Abstract:
A method of processing a continuous web of a sheetlike substrate and the resulting article of manufacture are presented. The resulting article comprises multiple layers of the substrate with at least some of the layers decorated with graphical patterns. Outer layers are cut so that they may be lifted, as in opening the pages of a book, thereby revealing graphical patterns on the inner layers. Precise registration of the graphical patterns across these cuts, a necessity for highest visual aesthetic appeal, is achieved by first patterning the substrate and then making the cuts only through the outermost layers. This method of cutting insures that the web as a whole remains intact during processing. The cuts are continuous along essentially the entire length of the web, eliminating waste of material when the web is separated into the individual articles.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates generally to a perfectly registered substrate product and its novel method of manufacture. Specifically, this invention relates to a novel cutting method used to create advertising, media, and other products made out of different substrate materials that have registered color and graphics, and the resulting products. More specifically, this invention relates to a novel method for processing a continuous web or individual sheets of substrate using “kiss cutting” to generate multiple page advertising brochures, magazine inserts, direct mail pieces, fliers, games, and the like, and the products generated by the method.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Advertising brochures and fliers are well-established media for advertising goods and services. An essential attribute of such media is that it must attract and hold a viewing person&#39;s attention. These printed publications must therefore be visually attractive and aesthetically appealing.  
         [0003]     One particular type of advertising brochure, sometimes called a gatefold, has one or more pages that can be opened by the viewer, in the manner of book pages, to reveal printed matter inside, previously covered by the pages and therefore unseen. The unopened pages may also have printed matter on their top-side, and a cut, allowing the pages to be opened. To ensure visual attractiveness this top-side printed matter must be properly “registered” on both sides of the cut. Any misalignment or change of color from one side of the cut to the other will detract from the aesthetic appeal of the brochure, thereby diminishing its advertising effectiveness.  
         [0004]     A solution to this registration problem is to first complete the printing or other patterning of a substrate material, such as paper, MYLAR®, plastic, plastic film, foil or fabric, and then form the openable pages through a combination of folding the substrate, attaching one segment of the substrate to another segment, and cutting some layers of the substrate, with the cut or cuts slicing through the patterning. If the various pieces of the substrate formed by the cuts cannot move relative to each other after the cuts are made, then the desired registration across the cuts is guaranteed by construction.  
         [0005]     Different pieces of the substrate remain fixed relative to each other if the cuts are carefully made only in some layers of the substrate and not in others. One method for accomplishing this is known as “kiss cutting.” In this method, the substrate is configured as a stack of sheets on top of each other, and only the sheet or sheets nearest one side of the stack are cut, leaving other sheets above or below them uncut. This type of cutting can be accomplished, for example, mechanically or optically. Mechanical kiss cutting is done by a die, slitting wheel, knife, or other device or devices with one or more sharp edges. Optical kiss cutting is performed using a laser or other optical device.  
         [0006]     Current systems use kiss-cutting in processes for cutting smaller paper or substrate pieces out of larger sections of paper or substrate. For example, European patent EP 0 525 530 B1 to Bootman discloses a method of making perfume-containing pouches for inclusion in magazine advertisements. The individual pouches are separated from a web by kiss-cutting. The pouches can be decorated with artwork designed to match already existing artwork on the magazine page. The kiss-cutting, however, plays no role in this matching other than to define the individual pouches. U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,885 to Berman et al discloses a method of making multiple cosmetic samplers from a web of substrate material. The method involves folding the web and kiss-cutting to define the individual samplers. U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2002/0096241 A1 to Instance discloses a method of producing self-adhesive labels. The labels are separated on a web by cutting only through a top substrate layer, leaving a bottom backing layer uncut.  
         [0007]     An object of the present invention is the novel application of kiss-cutting to the mass production of patterned substrates for the purpose of maintaining registration of the pattern across the cut or cuts, as described above. A further object of the present invention is to simplify the separation of the web into the individual products.  
         [0008]     Previously known methods of producing such properly registered substrates tend to be more cumbersome, time-consuming, and wasteful of material; hence potentially more expensive. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,769,773 and 5,938,243 to DeSanto disclose a method for manufacturing advertising brochures from a continuous paper web and the resulting paper products. DeSanto&#39;s method provides for cutting the web longitudinally at designated intervals, then folding the web over to create brochures with a continuous back page and a front page with a slit in it, such that consumers may open the brochure to access the advertising material inside. The folding step occurs after the slitting step, which may increase the risk of misaligning the top pages of the resulting product brochures and affect the printing registration.  
