PRINTING ON TRANSPARENT FILM

Abstract: A printing process for forming high contrast color images on polymer surfaces, comprising: (a) forming a layer of substantially opaque liquid toner comprising polymer based toner particles and a carrier liquid, on an imaging surface; (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer member; (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer member to a temperature at which the toner particles at least partially coalesce; (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least one subsequent layer in at least one color, said at least one subsequent layer being transferred to the intermediate transfer member onto the opaque layer to form multiple layers on the intermediate transfer member; and (e) transferring the multiple layers to a polymer surface.

Description: PRINTING ON TRANSPARENT FILM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved electrostatic processes for printing or coating on polymer films and surfaces with toner and toner inks. The invention specifically relates to a method of achieving high quality high contrast colored or multi-colored images in continuous roll printing on transparent, flexible packaging films. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The coating of plastic films or surfaces e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. for aesthetic or functional purposes is of great utility and importance. A major use of such films is in food packaging. Electrostatic printing has inherent advantages which would appear to make it particularly desirable for printing on plastic films. The inherent advantages include adaptability to short runs economically, high resolution, on demand printing and good visibility. However, at present, printing on transparent films, especially multi-color printing is commercially performed in multi-head presses, and only in long runs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of certain aspects of the present invention to produce improved quality color images electrostatically on transparent plastic films and substrates. Color integrity of multi-color images is improved by optimizing the image forming and transfer stages of the printing process. In order to improve the visibility of color images printed on the inner surface of transparent flexible packaging, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the color image is overcoated with a substantially opaque toner layer at least in those portions of the packaging which are printed with color toners. Thus on the packaging material, at least one color toner layer is 1 situated closest to the material , and a white or other 2 opaque layer is situated behind the colored layer or layers, 3 i .e. , further away from the material . Such images are viewed 4 from the unprinted side of the substrate. 5 Alternatively , the complete multi- layer image is 6 printed with the opaque layer uppermost on the intermediate 7 transfer member so that , when the image is transferred to 8 the substrate, the opaque layer is closest to the substrate. 9 Such images are viewed f rom the printed side of the 10 substrate. 11 Additionally, the white toner layer may also extend 12 past the edges of the colored layers and directly contact 13 the packaging material. 14 In order to avoid unnecessary alignment and 15 registration steps, the different color images involved are 16 sequentially transferred from an image forming surface onto 17 an intermediate transfer member, each in alignment with 18 previous images. The intermediate transfer member is heated 19 so that each color image coalesces into a cohesive film, in 20 which the respective color pigments are held so that they do 21 not diffuse into other layers. Mixing of colors, especially 22 with the opaque pigment is detrimental to image quality. 23 Each complete multi-color image is subsequently 24 transferred from the intermediate transfer member to the 25 substrate. 26 Another object of certain aspects of the present 27 invention is to provide a process for printing toner polymer 28 images on ionomer (high or low molecular weight) or ethylene 29 vinyl acetate coatings on polymer surfaces, thereby 30 achieving improved qualities. The toner polymer images may 31 be based on high molecular weight ionomers, e.g. Surlyns, 32 low molecular weight ionomers, e.g. Aclyns, ionomers having 33 an intermediate molecular weight, ethylene vinyl acetate 34 polymers and ethelene copolymers or terpolymers e.g., Bynels 35 and Nucrels, to achieve improved qualities, such as 36 sealability, adhesiveness, food compatibility, and others. 1 In other aspects of the invention special toners, 2 including opaque white, silver, gold and fluorescent toners 3 have been prepared by adding pigments to a hot ionomer 4 solution, preferably of low molecular weight ionomers, and 5 stirring the mixture as it cools. This procedure has been 6 used to prepare gold, silver, white opaque Ti0 2 based, 7 magnetic and fluorescent inks, respectively. 8 There is thus provided, in accordance with a preferred 9 embodiment of the invention, a printing process for forming 10 high contrast color images on polymer surfaces, comprising: 11 (a) forming a layer of substantially opaque liquid 12 toner comprising polymer based toner particles and a carrier 13 liquid, on an imaging surface; 14 (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer 15 member; 16 (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer 17 member to a temperature at which the toner particles at 18 least partially coalesce; 19 (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least one 20 subsequent layer in at least one color, said at least one 21 subsequent layer being transferred to the intermediate 22 transfer member onto the opaque layer to form multiple 23 layers on the intermediate transfer member; and 24 (e) transferring the multiple layers to a polymer 25 surface. 26 There i s further provided , in accordance with a 27 preferred embodiment of the invention , a printing process 28 for forming high contrast color images on polymer surfaces , 29 comprising: 30 (a) forming a colored layer of liquid toner comprising 31 polymer based toner particles and a carrier liquid, on an 32 imaging surface; 33 (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer 34 member; 35 (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer 36 member to a temperature at which the toner particles at 1 least partially coalesce; 2 (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least a 3 substantially opaque liquid toner layer , said substantially 4 opaque layer being transferred to the intermediate transfer 5 member onto the colored layer to a plurality of layers on 6 the intermediate transfer member; and 7 (e) transferring the plurality of layers to a polymer 8 surface. 