferred that

Further, the ink wiping unit 17 includes the doctor unit 1.
4 is for wiping off unnecessary ink remaining on the intaglio 12 after the ink has been scraped off, and a pair of feeding roller 17a and winding roller 17b, a wiping roller 17c positioned therebetween, and a feeding roller Wiping film 1 that is wound from take-up roller 17b from wiping roller 17c through wiping roller 17c
7d. In the illustrated example, the wiping roller 1
7c is opposed to the intaglio 12 via the wiping film 17d, and the wiping film 17d is in the opposite direction (from the bottom to the top in the figure) with respect to the surface of the intaglio 12 rotating clockwise (the direction of arrow B in the figure). , Unnecessary ink adhering to the non-image area of the intaglio 12 is removed. At this time, the pressing force of the wiping roller 17c against the intaglio 12 and the relative speed between the intaglio 12 and the wiping film 17d can be appropriately set.

The wiping film 17d may be any one of a metal foil, a synthetic fiber, a synthetic resin, a rubber, and the like. More specifically, an aluminum foil, a polyethylene terephthalate film on which aluminum is vapor-deposited,
Polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride film, polystyrene film, polyvinyl butyral film, polycarbonate film, polymethyl methacrylate film, polyvinyl acetate film, nylon 6
6 films or the like can be used.

In the printing apparatus 11 of the present invention, a commercially available blanket cleaning device can be used as the blanket cleaning section 18.

In the printing apparatus 11 as described above, the speed (peripheral speed) v of the peripheral surface of the intaglio 12 when the ink is transferred from the intaglio 12 to the blanket cylinder 15 and the speed of the peripheral surface of the blanket attached to the blanket cylinder 15 ( Peripheral speed) v is 1 to
It can be 300 mm / sec, preferably about 50 to 200 mm / sec. Further, the moving speed V of the substrate S to be printed when the ink is transferred from the blanket cylinder 15 to the substrate S held on the stage 16 and the speed (peripheral speed) V of the peripheral surface of the blanket mounted on the blanket cylinder 15. Is 1 to
It can be 300 mm / sec, preferably about 100 to 300 mm / sec.

In the printing apparatus 11 of the present invention, the intaglio 1
2 and the blanket cylinder 15 may be separated from each other. Thereby, after the transfer of the ink from the intaglio 12 to the blanket cylinder 15 is completed at a predetermined speed v, the blanket cylinder 1
5 is separated from the intaglio 12 and the rotation speed of the blanket cylinder 15 is changed.
The transfer of the ink can be performed at a predetermined speed V.

Next, the printing method of the present invention will be described including the operation of the printing apparatus 11 described above.

First, ink is supplied from the ink supply unit 13 onto the intaglio 12 rotating at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Next, the intaglio 12 comes into contact with the doctor section 14 and unnecessary ink is scraped off.
The ink is held in the image portion (groove portion) of No. 2, and unnecessary ink adhering to the non-image portion of the intaglio 12 even after passing through the doctor portion 14 is removed by the wiping film 17 d of the ink wiping portion 17. Wipe off.

The ink held in the image portion of the intaglio 12 as described above is once transferred to the blanket of the present invention mounted on the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder 15 by coming into contact with the blanket cylinder 15. . Intaglio 12 at this time
The speed v of the peripheral surface and the speed v of the peripheral surface of the blanket mounted on the blanket cylinder 5 are in the above-mentioned range (1 to 300 mm / sec,
(Preferably about 50 to 200 mm / sec), and the ink is transferred from the intaglio 12 to the blanket.

Next, the stage 16 on which the substrate S to be printed is mounted is moved rightward in FIG. 2 to complete the alignment with the blanket cylinder 15 to which the ink has been transferred as described above. The ink moves to the right while contacting with the substrate 15, and the ink is transferred onto the substrate S to be printed, thereby completing the printing of the fine pattern. At this time, the moving speed V of the substrate S to be printed and the speed V of the peripheral surface of the blanket mounted on the blanket cylinder 15 are in the above-mentioned range (1 to 300 mm / sec, preferably about 100 to 300 mm / sec), and It is set so that v ≦ V.

After the printing of the ink on the substrate S is completed, the stage 16 moves to the left in FIG. 2 to return to the original position, and the substrate S is removed from the stage 16. , A new substrate S to be printed is placed.

As described above, the substrate S to be printed by the printing device 11
When the printing on the substrate S is completed, the forming apparatus 11 can continuously perform printing on the substrate S by repeating the same operation. When the number of times of printing reaches the number of times of printing corresponding to the printing durability of the blanket mounted on the blanket cylinder 15, only the blanket is replaced with a new blanket, and continuous printing can be performed subsequently. The blanket of the present invention has a very short blanket replacement time as described above, and thus a method of replacing only the blanket at appropriate times can be adopted. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the printing durability per blanket, and the ink receiving speed from the intaglio to the blanket can be increased by setting the ink viscosity to be low, and high resolution,
The printing efficiency in high-precision pattern printing can be greatly improved.

