High-durability thermosensitive composite material and preparation method thereof
By printing an ink layer and a thermal layer separately on the substrate and adding a protective layer, the problem of poor durability of thermal labels is solved, achieving a combination of high durability and instant printing, suitable for industrial signage and outdoor asset management.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-31
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing thermal labels have poor durability, and traditional ink-printed labels cannot print dynamic information. Current technologies have failed to effectively combine the advantages of both.
An ink layer and a high-performance thermosensitive layer are formed on the same substrate through a printing process. Combined with a protective layer, fixed information areas and variable information areas are formed. High-viscosity thermosensitive coatings and ultraviolet absorbers are used in the protective layer to enhance durability.
It achieves both highly durable fixed graphics and text as well as the ability to print variable information on the spot, adapting to industrial signage and outdoor asset management, and improving the durability and production efficiency of labels in harsh environments.
Smart Images
Figure CN121756766A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of label printing technology, specifically to a highly durable heat-sensitive composite material that combines high durability with instant printing capabilities, and its preparation method. Background Technology
[0002] Thermal labels are widely used in retail, logistics, and medical industries due to their advantages such as fast printing, no need for toner or ink, and simple equipment structure. Traditional thermal labels typically use a coating method to form a thermal coating on the substrate surface, which is then heated by a thermal printhead to cause a chemical reaction and development. However, these thermal coatings generally suffer from weak adhesion, poor abrasion resistance, and insufficient weather resistance. The printed text is easily blurred and faded due to friction, light exposure, or humid and hot environments, making it difficult to meet the high durability requirements of applications such as industrial signage and outdoor asset management.
[0003] Ink printing, as a mature printing process, produces prints with characteristics such as thick ink layers, strong adhesion, rich colors, excellent wear resistance, and weather resistance. It is often used to produce fixed graphic labels that need to be preserved for a long time. However, the content of traditional ink-printed labels cannot be changed, making them unsuitable for scenarios requiring dynamic information.
[0004] In the existing technology, although there are studies on improving the performance of thermal coatings or combining them with printing processes, the thermal functional layer is usually still treated as an independent and fragile coating. The problem of poor physical durability has not been fundamentally solved, nor has the high strength characteristics of printing and the variable information function of thermal printing been deeply integrated in terms of process and structure.
[0005] Therefore, developing a label product that integrates both printable, highly durable fixed graphics and a highly durable, on-demand printing area through a unified process has significant practical value. Summary of the Invention
[0006] This invention aims to provide a high-durability thermally sensitive composite material and its preparation method, to solve the technical problems of poor durability of existing thermally sensitive labels and the difficulty in organically combining them with traditional high-durability ink printing processes. This invention achieves excellent durability for both fixed graphic and variable information areas by separately fabricating an ink layer and a high-performance thermally sensitive layer on the same substrate using a printing process.
[0007] The technical solution of this invention is implemented as follows: A highly durable heat-sensitive composite material includes an adhesive layer, a substrate layer, and a protective layer. The adhesive layer is disposed on the bottom surface of the substrate layer; the top surface of the substrate layer has a fixed information area and a variable information area, wherein an ink layer is formed in the fixed information area by a first printing process, and a heat-sensitive layer is formed in the variable information area by a second printing process; the protective layer covers the top surface of the ink layer and the heat-sensitive layer.
[0008] Furthermore, the first printing process is digital printing, flexographic printing, or screen printing; the second printing process is flexographic printing or screen printing.
[0009] Furthermore, the ink layer and the thermal layer can be arranged adjacently or partially overlapping on the top surface of the substrate layer to adapt to different design requirements.