9 Preferably, forming a layer comprises: 10 (i) charging a photoreceptor surface; 11 (ii) selectively discharging portions of the charged 12 photoreceptor surface to form a predefined electrostatic 13 image; and 14 (iii) developing a layer of charged opaquewhite toner 15 particles onto the selectively discharged portions of the 16 photoreceptor surface thereby providing a developed image 17 corresponding to the latent image. 18 There is further provided, in accordance with a 19 preferred embodiment of the invention, a printing process 20 comprising: 21 (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner 22 particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on 23 an imaging surface; 24 (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a 25 second polymer; and 26 (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, 27 wherein the second polymer is either an ionomer or an 28 ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. 29 Preferably, the second polymer is either an ionomer or 30 an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer high molecular weight 31 ionomers, e.g. Surlyns, low molecular weight ionomers, e.g. 32 Aclyns, ionomers having an intermediate molecular weight, 33 ethylene vinyl acetate polymers and ethelene copolymers or 34 terpoly ers e.g., Bynels and Nucrels. 35 There is further provided, in accordance with a 36 preferred embodiment of the invention, a printing process 1 comprising: 2 (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner 3 particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on 4 an imaging surface; 5 (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a 6 second polymer; and 7 (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, 8 wherein the first and second polymer is an ionomer. 9 Preferably, the first polymer is comprises an ionomer, 10 more preferably the same ionomer as the second polymer. 11 There is further provided, in accordance with a 12 preferred embodiment of the invention, a toner particle 13 comprising: 14 a polymer; and 15 flakes of metal . 16 Preferably, the flakes which may be of gold or silver, 17 have a dimension greater than about 4 micrometers , more 18 preferably than 6 micrometers . 19 There i s further provided , i n accordance wi th a 20 preferred embodiment of the invention , a toner particle 21 compr i s ing : 22 a polymer; and 23 a fluorescent material, preferably in the form of 24 particles having a size greater than 2 micrometers. 25 Preferably, the polymer in the above toner particles is 26 a low molecular weight ionomer. 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 2 The invention will be more clearly understood from the 3 following description of preferred embodiments thereof in 4 conjunction with the following drawings which: 5 Fig. 1 is a simplified sectional illustration of 6 electrostatic imaging apparatus constructed and operative in 7 accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present 8 invention; and 9 Fig. 2 is a simplified enlarged sectional illustration 10 of the apparatus of Fig. 1. 11 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 12 Reference is now made to Figs. 1 and 2 which illustrate 13 a multi color electrostatic imaging system constructed and 14 operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 15 present invention. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2 there is 16 provided an imaging sheet, preferably an organic 17 photoreceptor 12, typically mounted on a rotating drum 10. 18 Drum 10 is rotated about its axis by a motor or the like 19 (not shown), in the direction of arrow 18, past charging 20 apparatus 14, preferably a corotron, scorotron or roller 21 charger or other suitable charging apparatus as are known in 22 the art and which is adapted to charge the surface of sheet 23 photoreceptor 12. The image to be reproduced is focused by 24 an imager 16 upon the charged surface 12 at least partially 25 discharging the photoconductor in the areas struck by light, 26 thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. Thus, the 27 latent image normally includes image areas at a first 28 electrical potential and background areas at another 29 electrical potential. 30 A preferred photoreceptor sheet and preferred methods 31 of mounting it on drum 10 are described in a co-pending 32 application of Belinkov et al., IMAGING APPARATUS AND 33 PHOTORECEPTOR THEREFOR, filed September 7, 1994 assigned 34 serial number 08/301,775 and in coresponding applications in 35 other countries, the disclosures of which are incorporated 36 herein by reference. Alternatively, photoreceptor 12 may be 1 deposited on the drum 10 and may form a continuous surface . 2 Furthermore , photoreceptor 12 may be a non-organic type 3 photoconductor based , for example , on a compound of 4 selenium . 5 Also associated with drum 10 and photoreceptor sheet 6 12 , in a preferred embodiment of the invention , are a 7 multicolor liquid developer spray assembly 20, a developing 8 assembly 22, color specific cleaning blade assemblies 34 , a 9 background cleaning station 24, an electrified squeegee 26, 10 a background discharge device 28 , an intermediate transfer 11 member 30 , cleaning apparatus 32 , and , opt ional ly , a 12 neutralizing lamp assembly 36 . Developing assembly 22 13 preferably includes a development roller 38. Development 14 roller 38 is preferably spaced from photoreceptor 12 15 thereby forming a gap therebetween of typically 40 to 150 16 micrometers and i s charged to an electrical potential 17 intermediate that of the image and background areas of the 18 image . Development rol ler 38 i s thus operative , when 19 maintained at a suitable voltage, to apply an electric field 20 to aid development of the latent electrostatic image. 21 Development roller 38 typically rotates in the same 22 sense as drum 10 as indicated by arrow 40. This rotation 23 provides for the surface of sheet 12 and development roller 24 38 to have opposite velocities at the gap between them. 25 I n accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 26 invention , an opaque white background image is initially 27 developed on the photoreceptor surface and transferred to an 28 intermediate transfer member 30. The background image is 29 heated to a temperature that cau ses the whi te toner 30 particles in the presence of carrier liquid to at least 31 partially coalesce, preferably into a cohesive film, i .e . , 32 the toner pigment is f ixed in the layer in which it was 33 deposited so that mixing of di f ferent color pigments in 34 various layers is prevented . This is essential for the 35 achievement of good color quality and contrast in the final 36 composite image . Subsequent images in different colors are 1 individually developed and sequentially transferred in 2 alignment with the previous image onto intermediate transfer 3 member 30, which is heated as before so that each color 4 forms a cohesive non-diffusive layer. 