WO2002040289A1

WO2002040289A1 - Image application to surfaces

Info

Publication number: WO2002040289A1
Application number: PCT/ZA2001/000174
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ebenaeser Venter
Original assignee: Toerien, Dawid, Johannes, Jacobus
Priority date: 2000-11-16
Filing date: 2001-11-14
Publication date: 2002-05-23
Also published as: AU2002220282A1

Abstract

A method of applying an image to an image accepting surface includes the steps of preparing the image accepting surface with or from an image accepting polymerizable polyester composition including styrene and a hardening agent. The method further includes permitting the image accepting composition to set or dry, and applying the image to the surface by transferring the image under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure in a press.

Description

IMAGE APPLICATION TO SURFACES

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the application of images to surfaces.

Background to the Invention

The inventor is aware that presently the application of images, such as photographs, to hard surfaces, such as ceramic surfaces, is a complicated and expensive process involving traditional glazing methods and specialised surface preparation making it very expensive and time consuming.

The inventor is also aware that a need exists for a cheaper simpler method of applying an image to a hard surface.

Summary of the Invention

Thus according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of applying an image to an image accepting surface, the method including the steps of: preparing the image accepting surface with or from an image accepting polymerizable polyester composition including styrene and a hardening agent; - permitting the image accepting composition to set or dry; and applying the image to the image accepting surface by transferring the image under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure in a press.

The image accepting composition may be applied to a surface of a substrate. The substrate may be glass, ceramic, terracotta, marble, natural stone, wood and the like.

It will be appreciated that glass tiles having an image applied to the tile in accordance with the invention could be used as a cost effective replacement for stained glass. Any photographic image may, however, be applied.

The press may be a heat press.

The image accepting composition may include upto about 40% styrene, typically between 1 % and 30%. In one example of the invention the composition includes about 20% styrene.

The image accepting composition may be a polyester casting resin including styrene. Solvent, such as styrene, may be added to dilute the composition to enable, the composition to be sprayed, using a compressed air system, onto a surface of a substrate.

The image accepting composition may be made up of three commercially available products sold for the purpose of vehicle painting. Thus, the image accepting composition may comprise about 62% Glasurit™ High Standard Clear, about 32% Glasurit™ thinners and about 6% Glasurit™ hardener.

It will be appreciated that Glasurit™ High Standard Clear is an example of a styrene containing polyester based polymerizable composition.

A particularly useful composition was mixed having the ratio of 45ml Glasurit™ High Standard Clear, 23ml Glasurit™ thinners and 4.5ml Glasurit™, peroxide based, hardener. The volumes may be scaled up in the ratio as set out above. The image accepting composition may be applied to the surface of the substrate immediately after it has been mixed. The applicant has found that the composition will set and block the nozzle of a compressed air applicator after about four hours.

The image accepting composition may be applied to the surface by means of any applicator device capable of applying said composition to the surface in an even manner. Typically the applicator device is a spray applicator, such as a compressed air system.

The image accepting composition may be applied to the surface in a number of layers, typically at least three.

The applied composition may be permitted to rest for a period of at least 20 minutes between layers. The applied composition may be heated to a temperature of at least.40°C, typically about 50°C, during the rest periods in order to facilitate the setting or drying of the image accepting composition.

Prior to applying the image to the surface of the image accepting composition, the surface should be heated at between 40° and 60°, typically about 50°C, for at least 2 hours, typically at least 6 hours.

The surface may require surface preparation prior to the application of the image accepting composition, during the image accepting composition application process and/or before the image application step.

The surface preparation prior to the image accepting composition step may include the cleaning of the surface to remove debris, fats, and other dirt which can cause the image to deteriorate later. Thus, the surface may be cleaned with a solvent and/or a dilute acid. Once the surface has been cleaned, if the surface does not have a sufficiently smooth finish and/ or a background colour is required, a glazing agent, such as Glatex™ 8, may be applied to the surface in several layers until an acceptable surface finish and/ or colour is obtained. The Glatex™ is usually applied as a 3 parts Glatex™ 8 to 1 part Glatex™ hardener composition. Glatex™ is also an example of a styrene containing polyester based polymerizable composition.

The surface may also be abraded with a fine abrasive material to achieve a high gloss finish. Any debris generated by the abrading should be cleaned off prior to applying the image accepting composition.

The glazing agent may be selected to match or complement the colour of the surface, or simulate a surface.

