Patent Publication Number: US-2005132907-A1

Title: Method of printing a digital image onto a rigid board substrate

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      None.  
     Federally Sponsored Research or Development  
      Not Applicable.  
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      This invention generally relates to printing of a digital image onto a particular substrate and, more particularly, to the printing of a digital image onto a hardboard substrate.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      A rigid board substrate, such as a clay-coated hardboard substrate commonly known as clayboard, is often utilized in the fine art print industry, in part based upon the archival qualities of the substrate. For example, current systems use clayboard for serigraph printing, a type of stencil printing process wherein an image is superimposed and/or ink is forced through a fine screen onto the clayboard. This is often marketed to consumers as “fine art limited edition serigraph print on board.” 
      Technological advances in digital printing have enabled high quality services in the fine art industry, such as print-on-demand for limited edition prints. However, it has been difficult to properly register the clayboard relative to the printer so that the image is correctly located on the clayboard.  
      The present invention is provided to address these and other issues.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is an object of the invention to provide a method of printing an image onto a rigid board. The method comprises providing a printer, providing a template having a first surface and a second, opposite surface, and registering the template relative to the printer. The method further comprises printing the image onto the template first surface, removing from the template the portion containing the image, forming an aperture of substantially the same dimension as the rigid board. The rigid board is placed into the recess, the template is re-registered relative to the printer, and the image is printed onto the rigid board.  
      It is contemplated that the rigid board is clayboard.  
      It is further contemplated that template is foam core.  
      It is still further contemplated that the rigid board is supported in the aperture, such as by a poster board attached to the second surface of the template.  
      It is yet further contemplated that the poster board has an inner surface attached to the second surface of the template and an opposite, outer surface, and the outer surface is roughened, such as by using 100 grit sandpaper.  
      It is further contemplated that the printer has a printer bed supporting the template, and the printer registration marking are located on tape attached to the printer bed.  
      It is still further contemplated that the template includes a template registration marking for registering the template relative to the printer.  
      It is yet further contemplated that the printer has guide wheels, and the template registration marking is registered relative to the guide wheels.  
      It is yet further contemplated that a spacer tool is included for registering the template registration marking relative to the guide wheels.  
      It is still further contemplated that the printer includes a printer registration marking for registering the template relative to the printer.  
      It is also contemplated that the printer has a take-up reel, and the take-up reel is coupled to the template to provide a forward bias on the template as the template travels through the printer.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of a system for performing the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view of a template in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  illustrates one step in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates another step in accordance with the present invention; and  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a mechanism for biasing a template through a printer in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawing, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.  
      A method of printing an image  10  onto a rigid board  12  is illustrated in the Figures. The rigid board  12  is preferably one-eighth inch thick clay-coated hardboard, commonly referred to as clayboard, such as provided by Ampersand Art Supply, of Austin Tex. See www.ampersandart.com. The image  10  to be printed onto the rigid board  12  is typically of the same dimension as that of the rigid board  12  itself. In other words, the image  10  is printed substantially to the edges of the rigid board  12 .  
      A printer  14  is provided. The printer  14  may be a JV-4 series digital printer, sold by Mimaki U.S.A. See www.mimakiusa.com. The printer  14  has printing heads  15  which are height adjustable to accommodate media of differing thicknesses. The printer  14  also has a lower drive mechanism (not shown) and a plurality of free-wheeling upper guide rollers  16  which cooperatively drive the medium onto which the image  10  is to be printed through the printer  14 . The printer  14  is conventionally coupled to a personal computer (not shown). An electronic file of the image  10  is stored in a conventional manner on the personal computer before it is transmitted to the printer  14 .  
      A template  18  is provided having a first surface  18   a , a second surface  18   b , and a leading edge  18   c . The template  18  is preferably one-eighth inch foam core, the same thickness as that of the clayboard. A template registration marking  20  is provided on the template  18  a distance from the leading edge  18   c  of the template. In the present embodiment, the distance is four inches. The template  18  is registered relative to the guide rollers  16  utilizing a spacer tool  24 .  
      The printer  14  includes a printer bed  26 . A piece of conventional tape  28 , such as duct tape, is adhered to the printer bed  26  adjacent the template registration marking  20  on each lateral side of the template  18 , and a printer registration marking  28   a  is made on each of the pieces of tape, aligned with the template registration marking  20 . The template  18  is again checked for alignment with the guide rollers  16 , and then the image is printed onto the template first surface  18   a . The lower drive mechanism moves the template  18  through the printer  14 . To insure the template  18  moves smoothly, an operator can manually provide a slight forward pressure on the template  18 , biasing the template  18  in the forward direction.  
      Alternatively, a strip of canvas  29  extending over a tube  30  can connect the template  18  with a clip  31  to a conventional take-up reel  32  on the printer  14 , to provide the forward bias. (See  FIG. 5 ).  
      As long as the template  18  is properly registered relative to the printer  14 , the image will always print at the same precise location on the template  18 . The template  18  is registered relative to the printer  14  so that the image will print generally in the center of the template.  
      The portion of the template  18  containing the image is then carefully removed, such as with straight-edge and a razor blade, forming an aperture  32  of the same dimension as the rigid board  12 . See  FIG. 3 . One side of a supporting surface  33 , such as one-sixteenth inch poster board, is roughened up, using 100 grit sand paper. The supporting surface  33  is attached to the template second surface  18   b , such as by double-sided tape, with the roughened surface facing outwardly.  
      The rigid board  12  is placed into the aperture  32 , where it is supported by the supporting surface  33 . See  FIG. 4 . Because the image to be printed onto the rigid board  12  is of the same dimension as that of the rigid board  12  itself, and thus the same dimension as the portion removed from the template  18 , the rigid board  12  will fit snugly in the aperture  32 .  
      The template  18  is then re-registered with the printer  14 , utilizing the template registration marking  20 , the printer registration markings  28   a  and the guide rollers  16 . Once re-registered, the image is printed onto the rigid board  12 , which is located exactly where the previous printing occurred. Once printed onto the rigid board  12 , the rigid board  12  is removed, and is conventionally varnished using two sprayed on coats of water base matte varnish, and set aside to dry for five hours. Another rigid board  12  can now be placed in the template, the template  18  re-registered with the printer  14 , and another image made.  
      The roughened surface of the poster board help the lower drive mechanism to better engage the template during printing.  
      Stands  50  are set on each side of the printer  14  to create stability and ease of movement for the template  18  entering and exiting the printer  14 . The stands  50  are set to the same height as the entrance and exit of the printer  14 .  
      From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitations with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.