MXPA97009673A - Overprinting in multiple colors of lottery bills of rasp - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for producing a lottery ticket and lottery tickets produced therefrom is described wherein an overprint layer is provided over a scraping layer, the overprint layer comprises an image obtained from a design in which colors in design have been separated into half-tone images of each color and are superimposed on the shaving layer of the lottery ticket

Description

OVERPRINTING IN MULTIPLE COLORS OF SCRAPPING LOTTERY TICKETS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is generally related to a method for producing lottery tickets or tickets and especially lottery tickets with a scraping layer which has been overprinted with a technique overprint multiple colors to improve the security of the lottery ticket. Lottery tickets prepared by the method are also the subject of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Scrap-type lottery tickets or tickets are well-known products of the lottery industry. Such tickets comprise a substrate having at least one area overprinted with an elastomer such as a latex or bale ink. When the latex ink dries, it forms a protective coating that can be scraped to reveal printed markings that indicate whether or not a prize has been won. At the end of the 80s decade. The use of thin-leaf laminate substrates was criticized for environmental reasons. The thin sheet of metal is not biodegradable and can not be easily recycled. Therefore, lottery sponsors have encouraged lottery ticket manufacturers to create an environmentally compatible lottery ticket which can be authenticated with the same degree of security as laminated thin sheet metal tickets. Virgin paper and preferably recycled paper are the preferred substrates for environmentally compatible lottery tickets. REF: 26146 The authentication of a paper substrate that does not consist of thin sheet metal was complicated by the development of high quality color photocopiers which was presented at the end of the 80s. Such copiers have the capacity of duplicating a winning ticket with a high degree of precision even for lottery tickets in multiple colors. In addition, the authentication of valid winning tickets is primarily the responsibility of the retail seller of the lottery ticket. It is your responsibility to visually inspect the ticket for any signs of violation or duplication. However, retail agents often do not have the time to carefully inspect the winning tickets, particularly during peak sale periods. In addition, any equipment which may be required for authentication such as ultraviolet light either takes a long time or is bulky for convenient use by the retail agents. There have been a variety of proposed efforts to prevent the violation of lottery tickets as described for example in Joseph C. Borowsky, Jr. et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,403,039 and references cited therein, each of the which is incorporated herein by reference. Included among these anti-counterfeiting methods are the use of blush inks and coatings which undergo a reversible color change, the use of layers of geometric figures to return to visually hidden indicia on the ticket indistinguishable from a photocopying machine, the use of superimposing prints but that can not be matched and the use of thermographic layers which change color after the application of heat. While all these methods improve the integrity of the lottery tickets by making them more difficult to counterfeit, each one requires one or more layers of additional material or process steps which adds to the production cost of the lottery ticket. The printing of a simple design on the latex-based scraping area is also known in the art. The purpose of this overprint technique is to: (a) improve the security of the lottery ticket and (b) improve the overall appearance of the lottery ticket. Typical printing processes include the application of up to four separate colors in various graphic and / or text line designs. With respect to security, the overprint techniques of the prior art, have had only limited success. Counterfeiting techniques such as pin piercing and chemical attack have been used successfully against such overprinted lottery tickets. In addition, it is possible to separate the overprinted layer in its entirety and then reprint the same design with easily available and generally inexpensive printing equipment. This is because the overprint processes currently employed create only basic color configurations which are easily duplicated. The present overprint techniques are therefore not an effective impediment to counterfeiting. Therefore, lottery ticket manufacturers may still have to employ additional anti-counterfeit measures as discussed above to provide a secure lottery ticket. These additional measures are disadvantageous because they add to the cost of making the lottery tickets. It would therefore be a significant advance in the scraping lottery ticketing technique to provide an overprint technique which provides greater resistance to counterfeiting than the previous overprint techniques. It would also be desirable to employ an overprint technique which improves the overall appearance of the lottery ticket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to a scratch-off lottery ticket in which an overprint layer is applied over a scraping layer to provide a lottery ticket which is resistant to counterfeiting and has an exceptional appearance. In particular, the present invention is directed to a method for producing a lottery ticket having a scraping layer comprising (a) providing printed indicia on a substrate (b) covering at least a portion of the printed marks with a layer scraping; (c) providing an overprint layer on the scraping layer, the overprint layer comprising a full color image obtained from a design in which the individual colors in the design have been separated into half tone images selected from the individual colors and the selected halftone images are printed on top of each other. Lottery tickets having full color images printed on a scraping layer are encompassed by the present invention as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following drawings in which the characters of similar references indicate similar parts, are illustrative of the embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention as encompassed by the claims forming part of the application. Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded view of one embodiment of a scraping lottery ticket according to the prior art; Figure 2 is a schematic view of an overprint process employed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a top plan view of a scraping lottery ticket having a scraping area, prior to the application of the overprint layer; and Figure 4 is a top plan view similar to Figure 3 with the overprint layer applied to the scraping area according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The scraping lottery tickets of the present invention include an overprint layer printed on a scraping layer. The separation of the scraping layer reveals the information necessary for the arrangement of the lottery ticket, such as whether prize has been won or not. According to the present invention, the overprint layer consists of the combination of colors to produce a complex image (for example the reproduction of a painting such as the "Mona Lisa") which is extremely difficult to reproduce, especially with printing equipment cheap. Accordingly, the overprint layer provides a level of security to a scraped lottery ticket which is superior to the overprinted lottery tickets of the prior art. In addition, the appearance of the lottery ticket is significantly improved.