Thus, according to a another aspect of the invention, there is provided a wood based tile which simulates other tile types, the wood based tile being prepared by applying a glazing agent, such as Glatex™ 8, to a surface in several layers until an acceptable surface finish is obtained.

The Glatex™ is usually applied as a 3 parts Glatex™ 8 to 1 part Glatex™ hardener composition.

The glazing agent may be selected to match or complement the colour of the surface being simulated, for example, white, brown, transparent, or the like. The tile then has an image applied to its prepared surface, the image simulating a desired tile type, for example, ceramic, terracotta, marble, granite, or the like. The image accepting composition is then applied to the glazing agent as described above.

After the image accepting composition has been applied the surface may have surface finish imperfections or blemishes, which require correction by abrasion. The abrasion may be performed in stages with a coarse abrasive treatment being followed by a fine abrasive treatment and finally finished off with rubbing compound to provide the desired surface finish prior to applying the image to the surface.

Thus, in the instances of ceramic tiles or glass plates, the coarse abrasion step may be performed with a 1200 grit water paper with water present on the surface, and finally, for the fine abrasive treatment, rubbing compound is applied with a fine damp cloth and the surface is polished with circular polishing motions.

In the instance of wood tiles, the coarse abrasion step may be performed with a 1200 grit water paper with water present on the surface, then the rubbing compound is applied with a fine damp cloth and the surface is polished with circular polishing motions, and finally the surface is polished using an abrasive polish such as Brasso™ to achieve a desired level of gloss.

In another embodiment of the invention, the image accepting composition is applied to a surface of a mould to form a moulded article having an image accepting surface.

After the image accepting polymerizable composition including styrene and a hardening agent is applied to the surface of a mould, ie. cast, and permitted to set or dry on the surface, the moulded article is removed from the mould to expose the image accepting surface. The image accepting composition may include a thixotropic agent in which case the composition is also known as a "gelcoat" to those skilled in the art. The surface of the mould may be finished to provide a matt or gloss finished image accepting surface.

The mould may be shaped and configured such that a tile is moulded to any desired thickness and has a desired shape such as a square, oval, round or any other shape.

Prior to the complete drying or setting of the image accepting composition, a substrate polymerizable composition, such as standard polyester casting resin may be cast on top of the image accepting composition, and allowed to set or dry, to form a substrate for the image accepting composition.

The substrate polymerizable composition may include milled cotton fibre to provide flexibility to .the substrate, and glass chips to provide reinforcement to the substrate.

Once the image accepting surface is prepared as described above, the image can be applied to the image accepting surface.

The image to be applied may be a photo positive or a photo negative image depending on the circumstances.

The image may be applied to the surface by a heat press heated to at least 150°C, typically about 220°C for casted, glass and ceramic surfaces and about 200°C for wood and plant fibre surfaces.

The image is a computer processed image printed on clay-coated paper, typically in a mirror format, using a sublimation ink. The printing press may press the image onto the surface for a period of at least 1 minute at a pressure as high as the material onto which the image is being transferred can bear without breaking thereby to transfer the image onto the surface.

Typically with a Geoknight™ Image Maker printing press the image is pressed onto the surface for at least between about 8 and 10 minutes, depending on the material of the surface. Thus, a plant material surface requires a time of about 8 minutes while a ceramic or glass surface requires a time of at least 8 to 10 minutes, or longer.

The pressure of the printing press on the surface is maintained during the above time period.

If at the end of the image transfer period a portion of the image has not properly transferred, then, when the printing press is opened to remove the surface with the image thereon from the printing press, then without disturbing the image the area of the surface where the image has not transferred properly may be displaced to a central position in the press and the transfer process may continue for a further short period, typically about 2 minutes.

The hot surface with the image thereon may be left to cool.

The surface with the image thereon may be polished by using any suitable finishing polish, for example, abrasive Brasso™, Teflon containing Diamond Guard™, and/or furniture polish such as Mr Min™.

Typically, the surface will be firstly polished with the Brasso™, then with the Diamond Guard™ and finally finished off with furniture polish to achieve a high gloss finish. The invention extends to an image accepting composition for use in applying an image to a surface, said composition including: a styrene containing polymerizable component; a solvent compatible with the styrene compatible component; and - a hardening agent for hardening the composition.

The polymerizable component may be a polyester polymerizable composition and the hardening agent an organic peroxide.

The image accepting composition may include about 62% Glasurit™ High Standard Clear, about 32% Glasurit™ thinners and about 6% Glasurit™ hardener.

