Patent ID: 8480939

Claim:
A process for applying an image on a surface of a resin member, comprising: first, placing a liquid coating resin and a catalyst for the liquid coating resin on a smooth table or mold surface for defining a smooth image topcoat, the smooth image topcoat having a smooth front surface formed by the smooth table or mold surface; after the coating resin has at least partially polymerized enough so that the coating resin is substantially solid, while the coating resin remains tacky, and before the smooth image topcoat has fully cured, but the smooth image topcoat substantially retains its shape, placing a transfer medium bearing an image on a rear surface of the smooth image topcoat, opposite the smooth front surface; establishing contact between the image and the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat; once contact between the image and the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat has been established, at least partially curing the smooth image topcoat at substantially ambient temperature and substantially ambient pressure with the image of the transfer medium in contact with the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat to bond the image to the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat; after the image has bonded to the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat and before fully curing the coating resin of the smooth image topcoat, removing the transfer medium from the rear surface of the smooth image topcoat to expose the image; and with the image exposed, applying a liquid substrate resin onto the image to form a substrate, with the image located between the smooth image topcoat and the substrate.