The blanket cleaning by the blanket cleaning section 18 may be performed each time one printing operation is completed, or may be performed after a predetermined number of continuous printing operations.

Here, an example of an ink that can be used in the above-described printing method of the present invention will be described.

The ink used has a steady flow viscosity of 100 to 100.
Inks in the 2000 poise range are preferred. The steady flow viscosity was measured using a Carry Med CS100 rheometer at a measurement temperature of 20 ° C. and a shear rate of 0.01 to 200.
Per second. Steady flow viscosity is 10
If it is less than 0 poise, the substrate S
Ink transfer rate to less than 100%
If it exceeds 0 poise, the ink receptivity from the intaglio 12 to the blanket deteriorates, and furthermore, the reproducibility of fine lines and line widths deteriorates.

The ink may contain dibutyl phthalate, butyl carbitol acetate, etc. as a solvent for adjusting the viscosity.

[0058]

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. (1) Preparation of Blanket Four kinds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films having a thickness of 3, 12, 40, and 70 μm were prepared as base films. A coating solution for a surface rubber layer having the following composition was applied on the substrate film, and vulcanized under the following conditions to prepare blankets (samples 1 to 12).

Blanket samples 1 to 8 were prepared by changing the rubber thickness and the base material thickness under the following rubber composition and vulcanization conditions.

(Composition) KE1603 (A.B) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. (Solution A: Solution B = 1: 1) (Vulcanization conditions) 25 ° C., 72 hours Blanket sample 9: (Composition) ・ Shin-Etsu KE108 manufactured by Silicone Co., Ltd. 100 parts by weight Curing agent (CAT-108 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by weight Filler (Aerosil 200 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.) 15 parts by weight (vulcanization conditions) Blanket sample 10: 25 ° C., 72 hours Blank composition 10: (Composition) KE105 (A · B) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. (A solution: B solution = 1: 1) (vulcanization conditions) 25 ° C., 24 hours Blanket sample 11: (Composition) KE1603 (A / B) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. (Solution A: Solution B = 1: 1) (vulcanization conditions) 25 ° C, 72 hours (Post-treatment) Dimethyl silicone oil is applied to the blanket surface After the blanket surface is irradiated with an infrared lamp, to form a dimethyl silicone deposition film on the surface.

Blanket sample 12: (Composition) KE1603 (AB) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. (A solution: B solution = 1: 1) (vulcanization conditions) 25 ° C., 72 hours (post-treatment) Surface rubber After vulcanization, ultraviolet ozone treatment was applied for 10 minutes.

For comparison, a coating solution for a surface rubber layer having the following composition was applied to a base material (thickness: 1.5 mm) consisting of a base fabric and a compression layer, and a PET film was pressed on the coating film. Vulcanization is performed under the following conditions, and then the PET film is peeled off to form a surface rubber layer (thickness 0.5 mm),
A conventional blanket (Comparative Sample 1) was prepared.

Blanket Comparative Sample 1: (Composition) KE765U manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd. 100 parts by weight Crosslinking agent 5 parts by weight (2,5-di-methyl-2,5-di-t-butylferro) (Xylene) (vulcanization conditions) Primary vulcanization 170 ° C, 20 minutes Secondary vulcanization 200 ° C, 4 hours Each blanket sample prepared as described above (Samples 1-1)
2. The thickness of the base film, the thickness of the surface rubber layer, the critical surface tension, and the viscoelasticity of Comparative Sample 1) were as shown in Table 1 below.

The critical surface tension was measured with a contact angle meter CA-D, Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd., using the following solvent, and calculated from the Zisman plot.

Solvent name Surface tension (dyne / cm) Hexanol 27.8 2-butoxyethanol 28.2 2-ethoxybutanol 30.6 Dioxitol 31.9 Triethylene glycol 47.3 Ethylene glycol 50. 2 The viscoelasticity tan δ was measured at a temperature of 20 ° C. and a frequency of 11 Hz using a Leo Vibron DDV-II-EP manufactured by Orientec.
Was measured. (2) Pattern printing The blanket samples 1 to 12 and the blanket comparative sample 1 were attached and mounted on a blanket cylinder of a printing apparatus as shown in FIG. 2, and 1 shown in Table 1 below was attached.
Glass substrate (size 300 x 400m) under three printing conditions
m) A fine pattern was printed thereon.

The blanket cylinder used had the following configuration with the configuration shown in FIG.