Shown in Figure 1 is a scrap lottery ticketing mode according to the present invention. With reference to Figure 1, a scrap lottery ticket 1 includes a substrate 11 which may consist of one or more layers, several layers are shown, having a front surface 3 and a rear surface 5. The front surface 3 is typically provides with a graphic area 7 and a play area 9. The substrate 11 may be any material suitable for manufacturing a scrap lottery ticket such as a thin sheet metal laminate. However, since the thin metal sheet is not biodegradable or recyclable, it is preferred to use virgin or recycled paper as the substrate. The rear surface 5 of the substrate may be provided with indicia or printed markings as represented by reference numeral 13, such as instructions for claiming a prize or optional validation information such as a bar code. As used herein, the term "printed marks or symbols" shall mean words, symbols, designs whether in black and white or color, images and the like which carry information about the lottery ticket including, but it is not limited to, whether a prize has been won or not. In the embodiment shown in figure 1, superimposed on the game area 9 is the placement of printed signs 41 such as game symbols and prize amounts. The printed and printed marks 41 are covered by at least one layer of light or colored colors. As shown in Figure 1 and for illustrative purposes only, 2 layers 43, 45 of varnishes are applied over the printed markings 41 to protect the same and to allow easier separation of the scraping layer as described hereinafter. .

A scraping layer 46, normally made of multiple layers of scraping material is then applied over the lacquer layers. As specifically shown in Figure 11 and by way of example only, the scraping layer 46 comprises a black elastomer layer 47, a middle gray elastomer layer 49 and four white elastomer layers 51, 53, 55 and 57 respectively. The use of a white elastomer as the upper layers of the scraping layer 46 is preferred to provide an acceptable surface on which printed markings such as a photograph can be applied. The desired marks or signs are represented in FIG. 1 by an overprint layer 58. This layer comprises an image obtained from a design in which the colors in the design have been separated into half-tone images of each color which are used to provide the overprint layer. Then the colors are printed on the lottery ticket one on the other. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the overprint layer 58 shown consists of four overprint layers 59, 61, 63 and 65 which correspond to four different process colors, such as yellow, magenta, cyan and black. It will be understood that the lottery ticket of the present invention may contain additional layers as is customary in the production of scraping lottery tickets. For example, a separation coating (not shown) can be provided over the varnish layers 43, 45 to provide a smooth surface for printing the scraping layer. The lottery tickets of the present invention may be produced by way of example in the following manner. With reference to Figure 2 there is shown a printing operation of 3 stations in which a first station 21, the printed signs or marks are printed on the graphic area 7 of the lottery ticket. Such printed signs or markings for this region of the lottery ticket include, but are not limited to, the name of the lottery game, illustrations, textual material, issue numbers, background colors and the like. The back surface 5 can also be printed with signs or printed markings such as instructions for claiming a prize and the like. The printing is carried out using known techniques such as flexography, gravure, screen printing, lithography, dry offset printing and the like. The second stage of operation indicated by the number 23 is concerned with the printing of the printed marks 41 on the game area 9 of the lottery ticket shown in Figure 1. The printed marks 41 appearing in the game area 9 include symbols of the game, numbering and amounts of the prize and the like. This step of operation is commonly carried out with tapes containing the printed markings which are used to operate a printer 27 or ink jet image forming apparatus for printing the printed markings 41 on the play area 9. The following The stage of the operation, indicated by the number 25, is concerned with the coverage of the game area 9 in such a way that the printed marks or signs 41 are hidden from the view. In this step of operation, one or more varnish layers 43, 45, an optional release coating layer (not shown), the scraping layer 46 and the overprint layer 58 are then applied. This operation is preferably carried out with a 12-station cloth flexographic press indicated by the number 29 equipped with an encapsulation capability in such a way that the press can precisely match the ticket and keep it aligned to ensure that the marks or printed symbols 41 are completely covered by the scraping layer and the overprint layer. In the operation of the flexographic cloth press of 12 stations, the first and second stations can be used to apply clear and colored varnishes 43, 45 either to the front surface 3 or to the play area 9 only. As previously indicated, the varnish layers protect the printed marks or signs 41 and are resistant to some forms of chemical counterfeiting such as by the use of bleaching agents. The varnish layers 43, 45 also facilitate the separation of the scraping layer by the user. A third station of the flexographic press can be used to apply the release or separation coating as previously described. In this case, one of the following layers can be omitted, such as one of the white elastomer layers, such that the entire printing process can be carried out in the operation of twelve press stations 29. In the absence of an optional release coating layer, the third press station is used to apply a layer of black elastomer (for example, latex ink coating) 47 and the fourth station is used to apply a gray, medium elastomer layer 49, in order to remove the nine area from the view set. The fifth to eighth stations of the press are used to print the four layers of the white elastomer 51, 53, 55 and 57. As indicated previously, the purpose of the white elastomer layer is proportional to an appropriate surface whereby the layer of Overprint 58 can be easily applied.

