WO2010119471A2

WO2010119471A2 - Printable substrate for cold and dry transfer of decorations, process for its production, and use on surfaces to be decorated

Info

Publication number: WO2010119471A2
Application number: PCT/IT2010/000153
Authority: WO
Inventors: Danilo Todeschini
Original assignee: Danilo Todeschini
Priority date: 2009-04-14
Filing date: 2010-04-13
Publication date: 2010-10-21
Also published as: EP2419279A2; ITMI20090602A1; WO2010119471A3

Abstract

Described herein is a printable substrate formed by a first layer (A) of paper, textile, or plastic material, a second layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin, a third layer (C) of transparent paint, for fast, permanent, dry and cold transfer of printed decorations onto the layer (C) after it has been sold, with the use of suitable pressure-sensitive adhesives, as well as a process for production thereof and use for decorating masonry surfaces or the like.

Description

PRINTABLE SUBSTRATE FOR COLD AND DRY TRANSFER OF DECORATIONS, PROCESS FOR ITS PRODUCTION, AND USE ON

SURFACES TO BE DECORATED

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Subject of the invention

The present invention relates to a printable substrate for cold and dry transfer of decorations in a rapid way, permanently, and without the use of water on new surfaces to be decorated.

The invention also regards the process for the production of said substrate, as well as its use in the decoration of surfaces, both glossy and opaque ones.

Field of the invention The sector of the present invention regards transferable decorations or decalcomanias printed in a small number of examples or even in a single example using especially plotters for digital printing, this not being possible with products that are pre-printed and pre-adhesivized industrially.

The product, once printed, can be used for decorating both glossy and opaque surfaces, such as plastic, metal, and wood, but, given the characteristics of elasticity and opacity, it is particularly suitable for opaque surfaces that may even be very irregular, such as masonry walls or the like.

The substrate of the present invention enables fast, cold, permanent and dry transfer, i.e., without the use of water, of artistic reproductions and/or of printed decorations even of large dimension that look very similar to decorations made by hand. This product is likewise suited to being decorated by hand in laboratory before applying, enabling transfer of the painting onto the surfaces in question in a very short time and thus avoiding for the possible customers all the inconvenience deriving from a decoration painted by hand directly on the wall to be decorated. State of the art

There are already known products that use paper transfers in the decoration of fabric or leather, which, however, involve the use of presses at temperatures higher than 100⁰C for transfer of the resin colour.

There are also already known products for smooth surfaces, which are pre-printed in a large number of examples with standard decorations and are already pre- adhesivized, and which hence cannot be personalized with decorations chosen by the end customer.

Also known is the use of a non-woven fabric (NWF) spread with a layer of paint, for transfer of the decorations printed thereon onto plane wall surfaces. For the transfer of such decorations, the NWF is glued on the printed side onto the material to be decorated, using synthetic resins in aqueous dispersion. The NWF, which is by now unusable after transfer, is then removed upon soaking with water, and the transferred decorations are dried with air for some hours to enable consolidation of the water glue. This technique presents, however, the disadvantage of enabling a perfect transfer only on smooth surfaces and presents the drawback of leaving visible traces of glue around the decorated surfaces, which are difficult to remove even after repeated attempts. Likewise known is the use of a painted paper substrate for transfer onto plane surfaces of the layer of paint printed by means of electrostatic techniques. For transfer, adhesive resins are used spread over the surface to be decorated. After approximately forty minutes, the decoration is made to adhere on the adhesivized surface that is by now dry by applying an adequate pressure on the paper substrate, which, since it is by now unusable, is made to swell by soaking with water and then detached. The latter operation can, however, jeopardize perfect adhesion of the decorations on the surfaces on account of possible infiltration of water in the areas that are not perfectly glued; in addition, it involves a long drying time (at least forty minutes) in air of the decorations for application of a protective paint. Object of the invention

All the drawbacks encountered in the technique described above are overcome by the present invention, which envisages a substrate that can be decorated by hand or printed with a quality of photographic printing higher than electrostatic printing, since, in addition to the traditional printing techniques, it can be printed also at very high resolution with plotters for digital printing with solvent, ecosolvent, and UV inks; all the decorations thus printed on said substrate can undergo dry and cold transfer onto the surfaces to be decorated.