A particularly useful image accepting composition was mixed having the ratio of 45ml Glasurit™ High Standard Clear, 23ml Glasurit™ thinners and 4.5ml Glasurit™ hardener. The volumes may be scaled up in the ratio as set out above.

The image accepting composition may be applied to the surface of the substrate immediately after it has been mixed. The applicant has found that the composition will set and block the nozzle of a compressed air applicator after about four hours.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other products having similar properties may be used in preparing the composition.

Specific Examples of the Invention

A typical printing press used in performing the invention has a press surface of about 330mm by 280 mm. Example 1 : Applying Images to Glass Tiles

The glass tiles must firstly be cut to the desired size and thickness.

The size will be limited by the size of the heat press.

Both sides of the glass tile is sand-blasted in order to enhance the image clarity. The sand-blasted surfaces of the tiles are cleaned with a cloth which has been wet with vinegar, i.e. a weak acid solution, to remove greasy marks as well as loose dirt and debris.

One sand-blasted side of the tile is then covered with paper or tape to protect that surface from the image accepting composition which will be applied to the other side of the tile.

The image accepting composition is prepared by mixing 45 ml Glasurit High Standard Clear, 23 ml Glasurit thinners and 4,5 ml Glasurit hardner. The mixture is then placed in a spray gun system (supplied by a high pressure air compressor) and sprayed onto the uncovered sand-blasted side of the tile.

The spraying operation is carried out in three steps with a rest period of about 30 minutes between each application. During the rest periods the tiles are placed in a warm oven at 50 °C to dry or set. The spray nozzles should be cleaned with the Glasurit thinners both before and after each spraying step.

Utmost care should be taken throughout the whole spraying process to avoid dust settling on the surface, causing blemishes which must later be removed. Before applying the images there should be no blemishes such as bumps, bubbles, dust, etc., on the surface and if there are any such blemishes, then these should first be removed by abrasion with a 1200 grit water paper with water present on the surface.

The abrasion is carried our in two steps, firstly a fine abrasion step and secondly a polishing step. The fine abrasive treatment is performed with a 1200 grit water paper used with water present on the surface, and finally rubbing compound is applied with a fine damp cloth and the surface is polished with circular polishing motions.

The tiles should be clean and dry before proceeding to the next step.

The image is now transferred to the tile as follows:

1. The heat press is heated to 220 °C and the timer is set to between 8 and 10 minutes.

2. The tile is accurately located in the middle of the heat press's pressure plate with the image accepting composition facing upwards. Thereafter the image/photo/print is placed onto the glass tile surface - also with great accuracy.

The image is a computer-processed image printed on clay-coated paper using a sublimation ink.

3. The press then applies the heat and pressure for the preset time between 8 and 10 minutes so as to transfer the image to the tile. Great care should be exercised not to select a pressure which exceeds the breaking strength of the glass tile.

4. Once the preset time has expired the heat press is carefully opened and the tile removed and allowed to cool. The edges are then ground or polished, if necessary, and the tile is ready for use.

Example 2: Ceramic Tile

A surface of a ceramic tile to which an image is to be applied is cleaned with a cloth which has been wet with vinegar, i.e. a weak acid solution, to remove fatty marks as well as loose dirt and debris.

The image accepting composition is prepared by mixing 45ml Glasurit™ High

Standard Clear, 23ml Glasurit™ thinners and 4.5ml Glasurit™ hardener. The mixture is then placed in a spray canister and sprayed onto the surface of the tile.

The spraying operation is carried out with a compressed air spray gun system and sprayed in three steps with a rest period of about 30 minutes between each application. During the rest periods the tiles are placed in a warm oven at 50°C to dry or set.

The spray nozzles should be cleaned with the Glasurit™ thinners both before and after each spraying step.

Utmost care is taken throughout the whole spraying process to avoid dust settling on the surface, causing blemishes which must later be removed.

Before applying the images there should be no blemishes such as bumps, bubbles, dust, etc on the surface and if there are any such blemishes then these should first be removed by abrasion. The abrasion is carried our in two steps, firstly a fine abrasion step and secondly a polishing step. The fine abrasive treatment is performed with a 1200 grit water paper used with water present on the surface, and finally rubbing compound is applied with a fine damp cloth and the surface is polished with circular polishing motions.

The tiles should be dry before proceeding to the next step.