5 It should be noted that each of the layers is a viscous 6 liquid and that while heating does cause the layers to 7 coalesce, the balance between viscosity and surface tension 8 of the layers is apparently such that the individual layers 9 have only minimal mixing. 10 When all of the desired images have been transferred to 11 intermediate transfer member 30, the complete multi-color 12 image is transferred therefrom to substrate 72. Impression 13 roller 71 only produces operative engagement between 14 intermediate transfer member 30 and substrate 72 when 15 transfer of the composite image to substrate 72 takes place, 16 preferably with heat and pressure. Substrate 72 which is 17 preferably a transparent flexible polymer film is fed from a 18 feeder roller 77 and is taken up by take up roller 78. The 19 printing process when carried out as described produces a 20 high contrast high colored quality image. 21 Preferably, the motion of the polymer film is halted 22 during the accumulation of the layers on the intermediate 23 transfer member. Just prior to the transfer, the film is 24 accelerated to a velocity substantially equal to the surface 25 velocity of the intermediate transfer member, such that 26 there is substantially zero relative motion between them at 27 the time of contact. Furthermore, between transfers, the 28 film is preferably partially rewound so that, after the 29 acceleration, only a minimal blank space is left unprinted. 30 Multicolor liquid developer spray assembly 20, whose 31 operation and structure is described in detail in U.S. 32 Patent 5,117,263, the disclosure of which is incorporated 33 herein by reference, may be mounted on axis 42 to allow 34 assembly 20 to be pivoted in such a manner that a spray of 35 liquid toner containing electrically charged pigmented toner 36 particles can be directed either onto a portion of the 1 development roller 38, a portion of the photoreceptor 12 2 or directly into a development region 44 between 3 photoreceptor 12 and development roller 38. Alternatively, 4 assembly 20 may be fixed. Preferably, the spray is directed 5 onto a portion of the development roller 38. 6 Color specific cleaning blade assemblies 34 are 7 operatively associated with developer roller 38 for separate 8 removal of residual amounts of each colored toner remaining 9 thereon after development. Each of blade assemblies 34 is 10 selectably brought into operative association with developer 11 roller 38 only when toner of a color corresponding thereto 12 is supplied to development region 44 by spray assembly 20. 13 The construction and operation of cleaning blade assemblies 14 is described in PCT Publication WO 90/14619 and in US patent 15 5,289,238, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein 16 by reference. 17 Each cleaning blade assembly 34 includes a toner 18 directing member 52 which serves to direct the toner 19 removed by the cleaning blade assemblies 34 from the 20 developer roller 38 to separate collection containers 54, 21 56, 58, 60, and 68 and for each color to prevent 22 contamination of the various developers by mixing of the 23 colors. The toner collected by the collection containers is 24 recycled to a corresponding toner reservoir (55, 57, 59 ,61 25 and 63). And a final toner directing member 62 always 26 engages the developer roller 38 and the toner collected 27 thereat is supplied into collection container 64 and 28 thereafter to reservoir 65 via separator 66 which is 29 operative to separate relatively clean carrier liquid from 30 the various colored toner particles. The separator 66 may be 31 typically of the type described in U.S. Patent 4,985,732, 32 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 33 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as 34 described in PCT Publication WO 92/13297, the disclosure of 35 which is incorporated herein by reference, where the imaging 36 speed is very high, a background cleaning station 24 1 typically including a reverse roller 46 and a wetting roller 2 48 i s provided . Reverse rol ler 46 which rotates in a 3 direction indicated by arrow 50 is preferably electrically 4 biased to a potential intermediate that of the image and 5 background areas of photoconductive drum 10, but different 6 from that of the development roller . Reverse roller 46 is 7 preferably spaced apart from photoreceptor sheet 12 thereby 8 forming a gap therebetween which is typically 40 to 150 9 micrometers . 10 Wetting roller 48 is preferably partly immersed in a 11 f luid bath 47 , which preferably contains carrier liquid 12 received from carrier liquid reservoir 65 via conduit 88. 13 Wetting roller 48 , which preferably rotates in the same 14 sense as that of drum 10 and reverse roller 46 , operates to 15 wet photoreceptor sheet 12 with non-pigmented carrier liquid 16 upstream of reverse roller 46 . The liquid supplied by 17 wetting roller 48 replaces the liquid removed from drum 10 18 by development assembly 22 , thus allowing the reverse 19 roller 46 to remove charged pigmented toner particles by 20 electrophoresis from the background areas of the latent 21 image . Excess fluid is removed from reverse roller 46 by a 22 liquid directing member 70 which continuously engages 23 reverse roller 46 to collect excess liquid containing toner 24 particles of various colors which is in turn supplied to 25 reservoir 65 via collection container 64 and separator 66. 26 Wetting roller 48 is preferably electrically biased to 27 a potential intermediate that of the image and background 28 areas of photoconductive drum 10, but different from that of 29 the development roller . This biasing of wetting roller 48 30 assists in removing toner particles from the background 31 areas of photoreceptor sheet 12 . Wetting roller 48 is 32 preferably spaced apart from photoreceptor sheet 12 thereby 33 forming a gap therebetween which is typically 40 to 200 34 micrometers . 35 The apparatus embodied in reference numerals 46, 47, 48 36 and 70 is generally not required for low speed systems, but 1 is preferably included in high speed systems. 2 Preferably, an electrically biased squeegee roller 26 3 is urged against the surface of sheet 12 and is operative to 4 remove liquid carrier from the background regions and to 5 compact the image and remove liquid carrier therefrom in the 6 image regions. Squeegee roller 26 is preferably formed of 7 resilient slightly conductive polymeric material as is well 8 known in the art, and is preferably charged to a potential 9 of several hundred to a few thousand volts with the same 10 polarity as the polarity of the charge on the toner 11 particles . 