Patent ID: 6896938

Claim:
A method of making a partially vapor-deposited metallized film, comprising the steps of: imprinting a structure on a flexible substrate with a soluble ink, thereafter pre-treating the film by cleaning the film surface in a vacuum by means of a plasma treatment and simultaneously initiating the film with target atoms forming an initial layer; vapor-depositing one or more of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, a metal composition and an alloy on the pretreated film, or applying an insulator by a method selected from the group consisting of printing or lacquering; and thereafter removing one of the superimposed metal, metal composition, alloy or insulator so that the metal, the metal composition, alloy or insulator including an initiation layer remains in the areas of the substrate that insulator so that the metal, the metal composition, alloy or insulator including an initiation layer remains in the areas of the substrate that were not printed previously with soluble ink, so as to produce a structured layer, wherein the steps of plasma treatment in vacuum under simultaneous initiation with target atoms and the metal vapor-deposition are repeated 2 or more times to form a multilayered film.