Method of inkjet printing decorations on substrates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10611176-B2
Application number	US-201615559665-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2016
Priority date	Mar 20, 2015
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

A method of printing a decoration on a substrate include inkjet printing a plurality of inks to forma layer having a predetermined pattern on a surface of the substrate, wherein each of the inks includes a solvent and has a different color; heating the substrate to evaporate at least a portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks; and thermally curing the layer after evaporating at least the portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks to form the decoration. The substrate is heated to a temperature that evaporates at least the portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks without fully curing the plurality of inks. A boiling point of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 10° C. of each other.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of printing a decoration, comprising:
inkjet printing a plurality of inks to form a layer having a predetermined pattern on a surface of a substrate, wherein each of the inks includes a solvent and has a different color;
heating the substrate to evaporate at least a portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks; and
thermally curing the layer after evaporating at least the portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks to form the decoration,
wherein the substrate is heated to a temperature that evaporates at least the portion of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks without fully curing the plurality of inks, and
wherein a boiling point of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 10° C. of each other.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a weight percentage of the solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 5% of each other.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solvent in each of the plurality of inks comprises a solvent mixture including at least a first solvent and a second solvent, wherein a boiling point of the first solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 10° C. of each other and a boiling point of the second solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 10° C. of each other.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein a weight percentage of the first solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 5% of each other and a weight percentage of the second solvent in each of the plurality of inks is within 5% of each other.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesion of the inks to the substrate is greater than or equal to 4B according to a cross hatch adhesion test set forth in ASTM D3359-09e2.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heated substrate has a temperature in a range from about 30° C. to about 70° C.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of inks is thermally cured at a temperature in a range from about 30° C. to about 80° C.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of inks is inkjet printed in droplets and form a drop on the substrate having a diameter of at least 50 μm.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer has a thickness in a range from about 1.5 μm to about 5 μm after curing.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of a glass substrate, a glass-ceramic substrate, a ceramic substrate, a metal oxide substrate, a metal substrate, and a polymeric substrate.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is glass or glass-ceramic.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the substrate is chemically-strengthened.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the chemically-strengthened substrate is ion-exchanged.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising disposing an additional layer of ink on the substrate by one of ink jet printing, screen printing, pad printing, or film transfer.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined pattern fills at least one opening in a layer previously applied to the surface.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising disposing an additional layer of ink on the substrate by one of ink jet printing, screen printing, pad printing, or film transfer.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising laser engraving a portion of the cured layer with a laser having a wavelength to remove a portion of the cured layer, wherein the plurality of inks absorb the wavelength of the laser more than the substrate.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of inks are ink jet printed in droplets having a volume in a range from about 1.5 picoliters to about 7 picoliters.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the decoration has a graininess of less than or equal to about 5 according to the methodology set forth in ISO-13660:2001.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the decoration has a graininess of less than or equal to about 3 according to the methodology set forth in ISO-13660:2001.

21. A substrate having a decoration printed thereon according to the method of claim 1 .

22. The substrate of claim 21 , wherein the decoration has a graininess of less than or equal to about 3.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Wang fang-fang
• Wang Qing Ya
• Yan Yongsheng

Classifications

• B41M5/0058

  on metals and oxidised metal surfaces · CPC title

• B41M5/0064

  on plastics, horn, rubber, or other organic polymers · CPC title

• B41M5/24

  Ablative recording, e.g. by burning marks; Spark recording {(marking by high energetic means, e.g. by laser otherwise than burning or ablative removal B41M5/26; materials or methods for recording or reproduction by optical means G11B7/00)} · CPC title

• B41M5/007

  on glass, ceramic, tiles, concrete, stones, etc. · CPC title

• B41J11/0015 Primary

  for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing (selective coating B41J2/2114) · CPC title