Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
  • B44C1/00—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects
  • B44C1/16—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects for applying transfer pictures or the like
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
  • B44C1/00—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects
  • B44C1/10—Applying flat materials, e.g. leaflets, pieces of fabrics
  • B44C1/14—Metallic leaves or foils, e.g. gold leaf

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method of providing a metal layer on a substrate, whereby a detachment layer and the metal layer are provided in that order on a temporary carrier, the metal layer is covered with an adhesion layer, and the temporary carrier thus covered is brought with its adhesion layer into contact with the substrate layer so as to transfer the metal layer from the temporary carrier to the substrate.
• Such a method is particularly suitable for the graphic and packaging industries where frequently great lengths of paper substrate wound into rolls are to be provided with a shiny metal top layer.
• a substrate in the form of a lane of paper wound into a roll is thus to be provided with a metal top layer in a known method ofthe kind mentioned in the opening paragraph.
• the temporary carrier used for this is a synthetic resin, often polyester, foil which is wound into a roll and which is coverd on its surface with an acrylate-based detachment layer to which a suitable plasticizer may or may not have been added.
• the desired metal layer is subsequently provided on the detachment layer, for example by vapour deposition, and is then covered with a glue layer having one or several components.
• the temporary carrier thus covered and the substrate are now brought into contact with one another, with the glue layer facing the permanent substrate, so that the glue layer will adhere to the substrate, carrying the metal layer along with it.
• the detachment layer ensures a fracture-free separation between the metal layer and the temporary carrier.
• a disadvantage ofthe known method is that the detachment layer cannot be provided over the full surface area ofthe temporary carrier because of alignment tolerances which are necessarily to be taken into account.
• the detachment layer will inevitably leave open a certain uncovered strip along the edge of the temporary carrier.
• the metal layer will continue to adhere to the edge ofthe temporary carrier and will not be fully separated therefrom. If the temporary carrier is to be re-used in a next printing run, accordingly, said edge should first be cut off, so that the temporary carrier will become narrower and d e equipment used will have to be re-adjusted to a smaller width first. This is very cumbersome and time-consuming, and accordingly expensive.
• the temporary carrier will have become shorter after every printing run owing to head and tail losses. Given a typical carrier length of approximately 15 km, these losses may amount to some 500 to 1000 m every printing run. To bring the temporary carrier to its original length again each time, therefore, the lost length is jointed to the carrier each time. The introduction ofthese joints, however, reduces the number of times the carrier can be used to approximately six. This means that the comparatively expensive temporary carrier is finally lost after the sixth printing run.
• the invention has for its object inter alia to provide a method ofthe kind mentioned in the opening paragraph with which the above disadvantages are counteracted.
• a method ofthe kind mentioned in the opening paragraph is for this purpose characterized in that a temporary carrier with at least a top layer of aluminium is used in said method, and in that at least said top layer is exposed to an oxidizing environment so as to grow thereon a detachment layer of aluminium oxide which may or may not be stoichiometric.
• a temporary carrier with a top layer of aluminium, which is inexpensive compared with polyester, is used in this method. Exposing the aluminium to an oxidizing environment, for which the ambient air suffices, leads to the creation of an oxide layer of- possibly stoichiometric - aluminium oxide.
• This material inherently has very bad adhesion properties with respect to a layer provided thereon and is accordingly highly suitable for forming the detachment layer vvithin the scope ofthe method described here. Moreover, the aluminium oxide detachment layer will automatically grow over the full surface area ofthe temporary carrier, so that the detachment problems at the edges of he temporary carrier as referred to above are avoided.
• the temporary carrier according to the invention can be re-used over its original width, and not only in the same method but also for other purposes.
• a special embodiment ofthe method according to the invention is characterized in that, before the metal layer is provided, an aluminium layer is vapour-deposited on the detachment layer and is subsequently exposed to an oxidizing medium.
• the invention also relates to a temporary carrier designed for use in the method according to the invention as mentioned above and comprising at least a top layer of aluminium, a detachment layer disposed thereon and made of - possibly stoichiometric - aluminium oxide, a metal layer provided thereon, and an adhesion layer covering the metal layer.
• FIG. 1 shows a stage in a first embodiment of a method according to the invention
• Fig. 2 shows a stage in a second embodiment of a method according to the invention
• Fig. 3 shows a stage in a third embodiment of a method according to the invention.
