[0001] The present invention relates to a printing method, in particular a method for printing
texts and/or decorations by transferring, onto a print substrate, a printing material
in a lamina or thin layer, or in any case a material which is transferable onto the
print substrate.
[0002] The prior art includes printing methods in which a material in a lamina or a thin
layer is transferred with heat and under pressure onto a print substrate and which
envisage the use of punches on Which the texts or decorations to be printed are produced
in relief. The printing material in a lamina or thin sheet, carried by a flexible
substrate, is interposed between the punch and the print substrate and is hot pressed
by the punch onto said print substrate, in such a way that the printing material is
transferred onto the surface of the print substrate at the points corresponding to
the texts and/or decorations on the punch.
[0003] Another known technique is to transfer with heat and under pressize a material in
a lamina or thin layer onto a print substrate, using a screen printing method, which
involves reproducing the required text and/or decorative motif by screen printing
onto the print substrate, by means of an adhesive material, and transferring onto
the print substrate, with heat and under pressure, the material in a lamina or thin
layer by means of a flat or cylindrical press, by pressing the above-mentioned material
against the surface of the print substrate. The material adheres to the print substrate
only in the areas previously treated with the adhesive material.
[0004] The above-mentioned methods are unable to produce high image definition, which is
particularly unsatisfactory if complex and high-quality decorations are required.
Furthermore, in the case of printing with punches, the action of the punch can easily
damage the surface of the print substrate and the printing can easily smudge, resulting
in a low-quality finished product.
[0005] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems.
[0006] The present invention envisages a printing method comprising printing a written text
and/or decorations on a print substrate, applying onto the surface of said print substrate
a transferable means capable of being transferred onto said print substrate, characterised
by the fact that it further comprises impressing said text and/or decorations onto
said surface by means of a printing method other than screen printing and applying
said transferable means onto the areas of said surface onto which said text and/or
decorations have been impressed. The invention allows a vary high image definition
to be obtained resulting in vary high-quality printing.
[0007] The invention will now be described in greater detail purely by way of example.
[0008] The invention involves impressing a text and/or decorations onto a print substrate,
using appropriate printing inks, by means of a printing method other than screen printing
which allows high image definition to be obtained, such as rotogravure, lithography,
off-set, letter set, digital or other. The print substrate may consist, for example,
of paper, parchment, leather, fabric, plastic material or any other material capable
of permitting printing impression on its surface. Printing may be carried out using
a printing product suitable for the printing procedure used, for example printing
ink, toner, etc, but it is also possible to use an adhesive material or any other
substance that can be applied by means of a printing method that can give high image
definition and is capable of guaranteeing adhesion onto it of material, in particular
said transferable means. The transferable means is now applied onto the surface of
the print substrate. The material adheres to the surface of the print substrate only
in the areas covered by the printed text and/or decorations, thereby obtaining, on
the surface of the print substrate, a text and/or decorations which have a surface
with extremely uniform reflectivity and very high image definition.
[0009] In the case of printing with more than one colour, the method according to the invention
allows the transferable means to be applied only to the areas on which the last colour
has been printed, after the other colours have dried.
[0010] Before applying the transferable means, it may be advantageous to spread on the surface
of the print substrate, using a screen-printing screen or a rotating element, a solvent
compatible with the type of material used for making the print which will not damage
the surface of the print substrate nor leave traces of any kind on it. In the areas
of the surface of the print substrate to which the material used for printing has
adhered, the solvent revives any material that has dried, in such a way that the exposed
surface of the material can again permit adhesion onto it of material in a lamina
or thin layer. This technique is particularly useful when it is expected that a sufficient
length of time will elapse between making the print and applying the material in a
lamina or thin layer for the print to be able to partially or totally dry out.
[0011] As a transferable means for application, it is possible to use, purely by way of
example and without constituting limitations, materials in a lamina or thin layer,
transfers, decals, holographs, signature holograms, etc. A suitable material in a
lamina, for example, is a material of the type marketed by the German company L. Kurz
GmbH & Co. under the brand names LUXOR and ALUFIN.
[0012] The transferable means may be applied with heat and under pressure by means of a
flat or cylindrical printing press. Alternatively, the transferable means may be applied
by way of deposition of vapours of said means on the surface of the print substrate.