The image is now transferred to the surface of the tile as follows: 1. The heat press is heated to 220°C and the timer is set to between 8 and 10 minutes. Thus the pressure will be applied to the tile for between 8 and 10 minutes during which time the image should be transferred to the tile. 2. The tile must be accurately located in the middle of the heat press pressure plate with the image accepting composition facing upwards. Thereafter the image/photo/print is place onto the tile surface also with great accuracy. The image is a computer processed image printed on clay-coated paper in a mirror format using a sublimation ink. 3. The press then applies heat and pressure for the preset time so as to transfer the image to the tile.

4. Once the preset time has expired the press is carefully opened and a corner of the image/photo/print is carefully lifted from the tile surface to ensure that the image has transferred to the tile surface. If required the transfer process can be repeated for a further period, usually about 1 or 2 minutes.

5. The hot tile is then removed an allowed to cool.

6. The tile surface may then be polished to a final gloss using Brasso™, followed by polishing with Diamond Guard™ and finally with furniture polish. Example 3: Wood Fibre Tile

A Supawood™ tile is prepared to provide a surface suitable for treatment with the image accepting composition of the invention.

The surface of the Supawood™ tile is prepared by coating with a glazing agent, such as Glatex™ 8. The Glatex™ 8 is applied to the surface in three layers until an acceptable surface finish is obtained. The tile is baked in an oven at 50°C between layers.

Prior to the application of any coating, the tile can be waterproofed, for example if the tile is to be used outdoors, such as for a grave, with sanding sealer.

The Glatex™ should be allowed at least 6 hours to properly set/dry before the next step is proceeded with.

The surface is also be abraded with a 1200 grit water paper with water present on the surface to achieve a high gloss finish. Any debris generated by the abrading should be cleaned off prior to applying the image accepting composition.

Thereafter the prepared surface of the tile to which an image is to be applied is cleaned with a cloth which has been wet with vinegar, i.e. a weak acid solution, to remove fatty marks as well as loose dirt and debris.

The image accepting composition is prepared by mixing 45ml Glasurit™ High Standard Clear, 23ml Glasurit™ thinners and 4.5ml Glasurit™ hardener. The mixture is then placed in a compressed air spray system and sprayed onto the surface of the tile. The spraying operation is carried out in three steps with a rest period of about 30 minutes between each application. During the rest periods the tiles are placed in a warm oven at 50°C to dry or set.

Utmost care should be taken throughout the whole spraying process to avoid dust settling on the surface, causing blemishes which must later be removed.

Before applying the images there should be no blemishes such as bumps, bubbles, dust, etc on the surface and if there are any such blemishes then these should first be removed by abrasion.

The abrasion is carried our in two steps, firstly a fine abrasion step and secondly a polishing step. The fine abrasive treatment is performed with a 1200 grit water paper used with water present on the surface, and finally rubbing compound is applied with a fine damp cloth and the surface is polished with circular polishing motions, whereafter the surface is finally polished using Brasso™.

The tiles should be dry before proceeding to the next step.

The image is now transferred to the surface of the tile as follows: 1. The heat press is heated to 200°C and the timer is set to 5 minutes.

Thus, the pressure will be applied to the tile for 5 minutes during which time the image should be transferred to the tile.

2. The tile must be accurately located in the middle of the press heat pressure plate with the image accepting composition facing upwards. Thereafter the image/photo/print is place onto the tile surface also with great accuracy. The image is a computer processed image printed on clay-coated paper in a mirror format using a sublimation ink. 3. The press then applies the transfer heat and pressure for the preset time so as to transfer the image to the tile. 4. Once the preset time has expired, the printing press is carefully opened and a corner of the image/photo/print is carefully lifted from the tile surface to ensure that the image has transferred to the tile surface. If required the transfer process can be repeated for a further period, usually about 1 or 2 minutes. 5. The hot tile is then be removed an allowed to cool.

6. The tile surface may then be polished to a final gloss using

Brasso™, followed by polishing with Diamond Guard™ and finally with furniture polish.

Example 4: Moulding a tile and applying an image to its surface:

A plastics mould having a smooth mould surface and shaped and configured for forming a tile is cleaned to remove any dust or other matter and placed oh a level surface.

An image accepting polymerizable composition is prepared by adding 25% volume part of a gelcoat polyester composition to one volume part of a standard polyester casting resin. 1% hardener or peroxide catalyst is added and the composition mixed.