• the Figures are purely diagrammatic and not drawn true to scale. Some dimensions have been particularly exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Corresponding parts have been given the same reference numerals as much as possible in the Figures.
• a first embodiment starts with a temporary carrier 1 in the form of a aluminium foil wound into a roll and having a typical length of 10 to 15 km.
• a temporary carrier 1 in the form of a aluminium foil wound into a roll and having a typical length of 10 to 15 km.
• the aluminium foil 1 has been exposed to the air so that a natural, possibly stoichiometric oxide skin 2 will have grown thereon which will serve as the detachment layer later on.
• a metal layer 3 comprising the desired metal, for example also aluminium, or some other metal, has been provided over the possibly stoichiometric oxide layer 2 by means of a conventional vapour deposition technique.
• the metal layer is covered with an adhesion layer 4 comprising a glue with one or two components, water-based or provided with a suitable organic solvent, as is usual in a transfer metallization process.
• the adhesion layer 4 ofthe temporary carrier 1 is brought into contact with a substrate 10 to be covered, which comprises a roll of some 10 to 15 km of paper in this case.
• a certain pressure is exerted where the temporary carrier 1-4 and the substrate 10 come into contact with one another, so that the adhesion layer 4 will adhere to the substrate 10, taking the metal layer 3 along with it.
• the metal layer 3 will detach itself over its full width from the temporary carrier without fractures.
• the substrate, onto which the metal layer 3 has thus been transferred, and the temporary carrier now only supporting the detachment layer 2 are separated by a guide roller or drum 20 and subsequently wound each into a roll again.
• a transfer metallization can thus be carried out over a full surface area, after which the temporary carrier is available practically undamaged for re-use, whether or not in the same process.
• the natural aluminium oxide skin 2 in itself already offers an adequate separation power when serving as a detachment layer.
• the natural oxide skin 2 once it has been grown on the temporary carrier 1 in that the latter was exposed to an oxidizing medium, i.e. the outer air, is covered with a comparatively thin aluminium layer 5 which is also oxidized in an oxidizing medium.
• the probability that the oxide skin 2 should be interrupted in exactly the same spot where the second layer 5 is lacking or not oxidized is so small as to be negligible. It is thus practically ensured that the metal layer to be provided subsequently will be separated from the substrate by at least one anti-adhesion aluminium oxide layer everywhere.
• the rest of the process is carried out in a manner analogous to the first embodiment, with the proviso that here the metal layer 3 is covered with a lithographic primer layer 6.
• This layer 6 may be provided afterwards, i.e. after the transfer metallization has been completed, but preferably it is provided already on the temporary carrier 1 , as in the present example.
• the primer layer 6 is preferably provided in the vapour deposition bell jar before the metal 3 is vapour-deposited. This is based on the recognition that the two operations can be carried out in the vapour deposition bell jar, and that it is accordingly not necessary to carry out these two operations in separate process locations, so that the concomitant additional processing times and material losses are eliminated.
• the primer layer 6 is found to detach itself very satisfactorily from the aluminium oxide detachment layer 2 in practice.
• an aluminium laminate is used as the temporary carrier.
• the carrier here comprises a paper or possibly synthetic-resin base 11, for example polyester, and an aluminium top layer 12.
• the top layer is exposed to an oxidizing ambience, for which again the outer air suffices, so as to grow a detachment layer 2 of aluminium oxide thereon.
• the desired metal layer 3 is provided on the detachment layer 2 by vapour deposition, lamination, or some other deposition technique as desired, whereupon the metal layer is covered with a so-called heat-sealing layer 7 which has the desired adhesion properties.
• the temporary carrier 11, 12, 2 thus covered and the substrate 10 are now brought into contact with one another, with the heat-sealing layer 7 facing the substrate 10, with the result that the heat-sealing layer 7 and the metal layer 3 are taken over from the temporary carrier 11, 12, 2 by the substrate 10.
• a strip of paper wound into a roll is again used as the substrate 10 in this case, but it will be obvious that, as in the preceding embodiments, the material ofthe substrate 10 is of little relevance, as long as an adequate adhesion thereto is possible by means of an adhesion layer, which may be specially attuned to this substrate.
• a so-called hot stamping foil is thus realized in a particularly economical manner in this example, which foil is subsequently available for further processing.

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• Laminated Bodies (AREA)
• Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19762230

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (5)

• 1996
  • 1996-01-31 NL NL1002214A patent/NL1002214C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1997
  • 1997-01-31 WO PCT/NL1997/000029 patent/WO1997028011A1/nl active Application Filing

Patent Citations (5)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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