It is emphasized that this substrate can be marketed for being subsequently personalized manually or with digital plotters according to the desires of the end customer, even with decorations of large dimensions for commercial activities and ones made up of a number of parts that can be easily assembled together, this being something that cannot be obtained with other industrially pre-printed and pre-adhesivized products .

The base substrate of the present invention can be paper, textile (for example, cloth paper or non-woven fabric) or plastic (for example, a polyester film) , spread with suitable synthetic resins that can be decorated on the surface. Once the decorated layer has been glued and transferred onto the new surface, the base substrate can be lifted off and eliminated with a dry and cold process immediately afterwards by exerting a slight manual pulling action and without any need for the soaking operation.

A further advantage of the present invention as compared to the known techniques is that it is no longer necessary to carry out a final protective painting on the decoration, since, in the transfer, the colour is already protected by the layer of transparent resins that previously served as base for printing.

Detailed description of the invention

According to the present invention, all the advantageous characteristics referred to above have been obtained by providing a substrate that can have different dimensions according to the production and application requirements and that consists of: a first layer (A) chosen from among paper, textile, and plastic material; a second, very thin, layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin, preferably a silicone resin, possibly with the addition of approximately 40-50% of colloidal silica, which is spread directly over said first layer

(A) , in an amount of approximately 1-6 g/m² in dry weight; and a third layer (C) of transparent paint, with a base of acrylic, vinylic, or polyurethane resins, possibly mixed together, in an amount of approximately 10-60 g/m² in dry weight, according to the degree of scratch resistance of the decoration to be obtained once transferred, but preferably of approximately 20-30 g/m2 in dry weight, obtained in one or more coats according to the processing techniques, and spread directly on the second layer (B) . In particular, the first layer (A) of material according to the present invention must be flexible to so as to be workable, printable and applicable easily on surfaces that may even be very irregular during transfer of the decorations. It is spread with the second layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin, which enables temporary adherence of the last third layer (C) that serves as base for printing, preventing detachment of the decorations printed or decorated thereon up to the moment of their transfer. The colloidal silica or similar opacifiers, possibly used by adding them to the water-repellent resin, have the sole purpose of rendering opaque (i.e., non-glossy) this second layer and especially the third layer of transparent paint subsequently spread, which serves as base for printing, which in this manner is opaque even without opacifier, in such a way that the decorations, once printed. and transferred together with the layer of paint (C) , can be adapt perfectly to the opaque surfaces of the masonry walls.

The third layer (C) , if made up of polyurethane resin possibly mixed with other resins, enables, according to the percentage of polyurethane used, an excellent malleability of the paint, which in this way is suitable also for very irregular surfaces.

At the same time, the acrylic or vinylic resins, when used in the mixture, enable the paint to have a limited elasticity of return, preventing, that is, after a possible pulling action exerted on very irregular surfaces, a return thereof into the starting position, a factor that is prejudicial in the possible joining of very large decorations made up of a number of parts, since a small white line would become visible as the paint shrinks. This layer of transparent paint, by adhering to the surfaces that may even be very irregular, creates a particularly flexible protective film on the layer of colour once it has been transferred and renders any further protective painting needless .

Water-repellent transfer resins, which are widely used in the industrial sector to guarantee temporary adhesion of the material that has been spread, normally range from "easy" release up to "very tight" release. In particular, in the second layer (B) of the present invention, water-repellent transfer resins are used that have a release control that can preferably range from approximately CR40 to approximately CR60. Said value is chosen also on the basis of the characteristics of stickiness of the paint of the third layer (C) spread over the water-repellent substrate (B) and the possible additives used in the resins (opacifiers, catalyzer, surfactants, etc.). Said water-repellent resin (B) and the resins constituting the paint of the third layer (C) of the present invention may be water-based or solvent-based resins, but ones insoluble in water once they are dry. The substrate, on the surface of the layer (C) , can be decorated manually or printed employing any technology, especially digital technology, using inks or colours that are insoluble in water once dry.