         [0009]     In addition, this and other existing methods for creating advertising and other media paper products make only intermittent cuts to create the gatefold products, thereby leaving “margins” on the individual products that must be cut off. This adds additional steps and machinery to the methods, increasing manufacturing time and expense. In the DeSanto patents, for example, while the web is still substantially intact, the individual paper products are, by mechanical necessity, joined by uncut strips at the top and bottom, extending across the entire width of the web. In order to complete and properly separate the individual products along the web, these strips must be completely removed; otherwise the pages cannot be opened. This requires at least two carefully positioned transverse cuts by at least two independent knives, and creates wasted substrate material.  
         [0010]     By contrast, the kiss cuts of the present invention are made after the folding step, and are therefore more likely to preserve the alignment of the pattern across these cuts. Furthermore, these kiss cuts are continuous along substantially the entire length of the web or individual sheets of substrate, but not through the entire thickness of the substrate. The substrate therefore remains intact without the need for top and bottom margins. The individual products can then be separated with one transverse cut at the top and at the bottom using a single knife or other cutting device—according to this embodiment of the present invention, the process is simplified and the amount of wasted substrate material is reduced. Alternatively, two or more knives can be used if additional material must be removed between each product, or at the top and/or bottom of each product, in order to meet customer demands.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0011]     The present invention provides a novel method of manufacturing advertising brochures, magazine inserts, and other related paper products from a continuous web, or one or more individual sheets of substrate, using kiss-cutting to create multiple advertising or printed surfaces. The method eliminates the problem of imperfect registration, thereby providing a product with the highest standard of printing quality for advertising, marketing, direct mail, and other printed materials.  
         [0012]     According to one aspect of the present invention, a continuous web or one or more individual sheets of substrate is printed, on one or both sides. The substrate is any material capable of receiving and retaining print, and the print can be either in color or black and white or a combination thereof. Substrates according to the present invention include paper, MYLAR®, plastic, plastic film, fabric, and metal foils. The substrate is also optionally coated with one or more coatings, including but not limited to fragrances, including fragrance oils, varnish, latex, including latex “scratch-off” materials, sublimation and other inks, and cosmetics, such as eye shadow, blush, lip gloss, lipstick, etc. It will be obvious to one of skill in the art that many types of substrates can be printed upon and are therefore contemplated by the present invention and many different coatings can be applied to various substrates, such that the present invention is therefore not limited to the previous lists.  
         [0013]     The substrate, whether in continuous web or individual sheet form, is mechanically displaced in one or more places to create two or multiple layers, the layers sitting on top of one bottom layer. Mechanical displacement can be folding, ribboning, or any other method of displacing a segment of the substrate to create two or more layers. One or several of the top layer(s) of the substrate is then longitudinally “kiss cut” in the same direction that the substrate is traveling as it is being processed. As many layers as are required are cut through, leaving at least the bottom layer uncut. The process can be adjusted so that the required number of layers are “kiss cut” according to customer specifications for the final desired substrate product. Mechanical displacement can occur before or after any desired coatings are applied to the substrate.  
         [0014]     Importantly, the “kiss cut” method slits at least one layer of substrate after the substrate has been printed upon and after the paper has been displaced into the required format for the final product. According to an alternative embodiment, additional mechanical displacement of one or more segments of the substrate may occur after the substrate has been kiss cut. The “kiss cut” advantageously provides perfect or near-perfect registration of printing color and graphics.  
         [0015]     According to an aspect of the present invention, “kiss cutting” occurs by mechanical or optical cutting. Mechanical cutting can occur by a die, slitting wheel, knife, or other mechanical cutting method known to those of skill in the art. Optical cutting can occur by laser or other optical cutting method known to those of skill in the art.  
         [0016]     The longitudinal “kiss cut” extends substantially continuously throughout the entire length of the substrate. After the substrate is “kiss cut”, when the substrate is in the form of a continuous web, it can be optionally further processed by transversely cutting the web into individual products at designated intervals. Importantly, each resulting product is free from any “extra” segment or margin due to the fact that the longitudinal “kiss cut” extends substantially the entire length of the web. Thus, the individual products have freely openable segments that provide additional advertising space, and that are created immediately upon transversely cutting the web into individual products without the need to further remove any “extra” segments or margins. Only one transverse cutting device is required to separate the individual products from each other but more than one transverse cutting device can be used.  
         [0017]     According to an alternative embodiment, segments of substrate are removed from one or both ends of each individual product, in order to meet customer specifications, for example, to maintain uncommon bleed color at opposite ends of each product, or to create a particular sized product. In those instances, more than one transverse cutting knife or other device can be used to remove the necessary segment or segments from the individual products.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  depicts the continuous process of the present invention performed on a web of substrate to generate a single gatefold product.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  depicts the continuous process performed on a web of substrate to generate a double gatefold product.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  depicts the continuous process performed on a web of substrate to generate a ribboned kiss cut product.  