12 Discharge device 28 is operative to flood sheet 12 with 13 light which discharges the voltage remaining on sheet 12 , 14 mainly to reduce electrical breakdown and improve transfer 15 of the image to intermediate transfer member 30. Operation 16 of such a device in a write black system is described in 17 U . S . Patent 5 , 280 , 326 , the disclosure of which is 18 incorporated herein by reference . 19 Figs . 1 and 2 further show that multicolor toner spray 20 assembly 20 receives separate supplies of colored toner 21 typically from five different reservoirs 55, 57 , 59 , 61 and 22 63. Figure 1 shows five different colored toner reservoirs 23 55 , 57 , 59 , 61 and 63 , typically containing the colors 24 Yellow, Magenta , Cyan, black and white , respectively . In 25 addition, reservoir 65 contains relatively clean carrier 26 liquid whose operation was described . Pumps 90 , 92 , 94 , 96 27 and 108 , may be provided along respective supply conduits 28 98 , 101 , 103 , 105 , and 107 , for providing a desired amount 29 of pressure to feed the colored toner to multicolor spray 30 assembly 20. Alternatively, multicolor toner spray assembly 31 20 , which is preferably a three level spray assembly , 32 receives supplies of colored toner from up to six different 33 reservoirs ( a sixth reservoir marked S is shown ) which 34 allows for custom colored toners in addition to the standard 35 process colors, black and white. 36 Toners that can be used with the present invention are 1 described in Example 1 of U.S. Patent 4,794,651, the 2 disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference or 3 variants thereof as are well known in the art. For colored 4 liquid developers, carbon black is replaced by color 5 pigments as is well known in the art. Other toners may 6 alternatively be employed, including liquid toners and, as 7 indicated above, including powder toners. 8 Other toners for use in the invention can be prepared 9 using the following method: 10 1) Solubilizing 1400 grams of Nucrel 925 (ethylene 11 copolymer by Dupont) and 1400 g of Isopar L (Exxon) are 12 thoroughly mixed in an oil heated Ross Double Planetary 13 Mixer at least 24 RPM for 1.5 hours, with the oil 14 temperature at 130° C. 1200 g of preheated Isopar L is added 15 and mixing is continued for an additional hour. The mixture 16 is cooled to 45° C, while stirring is continued over a 17 period of several hours, to form a viscous material. 18 2) Milling and Grinding 762 grams of the result of the 19 Solubilizing step are ground in a IS attritor (Union Process 20 Inc. Akron Ohio), charged with 3/16" carbon steel balls at 21 250 RPM, together with 66.7 grams of Mogul L carbon black 22 (Cabot), 6.7 grams of BT 583D (blue pigment produced by 23 Cookson), 5 grams of aluminum stearate (Riedel Dehaen) and 24 an additional 1459.6 grams of Isopar L for eight hours at 25 30° C . 26 3 ) Continuation of Grinding 34.5 grams of ACumist A-12 27 ( a micronised polyethylene wax produced by Allied Signal ) is 28 added and grinding is continued for an additional 4 hours . 29 The resulting part icles are f ibrous part icles have a 30 measured diameter in the range of 1-3 micrometers . 31 The resulting material is diluted with additional 32 Isopar L and Marcol 82 to give a working developer in which 33 the dry solids portion is about 1 . 7% and in which the 34 overall ratio of Isopar L to Marcol is between about 50 : 1 35 and 500 : 1 , more preferably between about 100 : 1 and 200 : 1 . 36 Charge director as described in US patent appl ication 1 07/915,291 (utilizing lecithin, BBP and ICIG3300B) and in WO 2 94/02887, in an amount approximately equal to 40 mg/gm of 3 solids in the final dispersion, is added to charge the toner 4 particles. Other charge directors and additional additives 5 as are known in the art may also be used. 6 The above described process produces a black toner. 7 Cyan, magenta and yellow toners can be produced by using a 8 different mix of materials for step 2). For Cyan toner, 822g 9 of the solubilized material, 21.33 grams each of BT 583D and 10 BT 788D pigments (Cookson), 1.73 grams of D1355DD pigment 11 (BASF), 7.59 grams of aluminum stearate and 1426 grams of 12 Isopar L are used in step 2. For Magenta toner, 810 grams of 13 solubilized material, 48.3 grams of Finess Red F2B, 6.81 14 grams of aluminum stearate and 1434.2 grams of Isopar L are 15 used in step 2. For yellow toner 810 grams of solubilized 16 material, 49.1 grams of D1355DD pigment, 6.9 grams of 17 aluminum stearate and 1423 grams of Isopar L are used in 18 step 2. 19 Other preferred liquid toners for use in the present 20 invention are prepared as follows: 300 grams of a 21 chargeable low molecular weight ionomer Aclyn 293A (made by 22 Allied Signal) were solubilized in 1500 grams of Isopar - L 23 with heating to 110°- 120°C while stirring. To form inks, 24 dispersed pigments or color particles are added to and mixed 25 with the hot solubilized polymer. The composition is 26 allowed to cool while stirring. 27 The following liquid toner inks were prepared in this 28 way: 29 Ti0 2 BASED OPAQUE WHITE TONER INK 30 A preferred opaque white ink in accordance with the 31 present invention is prepared by adding 200 grams of finely 32 divided Ti02 pigment, having an average diameter of about 33 0.5 micrometers to the solubilized polymer while stirring. 34 The mixture is allowed to cool and settle with continuous 35 stirring. Charge director, as described above or other 36 charged directors as known in the art, and additional Isopar 1 L and MARCOL 82 carrier liquid are added to form a liquid 2 toner . The opaque white liquid toner so obtained is used, 3 as previously mentioned, to enhance the quality of color 4 images when it serves as a back layer for color contrast . 5 The median pigmented toner particle size in the toner is 6 4.81 micrometers . 7 An alternative preferred method for producing white 8 toner ink concentrate , in accordance with a preferred 9 embodiment of the invention comprises the steps of ( 1 ) 10 plasticizing 35% Nucrel 699 ( ethylene-metacrylic acid 11 copolymer by DuPont ) in Isopar L ( EXXON ) by heating the 12 materials in a Ross double planetary mixer to 150 β C while 13 mixing the materials and allowing the mixture to cool while 14 mixing continues unti l the mixture is ful ly mixed and 15 homogeneous; ( 2 ) mixing 3071 grams of the mixture produced 16 by step ( 1 ) with 1075 grams of KRONOS 2310 titanium dioxide 17 ( NL Chemicals ) and 4454 grams of Isopar L in a Ross type LAB 18 ME high shear mixer until the new mixture is completely 19 homogeneous; and ( 3 ) grinding the mixture at about 56 β C ( the 20 temperature of the mixture without cooling ) for 16 hours in 21 a SEECO M18 Vibratory Mill charged with 3/8" zirconia media. 