Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M1/00—Inking and printing with a printer's forme
  • B41M1/10—Intaglio printing ; Gravure printing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
  • B41M3/14—Security printing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N1/00—Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor
  • B41N1/04—Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor metallic
  • B41N1/06—Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor metallic for relief printing or intaglio printing

Definitions

• the invention relates to a data carrier with a printed image produced by intaglio printing, with adjacent color areas of different ink layer thicknesses, a intaglio printing method for printing adjacent color areas, and printing plates for performing the intaglio printing process and a method for producing the printing plates.
• the printing plates are produced, for example, by means of an electron beam, laser beam or stylus. It is characteristic of gravure printing that different gray or color values of the printed image are generated by cells of different density, size and / or depth that are regularly arranged in the printing plate.
• the line or intaglio printing technique in particular the steel intaglio printing technique, is an important technique for printing on data carriers, in particular securities, such as banknotes and the like. The intaglio printing technique allows a very thick ink application on a data carrier in comparison to other common printing techniques, such as offset printing.
• the comparatively thick ink layer produced by intaglio printing is easily recognizable by laypersons as a simple authenticity feature thanks to its tactility. This authenticity feature cannot be imitated with a simple copy, so that the intaglio printing technique offers protection against simple counterfeits.
• Intaglio printing is characterized by the fact that line-shaped depressions are made in the printing plates in order to produce a printed image.
• a wider line is created with increasing engraving depth due to the usually tapered engraving tools.
• the color absorption capacity of the engraved line and thus the opacity of the printed line increases with increasing stitch depth.
• the non-printing areas of the printing plate are covered with a chemically inert lacquer. Subsequent etching creates the engraving in the exposed plate surface, the depth and width of the engraving lines depending in particular on the etching time.
• a method is known from WO 97/48555 with which intaglio printing plates can be produced in a reproducible, mechanical manner.
• the lines of a line template are recorded and the area of each line is determined exactly.
• the outer contour of this surface is first engraved with an engraving tool, for example a rotating stylus or a laser beam, in order to surround the surface cleanly.
• the bordered area of the surface is cleared using the same or another engraving tool, so that the entire line is engraved exactly according to the line template.
• a roughness basic pattern is created on the bottom of the cleared area, which serves as a color catcher for the printing ink.
• the object of the present invention is therefore to provide measures which make it possible to produce adjacent color areas in intaglio printing which are clearly delimited from one another.
• the engraving areas assigned to the color areas on the printing plate are separated from one another by a separating edge which tapers at the level of the printing plate surface.
• a data carrier for example a bank note
• adjacent color areas are generated which pass through a minimum in the border area.
• the ink layer thickness at the borderline between the ink areas is zero.
• the printing inks of the adjacent color areas combine in the immediate border area, it can be slightly greater than zero; this is particularly the case when the edges of the separating edge are steep and have a small edge angle. The flatter the flanks of the separating edge, the slower the ink layer thickness in the border area goes against the ink layer thickness minimum.
• a very fine, lighter boundary line between the adjacent color areas which can only be recognized with magnification, for example with a magnifying glass, can be produced, which can serve as an additional security feature which is hidden under normal observation.
• the invention makes it possible for the first time to produce directly adjacent color areas with different layer thicknesses in intaglio printing, which do not run into one another and are clearly delimited from one another.
• Fig. 1 section of a printing plate in cross section
• FIG. 2 section of a data carrier with two adjacent
• FIG. 3 section of a data carrier with two adjacent
• FIG. 1 shows a profile of a printing plate 1 with a printing plate surface 2, into which a first engraving area 3a with an engraving depth t a and a second engraving area 3b with a second engraving depth tb are engraved.
• the two engraving areas 3a, 3b directly adjoin one another at the level of the printing plate surface 2 and are otherwise separated from one another by a separating edge 5, the upper edge 6 of which tapers at the level of the printing plate surface 2.
• the pressure plate can also be designed in such a way that the upper edge 6 lies slightly, ie a few ⁇ m below the level of the pressure plate surface 2.
• the flanks of the engraving areas 3a, 3b also simultaneously form the flanks of the separating edge and form with respect to the solder the upper edge 6 a flank angle.
• flank angle ⁇ of the right flank of the separating edge is shown, since the two flank angles are the same in the example shown.
• the two flank angles of the separating edge 5 can also be chosen differently.
• the flank angles can be in the range from 15 ° to 60 °, preferably in the range from 30 ° to 50 °.
• the base areas 7a and 7b of the engraving areas 3a, 3b can be flat (7a) or have a basic roughness pattern (7b).
• the basic roughness pattern is advantageous because the printing ink is better held at the bottom of the engraving.
• the engraving areas 3a and 3b can also taper downwards, so that they have no base area 7a or 7b (not shown).
• the engraving depth t of the engraving areas 3a, 3b is in the range from 5 ⁇ m to 250 ⁇ m and preferably in the range from 5 ⁇ m to 150 ⁇ m.
• the engraved plates are also suitable for duplication using conventional impression techniques that are common in intaglio printing plates.
• the engraved original is reproduced several times via intermediate steps and only the reproductions are used as a printing form. Engravings with the preferred flank angles and engraving depths have production required impression and separation processes proved to be particularly cheap.
• FIG. 2 shows a section of a data carrier 10 with a printed image comprising two color areas 12a, 12b in a schematically simplified manner.
• the data carrier 10 was printed with a printing plate 1, as shown in FIG. 1, by intaglio printing. During the printing process, the data carrier 10 is pressed into the engraving areas 3a, 3b, wherein corresponding depressions 11a, 11b can remain permanently on the underside of the data carrier 17.
• the upper side of the data carrier 15 has corresponding elevations in the areas 11a, 11b, these elevations being covered by color layers 13a, 13b, which were taken from the upper side of the data carrier 15 from the engraving areas 3a, 3b. With their surfaces, the color layers 13a, 13b form the color areas 12a and 12b.
• the level difference between the non-printed substrate surface and the surfaces of the respective color areas 12a, 12b is defined as the ink layer thickness Da, Db.
• the ink layer thicknesses D a and Db decrease continuously up to a boundary line which was defined by the upper edge 6 of the separating edge 5 of the printing plate 1.
• the flank angle oc and depending on the engraving depth t, there is a more or less wide border area B. Since the ink layer thicknesses D a and Db decrease continuously in the border area B, a suitable choice of the flank angle ⁇ for the human eye without Aids create undetectable boundary line of light color.
• the ink layer thicknesses D a and Db are reduced at the borderline to an ink layer thickness minimum with a thickness of 0.
• the ink areas 12a, 12b can also be connected slightly without any detectable color mixing occurring.
• Figure 3 shows this case. It can be seen that a connection of the colored areas 12a and 12b has taken place at the boundary line 16.
• the color layers 13a and 13b can consist of printing inks of different colors, since the colors of different engraving areas are practically not mixed due to the inventive design of the printing plate. However, if the same glazing printing ink is used for adjacent engraving areas 3a, 3b with different engraving depths t a and tb, different color tones of the color layers 13a and 13b result in the printed image.
• the adjacent engraving areas can be formed by line-shaped or area-like depressions.
• the depressions are preferably engraved with a rotating stylus which has a flank angle corresponding to the flank angle of the separating edge to be generated.
• the engraving stylus can also be moved along paths that form two shares.
• the curves or straight lines of one share run parallel to each other and cross the curves or straight lines of the second share at regular intervals. This creates a basic roughness pattern in the manner of a cross pattern with particularly favorable color properties.
• the stylus preferably tapers to a point or has a special contour which makes it possible to produce a basic roughness pattern on the base of the engraving which serves as a color catcher.
• the stylus is moved at regular, small intervals parallel to a previously engraved path, so that the previously engraved depression is widened by precisely this distance.
• the engraving depth is in the range from 5 to 250 ⁇ m, preferably 5 to 150 ⁇ m.
• the preferred flank angles in the range from 30 ° to 50 ° allow a longer service life of the engraving tool while at the same time providing an excellent printing result for the engraved printing plate.
• Tools with flank angles in the range of 30 ° are particularly suitable for engraving very fine, filigree and small-area structures, while tools with flank angles of 40 ° to 50 ° are preferable for engraving large-area and coarser structures.
• One or more line-shaped or flat depressions can represent a pattern, a symbol or a character.
• Several adjoining depressions can form a regular grid, so that the printed image produced appears homogeneous, the grid producing a fine structure in the printed image that can only be recognized with magnifying aids.

