Patent ID: 8821980

Claim:
A method for producing a patterned layer of material for an absorbent article, the patterned layer of material having a puckered first state including elevations and depressions when no tension is applied to the patterned layer, and having a second and expanded state in which the patterned layer of material is at least partly smooth when tension is applied to the patterned layer, the method comprising: gathering a layer of material Into the puckered first state including elevations and depressions; applying a color to the layer of material while the layer of material is gathered in the first state such that the color is applied only to the elevations of the layer of material to create a pattern in the form of a text or an image on the gathered layer of material, which pattern appears legible or interpretable for an observer at a certain distance when the layer of material is in the puckered first state; the color including a number of dots being arranged on the elevations so that when the layer of material is in the first state, the dots together have a first surface density which forms the legible or interpretable pattern; and when the layer of material is in the second and expanded state, the dots together have a second surface density which is lower than the first surface density in the first state, the pattern being essentially illegible or uninterpretable for the observer at the given distance on account of the second lower surface density when the layer is in the second state.