22 The resul tant toner has a medi an di ameter of about 3 23 microns . 24 The material is charged and diluted as described above 25 and 3 micrometer micron particles of TEFLON M1200 are 26 optionally added to act as protective spacers against 27 abrasion for the final image. 28 Other inks are prepared in a manner similar to the 29 first method for producing white toner ink and provided the 30 following results: 31 GOLD TONER INK 32 Aclyn293A , ( made by All ied S ignal ) 150 grams , and 33 Isopar- L , 800 grams , are heated with mixing in a glass 34 beaker, at a temperature of 110° - 120 ° C . 100 grams of 6- 35 10 micrometer gold flakes ( made by SCHLENK) are slowly added 36 and mixing is continued for 5 minutes . The temperature is 1 allowed to fall to 90° C. 2 The composition is mixed at high shear (ROSS HIGH 3 SHEAR MIXER) for 1 minute and cooled, while mixing, to room 4 temperature while mixing is continued at 250 RPM. 5 Final ink median particle size as measured by a 6 SCHIMADZU PARTICLE SIZE ANALYZER is 18.6 micrometers. 7 The ink was tested in an E-PRINT 1000 (using the single 8 final transfer mode described above and separate transfer of 9 individual colors to the final substrates) printer (INDIGO, 10 N.V.) giving metallic gold prints which are free of 11 background contamination. It should be noted that this 12 method of preparing gold ink (and the other inks described 13 below), without grinding, results in large reflective gold 14 particles being laid onto the substrate. While the flakes 15 are unaligned in the toner, when the toner is formed into a 16 thin layer during heating and fixing to the substrate, the 17 flakes selectively align themselves to give good specular 18 reflection. 19 SILVER INK 20 The materials used in the preparation are 300 grams 21 Aclyn293A ( made by Allied Signal ) , 1500 grams Isopar-L and 22 100 Grams silver flakes 6-10 micrometers ( made by SCHLENK ) . 23 The same procedure as for gold ink is used to obtain ink 24 with a median particle size of 8.2 micrometers . 25 The ink was tested in both printing modes , in the 26 printer giving metallic silver prints without background 27 contamination. 28 MAGNETIC INK 29 The materials used in the preparation are 20 grams 30 Aclyn293A (made by Allied Signal), 37 grams MO 4431 magnetic 31 oxide (made by ISK MAGNETICS) with a particle size of 8-10 32 micrometers and 180 grams Isopar-L. The same procedure as 33 for gold ink is used to obtain magnetic ink with a median 34 particle size of 9.08 micrometers as measured by SCHIMADZU 35 Particle Size Analyzer. 36 When the magnetic ink is deposited at a mass/area of 1 0.26mg./sq.cm. , the resultant layer has a magnetic signal 2 of 82% of standard as measured by a NMI apparatus marketed 3 by Checkmate Electronics, and an optical density of 1.5 4 (transmittance). 5 FLUORESCENT INK 6 The materials used in the preparation are 500 grams 7 Aclyn293A (made by Allied Signal), 333.3 grams fluorescent 8 pigment RC15 (made by RADIANT COLOR) having a median 9 particle size of 2.5 - 4.5 micrometers and 1500 grams 10 Isopar-L. 11 The resin is solubilized by the ISOPAR L in a ROSS 12 DOUBLE PLANETARY MIXER heated at 110° C. 13 The pigment is predispersed and wetted by using a warm 14 solution of Aclyn293A, then adding the predispersed pigment 15 gradually into the double planetary mixer. The material is 16 mixed for about 10 minutes, while heating is maintained, to 17 obtain a homogeneous composition. Heating is stopped and 18 mixing is continued for an additional 1.5 hours to obtain 19 toner concentrate with a particle size of 3.82 micrometers. 20 Working dispersions are prepared using a high shear mixer. 21 Intermediate transfer member 30 may be any suitable 22 intermediate transfer member having a multilayered transfer 23 portion such as those described below or in US Patents 24 5,089,856 or 5,047,808 or in U.S. Patent application 25 08/371,117, filed January 11, 1995 and entitled IMAGING 26 APPARATUS AND INTERMEDIATE TRANSFER BLANKET THEREFOR (and in 27 coresponding applications in other countries), the 28 disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 29 Member 30 is maintained at a suitable voltage and 30 temperature for electrostatic transfer of the image thereto 31 from the image bearing surface. Intermediate transfer member 32 30 is preferably associated with a pressure roller 71 for 33 transfer of the image onto a final substrate 72, preferably 34 by heat and pressure. Additionally, pressure roller 71 may 35 be electrified to overcome the voltage on the intermediate 36 transfer member or to provide an additional electric field 1 to aid transfer of the electrified toner to the substrate. 2 Cleaning apparatus 32 is operative to scrub clean the 3 surface of photoreceptor 12 and preferably includes a 4 cleaning roller 74, a sprayer 76 to spray a non- polar 5 cleaning liquid to assist in the scrubbing process and a 6 wiper blade 78 to complete the cleaning of the 7 photoconductive surface. Cleaning roller 74, which may be 8 formed of any synthetic resin known in the art, for this 9 purpose is driven in the same sense as drum 10 as indicated 10 by arrow 80, such that the surface of the roller scrubs the 11 surface of the photoreceptor. Any residual charge left on 12 the surface of photoreceptor sheet 12 may be removed by 13 flooding the photoconductive surface with light from 14 optional neutralizing lamp assembly 36, which may not be 15 required in practice. 16 While the invention has been described with respect to 17 printing on the inside of clear wrapping material (i.e., 18 with the opaque layer furthest from the substrate), in an 19 alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the layer 20 closest to the substrate is opaque. Such images are designed 21 to be viewed from the side of the substrate on which the 22 image is printed. For this embodiment of the invention, the 23 white layer will be formed on the imaging surface and 24 transferred to the intermediate transfer member after the 25 other, colored layers. 26 In addition to the details of the printing processes 27 given above, additional details of printing processes and 28 operates are given in the patents and publications 29 incorporated herein by reference. 