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• Printing Methods (AREA)
• Manufacture Or Reproduction Of Printing Formes (AREA)
• Printing Plates And Materials Therefor (AREA)

Priority Applications (11)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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Citations (5)

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• 1998
  • 1998-10-02 DE DE19845436.8A patent/DE19845436C5/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1999
  • 1999-09-29 CN CNB998114960A patent/CN1155471C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-09-29 ZA ZA200102252A patent/ZA200102252B/en unknown
  • 1999-09-29 EP EP99948896.8A patent/EP1117537B2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-09-29 ES ES99948896T patent/ES2194512T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-09-29 PL PL347150A patent/PL190828B1/pl unknown
  • 1999-09-29 PT PT99948896T patent/PT1117537E/pt unknown
  • 1999-09-29 WO PCT/EP1999/007216 patent/WO2000020216A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1999-09-29 AU AU61980/99A patent/AU756205B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1999-09-29 DE DE59905490T patent/DE59905490D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-09-29 US US09/787,919 patent/US6928925B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-09-29 CA CA002345748A patent/CA2345748C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-09-29 UA UA2001053027A patent/UA71583C2/uk unknown
  • 1999-09-29 TR TR2001/00925T patent/TR200100925T2/xx unknown
  • 1999-09-29 DK DK99948896T patent/DK1117537T3/da active
  • 1999-09-29 AT AT99948896T patent/ATE239614T1/de active
  • 1999-09-29 JP JP2000573553A patent/JP4550282B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-09-29 RU RU2001111865/12A patent/RU2236949C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-09-30 AR ARP990104974A patent/AR020679A1/es active IP Right Grant
• 2005
  • 2005-05-03 US US11/119,933 patent/US7028615B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

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