         [0021]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  provide an example of a single gatefold product generated by the claimed method.  
         [0022]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  provide an example of a double gatefold product generated by the claimed method.  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  depicts a flow chart of steps of the present invention using individual sheets of substrate to create a single gatefold product.  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  depicts a flow chart of steps of the present invention using individual sheets of substrate to create a double gatefold product.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     The product of the present method is generated by the novel “kiss cut” method of the present invention. Frequently, the resulting kiss cut product is an advertising brochure, magazine insert, or other media/informational paper product. Customers requiring improved registration of printing and graphics on their products will select the product and method of the present invention over others that do not provide sufficient registration.  
         [0026]      FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, using a continuous web  10  of substrate to generate a kiss cut, single gatefold product  50 , which product is illustrated on  FIGS. 4A and 4B . It is to be understood that the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  and described in the following paragraphs is but one possible embodiment of the invention and is not to be regarded as limiting.  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the substrate issues as a web  10  from a roll  11 . The substrate has graphic areas such as text and/or illustrations, on one or both of the top side  13  and bottom side  15 , respectively, of the web  10 . These graphic areas repeat periodically along substantially the entire length of the web  10  and are created in a pattern-generating process such as printing.  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , areas of adhesive  14  (indicated by shading) are applied to the substrate by a roller  16 . These areas of adhesive may be spots, lines, or large areas depending on the nature of the final product. The roller  16  for application of adhesive is only one example of a device contemplated by the present invention for dispensing adhesive. It will be understood by one ordinarily skilled in the art that other devices that dispense adhesive in the necessary quantity and location on the substrate fall within the scope of this invention. Another embodiment, for example, is illustrated on  FIG. 2 , which illustrates using a continuous web  10  of substrate to generate kiss cut, double gate fold products  55 , which products are illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . As shown on  FIG. 2 , areas of adhesive  14  are dispensed onto one edge of the top side  13  of the substrate using a tubular dispenser  21 .  
         [0029]     As illustrated on both  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a segment  18  of the web  10  is displaced transversely and attached to an undisplaced segment  20 . The displaced segment  18  is secured to the undisplaced segment  20  by means of the areas of adhesive  14 . Once secure in this manner, the two segments may be regarded as a top layer,  22 , and a bottom layer,  24 , the displaced segment  18  being joined with at least one other point on the top side  13  of the substrate.  FIG. 1 , for example, illustrates joining the displaced segment  18  with the top side  13  over a broad area, as indicated by the use of a wide swath of adhesive  14  on the top side  13 .  FIG. 2 , on the other hand, illustrates joining the displaced segment  18  at only a small portion of the top side  13  near one edge  17  such that the edges  17  and  19  of the substrate are joined, as indicated by the use of a smaller swath of adhesive  14  on the substrate.  
         [0030]     Displacement of the substrate occurs mechanically, and the displacement may be in the form of a single fold, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or a “ribbon” of the substrate, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . It will be understood by those ordinarily skilled in the art that mechanical displacement of a web or individual sheets of substrate according to the present invention is not limited to the examples set forth herein, and that the mechanical displacement is carried out by any mechanical device suited to displace the substrate.  
         [0031]     For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a cutting device  30  continuously cuts the substrate, which subsequently is ribboned using bars  32  that roll the substrate over at least one time to bring the ribboned, displaced segment  34  of the web  10  onto the top side  13  of the substrate. The ribboning cut is performed at any point between the two edges  17  and  19  of the substrate such that the ribboned, displaced segment  34 , which is comprised of one or more segments of substrate, according to this embodiment can be smaller than the top side  13  of the substrate.  
         [0032]     Referring back to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the next step in the process is the selective cutting of the substrate layers, sometimes called a “kiss cut.” In the embodiment illustrated here a cutting device  26  cuts through only the top layer  22 , leaving the bottom layer  24  uncut and fully intact. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited by the number of layers, and that the kiss cut can be made through any number of layers, starting with a layer either on the top side  13  or bottom side  15  of the web  10 . The resulting cut  28  is made continuously through the length of the substrate, in this case, a continuous web. The transverse dotted lines on  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate the potential size of the final individual products generated according to the present method, such as brochures or other advertising media, however, the resulting cut  28  completely spans the length of each product.  