30 It has been found that the above mentioned toners and 31 other toners based on similar materials and high molecular 32 weight ionomers such as surlyns adhere well to the 33 substrates used in food packaging. This adhesion is found to 34 be especially good when the toner is based on an ionomer or 35 ethylene polymer or copolymer and the polymer film is 36 coated by a similar material. Such coatings, particularly 1 Surlyn 1601 ionomer, EVA (particularly low molecular weight 2 EVA) and ethylene acrylic acid are often provided on the 3 inner surface of food wrappings to give improved properties 4 such as sealability, adhesiveness and food compatibility. 5 It should be understood that the invention is not 6 limited to the specific type of image forming system used 7 and the present invention is also useful with any suitable 8 imaging system which forms a liquid toner image on an image 9 forming surface and, the specific details given above for 10 the image forming system are included as part of a best mode 11 of carrying out the invention, however, many aspects of the 12 invention are applicable to a wide range of systems as known 13 in the art for electrostatic printing and copying. 14 It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art 15 that the present invention is not limited by the description 16 and example provided hereinabove. Rather, the scope of this 17 invention is defined only by the claims which follow: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Claims: 1 CLAIMS 2 1. A printing process for forming high contrast color 3 images on polymer surfaces, comprising: 4 (a) forming a layer of substantially opaque liquid 5 toner comprising polymer based toner particles and a carrier 6 liquid, on an imaging surface; 7 (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer 8 member; 9 (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer 10 member to a temperature at which the toner particles at 11 least partially coalesce; 12 (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least one 13 subsequent layer in at least one color, said at least one 14 subsequent layer being transferred to the intermediate 15 transfer member onto the opaque layer to form multiple 16 layers on the intermediate transfer member; and 17 (e) transferring the multiple layers to a polymer 18 surface. 19 20 2. A process according to claim 1 wherein the opaque layer 21 is the lowest layer of the multiple layers on the 22 intermediate transfer member. 23 24 3. A printing process for forming high contrast color 25 images on polymer surfaces, comprising: 26 (a) forming a colored layer of liquid toner comprising 27 polymer based toner particles and a carrier liquid, on an 28 imaging surface; 29 (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer 30 member; 31 (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer 32 member to a temperature at which the toner particles at 33 least partially coalesce; 34 (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least a 35 substantially opaque liquid toner layer , said substantially 36 opaque layer being transferred to the intermediate transfer 1 member onto the colored layer to a plurality of layers on 2 the intermediate transfer member; and 3 (e) transferring the plurality of layers to a polymer 4 surface. 5 6 4. A printing process according to claim 3 and including 7 repeating (a) to (c) sequentially prior to (d) for at 8 least one subsequent layer in at least one different color, 9 said colored and opaque layers forming multiple layers on 10 the intermediate transfer member. 11 12 5. A process according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the 13 opaque layer is the uppermost layer of the multiple layers 14 on the intermediate transfer member prior to transfer to the 15 polymer surface. 16 17 6. A process according to any of the preceding claims 18 wherein the colored layers are in the form of an image. 19 20 7. A process according to any of the preceding claims 21 wherein the opaque liquid toner contains a white pigment. 22 23 8. A process according to claim 7 wherein the white 24 pigment is iθ2« 25 26 9. A process according to any of the preceding claims 27 wherein forming a layer comprises: 28 (i) charging a chargeable imaging surface; 29 (ii) selectively discharging portions of the charged 30 imaging surface to form a predefined electrostatic image; 31 and 32 ( iii ) developing a layer of charged opaque white toner 33 particles onto the selectively discharged portions of the 34 imag ing surf ace thereby providing a developed image 35 corresponding to the latent image. 36 1 10. A process according to any of the preceding claims 2 wherein the polymer surface is the surface of a transparent 3 film. 4 5 11. A process according to any of the preceding claims 6 wherein the polymer surface is coated. 7 8 12. A process according to claim 11 wherein the coating is 9 an ionomer. 10 11 13. A process according to claim 12 wherein the ionomer has 12 a low molecular weight. 13 14 14. A process according to claim 12 wherein the ionomer has 15 a high molecular weight. 16 17 15. A process according to claim 11 wherein the coating is 18 an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. 19 20 16. A process according to any of the preceding claims 21 wherein the polymer surface is polypropylene. 22 23 17. A process according to any of claims 1-15 wherein the 24 polymer surface is polyethylene. 25 26 18. A process according to any of the preceding claims 27 wherein the transfer of the multiple layers to the polymer 28 surface is effected with heat and pressure. 29 30 19. A process according to any of the preceding claims 31 wherein at least one of the at least one color layers is a 32 color halftone separation. 33 34 20. A process according to any of the preceding claims in 35 which the toner particle layers form films on the 36 intermediate transfer member. 1 2 21. A printing process comprising: 3 (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner 4 particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on 5 an imaging surface; 6 (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a 7 second polymer; and 8 (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, 9 wherein 10 the second polymer is either an ionomer or an ethylene 11 vinyl acetate polymer. 12 13 22. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first 14 polymer is an ionomer. 15 16 23. A process according to claim 22 wherein the first 17 polymer is a high molecular weight ionomer. 18 19 24. A process according to claim 22 wherein the first 20 polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 21 22 25. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first 23 polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate. 24 25 26. A process according to claim 21 wherein the polymer is 26 a ethylene copolymer. 27 28 27. A process according to claim 21 wherein the polymer is 29 a ethylene terpolymer. 30 31 28. A process according to any of claims 21-27, wherein 32 the second polymer is an ionomer. 