RU2457954C1 - Film for thermal transfer printing (versions) - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: printing.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to printing, namely, the means used for thermal applying of alphanumeric symbols or images on the surface of various products. Film for thermal transfer printing is a composite material formed of a set of layers, the first of which is the main-bearing, the second is separating, the third is coloring, and the layers have respective melting points, determined by the technology of film application. At the same time in one of the layers or simultaneously in several layers there is at least a portion of material which is uniformly distributed or distributed to individual sites, and having the ability to function as an optical marker in the range of ultraviolet, infrared, or X-rays radiation.

EFFECT: proposed new film for thermal transfer printing enables to identify both the film and the products on which it is applied, as well as to provide a high degree of protection against counterfeit production.

5 cl, 6 dwg, 3 ex

Description

The present invention relates to printing, and in particular to means used for the thermal deposition of alphanumeric characters or images on the surface of various products, for example, license plates of vehicles, label and packaging products.

Closest to the proposed solution is US patent 5393590 "NOT STAMPING FOIL", publication date 02/28/1995, patent holder of the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (St. Paul, MN), which describes a hot stamping foil used for printing images on various substrates using thermal transfer transfer. In fact, this is a film for thermal transfer printing, which is a composite multilayer material, which consists of a base, a separation layer and a coloring layer.

This film can be used for printing with the formation of good adhesion of the print to highly resistant substrates, in particular to retroreflective substrates, which are used, for example, for the manufacture of license plates of cars.

This invention is selected for the prototype, as it contains the largest number of essential features that match the essential features of the claimed invention.

However, the prototype has a significant drawback. The known film has a limitation in functional application, since it is intended only for generating a graphic image on various products for reading this image with the naked eye and cannot be used to protect products from counterfeiting or to create a hidden identification of the film and the product on which the film is applied.

The present invention is the creation of a new film for thermal transfer printing, which would ensure the achievement of the following technical results.

1. The possibility of hidden identification of film for thermal transfer printing and products on which it is applied or which are packed in it.

2. Improving the protection of film and products on which the film is applied from counterfeit production.

The task of creating a new film for thermal transfer printing is solved as follows.

In the known film for thermal transfer printing, which is a composite material formed from a set of layers, the first of which is the main - carrier, the second - separation, the third - dyeing, while the layers have corresponding melting temperatures determined by the technology of using the film according to the present invention in one of the layers or simultaneously in several layers has at least a part of a substance uniformly distributed or distributed in separate sections and having the ability th optical function as a marker in the range of ultraviolet, infrared or x-ray radiation.

An embodiment of the invention is also possible in which a phosphor is used as a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker.

There is another version of a film for thermal transfer printing, in which a graphic layer is introduced between the separating and ink layers, containing at least part of a substance that is capable of performing the function of an optical marker in the range of ultraviolet, infrared, or x-ray radiation. At the same time, a phosphor is used as a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker.

It is also possible such an embodiment of the invention in which a graphic layer is introduced into the composition of the ink layer.

Such a new technical solution, with all its essential features, allows for the hidden identification of the film and the product with the described film for thermal transfer printing applied on it, as well as for the high protection of the film and products on which the film is applied from counterfeit production. This is achieved due to the fact that part of the substance is introduced into the layers, which can be distributed in separate layers or simultaneously in several layers, which allows the formation of labels of different configurations and, therefore, different degrees of protection. If necessary, hidden labeling of products (for their hidden identification) tags can be invisible to the naked eye, and for their detection, the use of a special device is necessary.

The applicant has conducted a patent search on this topic and the claimed combination of essential features has not been identified. Therefore, the present invention can be recognized as new.

This invention meets the patentability criterion of "inventive step", since it logically does not follow from the prior art for a specialist of average qualification. However, other than the prototype, multilayer films for thermal transfer printing are known, for example, the inventions of Russia and the USA (RF Patent No. 2340461, US Patents No. 5393590, 3770479, 3953635). These films serve to form a graphic image on various products, including reflective license plates, stickers or emblems, and contain several layers, including a base, a separation layer, a paint layer, identifiable in the range visible to the naked eye. But such films and / or coated products may be fake, and this fact is often not possible to establish.

Currently, there is an acute problem of reliable identification of products such as, for example, license plates for automobiles, packaging products. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate identification errors and prevent delays in the receipt of information by interested parties.