Forming a further subject of the present invention is a process for the production of printable substrates for decorations that can be transferred onto surfaces as has been described previously, characterized by the following industrial operations: a) the first layer of material (A) chosen from among paper, textile, and plastic, is spread with a second layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin; and b) a further third layer (C) of transparent acrylic, vinylic, or polyurethane paint, even made up of a number of coats according to the processing technique is then spread over the water-repellent resin

(B); thus obtaining a three-layer substrate, suitable for being marketed and then decorated or printed i a specular way on the surface of the layer (C) according to the preferences of the end customer even in a single example. The devices and materials used for the process described above are all known and available on the market .

To provide a better illustration of the present invention without this implying any limitation, annexed hereto is a drawing illustrating a lateral section of the substrate constituted by a first layer (A) of paper, textile, or plastic material, spread with a second layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin and then with a third layer (C) of transparent synthetic paint .

Modes of application of the substrate

Once the decoration has been painted or printed as mirror-image on the layer (C) of the substrate, there is envisaged for the transfer according to the present invention the use of a suitable pressure-sensitive self-adhesive glue, preferably an acrylic, water-based, or solvent-based glue, that is no longer soluble in water once dry, which is spread either directly on the decoration or on the surface to be decorated.

According to the first mode of use of the glue, the latter is spread manually with a paintbrush or a roller directly on the printed side (C) of the substrate. After approximately thirty minutes, the adhesivized printed surface, once it has dried and become very sticky, is protected with anti-adherent siliconed paper.

At the moment of transfer of the decorations, the printed substrate is positioned on the side protected with siliconed paper onto the surface to be decorated, stopping it at one end all along the side with adhesive tape. Then, .the substrate is rolled up as far as the point where it is blocked by the adhesive tape and, as the underlying protective siliconed paper is gradually removed, the adhesivized decorations are made to adhere by pressing them on the wall with a roller or a brush beaten on the whole surface. The first layer (A) of the substrate, i.e., the paper, textile, or plastic material, now overlying, may be immediately lifted, starting from one corner, and detached by exerting a slight pulling action so as to overcome the last resistance that still keeps it attached to the decoration that has by now been transferred and is protected by the now overlying layer of transparent paint (C) . In a second mode of use of the self-adhesive glue, for transfer the surface to be decorated is framed by masking it with adhesive tape to avoid dirtying it on the outside.

The glue is spread directly inside the framed surface, using a paintbrush or roller.

After approximately thirty minutes, the self- adhesive glue, once it has dried and become very sticky, is protected with anti-adherent siliconed paper. At this point, the substrate is positioned on the printed side on the framed surface, fixing it all along one side with adhesive tape.

After rolling the decoration up to the point blocked by the tape, the protective siliconed paper is removed gradually from the underlying adhesivized surface, causing adhesion of the decorated layer, as it is unrolled,- by pressing it with a roller or a brush that is beaten all over its surface.

At the end of this operation, the first layer (A) of the substrate, i.e., the now overlying paper, textile, or plastic material, may be immediately lifted, starting from one corner, and detached by exerting a slight pulling action so as to overcome the last resistance that still keeps it attached to the decoration, which has by now been transferred and is protected by the now overlying layer of transparent paint (C) .

In the case of very large decorations to be applied on adhesivized framed surfaces-, to render invisible the joins between the different parts that make it up with an overlapping of approximately 2 cm, it is necessary to position a tape of anti-adherent plastic material approximately 4 cm wide under the point where they overlap. This tape, which is sufficiently flexible to follow the irregularities of the wall, must isolate the joins from the underlying adhesivized surface. After causing adhesion of the two parts of the decoration on the wall using a wool roller or a brush, kept well pressed as the protective siliconed paper is removed, it is necessary to cut the centre where the parts overlap with a cutter. Immediately afterwards, the tape of anti-adherent plastic material, which protects the wall also from cuts or incisions, can be removed and what remains over from the overlapping of the decorations is thrown away. To conclude it is possible to apply pressure on the join using the brush or the wool roller, removing immediately, afterwards the first layer of the substrate (A) now overlaying, and at this point useless, and the and adhesive tape that framed the wall externally in order to prevent it from getting dirtied with the glue.