[0010] Furthermore, the thermosensitive layer is formed by curing a thermosensitive coating. By weight, the thermosensitive coating comprises the following components: 4-8 parts colorless dye, 18-22 parts color developer, 8-12 parts sensitizer, 10-30 parts filler, 25-35 parts adhesive, 5-8 parts stabilizer, 4-6 parts lubricant, and 3-5 parts thickener. The thickener is one or more combinations of cellulose-based thickeners and polyurethane-based thickeners, and its proportion is relatively high. Its addition significantly increases the viscosity of the thermosensitive coating, making it more suitable for flexographic and screen printing processes, overcoming the limitation of traditional low-viscosity thermosensitive coatings being only suitable for coating processes.
[0011] Furthermore, the color developer is at least one of bisphenol S, bisphenol A, or benzyl p-hydroxybenzoate; the colorless dye is a fluorane compound.
[0012] Furthermore, the protective layer is a varnish layer, and it contains a UV absorber. This protective layer not only enhances the wear resistance, scratch resistance, and solvent resistance of the composite material surface, but its UV absorber also effectively blocks ultraviolet rays from sunlight, preventing UV rays from breaking the chemical bonds of chromophore molecules in the heat-sensitive layer and significantly delaying fading caused by light exposure. Simultaneously, the protective layer also isolates the composite material from environmental factors such as oxygen and moisture, further extending its shelf life.
[0013] Furthermore, the substrate layer can be made of commonly used film materials such as synthetic paper, PET film, or PVC film.
[0014] A method for preparing the high-durability thermosensitive composite material as described above includes the following steps: S1. A substrate layer is provided, the bottom surface of which is laminated with an adhesive layer and a release paper, and the top surface of which defines a fixed information area and a variable information area; S2. An ink layer is formed within the fixed information area using a first printing process; S3. A thermal layer is formed in the variable information area using a second printing process; S4. A protective layer is formed on the surface of the ink layer and the heat-sensitive layer by a coating process.
[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. The labels made of this composite material can print fixed information in advance in the fixed information area and print variable information on the spot in the variable information area. This allows them to meet both the high static standards required for brand display and anti-counterfeiting, as well as the dynamic data that needs to be stored for a long time, and has successfully expanded into high-end fields such as industrial signage and outdoor asset management.
[0016] 2. The fixed information area and the variable information area can be flexibly selected to choose the most suitable combination of printing processes for production, which takes into account the needs of small-batch customization and large-batch production, simplifies the process and improves production efficiency.
[0017] 3. By optimizing the formulation of the thermal coating, especially by increasing the proportion of thickener, the thermal coating is made suitable for high-viscosity printing processes, thus solving the problem of printing adaptability.
[0018] 4. The addition of UV absorbers to the protective layer fundamentally enhances the label's resistance to light aging. Combined with its physical barrier effect, it comprehensively improves the label's durability in harsh environments such as outdoor and industrial settings.
[0019] 6. The preparation process is based on mature printing and coating technology, which makes it easy to achieve large-scale and continuous production and ensures stable product quality.
[0020] 7. Labels made from this composite material are compatible with existing ribbon printing equipment and do not require the use of ribbons. During printing, the ribbon printing equipment heats the print head, and the heated print head contacts the variable information area of the label to print the pattern. Attached Figure Description
[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of the fixed information area and the variable information area in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] In the figure, 10 is the adhesive layer, 20 is the substrate layer, 21 is the fixed information area, 22 is the variable information area, 30 is the protective layer, 41 is the ink layer, and 42 is the thermal layer. Detailed Implementation
[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0026] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the first embodiment of the present invention provides a high-durability thermosensitive composite material, comprising an adhesive layer 10, a substrate layer 20, and a protective layer 30. The adhesive layer 10 is disposed on the bottom surface of the substrate layer 20; the top surface of the substrate layer 20 is provided with a fixed graphic area 21 and a variable information area 22, wherein an ink layer 41 is formed in the fixed graphic area 21 by flexographic printing, and a thermosensitive layer 42 is formed in the variable information area 22 by flexographic printing; the protective layer 30 covers the top surface of the ink layer 41 and the thermosensitive layer 42.