The vapours deposited on said surface will adhere only in the areas which have previously
undergone printing, thereby covering the print with a substantially uniform layer.
[0013] In this case a suitable transferable means may be a metallic material or a colouring,
such as a pastel or fluorescent colouring, and in any case a vaporisable material.
[0014] The method according to the invention can also be used in combination with the other
known methods quoted above for application of material in a lamina or thin layer,
for example when it is necessary to print on a print substrate both prints with high
image definition and prints not requiring high image definition.
[0015] In addition, the method according to the invention may be used to obtain warranty
means, such as, for instance, warranty seals comprising a graphic element, for instance
a mark, obtained using said printing method, said mark warranting, for instance, the
origin and the quality of a product, on which the warranty seal may be applied. In
order to obtain warranty seals, the method according to the invention may be combined
with the use of holograms, chalcographic printing, printing using inks capable of
emitting a radiation in a pre-established wavelength range, for instance a radiation
in visible or ultraviolet range. The use of the printing method according to the invention
makes very difficult and uneconomic to counterfeit a warranty seal, because the use
of a material in a lamina or thin layer applied on the printing support of the seal
makes substantially impossible a counterfeit by means of photography or using a photocopying-machine.
In fact the presence of the material in a lamina or thin layer makes very easy to
distinguish, even simply to the touch, the original seal from a counterfeited seal
obtained by means of photographic reproduction or by means of a photocopying-machine.
In addition, it is possible to use materials in a lamina or thin layer which are expansive,
so as to make uneconomical a counterfeit of the seal by using said materials and the
printing method according to the invention.
[0016] Finally, it is possible to use check devices to verify the authenticity of the warranty
seal obtained using the method according to the invention, alone or in combination
with other methods.
[0017] For the same reasons explained above, the printing method according to the invention
is particularly suitable, even in combination with other printing methods for obtaining
paper money which is very difficult to be counterfeited.
[0018] In the practical implementation, the stages of the method, the construction details
and the materials used may differ from but be technically equivalent to those indicated,
without departing from the scope of the present invention.
1. A printing method comprising printing a written text and/or decorations on a print
substrate and applying a transferable means onto the surface of said print substrate,
characterised by the fact that it further comprises impressing said text and/or decoration
onto said surface by a method other than screen printing and applying said transferable
means onto the areas of said surface on which said text and/or decorations have been
impressed.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that said printing method
other than screen printing is a printing method with high image definition.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised by the fact that said printing method
other than screen printing is a rotogravure, lithographic, off-set, letter set or
digital printing method.
4. A method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterised by the fact that said
printing method other than screen printing uses a material that allows said transferable
means to adhere onto it.
5. A method according to claim 4, characterised by the fact that said material is a printing
product.
6. A method according to claim 4, characterised by the fact that said material is an
adhesive material.
7. A method according to one of previous claims, characterised by the fact that, prior
to application of said transferable means onto the areas of said surface on which
said text and/or decorations have been impressed, a solvent means for said material
is applied onto said print substrate.
8. A method according to claim 7, characterised by the fact that said solvent means is
applied to said printing surface by means of a rotating element.
9. A method according to claim 7, characterised by the fact that said solvent means is
applied to said printing surface by means of a screen-printing screen.
10. A method according to one of the previous claims, characterised by the fact that said
transferable means is applied with heat and under pressure.
11. A method according to one of the claims from 1 to 9, characterised by the fact that
said transferable means is applied by way of deposition of vapours of said transferable
means.
12. A printing method according to one of previous claims, characterised by the fact that
it is used to obtain warranty seals.
13. A printing method according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterised by the fact that
it is used to obtain paper money.
14. A printing method according to one of claims 12, or 13, characterised by the fact
that it is used in combination with other printing methods, or in combination with
holograms, or in combination with fluorescent inks, or magnetic inks capable of emitting
a radiation in pre-established wavelength range.
15. Warranty means comprising a print substrate and a transferable means applied on said
print substrate, characterised by the fact that the application of said transferable
means on said print substrate is obtained using the method according to one of claims
1 to 14.