Claims

1. A printable substrate for fast, permanent, dry and cold transfer, onto surfaces that may even be very irregular, of printed decorations in a limited number of examples or in a single example, characterized in that it consists of: a first layer (A) chosen from among paper, textile, and plastic material; a second layer (B) of water-repellent transfer resin, preferably a silicone resin, possibly with the addition of approximately 40-50% of colloidal silica or the like, which is spread directly on said first layer

(A) , in an amount of approximately 1-6 g/m² in dry weight; and a third layer (C) of transparent acrylic, vinylic, or polyurethane water-based or solvent-based paint, but one insoluble in water once dry, which is spread over said second layer (B) in an amount of approximately 10- 60 g/m² in dry weight, but possibly in an amount of approximately 20-30% in dry weight.

2. The substrate according to Claim 1, characterized in that in the second layer (B) made of water-repellent resin a release control is used preferably between approximately 40 CR and 60 CR, for enabling temporary adhesion of the third layer of paint (C) .

3. A process for the production of the substrate according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the second layer (B) of water- repellent transfer resin is spread over the material chosen as first layer (A) of the substrate; and a third layer (C) of transparent acrylic, vinylic, or polyurethane paint is then spread over the second layer

(B) of water-repellent transfer resin; the substrate with a number of glossy or opaque layers thus obtained being marketable for being subsequently decorated or printed with the decorations chosen by the end customer for dry and cold transfer onto new surfaces.

4. The process according to Claim 3, characterized in that the third layer (C) of the substrate can be decorated manually or printed using colours or inks insoluble in water once dry and preferably with plotters for digital printing.

5. Use of the substrate according to either Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that the suitable glue used for the transfer is a self-adhesive pressure- sensitive glue, preferably an acrylic, a water-based glue, or a solvent-based glue that is insoluble in water once dry.

6. Use of the substrate according to Claim 5, characterized in that: the suitable self-adhesive glue is spread with a paintbrush or a roller directly on the decorated surface (C) and is protected once dry with anti- adherent siliconed paper; at the moment of transfer of the decoration, the printed substrate is positioned on the side protected with siliconed paper onto the surface to be decorated, stopping it at one end all along one side with adhesive tape; then the substrate is rolled up as far as the point where, it is blocked by the adhesive tape, and, by gradually removing the underlying siliconed protection paper as the substrate is unrolled, the pre-glued decorations are made to adhere on the surface to be decorated by pressing them with a wool roller or a brush; it being possible for the first layer (A) of the substrate, i.e., the paper, textile, or plastic material now overlying, at this point useless, to be immediately lifted starting from a corner and detached by exerting a slight pulling action so as to overcome the last resistance that still holds it attached to the decoration by now transferred and protected by the now overlying layer of transparent paint (C) .

7. Use of the substrate according to Claim 5, characterized in that: the suitable self-adhesive glue is spread directly inside the surface to be decorated framed with adhesive tape and, once dry, is protected with siliconed paper; immediately afterwards, the substrate is positioned on the printed side onto the surface to be decorated that is protected by the siliconed paper, stopping the substrate all along one side with adhesive tape; the printed substrate is rolled up as far as the point where it is blocked by the tape and, as the underlying siliconed paper is gradually removed, the substrate is gradually unrolled, thus causing adhesion of the decorated layer to the adhesivized surface by exerting pressure with a roller or a brush; the first paper, textile, or plastic layer (A) of the substrate, now overlying and by now of no use, being lifted and detached by exerting a slight pulling action, leaving the decoration perfectly glued and transferred onto the surface to be decorated and protected on its surface by the layer of transparent paint (C), now overlying it.

8. Use of the substrate according to any one of

Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the surfaces to be decorated, in addition to masonry walls or the like, which may even be very irregular, can be also wood, plastic, or metal surfaces.