[0027] The heat-sensitive layer 42 is formed by curing a heat-sensitive coating. The heat-sensitive coating is composed of the following components by weight: 6 parts of fluorane colorless dye, 20 parts of bisphenol S color developer, 10 parts of sensitizer (benzenesulfonamide compound), 20 parts of filler (calcium carbonate), 30 parts of adhesive (acrylic resin), 6 parts of stabilizer (p-diphenyl phthalate sulfate), 5 parts of lubricant (paraffin wax), and 4 parts of thickener (hydroxyethyl cellulose).
[0028] The protective layer 30 is a water-based varnish layer containing ultraviolet absorbers.
[0029] The second embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a high-durability heat-sensitive composite material, comprising the following steps: S1. Material preparation: A 150μm thick PET film is selected as the substrate layer 20. The back of the PET film has been pre-coated with an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 10 and laminated with release paper.
[0030] S2. Area Delineation: The top surface of the PET film is designed and divided into a fixed graphic area 21 for printing fixed graphics and a variable information area 22 for printing variable information.
[0031] S3. Printed ink layer 41: Using flexographic printing technology, ink is printed onto the fixed graphic area 21 and cured to form ink layer 41.
[0032] S4. Printing the thermal layer 42: The thermal coating of the formulation described in the first embodiment is precisely printed onto the defined variable information area 22 using a flexographic printing process and cured to form the thermal layer 42.
[0033] S5. Forming the protective layer 30: Using a precision coating machine, a layer of water-based varnish containing an ultraviolet absorber is uniformly coated on the entire surface of the composite material (covering the ink layer 41 and the heat-sensitive layer 42) as a protective layer 30. Subsequently, the composite material is cured by a curing device.
[0034] S6. Post-processing: Die-cut and remove waste according to the required label shape to finally obtain the finished label made of the composite material.
[0035] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A high durability heat sensitive composite material comprising a glue layer, a substrate layer and a protective layer, the glue layer is disposed on the bottom surface of the substrate layer; characterized in that, The top surface of the substrate layer is provided with a fixed information area and a variable information area, an ink layer is formed in the fixed information area by a first printing process, and a heat-sensitive layer is formed in the variable information area by a second printing process; the protective layer covers the top surfaces of the ink layer and the heat-sensitive layer.
2. The high-durability heat-sensitive composite material of claim 1, wherein, The first printing process is digital printing, flexographic printing or screen printing; the second printing process is flexographic printing or screen printing.
3. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 1, wherein, The ink layer and the heat-sensitive layer are arranged adjacent to each other or partially overlap on the top surface of the substrate layer.
4. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 1, wherein, The heat-sensitive layer is formed by curing a heat-sensitive paint; the heat-sensitive paint contains the following components by weight: 4-8 parts of leuco dye, 18-22 parts of color developer, 8-12 parts of sensitizing agent, 10-30 parts of filler, 25-35 parts of adhesive, 5-8 parts of stabilizer, 4-6 parts of lubricant, and 3-5 parts of thickening agent.
5. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 4, wherein, The color developer is at least one of bisphenol S, bisphenol A or benzyl p-hydroxybenzoate; the leuco dye is a fluoran compound.
6. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 4, wherein, The thickening agent is one or a combination of cellulose-based thickening agent and polyurethane-based thickening agent.
7. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 1, wherein, The protective layer is a varnish layer, and the protective layer contains an ultraviolet absorber.
8. The high-durability heat sensitive composite of claim 1, wherein, The substrate layer is synthetic paper, PET film or PVC film.
9. A method of preparing a high-durability heat-sensitive composite material as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: S1. providing a substrate layer, the bottom surface of which is provided with a glue layer and release paper, and the top surface of which is provided with a fixed information area and a variable information area; S2. forming an ink layer in the fixed information area by a first printing process; S3. forming a heat-sensitive layer in the variable information area by a second printing process; S4. forming a protective layer on the surfaces of the ink layer and the heat-sensitive layer by a coating process.