Method of making multilayer edge-sealed record carrier

In one method of making the record carrier, a paper sheet is formed with an almost completely perforated punch or blanking line defining a paper insert or core, and a separating layer is applied to the upper surface of the paper sheet in bordering relation with the punch or blanking line. A thin film border is positioned on the separating layer and overlaps, inwardly, the punch or blanking line. A backing film is provided with a silicone separating layer congruent with the paper insert, and is applied to the back of the paper sheet. The thus assembled layers are then laminated to each other. The paper insert and the thin film border are then printed, without transition, in at least one printing operation. After the printing, the backing film and the paper sheet are separated from the paper insert and the thin film border. The resulting composite insert or core is then sealed between the two transparent films. In another method, a paper insert is positioned on a backing film and embedded therein. The paper insert and the film area surrounding the paper insert are then printed, without transition, in at least one printing operation. The resulting composite insert or core is then sealed between the two transparent films.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a multilayer, edge-sealed record carrier 
with a laminated, printed paper insert or core. 
A number of different identification cards are known each of which has its 
advantages and disadvantages and more or less fulfills the requirements to 
be met. For example, there are all-plastic cards and multilayer plastic 
cards without a paper insert and with a printed pattern on the film 
surface which are very resistant to moisture, dirt, and the like, but are 
not suited for all purposes because of their simple structure. In 
particular, such cards are easy to counterfeit, so they appear 
unserviceable if they represent values. 
There are also paper-laminated cards without an edge seal in which the 
printed matter is imposed on the paper insert (U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,176). 
These cards provide better protection against forgery because of the 
laminated paper inlet. Since the film edge is flush with the edge of the 
paper insert, the printed matter is automatically accurately positioned 
relative to the card edge. However, such paper-laminated cards without an 
edge seal have the disadvantage that, after long use or with intent to 
defraud, delamination is possible at the edge, and that moisture and dirt 
may penetrate at the edge of the card. 
For this reason, paper-laminated, edge-sealed cards have been proposed 
which have a transparent or colored film edge but are not printed in the 
sealed area (U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,998). These cards offer only limited 
protection against forgery, but because of the edge seal, they are 
resistant to moisture and dirt. Since, however, the edges of the card are 
not printed, the edge seal can be easily removed and renewed with intent 
to defraud. As these cards are usually manufactured with so-called film 
pockets into which the paper insert is inserted and which is finally 
sealed, the positioning of the print with respect to the card edge is 
extremely difficult. Furthermore, the design of these cards is of inferior 
quality. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide an edge-sealed 
identification card or the like having a laminated paper (security) insert 
or core which preserves the advantages of the known card types but does 
not have their disadvantages. 
According to the invention, the information-carrying layer is a composite 
insert or core sheet which consists at least of a paper insert sheet and a 
film border and is printed without transition both on the paper and on the 
film border in one or more printing operations. The composite core sheet 
is sealed between transparent films in such a way that, on the one hand, a 
paper-to-film laminate and, on the other hand, a film-to-film seal with 
respective intermediate safety print, are obtained. 
The invention provides an identification card which is protected against 
environmental influences and delamination and preserves the advantages of 
the identification card without an edge seal, namely extension of the 
printed pattern to the extreme card edge and accurate positioning of the 
print relative to the card edge with improved safety against forgery. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,067 also proposes an edge-sealed identification card 
wherein lines imposed on the transparent cover films form a pattern 
extending to the edge of the card and covering the normal printed 
information of the card. However, since this line pattern turns very 
easily into a random pattern during the laminating process, and since this 
line pattern bears no reference to the general typography of the paper 
insert, neither a reproducible and, thus, precisely controllable printed 
pattern nor a qualitatively good appearance of the card is obtained. Since 
the line pattern is superimposed on the actual card data, in addition to 
the outward appearance being adversely affected, the mechanical 
verification of the card data is made much more difficult or partly 
impossible. 
By contrast, the identification card according to the invention has an 
exact line pattern (guilloches) up to the edge in which even very fine 
displacements caused by tampering can be clearly detected. If the color of 
the films of the composite core or insert, which are used in the edge area 
of the card, is adapted to that of the paper insert, the composite core 
will appear as an homogeneous layer. Identification cards containing such 
composite cores are therefore indistinguishable from the known cards 
without an edge seal. 
If transparent composite-insert films or composite-insert films of a 
different color are used, one can see that there is no paper insert in the 
edge area of the card, but since all printed information extends to the 
outer card edge without disturbing the topography and is clearly 
positioned with respect to the card edge, and since no additional pattern 
is superimposed on the printed matter, the identification card, unlike the 
known cards, is equally well suited for visual and mechanical verification 
.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Before explaining the invention, a brief outline of the manufacture of 
known identification cards with laminated paper insert and without edge 
seal will be given. 