         [0033]     In the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cutting device  26  is shown as a die, however it is to be understood that the cutting device  26  is not limited to a die and may also be a rotary cutter, a knife, or an optical cutting device such as a laser. Further, more than one cutting device  26  is contemplated in the current invention, for example, two or more knives in tandem may be used to create the continuous longitudinal slit  28  and two or more cutting devices can be used to create multiple longitudinal slits. An advantage to the use of a cutting die or laser is that the cut may be given an arbitrary shape, thereby allowing a greater variety in the possible forms of the final product. Since the kiss cut or cuts are made only after the substrate has been printed upon, precise registration of the patterns on the left side  36  and the right side  38  of each cut  28  is guaranteed by construction. A support bar, roller or other device  29  is optimally located beneath the web  10  at the location where the web  10  is longitudinally cut, to prevent buckling of the web  10  during this step.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the kiss cut for the ribboned web is performed using a cutting device  26  such as the die shown in  FIG. 3 , and the ribboned, displaced segment  34  is kiss cut, leaving the bottom layer  24  uncut. This enables the design of products different from those illustrated in  FIGS. 4A, 4B ,  5 A, and  5 B, that can have multiple gatefolds at different locations, for added flexibility and creativity in advertising and media.  
         [0035]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 , one or more coatings  25  are optionally applied to the substrate, such as fragrance, latex, varnish, ink, and/or cosmetic products, using an applicator  27 . Ink coatings include various types of ink, such as sublimation, or tattoo ink. Cosmetic products include a wide variety of products such as, but not limited to, eye shadow, eye liner, lip gloss, lipstick, blush, and concealer. The coatings  25  are applied to the substrate in the form of compositions, which are made up of the coatings alone or the coatings subsumed in a binder or other mixture, as necessary for the application of the coatings. For example, fragrance may be applied to the substrate in the form of an oil, to market the fragrance to consumers. Different types of compositions as required for the application of various coatings will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to be part of this invention.  
         [0036]     The coating applicator  27  contemplated by the current invention is any type of application device that will apply the required amount of coating(s) to the substrate, depending on the type of substrate and quantity of coating necessary to meet customer specifications. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the applicator  27  is not limited to the “bottle” or “tube” example depicted in  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 .  
         [0037]     Referring to any of  FIGS. 1, 2 , or  3 , the web  10  can be separated into the individual products. According to this embodiment, a series of single transverse cuts  40  are made through the top layer  22  and the bottom layer  24 , extending completely across the width of the web  10 . These cuts  40  can be made at any location along the web  10 , based on the desired final product. The transverse dotted lines which indicate locations of transverse cuts  40  are exemplary only and do not limit the size or shape of the final product contemplated by the current invention. These cuts  40  are generally made with the same periodicity as that of the graphic patterns printed on the substrate, thus producing a plurality of identical products. In this embodiment these transverse cuts  40  are made by a cutting device such as a die, slitting wheel, knife, or optical cutting device such as a laser. More than one cutting device used in tandem is also contemplated by the current invention. Additionally, this separation of the web  10  need not occur as part of the process illustrated here. Instead, following the kiss cut the processed web may be collected in some manner, such as a roll, and shipped elsewhere for separation.  
         [0038]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate one example of a final product contemplated by the present invention, a single gatefold product  50 . The right side of the brochure is a single openable page  52 , formed by the kiss cut according to the method of the present invention, and is shown in a closed position in  FIG. 4A  and an open position in  FIG. 4B . A coating composition  25 , such as fragrance, which was applied according to the method of the present invention as indicated in  FIG. 1 , is present under the single openable page  52 .  
         [0039]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate another example of a final product contemplated by the present invention, a double gatefold product  55 . The two openable pages, 56 and 58, are formed by the kiss cut according to the method of the present invention.  FIG. 5A  shows the pages 56 and 58 in their closed position, separated by the kiss cut  28  running the entire length of the brochure  55 .  FIG. 5B  shows the pages in their open position. A coating composition  25  lies under the right page  56 , applied during the method of the present invention as indicated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0040]     The present invention also contemplates processing individual sheets of substrate, as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . These figures provide flow diagrams for processing individual sheets  60  of substrate. According to the present invention, sheets  60  of substrate are continuously processed in the same manner as the web  10  in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , but without the need for tranverse cuts to separate the finished products.  
         [0041]     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , areas of adhesive  14  and optionally a coating composition  25  is applied to each individual sheet  60  of substrate, which has been printed with graphic areas such as text and/or illustrations, on one or both of the top and bottom sides of each sheet  60 . Each sheet is then mechanically displaced, such as by folding  62 , and kiss cut  28  to generate a single  50  or double  55  gatefold product.  
         [0042]     The foregoing illustrations of embodiments of the present invention are offered for the purposes of illustration and not limitation. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be modified or revised in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be measured by the appended claims.