United States Patent 19 11 Patent Number: 5,644.988 Xu Et Al
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US005644988A United States Patent 19 11 Patent Number: 5,644.988 Xu et al. 45 Date of Patent: *Jul. 8, 1997 54 PRINTING METHOD OF APPLYINGA 56 References Cited POLYMER SURFACE MATERAL AND SUBSTRATE PRODUCED BY THE METHOD U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 75) Inventors: Ming Xu; Nathan S. Hale, both of Mt. 4,021,591 5/1977 DeVries et al. ......................... 101/470 Pleasant, S.C. 4,122,459 10/1978 Schloemann et al. .. ... 101/336 4,844,770 7/1989 Shiraishi et al..... ... 400/120 73 Assignee: Sawgrass Systems, Inc., Mt. Pleasant, 5,263,781 11/1993 Mima et al. ............................ 400/20 S.C. (*) Notice: The term of this patent shall not extend Primary Examiner-Ren Yan beyond the expiration date of Pat. No. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-B. Craig Killough 5431501. 57 ABSTRACT 21) Appl. No.: 586,406 An image is permanently transferred to a substrate having a 22 Filed: Jan. 16, 1996 cotton component, or other component which is absorbentor porous, from a medium printed with the image by a thermal Related U.S. Application Data printer using heat activated ink. A polymer surface prepa 62 Division of Ser. No. 309,933, Nov. 7, 1994, Pat. No. ration material and the ink are transferred by the thermal 5,522,317, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 195,851, Feb. printer to the medium from a ribbon containing the ink and 10, 1994, Pat. No. 5,431,501, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 724,610, Jul. 2, 1991, Pat No. 5,302,223, which the surface preparation material, without activating the ink is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 549,600, Jul. 9, 1990, or the surface preparation material. The image is transferred abandoned. from the medium to the substrate by applying sufficient heat (51 int. Clim........... B41L 35/14 and pressure to the medium to activate and transfer the ink 52 U.S. Cl. .......................... 10/488; 400/120.18 and the surface preparation material, with the surface prepa 58 Field of Search ......................... 400/120.02, 120.04, ration material bonding the ink to the substrate. 400/120.08, 240, 241.1, 120.18; 101/470, 488; 156/230, 240,583.1; 346/76 PH 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets CAPTURING ANIMAGE INPUTING THE MAGE INTO STORAGE PRNTING THE MAGE AND THE SURFACE PREPARATION MATERIAL FROM STORAGE BY MEANS OF A COMPUTER ORVEN PRINTER TRANSFERRING THE MAGE AND THE SURFACE PREPARATION MATERA FROM THE MEDUM TO AN OBJECT BY THE APPLICATION OF HEAT U.S. Patent Jul. 8, 1997 Sheet 1 of 3 5,644,988 CAPTURING AN MAGE INPUTING THE MAGE INTO STORAGE PRENTING THE MAGE AND THE SURFACE PREPARATION MATERIAL FROM STORAGE BY MEANS OF A COMPUTER DRIVEN PRINTER TRANSFERRING THE IMAGE AND THE SURFACE PREPARATION MATERIAL FROM THE MEDUM TO AN OBJECT BY THE APPLICATION OF HEAT U.S. Patent Jul. 8, 1997 Sheet 2 of 3 5,644,988 U.S. Patent Jul. 8, 1997 Sheet 3 of 3 5,644,988 XYMCIs YM 'Fig. 4 5,644.988 1. 2 PRINTING METHOD OF APPLYINGA In the prior art, coverage of the surface coating material POLYMER SURFACE MATERAL AND has not been matched to the image. The surface coating SUBSTRATE PRODUCED BY THE METHOD material is applied to the substrate over the general area to which the image layer formed by the inks is to be applied, This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 309,933, Nov. 5 Such as by spraying the material or applying the material 7, 1994, U.S. Pat No. 5,522,317, which is a continuation of with heat and pressure from manufactured transfer sheets, Ser. No. 195,851, Feb. 10, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5431501, which are usually rectangularin shape. The area coated with which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 724,610, Jul. 2, the surface coating material is therefore larger than the area 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,223, which is a continuation-in covered by the ink layer. The surface coating may be seen part of Ser. No. 549,600, Jul. 9, 1990, abandoned. 10 extending from the margins of the image. The excess surface coating reduces the aesthetic quality of the printed image on FIELD OF THE INVENTION the substrate. Further, the surface coating tends to turn This invention relates to printing generally and is more yellow with age, which is undesirable on white and other specifically directed to a method of thermally printing heat light colored substrates. activated ink and thermally printing a surface preparation 15 Hale, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5.246,518 and 5,248,363 disclose the material onto paper or other printable material as a medium, use of thermal printers to produce an image on a medium or and subsequently heat activating the ink and surface prepa transfer sheet wherein the image is comprised of sublimation ration material, thereby transferring the design formed by or other heat activated inks. The method described in Hale the ink from the medium to a substrate on which the design does not activate the ink during the printing of the medium is to permanently appear. 