The manufacture of these identification cards consists essentially of three 
process steps. In the first process step, the paper insert is 
manufactured. By "paper insert", the layer of paper embedded between the 
cover films of the identification card is understood. The paper used for 
the insert is manufactured in wide webs and provided with watermarks, 
safety threads, and the like by known anti-counterfeiting techniques known 
from the manufacture of bank notes. Depending on the size of the 
laminating apparatus, the webs are cut into individual sheets on which 16, 
32 or more blanks are provided. From each sheet, 16, 32 or more 
identification cards can then be manufactured in an economical manner. The 
areas of the blanks are then provided with all printed and picture 
information of the subsequent identification card. For increased safety 
against forgery, this is done, at least in part, on steel printing 
machines, for example, which are known from bank-note printing. 
Having been provided with all necessary identification-card data, the 
sheets of paper (security sheets) are laminated for example by heat and 
pressure in the second process step with two transparent films of the same 
size made, for example of thermoplastic material. Under pressure and heat, 
the films interlace with the paper surface, thus imparting to the thin 
paper insert the necessary stiffness and protecting it from environmental 
influences. 
After the laminated identification-card sheets have cooled down, the 
individual identification cards are blanked to the final size. The 
blanking process will be referred to as the third process step. 
These three basic process steps of the known methods are preserved in the 
invention. Since, however, the invention uses no pure paper inserts but 
so-called composite cores which are not completely of paper but are 
bordered by a plastic film at least in the edge area, the manufacture of 
the composite core necessitates supplementing the first and, if need be, 
second basic process steps by additional partial steps. 
Within the scope of the basic principle, various process sequences for 
manufacturing the composite core cards are conceivable. The following 
describes only two methods by which the identification cards according to 
the invention can be manufactured on commercially available apparatus. 
Depending on the required quality of the identification cards to be 
manufactured and on the warrantable expenditure, one of the two methods or 
a combination of individual process steps must be selected. 
In the first manufacturing method, composite cores are used in which the 
individual paper bases are framed with a thin film frame. The thin film 
frame, made for example of plastic, is designed so that the paper base is 
framed by the film with a slight over-lap in the manner of a 
passe-partout. 
With the aid of a thicker rear backing layer, the somewhat sensitive 
composite core can be reinforced so as to be capable of being processed in 
conventional printing machines. The composite core reinforced by the rear 
film will be referred to here as the "printed sheet". In the printing 
process, as mentioned above, care must be taken to ensure that the print 
from the paper surface across the film edge and, possibly, beyond the 
subsequent card edge, forms a continuous pattern. At the end of the 
printing process, the backing layer, together with the pre-punched or cut 
paper edge, is separated from the printed sheet, and the composite core 
can then be laminated between transparent films of plastic for example. 
Finally, the identification card can be blanked out. 
The individual process steps and the structure of the card are shown 
schematically in FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 shows a printed sheet 1 which, 
unlike the known sheets of paper, has a multilayer structure, as was 
mentioned above. For simplicity, the printed sheet shown contains only one 
blank from which the finished identification card is blanked along the 
punch lines 8 in the last process step after cover films have been 
applied. In series production, however, it is recommended to process 
multi-blank sheets. 
The printed sheet 1 consists of a total of five layers 6, 11, 2, 12, and 10 
which are partly prepared in separate operations and united in a first 
laminating process. The structure and arrangement of the individual layers 
are particularly apparent from FIG. 2. The general appearance of the 
printed sheet 1 is determined primarily by a sheet of paper (security 
sheet) 2 which is provided in the printed sheet 1 as the middle layer. 
Like in the manufacture of known identification cards, the sheet of paper 
2 is provided with watermarks, safety threads, and the like. Unlike in the 
known methods, however, the paper insert 3 in the sheet of paper 2 has 
already been cutout or punched along the line 4, leaving only four narrow 
holding bridges 5. On the upper side of the sheet of paper 2, a silicone 
edge or margin 11 is printed in the edge area of the insert 3. This 
silicone edge 11 extends slightly inwardly beyond the punched line 4 into 
the paper insert 3. Disposed above this silicone edge 11 is a thin film 
border 6 whose rim 7 extends inwardly beyond the punched line 4 and the 
silicone print 11 into the paper insert 3. At the back, the sheet of paper 
2 is completely covered by the backing film 10 which is, for example, made 
of plastic. In the areas of the paper insert 3, the film 10 is provided 
with a silicone layer 12 in such a way that, after all layers have been 
united, the edges of the silicone area 12 are flush with the punched lines 
4. 