33 34 29. A process according to claim 28, wherein the second 35 polymer is a high molecular weight ionomer. 36 1 30. A process according to claim 28, wherein the second 2 polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 3 4 31. A process according to claim 28 wherein the second 5 polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate. 6 7 32. A process according to any of claims 21-31, wherein the 8 substrate surface is a polypropylene film. 9 10 33. A process according to any of claims 21-31, wherein the 11 substrate surface is a polyethylene film. 12 13 34. A printing process comprising: 14 (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner 15 particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on 16 an imaging surface; 17 (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a 18 second polymer; and 19 (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, 20 wherein the first polymer and the second polymer are both 21 ionomers. 22 23 35. A process according to claim 34 wherein the first 24 ionomer is of a low molecular weight. 25 26 36. A process according to claim 34 wherein the first 27 ionomer is of a high molecular weight. 28 29 37. A process according to any of claims 34-36, wherein the 30 second ionomer is of a low molecular weight. 31 32 38. A process according to any of claims 34-36 wherein the 33 second ionomer is of a high molecular weight. 34 35 39. A process according to any of claims 34-38 wherein the 36 surface is a polypropylene film. 1 2 40. A process according to any of claims 34-38 wherein the 3 surface is a polyethylene film. 4 5 41. A process according to any of the preceding claims 6 wherein the imaging surface is the surface of a 7 photoreceptor. 8 9 42. A toner particle comprising: 10 a polymer; and 11 flakes of metal. 12 13 43. A toner particles according to claim 42 wherein the 14 flakes of metal have a dimension greater than about 4 15 micrometers. 16 17 44. A toner particle according to claim 43 wherein the 18 flakes of metal have a dimension greater than 6 micrometers. 19 20 45. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-44 21 wherein the metal flakes comprise gold. 22 23 46. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-44 24 wherein the metal flakes comprise silver. 25 26 47. A toner particle comprising: 27 a polymer; and 28 a fluorescent material. 29 30 48. A toner particles according to claim 47 wherein 31 fluorescent material is in the form of particles having a 32 size greater than 2 micrometers. 33 34 49. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-48 35 wherein the polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 36 1 50. An electrified toner particle according to any of 2 claims 42-49. 3 4 51. A liquid toner comprising: 5 a plurality of toner particles according to any of 6 claims 42-50; and 7 a carrier liquid. 8 9 51. A printed image printed with toner particles according 10 to any of claims 42-50. 11 12 52. A printed image printed with a process utilizing a 13 liquid toner according to claim 51. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau 07 August 1996 (07.08.96) original claims 26-27 and 31 amended; new claims 53-65 added; remaining claims unchanged (8 pages)] 1. A printing process for forming high contrast color images on polymer surfaces, comprising: (a) forming a layer of substantially opaque liquid toner comprising polymer based toner particles and a carrier liquid, on an imaging surface; (b) transferring the layer to an intermediate transfer member; (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer member to a temperature at which the toner particles at least partially coalesce; (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least one subsequent layer in at least one color, said at least one subsequent layer being transferred to the intermediate transfer member onto the opaque layer to form multiple layers on the intermediate transfer member; and (e) transferring the multiple layers to a polymer surface. * . A process according to claim 1 wherein the opaque layer is the lowest layer of tne multiple layers on the intermediate transfer member. 3. A printing process for forming high contrast color images on polymer surfaces/ comprising: (a) forming a colored layer of liquid toner comprising polymer based toner particles and a carrier liquid on an imaging surface (b) transferring the ■ layer to an intermediate transfer member; (c) heating the layer on the intermediate transfer member to a temperature at which the toner particles at least partially coalesce; (d) repeating (a) to (c) sequentially for at least a substantially opaque liquid toner layer, said substantially opaque layer being transferred to the intermediate transfer August 21, 1996 member onto the colored layer to a plurality of layers on the intermediate transfer member; and (e) transferring the plurality of layers to a polymer surface. 4. A printing process according to claim 3 and including repeating (a) to (c) sequentially prior to (d) for at least one subsequent layer in at least one different color, said colored and opaque layers forming multiple layers on the intermediate transfer member. 5. A process according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the opaque layer is the uppermost layer of the multiple layers on the intermediate transfer member prior to transfer to the polymer surface. 6. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein the colored layers are in the form of an image. 7. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein the opaque liquid toner contains a white pigment. 8. A process according to claim 7 wherein the white pigment is Ti0 2 . 9. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein forming a layer comprises: (i) charging a chargeable imaging surface; (ii) selectively discharging portions of the charged imaging surface to form a predefined electrostatic image; and (iii) developing a layer of charged opaque white toner particles onto the selectively discharged portions of the imaging surface thereby providing a developed image corresponding to the latent image. 10. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein the polymer surface is the surface of a transparent film. 11. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein the polrymer surface is coated. 12. A process according to claim 11 wherein the coating is an ionomer. 13. A process according to claim 12 wherein the ionomer has a low molecular weight. 14. A process according to claim 12 wherein the ionomer has a high molecular weight. 15. A process according to claim 11 wherein the coating is an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. 16. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein the polymer surface is polypropylene. 