Another problem of the modern market is the increase in the volume of low-quality counterfeit products. As a result of the penetration of goods by unscrupulous manufacturers into consumer markets, the shadow sector of the economy is formed, the authority of entrepreneurs is discredited, companies and consumers suffer material and moral losses. Therefore, they create other printing films other than the claimed film, in which there are also elements capable of performing the function of a hidden marker, which requires a special device for its detection. For example, the patent of the Russian Federation No. 2339524 for the invention “A printing film for the production of anti-counterfeit automobile license plates and an anti-counterfeit automobile license plate containing such a printed film” is known. This printed film contains a carrier film and a transfer layer that can be separated from the carrier film and which can be fixed on the basis of a car license plate. The transfer layer, starting from the carrier film carrier, includes a transparent removable layer, an opaque decorative layer, a transparent protective layer, an optically variable layer, a reflective layer, a color layer and an adhesive layer. The decorative layer has mutually spaced zonal discontinuities in which the transparent protective layer abuts the removable layer. Zonal gaps in an opaque decorative layer may have a peripheral edge of a graphical configuration. Zone gaps can reproduce, for example, a coat of arms, an object of flora, such as a palm tree or tree, an object of fauna, such as an insect, animal, etc. This provides an additional security feature that is visible to the observer and which, in addition, improves the security of the car license plate from fakes. An optical variable layer is a replication layer with a diffractive relief structure that can form a two-dimensional or three-dimensional hologram.

However, the present invention does not solve the problem of product identification.

In addition, given that UV markers are an affordable and common means of protecting products from counterfeiting, such markings can be tampered with.

In the claimed invention, there is provided a film for thermal transfer printing with protective optical markers introduced therein, the distinguishing feature of which is the spectral characteristics forming a predetermined spectral code that can be read out with or without the use of appropriate code-reading devices. Indication of optical markers can be carried out in the visible, ultraviolet, infrared and x-ray regions of the spectrum. Thus, the proposed film for thermal transfer printing can be used not only for applying images or painting the surface of various materials, including reflective materials, by hot stamping (thermal transfer printing), but also at the same time to create the possibility of product identification (including hidden identification ) and its protection against counterfeit production. Counterfeiting of optical markers introduced into the described film is theoretically possible, but not economically profitable, and therefore unlikely, since counterfeiting will require high costs.

Based on the foregoing, it follows that the claimed invention meets the criteria of patentability "inventive step".

The essence of the proposed film for thermal transfer printing and the possibility of its practical implementation is illustrated by the following description and drawings, which show possible options for the location of the layers in the film.

Figure 1. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are three layers, while the phosphor is uniformly introduced into the ink layer.

Figure 2. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are three layers, and at the same time, a phosphor is regularly introduced into the ink layer in separate sections.

Figure 3. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are three layers, while the phosphor is uniformly introduced into the separation layer.

Figure 4. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are four layers, while the phosphor is uniformly introduced into the graphic layer.

Figure 5. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are four layers, and at the same time, a phosphor is uniformly introduced into the ink layer.

6. - A possible variant of the structure of the film for thermal transfer printing, in which there are three layers, and at the same time, a phosphor is uniformly introduced into the separation and dye layers.

The proposed film for thermal transfer printing is a composite material and contains a set of layers (Fig.1-6). One of the layers is the main layer 1. Usually it is made of a heat-resistant polymer with a melting point above the melting temperature of the remaining layers. Another layer is the separation layer 2, the third is the coloring layer 3.

In one of the two layers there is at least a part of a substance having the ability to function as an optical marker in the range of ultraviolet, infrared or x-ray radiation. As a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker, a phosphor 4 can be used, which is either uniformly distributed in the dye layer 3 (Figs. 1, 5) either in the separation layer 2 (Fig. 3), or both (Fig. 6). , or distributed in separate sections of the coloring layer 3 (figure 2), or separation 2, or both (not shown in the drawings).

Between the separation 2 and the coloring 3 layers, a graphic layer 5 (FIG. 4) can be introduced as an additional visual identification of the film. This layer may contain graphic elements, for example, it may be the logo of a country or region where this film can be used for painting license plates (not shown in the drawings). The graphic layer 5 may also contain a phosphor 4 distributed evenly (figure 4) or in separate sections (not shown in the drawings). The graphic layer 5 may be performed separately or may be introduced into the coloring layer 3 (not shown in the drawings).

As the main layer 1 can be used, for example:

1) a polymer film with a thickness of 4 to 30 microns, having stability of physical and mechanical characteristics in the temperature range from -30 ° C to + 220 ° C, made of polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene copolymers, cellulose copolymers;

2) siliconized paper with a thickness of 25-110 microns.

The thickness of the base layer 1 is determined by the fact that too thin a base is not strong enough, too thick has insufficient thermal conductivity and affects the resolution of the print.

The separation layer 2 can be selected for reasons of balance of adhesive and separation properties between the base and the color layer. It can be selected, for example, from materials containing wax. Typically, the thickness of the separation layer is about 0.1 μm.

The coloring layer 3 has an adhesive property between the base 1 and the separation layer 2, it also determines the appearance of the resulting graphic image. The coloring layer may have a thickness in the range of 2-9 μm with a melting point in the range of 130-180 ° C. The thickness of the layer is due to the fact that too thick a layer can reduce the thermal conductivity of the coating and impair the appearance of the print. Too thin a layer results in reduced print performance. The polymer layer is colored in bulk with pigments of various colors, depending on the purpose of the film for thermal transfer printing. A typical paint layer 3 contains one or more paints from the following series: cellulose paints, polyvinyl chloride paints, polyurethane paints, acrylic paints. The necessary composition can be selected by a person skilled in the art.