(Blanket cylinder) Size: Effective circumference = 450 mm (body diameter: about 180 mmφ) Effective width = 600 mm Rotation speed: 5 to 300 mm / sec (peripheral speed) Operation: vertical movement Rubber rubber hardness: 50 °-Rubber layer thickness: 1 mm-Rubber layer mounting method: roll-in type The specifications of the used ink, intaglio, and each part of the printing apparatus were as follows.

(Ink)-Ester acrylate type-Viscosity: two types of 200 poise and 500 poise Measured at a measuring temperature of 20 ° C. and a measuring shear rate of 100 / sec using a CS100 rheometer manufactured by Carry Med.

(Intaglio) ・ Size: Effective circumference = 550 mm (body diameter: about 180 mmφ) Effective width = 500 mm ・ Rotation speed: 5 to 300 mm / sec (peripheral speed) ・ Depth: 25 μm (ink supply unit) Dispenser (Doctor) Part) ・ Size: Doctor = 500mm Holder = 600mm ・ Pressure: Variable air pressure ・ Operation: Vertical movement (stage) ・ Speed: 200mm / sec ・ Alignment: Pin contact method, XY adjustment mechanism, alignment camera ・ Stable plate size: 700 × 700mm ・ Glass substrate holding method: Vacuum suction method ・ Surface flatness: ± 10μm (Ink wiping part) ・ Method: Film wiping method ・ Film feeding speed: 5-200mm / sec ・ Film winding diameter: About 200mmφ ・ Wiping Roller: Rubber roller (diameter 100mmφ)-Wiping film: Po Polyethylene terephthalate film The image area formed on the intaglio plate has a plate depth of 25 μm and a line width of
Different line widths were set in a range of 150 μm.

Under the printing conditions 1 to 12 using the samples 1 to 12 as the blanket, an ink having a viscosity of 200 poise can be used. Therefore, the ink receiving speed v from the intaglio to the blanket was set to 200 mm / sec. The ink transfer speed V from the blanket to the glass substrate is 200
mm / sec.

On the other hand, under printing conditions 13 using a comparative sample 1 (a blanket having a layer structure of a conventional type) as a blanket, if an ink having a viscosity of 200 poise is used, the printing resistance cannot be obtained, and the blanket needs to be replaced frequently. Therefore, an ink having a viscosity of 500 poise was used, and the ink receiving speed v from the intaglio to the blanket was set at 50 mm / sec, which is the limit of the ink receiving speed of this viscosity. The ink transfer speed V from the blanket to the glass substrate is 20.
0 mm / sec. Then, a fine pattern was printed on the glass substrate using a printing apparatus similar to the above-described printing apparatus.

In pattern printing on a glass substrate under the above printing conditions, the printing shape, ink receiving speed (mm / sec), time required for one blanket change (minute), blanket change during continuous printing Interval (hours), 2
The total time (minutes) required for blanket replacement during continuous printing for 4 hours was evaluated and is shown in Table 1 below.

[0073]

[Table 1] As shown in Table 1, printing conditions 2, 3, and 4 using the blanket of the present invention (samples 2, 3, 6, 7, and 10) were used.
In the pattern printing in 6, 7, and 10, prints having good pixel shapes were obtained. Further, the blanket of the present invention has an ink receiving speed of 200 mm / sec, a total time required for blanket replacement during continuous printing for 24 hours of 12 minutes, and a conventional blanket (comparative sample 1: printing condition 13). ) Ink receiving speed of 50 mm / sec, 2
It was confirmed that both the printing tact time and the blanket replacement time were significantly reduced compared to the total time of 45 minutes required for blanket replacement during continuous printing for 4 hours, and the throughput was improved.

On the other hand, in the blanket sample 1, the film thickness was insufficient, the required tensile strength was not obtained, and wrinkles occurred when the blanket was attached to the blanket cylinder.

In blanket sample 4, the thickness of the film was too large and the blanket could not follow the cells of the intaglio, resulting in a poor ink receiving shape.

In the blanket sample 5, the thickness of the surface rubber layer was insufficient, the blanket could not follow the cells of the intaglio, and the ink receiving shape was poor.

In blanket sample 8, the thickness of the surface rubber layer was too large, and when the composition was applied to the base film,
It is difficult to control the variation of the thickness of the rubber layer in the plane,
A uniform surface rubber layer could not be formed.

Further, blanket samples 9, 11, and 12
Although printing was possible in all cases, the following problems occurred.

That is, in the blanket sample 9, the physical properties (tan δ) were small, and the ink receiving shape was poor.
In addition, the acceptance speed was slowed, and the throughput was reduced. Further, in the blanket sample 11, since the critical surface tension of the surface rubber layer was small, the receiving shape of the ink was slightly inferior, and the receiving speed was slow, so that the throughput was reduced. Furthermore, in the blanket sample 12, the critical surface tension of the surface rubber layer is large, and the transferability of the ink is slightly poor (the transfer rate of the ink from the blanket to the glass substrate is less than 100%). , Which tended to increase gradually with continuous printing, requiring the frequent replacement of blankets.