In a four-color process system for printing the overprint layer 58, a full-color design, a photograph, a painting or other complex image is reproduced and applied to the lottery ticket. This is done by separating the color spectrum from the original to the selected half-tone image of each of the colors used in the four-color process combination technique. Then the separated images are printed one on the other in transparent ink. When the separated images are superimposed, they are combined and mixed optically to produce the full color visual effect with virtually unlimited shades and shadows. The four colors used in a typical four-color process are yellow, magenta, cyan and black. The order of printing colors may vary, but the preferred order of printing is yellow, magenta, cyan and black. Thus, by employing a 12-station flexographic fabric press 29 as shown in FIG. 2, the ninth station prints the yellow plate 59 on the white surface provided by the scraping layer 46. The tenth station overprinted the magenta plate 61 while the eleventh superimposed the cyan plate 63. Finally, the twelfth station overprinted the black plate 65 in such a way that the four colors were combined and mixed optimally to reproduce the desired image. An example of an image that can be reproduced with visual clarity is shown in Figure 4. It will be noted that the overprinted images provide tremendous detail, such that counterfeiting becomes difficult if not impossible. In particular, it is very difficult to reproduce a four-color overprint when using, for example a small screen printing press or other inexpensive printing equipment readily available, which is normally used by counterfeiters. In addition, the retouching of the surface of the lottery ticket becomes practically impossible due to the complexity of the image that is superimposed on the printed marks. Retouching is a common technique when counterfeiters scrape very small portions of the scraping layer with a pin or other fine-tipped instrument to reveal small portions of the printed marks.

In carrying out the process of the present invention in order to ensure the proper alignment of each of the printing layers comprising the overprint layer 58, photocell devices installed in each of the 12 stations of the press 29 can be linked to several controls of the paper feeding mechanism of the press 29. Preferably, the matching devices in the flexographic press 29 must allow a variation of not more than 0.0127 cm. (0.005 inches) in each station. It is noted that, with regard to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, the content contained in the following is relayed as property

Claims (5)

1. Claims 1. A method for producing a lottery ticket, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: (a) Providing printed markings on a substrate (b) covering at least a portion of the printed markings with a scraping layer (c) providing an overprint layer on the scraping layer, the overprint layer comprises an image obtained from a design in which the colors of the design have been separated into selected half-tone images of each color, used to provide the overprint layer and then the images are superimposed to form the overprint layer.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises separating the four colors of the design.
3. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the colors are yellow, magenta, cyan and black.
4. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of providing the overprint layer comprises the application of each color in a separate printing step.
5. 5. A lottery ticket characterized in that it is produced by a process according to claim 1.