Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-14
2001-07-24
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
C347S101000, C347S105000, C347S103000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264321
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of protecting a print formed by recording an image on a recording medium by means of an automated printing assembly such as an ink-jet printer (involving either monochrome or multi-color recording), a pen plotter or computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) equipment in which the image is recorded by means of an ink.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The ink-jet recording process is a process for performing recording on a recording medium in which droplets of a recording liquid (i.e., an ink) are ejected or propelled from a print head having one or more orifices onto the recording medium.
The recording liquid, or ink, generally comprises a recording agent such as a dye or a pigment and a solvent. The solvent typically is either water or a mixed solvent of water and other water miscible solvents such as polyhydric alcohols.
In ink-jet recording, numerous schemes are utilized to control the deposition of the ink droplets onto the image-recording medium to yield the desired image. In one process, known as continuous ink-jet recording, a continuous stream of droplets is charged and deflected in an image-wise manner onto the surface of the image-recording medium, while unimaged droplets are caught and returned to an ink sump. In another process, known as drop-on-demand ink-jet recording, individual ink droplets are projected as needed onto the image-recording medium to form the desired image. Common methods of controlling the projection of ink droplets in drop-on-demand printing include piezoelectric transducers and thermal bubble formation. Ink-jet recording is rapidly gaining acceptance by the public as a recording process because it generates little noise and permits economical and multi-color printing.
Pen plotter assemblies also are used quite extensively for printing valuable information with ink on a recording medium and are particularly used in the generation of computer aided graphics.
The recording media used in such recording processes typically comprise an ink-receiving layer provided on a support. The recording media include those intended for reflection viewing, which usually have an opaque support, and those intended for viewing by transmitted light, which usually have a transparent or translucent support.
A wide variety of different types of ink-receiving layers have been proposed heretofore. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,868,581 and 4,956,223 describe ink-receiving layers consisting of albumin, gelatin, caesin, starch, cationic starch, gum arabic, sodium alginate, poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(amide), poly(acrylamide), poly(vinylpyrrolidone), a quaternized poly(vinylpyrrolidone), poly(ethyleneimine), poly(vinylpyridinium halide), melamine resins, poly(urethanes), polyesters, carboxymethyl cellulose, a SBR latex, an NBR latex, poly(vinyl formal), poly(vinyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl butyral), poly(acrylonitrile), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyl acetate), a phenolic resin, an alkyd resin, poly (methyl methacrylate) and the like.
In general, when such media are imaged with inks, good quality text and graphic images can be generated. However, the recorded images are not always satisfactory in terms of durability. That is, it is also desirable that the recorded images be abrasion-resistant so that they are not easily rubbed off, smear resistant, so that they can be subjected to normal handling without risk of smearing, lightfast so that they can be displayed for long periods of time without noticeable fading or shifting of colors, and waterfast, so that they are not harmed by contact with water or other liquids which might come into contact with the recording media as a result of spills or other accidental exposure to liquids. The recorded image and the ink-receiving layer in general also should be non-blocking to facilitate packaging and handling.
One method of enhancing the durability of such recorded images is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,451 to Suzuki where there is provided a print holder for preserving a print in which the print is sandwiched between upper and lower adhesive-bearing plates. The upper plate has an opening through which the print can be observed and in which a transparent film can be laid over the print either below or above the upper plate. This method of protecting the print, however, is unduly cumbersome and expensive.
Another method of enhancing the durability of such recorded images is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,963 to Yamamoto et al where there is disclosed a method for protecting a print having an image formed from a dye which employs a protective member which comprises a substrate and a transfer layer provided releasably on the substrate. The method comprises the steps of laminating and contact-bonding the protective member on a surface of a side of the image of the print and a step of releasing the substrate from the laminated image leaving the transfer layer to protect the print. This method of protecting the print also is cumbersome and expensive since a protective member must first be fabricated, the transfer layer of the protective member bonded to the print and then the substrate (which is non-reusable) be stripped away from the transfer layer.
Thus, it can be seen that a need still exists in the art for providing a simple, inexpensive and readily implementable means for providing a recorded image having enhanced abrasion resistance, enhanced smear resistance, enhanced light-fastness and enhanced waterfastness. It is towards fulfilling this need that the present invention is directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, it has now been found that certain of the resins which previously were used in the art to form ink-receiving layers for ink-recording media used in ink-jet and pen plotter recording processes for absorbing and fixing the recording liquids (i.e., the inks) deposited thereon, also bond or adhere to a variety of different substrates such as plain paper, photographic paper, cloth, glass, plastic film and the like when such ink-receiving layers are placed into contact with the substrate and the composite thereby formed by the supported ink-receiving layer and the substrate is exposed to heat and pressure sufficient to adhere or bond the ink-receiving layer to the substrate. Specifically we have found that certain of the previously used naturally occurring water-soluble hydrophilic resins and certain of the previously used synthetic hydrophilic and hydrophobic resins are capable of bonding an ink-receiving layer comprising or containing such a resin to a suitable substrate where the ink-receiving layer is contacted therewith and heat and pressure are subsequently applied to the composite formed by the substrate and the supported ink-receiving layer. As a result, the ink-receiving layer containing the recorded image is adhered or laminated to the substrate with the recorded image being positioned or sandwiched between the transparent, plastic film support and the substrate so that the transparent, plastic film support now serves to protect the recorded image from abrasion, smearing, fading and damage by water. In most applications, therefore, it will be appreciated that the image printed on the surface of the ink-receiving layer will be printed as its mirror image (i.e., side reversed) so that after the ink-receiving layer is laminated to the substrate, the composite substrate and recording medium will be “flipped over” so that the recorded image is now covered by and protected by the transparent, plastic film and will be right-reading against the substrate. In this manner, the print is easily and inexpensively preserved with good durability without resorting to mounting the print in a complicated print holder such as the one disclosed in the aforementioned patent to Suzuki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,451 or without having to provide a protective layer as in Yamamoto et al which must be releasably transferred from a separate substrate. It is to be understood, however, that not all images printed on the surface of the
Amell Alfred John
Bugner Douglas Eugene
Garman Douglas Edward
Barlow John
Cole Harold E.
Eastman Kodak Company
Shah M.
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