17. A process according to any of claims 1-15 wherein the polymer surface is polyethylene. 18. A process according to any of the preceding .claims wherein the transfer of the multiple layers to the polymer surface is effected with heat and pressure. 19. A process according to any of the preceding claims wherein at least one of the at least one color layers is a color halftone separation. 20. A process according to any of the preceding claims in which the toner particle layers form films on the intermediate transfer member. 21. A printing process comprising: (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on an imaging surface; (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a second polymer; and (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, wherein the second polymer is either an ionomer or an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. 22. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first polymer is an ionomer. 23. A process according to claim 22 wherein the first polymer is a high molecular weight ionomer. 24. A process according to claim 22 wherein the first polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 25. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate. 26. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first polymer is a ethylene copolymer. 27. A process according to claim 21 wherein the first polymer is a ethylene terpolymer. 28. A process according to any of claims 21-27, wherein the second polymer is an ionomer. 29. A process according to claim 28, wherein the second polymer is a high molecular weight ionomer. 30. A process according to claim 28, wherein the second polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 31. A process according %o any of claims 21-27 wherein the second polymer is an ethylene vinyl acetate. 32. A process according to any of claims 21-31, wherein the substrate surface is a polypropylene film. 33. A process according to any of claims 21-31, wherein the substrate surface is a polyethylene film. 34. A printing process comprising: (a) forming a liquid toner image comprising toner particles based on a first polymer and a carrier liquid, on an imaging surface; (b) transferring the image to a surface coated with a second polymer; and (c) fusing and fixing the image to the surface coating, wherein the first polymer and the second polymer are both ionomers . 35. A process according to claim 34 wherein the first ionomer is of a low molecular weight. 36. A process according to claim 34 wherein the first ionomer is of a high molecular weight. 37. A process according tp any of claims 34-36, wherein the second ionomer is of a low molecular weight. 38. A process according to any of claims 34-36 wherein the second ionomer is of a high molecular weight. 39. A process according to any of claims 34-38 wherein the sur ce is a polypropylene film. 1 2 40, A process according to any of claims 34-38 wherein the 3 surface is a polyethylene film. 4 5 41. A process according to any of the preceding claims 6 wherein the iaging surface is the surface of a 7 photoreceptor. 8 9 42. A toner particle comprising: J a polymer; and 11 flakes of metal. 12 13 43. A toner particles according to claim 42 wherein the 14 flakes of metal have a dimension greater than about 4 15 micrometers. 16 17 44. A toner particle according to claim 43 wherein the 18 flakes of metal have a dimension greater than 6 micrometers. 19 20 45. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-44 wherein 21 the metal flakes comprise gold. 22 ∑ 46. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-44 wherein 24 the metal flakes comprise silver. 25 26 47. A toner particle comprising: 27 a polymer; and 28 a fluorescent material. 29 30 48. A toner particles according to claim 47 wherein 31 fluorescent material is in the form of particles having a 32 size greater than 2 micrometers. 33 34 49. A toner particle according to any of claims 42-48 wherein 35 the polymer is a low molecular weight ionomer. 36 50. An electrified toner particle according to any of claims 42-49. 51. A liquid toner comprising: a plurality of toner particles according to any of claims 42-50/ and a carrier' liquid. 51. A printed image printed with toner particles according to any of claims 42-50. 52. A printed image printed with a process utilizing a liquid toner according to claim 51. 53. A substrate having two outer su aces, for use with. electrostatic imaging systems, for receiving an image thereon, comprising: a polymer material, and a coating covering at least one of the two outer surfaces of the polymer material, the at least one of the two outer surfaces being the surface for receiving the image, wherein the coating is adhesion promoting. 54. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to claim 53 wherein the polymer material comprises transparent film. 55. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to either of claims 53 or 54 wherein the polymer material comprises polypropylene. 56. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to either of claims 53 or 54 wherein the polymer material comprises polyethylene. 57. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to any of claims 53-56 wherein the coating is an ionomer. 58. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to claim 57 wherein the ionomer has a low molecular weight. 59. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to claim 57 wherein the ionomer has an intermediate molecular weight. 60. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to claim 57 wherein the ionomer has a high molecular weight. 61. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to any of claims 53-56 wherein the coating is an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. 62. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to any of claims 53-56 wherein the coating is an ethylene copolymer. 63. A substrate for use with electrostatic imaging systems according to any of claims 53-56 wherein the coating is an ethylene terpolymer. 64. A process according .to claim 28, wherein the second polymer is an intermediate molecular weight ionomer. 65. A process according to any of claims 21-27 wherein the second polymer is an ethylene copolymer.

Inventors: BEN-AVRAHAM PERETZ, BOSSIDAN BECKY, GOLODETZ GALIA, LANDA BENZION, TEISHEB ALBERT, BEN-AVRAHAM, PERETZ, BOSSIDAN, BECKY, GOLODETZ, GALIA, LANDA, BENZION, TEISHEB, ALBERT
Applicants: BEN AVRAHAM PERETZ, BOSSIDAN BECKY, GOLODETZ GALIA, INDIGO NV, LANDA BENZION, TEISHEB ALBERT, BEN-AVRAHAM, PERETZ, BOSSIDAN, BECKY, GOLODETZ, GALIA, INDIGO N.V., LANDA, BENZION, TEISHEB, ALBERT
Application year: 1995
Main classification: G03G13
IPC codes: G03G7, G03G9, G03G13, G03G15