As phosphors 4 can be used substances with the ability to photoluminescence under the influence of ultraviolet, infrared or x-ray radiation, for example:

1) compounds based on yttrium oxyhalides;

2) lanthanum-neodymium oxysulfide compounds;

3) compounds based on yttrium-lanthanum oxysulfides or based on other organic and inorganic compounds having photoluminescence properties in the spectral range of detection.

Thus, the following compositions of the separating, dyeing and graphic layers of the film for thermal transfer printing can be implemented.

Example No. 1

Separation layer Component Name The content in the composition, wt.% Monatan Wax Water Dispersion 25-45 Dispersion of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer 5-15 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3 Terpineol (antifoam) 0.05-0.08 Ink layer Aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of butyl acrylate with methyl methacrylate 35-65 Pigment (carbon black dispersion) 15-35 Photoluminophore (optical marker) 0.1-0.3 Filler (silica dispersion) 15-45 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3

Example No. 2

Separation layer Component Name The content in the composition, wt.% Polyethylene Wax Water Dispersion 25-45 Styrene butadiene copolymer dispersion 5-15 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3 A mixture of fatty acid esters C17-C31 (antifoam) 0.05-0.08 Ink layer Aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of vinyl chloride with vinylidene chloride 35-65 Pigment (carbon black dispersion) 15-35 Photoluminophore (optical marker) 0.1-0.3 Filler (silica dispersion) 15-45 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3

Example No. 3 (with a graphic layer)

Separation layer Component Name The content in the composition, wt.% Siloxane resin water dispersion 15-35 Styrene butadiene copolymer dispersion 20-35 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3

A mixture of fatty acid esters C17-C31 (antifoam) 0.05-0.08 Graphic layer Aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of vinyl chloride with vinylidene chloride 35-65 Photoluminophore (optical marker) 0.1-0.3 Filler (polystyrene dispersion) 15-45 Ink layer Aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of vinyl chloride with vinylidene chloride 35-65 Pigment (titanium dioxide) 10-35 Butyl diglycol acetate 1-3

The invention is carried out according to known technology, which consists in the following.

The main layer is made separately, then a separation and coloring layer is applied to it sequentially by intaglio printing, flexographic printing using the kiss coating method, doctor blade system or dosing system using an air brush.

For example, the composition of the separation layer according to the above examples is applied to a 12 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate film by intaglio printing using a printing cylinder with a line width of 100 lines / cm, the coating is dried at a temperature of 90 ° C.

Then, the composition of the coloring layer is applied by gravure printing using a printing cylinder with a raster line of 60 lines / cm, the coating is dried at 90 ° C.

The graphic layer can be made by known printing methods (intaglio printing, flexographic printing, screen printing) using standard printing inks, varnishes or using a composition similar to the composition of the painting layer of the film, characterized by the color of the pigment or dye used.

The phosphor is introduced into the coloring, separation or graphic layer or in several layers at once, evenly or in separate regularly located areas.

Next, the printing process is carried out, which occurs when the thermoplastic pigmented dye layer contacts the substrate to be painted (for example, a relief alphanumeric designation on the license plate blank) at a temperature of 170-210 ° C and a pressure of 1-10 kg / cm ² . In this case, the coloring thermoplastic pigmented layer is welded to the substrate and separated from the base film. Thus, a colored film coating is formed at the contact point on the substrate.

In fact, the proposed new film for thermal transfer printing, which includes optical markers, allows you to identify both the film and the products on which it is applied, as well as provide a high degree of protection against counterfeit production.

Claims (5)

1. The film for thermal transfer printing, which is a composite material formed from a set of layers, the first of which is the main - carrier, the second - separating, the third - dyeing, while the layers have corresponding melting temperatures determined by the technology of application of the film, characterized in that in one of the layers or simultaneously in several layers, there is at least a part of a substance uniformly distributed or distributed in separate sections, and having the ability to perform a function pticheskogo marker in the range of ultraviolet, infrared or x-ray radiation. 2. The film for thermal transfer printing according to claim 1, characterized in that a phosphor is used as a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker. 3. The film for thermal transfer printing, which is a composite material formed from a set of layers, the first of which is the main - carrier, the second - separating, the third - dyeing, while the layers have corresponding melting temperatures determined by the technology of application of the film, characterized in that a graphic layer is introduced between the dividing and dye layers, which contains at least a portion of a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker in the ultraviolet range nfrakrasnogo or X-rays. 4. The film for thermal transfer printing according to claim 3, characterized in that a phosphor is used as a substance capable of performing the function of an optical marker. 5. The film for thermal transfer printing according to claim 3, characterized in that a graphic layer is introduced into the composition of the ink layer.

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