Goods & Services

Additive manufacturing for others

Goods & Services

Printing on labels

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and system for decorating plastic articles having an uneven surface or hollow structure are disclosed. An assembly comprising a transfer pad and a flexible heat transfer die comprising a thermal interface material (TIM) replace the hard rubber die in a hot-stamping process to fuse indicia into the surface. The assembly modifies ordinary pad printing into a hot-stamping process that transfers indicia onto uneven surfaces. A pad printing machine or other robotics is used to move the assembly from a position of heating to a position of compressing the ink transfer to the surface of the article.

IPC Classes  ?

• B41M 5/382 - Contact transfer or sublimation processes
• B41F 16/00 - Transfer printing apparatus
• B41J 17/22 - Supply arrangements for webs or impression-transfer material
• B41J 31/00 - Ink ribbonsRenovating or testing ink ribbons
• B41M 5/26 - Thermography
• B41M 5/40 - Thermography characterised by the base, intermediate or covering layersHeat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layersThermography combined with layers or compositions suitable for other methods of image registrationSpecial originals for reproduction by thermography

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and system for decorating plastic articles having an uneven surface or hollow structure are disclosed. An assembly comprising a transfer pad and a flexible heat transfer die comprising a thermal interface material (TIM) replace the hard rubber die in a hot-stamping process to fuse indicia into the surface. The assembly modifies ordinary pad printing into a hot-stamping process that transfers indicia onto uneven surfaces. A pad printing machine or other robotics is used to move the assembly from a position of heating to a position of compressing the ink transfer to the surface of the article.

IPC Classes  ?

• B29C 37/00 - Component parts, details, accessories or auxiliary operations, not covered by group or
• B41M 5/00 - Duplicating or marking methodsSheet materials for use therein
• B41M 5/025 - Duplicating or marking methodsSheet materials for use therein by transferring ink from the master sheet
• B29K 279/00 - Use of other polymers having nitrogen, with or without oxygen or carbon only, in the main chain, as reinforcement
• B29K 219/00 - Use of rubber not provided for in a single one of main groups or , as reinforcement
• B29L 31/00 - Other particular articles
• B29K 227/18 - PTFE, i.e. polytetrafluoroethene

Abstract

A thermal indicia transfer comprises a fixing layer between a carrier sheet and a printed ink layer. The ink comprises plastic particles, a solvent, an indicia additive, a dispersing agent, and optionally a binder. The fixing layer is coated onto the carrier sheet and cured. The ink layer is printed onto the fixing layer where the plastic particles are held in place by the tackiness and structure of the fixing layer. The printed ink layer is dried at a temperature high enough to remove the solvent from the ink layer, but low enough to prevent melting of the plastic particles.

IPC Classes  ?

• B41M 5/52 - Macromolecular coatings
• B41M 5/42 - Intermediate or covering layers
• B41M 5/50 - Recording sheets characterised by the coating used to improve ink, dye or pigment receptivity, e.g. for ink-jet or thermal dye transfer recording
• C09D 11/02 - Printing inks

Goods & Services

Manufacturing services for others in the field of creating polymer-based graphics for plastics