The image accepting composition is then poured into the mould to form a 3mm layer and allowed to start to set or dry for approximately 20 minutes. Before the image accepting composition sets or dries completely, in order for a substrate layer to bond with the image accepting composition layer, the substrate composition is cast onto the image accepting composition to form the body of the tile.

The substrate polymerizable composition is prepared by adding one volume part standard polyester casting resin with about 35% volume part milled cotton fibre and about 35% volume part glass chips.

The substrate composition is then cast onto the image accepting composition and both compositions allowed to set completely. While the compositions sets, an even surfaced pressure plate is placed and weighted onto the surface of the composition to provide an even surfaced tile.

After the compositions set, the tile is removed and the image applied to the surface of the image accepting composition, in the same way as described in example 3.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of applying an image to an image accepting surface, which includes the steps of: preparing the image accepting surface with or from an image accepting polymerizable polyester composition including styrene and a hardening agent; permitting the image accepting composition to set or dry; and applying the image to the surface by transferring the image under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure in a press.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the image accepting composition includes up to 40% styrene.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the image accepting composition includes between 1% and 30% styrene.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the image accepting composition is applied to the surface of a substrate selected from glass, ceramic, terracotta, marble, natural stone, wood and the like.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, in which the image accepting composition includes a solvent to enable the composition to be sprayed, using a compressed air system, onto a surface of a substrate, and preparing the image accepting surface by spraying the composition onto the surface.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, in which the image accepting composition comprise 60 to 65% polyester resin, 35% to 30% solvent and 5% to 10% peroxide based hardener.

7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the image accepting composition is applied in at least three layers to the surface.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, which includes the steps of permitting the applied composition to rest for a period of at least 5 minutes between layers and heating the applied composition to a temperature of at least 40°C during the rest periods to facilitate the setting or drying of the image accepting composition.

9. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, which, prior to applying the image to the surface of the image accepting composition, includes the step of heating the surface at between 40° and 60° for at least 2 hours.

10. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, which includes the step of applying a glazing agent in one or more layers before applying the image accepting composition.

11. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the surface is abraded prior to any of the steps.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10, in which the glazing agent is selected to simulate a surface.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the image accepting surface is prepared by applying the image accepting composition to a surface of a mould to form a moulded article and includes the step of removing the moulded article from the mould, after permitting the composition to set or dry, to expose the image accepting surface.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, in which the image accepting composition includes a thixotropic agent.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, which includes the step of, prior to complete drying or setting of the image accepting composition, casting a substrate polymerizable composition onto the image accepting composition to form a substrate for the image accepting composition.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, in which the substrate polymerizable composition includes milled cotton fibre and glass chips.

17. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, in which the image is selected to simulate the surface of a desired tile type selected from the group comprising ceramic, terracotta, marble, granite, or the like.

18. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, in which the image to be applied is selected from a photo positive image or a photo negative image.

19. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, in which the image is applied to the surface by a printing press heated to at least 150°C.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, in which the printing press is heated to 220°C for glass and ceramic surfaces.

21. A method as claimed in claim 19, in which the printing press is heated to 200°C for wood and plant fibre surfaces.

22. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21 , in which the image is a computer processed image printed on clay-coated paper, in a mirror format, using a sublimation ink.

23. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22, in which the image is pressed onto the surface for at least 8 minutes.

24. A method of manufacturing an article, which includes a method of applying an image to a surface as claimed in any of claims 1 to 23.

25. A tile which includes at least one layer of an image accepting composition, which includes a styrene containing polyester type resin.

26. A tile as claimed in claim 25, in which the image accepting composition includes up to 40% styrene.

27. A tile as claimed in claim 25 or claim 26, which includes a layer of a glazing agent such that the tile simulates other tile types.

28. A tile as claimed in claim 27, in which the colour of the glazing agent is selected to match or complement the type of tile simulated.

29. A tile as claimed in any one of claims 25 to 28, which includes three layers of the image accepting composition.

31. A tile as claimed in claim 25 or claim 26, which includes a substrate, selected from glass, ceramic, terracotta, marble, natural stone, wood and the like, to which surface the image accepting composition is applied.

32. A tile as claimed in claim 25, which is moulded and includes a layer of a substrate polymerizable polyester based composition, which includes milled cotton fibre and glass chips.

33. A tile as claimed in any one of the claims 25 to 32, in which an image is applied to the layer of the image accepting composition under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure in a printing process.

34. A method of applying an image to an image accepting surface substantially as described herein.

35. A method of manufacturing an article substantially as described herein.

36. A tile substantially as described herein.