Since some layers of the printed sheet 1 are only fractions of a millimeter 
thick, the layers in the figures are not shown to scale for clarity. In 
reality, sheets of paper 2 approximately 0.1 to 0.2 mm in thickness are 
used, whereas the rear backing film 10 is approximately 0.3 to 0.6 mm 
thick. By contrast, the cover film used for the film edge 6 is 
approximately 0.06 mm in thickness. The thickness of the silicone layers 
11 and 12 is shown in the drawing because of the importance of these 
layers but is negligible in practice. 
In a first laminating process, the individual layers 6, 2, and 11 are 
united under heat and pressure in the correct relative position (FIG. 3). 
As the silicone layers prevent an intimate combination of paper and films, 
during the lamination, only the areas 14 (FIG. 3) formed, on the face of 
the paper by the overlapping edge 7 of the film 6 fuse with the paper 
blank 3, and the areas 13 of the backing film 10, which are not coated 
with silicone, with the underside of the paper frame formed by the punched 
lines 4. 
Although only very small areas of the films 6 and 10 have been sealed with 
the sheet of paper 2 after the laminating process, the individual layers 
adhere so well over their whole area that the printed sheet 1 can be 
considered a compact unit. The printed sheet 1 is therefore excellently 
suited to being processed in commercially available printing machines in 
which the whole or part of the upper side is printed with the 
identification-card data. As indicated by the stylized printed pattern 9, 
in the intention of the invention, care should be taken to ensure that the 
print extends without interruption from the paper surface surrounded by 
the film 6 over the film edge 7 and possibly over the subsequent 
identification-card edge 8. Since, as mentioned above, the thickness of 
the film 6 is only a fraction of that shown, the printing process is not 
hindered by the film edge 7 in any way. 
At the end of the printing process, the backing film 10 is removed from the 
back of the printed sheet 1. Since, as a result of the lamination, the 
backing film 10 is tightly bonded in the areas 13 (FIG. 3) to the 
underside of the punched paper edge, and the silicone layer 11 prevents 
any tight adherence of the upper side of the paper edge, simultaneously 
with the removal of the backing film 10, the paper edge is detached from 
the film 6 and the paper insert 3. With the removal of the backing film 
10, the unpunched holding bridges 5, by which the paper insert 3 is 
connected with the edge of the paper, are separated without any damage to 
the inlet 3. Silicone layers 11 and 12 thus act as release or separating 
layers. 
As can be seen in FIG. 4, after the film 10 has been removed, only the film 
edge 6 and the paper insert attached in the opening of the film remain as 
the actual composite-core sheet. This composite-core sheet, printed on one 
side, can now be lamination-encapsulated, in known manner, between two 
cover films 15 and 16 of plastic, for example, either alone or together 
with a second composite-core sheet which then carries the printed 
information of the back of the identification card. After the 
identification-card sheet shown in FIG. 5 has cooled down, the 
identification card is blanked to its final size along the punched lines 8 
(FIG. 1) in the last operation. 
FIGS. 6 to 11 show the second manufacturing method, which is less expensive 
but also not of such high quality. Being based on the description of the 
first method, the explanation of this second method is a little shorter. 
FIG. 6 shows a part of a composite-insert sheet where a paper inlet 3 has 
been applied in proper position to a backing film 17. Like in the first 
method, the composite-core sheet may have a plurality of blanks. In that 
case, the paper inserts are arranged side by side in correct relative 
position. 
As can be seen in FIG. 7, the paper insert 3 is distinguished as a raised 
portion from the plane surface of the film 17. Under pressure and heat, 
the paper insert 3 is now embedded in the film 17 which is of 
thermoplastic for example, so that the steps formed by the edges 19 of the 
paper insert disappear. Thus, a plane surface is obtained on which the 
print 9 can be so imposed by conventional printing techniques that the 
printed pattern extends without interruption from the paper surface to the 
film surface (FIG. 9). 
The embedding of the paper insert 3 in the film 17 can be dispensed with 
when the paper insert 3 is so thin that the steps 19 do not adversely 
affect the printing process. In addition, the composite core can be 
modified by additional openings 20 (FIG. 11) in the paper surface in such 
a way that printed paper-film transitions are obtained in the inner area 
of the blank, too. 
After the composite-core sheet so manufactured and printed has been 
laminated with cover films 15, 16 of the same size, the indentification 
card is blanked to the usual size along the punched line 8. As can be seen 
in FIG. 10, an additional layer 18 may be inserted between the composite 
inlet and the rear cover film 16 prior to the final laminating process, 
which layer is either a composite-core sheet with the information for the 
back of the identification card or a film of different color. 
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described 
in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the 
invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied 
otherwise without departing from such principles.