Decorative laminated safety glass

Abstract

The present invention is a decorative laminated article comprising an image bearing thermoplastic interlayer wherein the image has been printed on the interlayer using an ink jet printing process, wherein the pigment comprises at least one pigment selected from the group consisting of: PY 120; PY 155; PY 128; PY 180; PY 95; PY 93; PV19 / PR 202; PR 122; PB 15:4; PB 15:3; and PBI 7. The interlayer material of the present invention can be, for example, PVB, PET, or polyurethane.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to decorative laminates bearing images printed on an interlayer by a process of ink jet printing. The present invention particularly relates to decorative laminates wherein the image has been printed onto an interlayer comprising polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The present invention also relates to ink formulations that are useful for preparing the laminates of the present invention. Decorative laminates are known and obtained by various processes. DE 29706880, U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,553, U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,178, EP 1129844A1, and DE 20100717 disclose making decorative glass laminates via a silk screening process. Silk-screening an image onto an interlayer is a very time-consuming and expensive process for making decorative laminated safety glass. A process for making decorative glass laminates has also been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,672. This patent describes a transfer lamination process wherein an image printed on paper is ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a process for creating a strong adhesive decorative laminate using a thermoplastic interlayer and a high-quality ink jet printing process. The process involves printing a digital image onto the interlayer using a low-viscosity pigmented ink, and then laminating it between two transparent sheets. The resulting laminate has a high adhesive strength, making it ideal for use in various applications such as in the production of signs and displays. The invention also includes a roughened interlayer surface that allows for the ink to be jetted through an ink jet printing head without heating the printing head. The resulting image-bearing interlayer sheet is a high-quality, durable material suitable for use in various applications such as in the production of signs and displays.

Problems solved by technology

Silk-screening an image onto an interlayer is a very time-consuming and expensive process for making decorative laminated safety glass.

However, a disadvantage of printing directly on PVB using an ink jet printing process is that PVB interlayers have a roughened surface pattern (Rz from 30-60 μm) that can cause poor image quality in a printed image.

Other problems with conventional processes for ink-jet printing are encountered due to the inks used in conventional ink-jet processes.

Low viscosity inks are required in a conventional ink jet printing process to alleviate high pressure build-up in the print head of the ink jet printer, and subsequent damage to the head and / or poor quality in the printed image.

However, use of conventional inks that are suitable for ink jet printing can result in poor image quality on a thermoplastic interlayer.

Poor image quality can be the result when a low viscosity ink is sprayed onto a roughened surface such as a PVB surface that has been prepared for lamination, due to ink running from high points to low spots on the interlayer surface.

Another potential problem with printing an image on an interlayer prior to lamination onto another substrate is that the adhesive bond between the interlayer and the substrate can be significantly weakened due to colorant on the surface of the interlayer that can reduce the “effective” bonding surface area between the substrate and the interlayer.

Reduction of the adhesive force of the laminate can result in the laminate having poor performance as a safety glass, or in the application for which it was intended.

Images