Record receiver having plural interactive leaves or a colorless – Having a colorless color-former – developer therefor – or... – Plural colors or plural diverse systems
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2001-07-10
Hess, Bruce H. (Department: 1774)
Record receiver having plural interactive leaves or a colorless
Having a colorless color-former, developer therefor, or...
Plural colors or plural diverse systems
C503S205000, C503S206000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06258746
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a thermally imagable business record, such as a form, label, tag, or the like, which may be activated to form multicolored images, and more particularly, to a substrate having a first thermally imagable coating on its surface which forms a first color when activated, and having a desensitized area and/or a masked area on at least one portion of its surface. The desensitized or masked area may be overcoated with an additional thermally imagable coating capable of forming a different color upon activation than the first thermally imagable coating.
Direct thermal printing has been a well-known means of non-impact printing. Direct thermal printers are capable of forming images by the application of heat to a substrate containing heat-reactive chemicals thereon. Typically, a substrate such as paper is coated with a thermally imagable coating of color forming and color developing reactants, which, when heated, combine and react to form a visible image. When the coated substrate passes under the print head of a thermal printer, the thermally imagable coating is activated by the heated print elements, forming images on the surface of the substrate.
Substrates coated with thermally imagable coatings provide a convenient method of printing computer generated data such as bar codes or serial numbers on business forms such as labels or tags.
For example, thermally imagable substrates have been widely used as facsimile paper, bar code paper for point-of-sale (POS) systems, automatic ticket vending machines, and labels for food products. There are various compositions and methods of applying thermally imagable coatings as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,865,939, 4,861,749, and 4,894,359.
However, while the use of thermally imagable coatings is a convenient method of providing a printable surface, the present method of applying the coatings is to cover the entire surface of the substrate with a thermally imagable coating which forms a single color, typically black. In certain applications, it would be desirable to be able to print multicolored images on a substrate. For example, the use of different colored images may be used to differentiate categories of information on a form.
One method for providing multiple colored areas on a business record is by applying heat at different temperatures to a coated substrate. For example, Iiyama et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,410, teach a multi-color thermosensitive recording material formed by applying three or more successively overlaid thermosensitive coloring layers to a support material with intermediate layers containing a decolorizing agent. Each coloring layer yields a different color depending on the quantity of thermal energy applied. However, separate printing passes with operation at different temperatures must be made for each selected color.
Another method for providing multiple colored areas on a business record is described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,934. In this method, two or more thermally imagable coatings which produce different colors are applied by flexographic printing techniques onto selected areas of a substrate. The substrate may be activated to form different colored images by printing in a single pass. However, for some applications, it may be desirable to be able to reserve an additional print tower in the flexographic equipment to print, for example, conventional inks onto the substrate.
It would also be desirable to be able to customize different grades of thermally coated substrates by providing multicolored areas in order to accommodate different end uses. For example, thermally imagable substrates may be designed to generate bar codes which may be scanned in the infra red, visible, or near infrared ranges. Other grades may be tailored to be activated by specific printers.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a business form, label or the like having thermally imagable coatings thereon which can be printed using conventional flexographic printing techniques and which may be activated in a single pass through a thermal printer to produce different colored images.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets that need by providing a business record such as a form, label, or tag having a thermally imagable coating over substantially its entire surface which may be activated to form a first color, and having a desensitizing composition and/or an opaque ink on at least one selected area of its surface. The desensitizing composition or opaque ink may be overcoated with at least one additional thermally imagable coating capable of producing a different color than the first thermally imagable coating. When activated by a thermal printer, the first thermally imagable coating produces a machine readable image of a single color, typically black, while the additional thermally imagable coating produces a different colored image on the record to delineate or designate information to a user. The presence of the desensitizing composition prevents the first thermally imagable coating beneath the additional thermally imagable coating from activating, while the presence of an opaque ink masks any color formed by the first thermally imagable coating.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a thermally imagable business record which may be activated to form multicolored images is provided comprising a substrate having first and second major surfaces. The first surface of the substrate has a first thermally imagable coating thereon which, when activated, produces a first color. Preferably, the first thermally imagable coating covers substantially the entire surface of the substrate. In addition, at least one selected area of the first surface, which area is less than the entire surface of the substrate, has a desensitizing composition thereon which overlies the first thermally imagable coating to form a desensitized area on the substrate. At least one additional thermally imagable coating overlies the desensitized area, which, when activated, produces a second color which is different from the first color.
The desensitizing composition is preferably applied as an aqueous-based ink which comprises from about 20 to 35% by weight water, 2 to 30% by weight of an amine-containing compound, from about 15 to 40% by weight of a binder, from about 15 to 25% by weight of a filler, from about 3 to 10% by weight wax, from about 1 to 7% by weight of a film former, and from about 0.2 to 1.0% of a surfactant. The desensitizing composition is preferably applied to yield a dry coating weight of from about 0.5 to 2 lb./ream (0.81 to 3.25 g/m
2
) (24″×36″, 500 sheet ream) Preferably, the desensitizing composition has a pH of from about 9 to 14 to optimize the desensitizing properties of the composition.
In one embodiment of the invention, the desensitizing composition is blended with an opaque ink. The opaque ink functions to help mask any color formed by the first thermally imagable coating on the substrate.
In one embodiment of the invention, the substrate is coated on only one selected area with the desensitizing composition and additional thermally imagable coating. However, additional areas may also be coated. For example, a plurality of selected areas of the substrate may be coated with the desensitizing composition, with a plurality of additional thermally imagable coatings overlying the areas coated with the desensitizing composition such that when the plurality of additional thermally imagable coatings are activated, a plurality of different colors are formed which are different than the first color. Generally, but not necessarily, the areas covered by the desensitizing composition and additional thermally imagable coatings are coextensive.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermally imagable business record further comprises a barrier coating on the selected area or areas of the first surface which contain the desensitizing composition. The barrier coating functions to seal the desensitized areas before applicatio
Doll Gary
Dotson Mark
Lakes A. Dale
Mehta Rajendra
Shields Rick L.
Hess Bruce H.
Killworth, Gottman Hagan & Schaeff, L.L.P.
The Standard Register Company
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