Patent ID: 8784945

Claim:
A method for making a layered material, comprising: providing a substrate; applying an ink formulation on at least a portion of the substrate, the ink formulation comprising an ink and at least one energy-curable monomer selected from acrylates, vinyl ethers, and cycloaliphatic diepoxides, wherein said ink is selected from air-dryable and thermally-dryable inks; drying the ink formulation, wherein said drying is not achieved by exposure to energy-curing radiation; applying a lacquer on at least a portion of the ink formulation, the lacquer comprising at least one energy-curable monomer selected from acrylates, vinyl ethers, and cycloaliphatic diepoxides, wherein at least a portion of said ink formulation and at least a portion of said lacquer are selected to permit at least some chemical bonding to each other, and wherein the acrylate in the ink formulation and/or lacquer is a multifunctional acrylate ester selected from acrylated polyols having a molecular weight ranging from 150 to 600; polyester acrylates having a molecular weight ranging from 1000 to 2000; polyether acrylates having a molecular weight ranging from 200 to 1500; polyester urethane acrylates having a molecular weight ranging from 400 to 2000; polyurea acrylates having a molecular weight ranging from 400 to 2000; and epoxy acrylates having a molecular weight ranging from 300 to 1000; and exposing the ink formulation and lacquer to an electron beam that causes polymerization of the monomers in the ink formulation and the lacquer.