As described above, in the blanket of the present invention (samples 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 to 12), both the printing tact time and the blanket replacement time are significantly longer than those of the conventional blanket (comparative sample 1). It was confirmed that it was shortened.

Further, the blanket of the present invention (samples 2, 3, 6, and 7) in which the thickness of the base film, the thickness of the surface rubber layer, the physical properties (tan δ) of the surface rubber layer, and the critical surface tension were optimized.
7, 10), an ink receiving shape faithful to the plate is obtained.
In addition, the ink transfer rate from the blanket to the substrate to be printed (glass substrate) was also 100%, and a good print pattern was reproducible. In addition, it has been confirmed that the line width stability during continuous printing is increased, the frequency of blanket replacement is reduced, and printing can be performed at a receiving speed of 200 mm / sec, so that the total throughput can be improved.

[0082]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a thickness of 10 to 50 μm is formed on a base film having a thickness of 5 to 50 μm.
Since a blanket is formed by forming a surface rubber layer having a thickness of 0 μm, a blanket having a uniform thickness can be obtained, and this blanket is extremely much smaller than the normal thickness (1.5 to 2.0 mm) of a conventional blanket. Since it is thin, the variation in the thickness of each blanket and the variation in the in-plane thickness are 10 μm or less, and the printing pressure variation in the blanket surface during mounting on the blanket cylinder is unlikely to occur. Then, the critical surface tension of the surface rubber layer is set to 20 to 27 dyne / cm,
By setting the viscoelasticity tan δ in the range of 0.05 to 0.25, the ink receptivity from the intaglio to the blanket is good, and the transfer rate of the ink from the blanket to the substrate to be printed becomes 100%. A stable printed pixel shape can be obtained stably during continuous printing.

In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the blanket is mounted on the blanket cylinder by mounting the blanket on the rubber layer on the peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder. Strict adjustment at the time of mounting is unnecessary, and the mounting time can be significantly reduced. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the printing durability per blanket, and when the number of continuous printing reaches the number corresponding to the printing durability of the blanket of the present invention, only the blanket is replaced with a new blanket in a short time. Then, continuous printing can be performed again, and the ink receiving speed from the intaglio to the blanket can be increased by setting the ink viscosity to be low. For this reason, the printing efficiency in high-resolution, high-precision pattern printing can be significantly improved. Further, since the configuration of the blanket is simple, the cost per blanket is significantly lower than that of the conventional blanket, and the printing running cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration of a blanket of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a blanket cylinder in the printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another example of a blanket cylinder in the printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another example of a blanket cylinder in the printing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Blanket 2 ... Base film 3 ... Surface rubber layer 11 ... Printing device 12 ... Intaglio 13 ... Ink supply part 14 ... Doctor part 15 ... Blanket cylinder 16 ... Stage 17 ... Ink wiping part 18 ... Blanket cleaning part 21 ... Rubber Layer S: Printed substrate

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A base film, comprising a surface rubber layer provided on the surface of the base film, wherein the thickness of the base film is in the range of 5 to 50 μm, and the thickness of the surface rubber layer is 10 A blanket having a size in a range of from about 500 μm to about 500 μm. 2. The surface rubber layer has a critical surface tension of 20.
The blanket according to claim 1, wherein the viscoelastic tan δ is in the range of 0.05 to 0.25. 3. An intaglio, an ink supply unit for supplying ink to the intaglio, a doctor unit for scraping unnecessary portions of the ink supplied from the ink supply unit to the intaglio, and an intaglio held by the intaglio. A blanket cylinder for receiving ink once and transferring it onto a substrate to be printed, and a stage for mounting the substrate to be printed, the blanket cylinder having a rubber layer on a peripheral surface, and having a rubber layer on the rubber layer. Claim 1 or Claim 2
A printing apparatus comprising the blanket according to any one of the preceding claims. 4. The rubber layer is fixedly formed on the peripheral surface of the blanket body.
A printing device according to claim 1. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rubber layer is formed by winding a rubber sheet around the blanket cylinder peripheral surface and mounting the rubber sheet in advance. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the hardness of the rubber layer is in a range of 30 to 80 °. 7. The blanket cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the blanket according to claim 1 is mounted on the rubber layer of a blanket cylinder having a rubber layer on a peripheral surface, and the ink held in the intaglio is temporarily transferred onto the blanket. After that, printing to transfer the ink from the blanket to the substrate to be printed is continuously performed,
A printing method, wherein when the number of times of printing reaches a number corresponding to the printing durability of the blanket, only the blanket is replaced with a new blanket, and thereafter, continuous printing is similarly performed.