20 or transfer sheet. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Words and designs are frequently printed onto clothing The present invention uses heat activated ink solids. The and other textile materials, and other objects. Common ink solids are transferred in the desired design by means of means of applying such designs to objects include the use of 25 a printer onto a medium, which will most commonly be silk screens, and mechanically bonded thermal transfers. paper. The printer incorporates a thermal process, but oper Silkscreen process is well known in the art, and a mechani ates at a temperature which is below the temperature which cal thermal process to textile materials is described in Hare, will activate the ink solids. Heat activation of the ink solids U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,358. does not take place at the time of printing of the image by The use of computer technology allows a virtually instan 30 the printer from the ribbon to the medium, but rather takes taneous printing of images. For example, video cameras or place at the time of the transfer of the image from the Scanning may be used to capture an image to a computer. medium to the substrate on which the image is permanently The image may then be printed by any suitable printing applied. means, including mechanical thermal printers, wet printed 35 Sufficient temperature is applied to the medium and the (inkjet) heat sensitive transfers and laser printers. These substrate to transfer the image from the medium to the printers will print in multiple colors. substrate. The heat activates, or sublimates, the ink solids The process of thermal transfers by mechanical means is during this transfer from the medium to the substrate. The described in Hare., U.S. Pat. No. 4.773,953. The resulting image is then permanently bonded to the substrate. mechanical image, as transferred, is a surface bonded image The ribbonused with thermal color printers in this process with a raised plastic like feel to the touch. The resulting has alternate color panels of cyan, yellow and magenta, printed image is stiff to the feel. has poor dimensional respectively. The heat activated ink solids as used do not stability when stretched and poor color range. have an affinity for highly absorbent fibers such as cotton. Heat activated transferink solids change to a gas at about The present invention introduces a ribbon panel having a 400 F, and have a high affinity for polyester at the 45 polymeric coating thereon, which acts as a surface coating activation temperature and a limited affinity for most other for the cotton component of the substrate. materials. Once the gassification bonding takes place, the After the printer makes its third pass to print the image in ink is permanently printed and highly resistant to change or the desired colors onto the medium, the printer then prints fading caused by laundry products. the surface preparation material from the ribbon. The surface Images produced by heat activated inks, such as subli 50 preparation material is printed over the entire image, but mation inks, which are transferred onto textile materials does not exceed the boundaries of the image. The image is having a cotton component do not yield the high quality then transferred from the medium to the substrate by the image experienced when images formed by such inks are application of heat and pressure, with the surface preparation printed onto a polyester substrate. Images which are printed material permanently bonding the ink solids to the substrate. using sublimation inks applied by heat and pressure onto 55 substrates of cotton or cotton and polyester blends yield DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS relatively poor results. The natural tendency of the cotton fiberto absorb the ink causes the image to lose its resolution FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the printing process. and become distorted. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a design printed by a To improve the quality of images transferred onto sub printer using the printing process. strates having a cotton component, such substrates are FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration showing exemplary surface coated with materials, such as the polymeric coating elements of computer and printing systems which could be described in DeVries et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,591. Appli used to achieve the printing process. cation of the surface coating to the substrate allows the FIG. 4 is a section of a ribbon used with a color thermal surface coating material to bond the ink layer to the 65 printer demonstrating the three color panels of yellow, substrate, reducing the absorbency of the ink by the cotton magenta and cyan respectively, and a fourth panel having and improving the image quality.