Method for producing a physical representation of a painting

Abstract

A method for producing a physical representation (1) of a painting which painting has a coloured relief contour, using at least one digital printing machine.

Description

Description:

[0001] The disclosure is in the field of producing a physical representation of a painting which painting has a coloured relief contour, using at least one digital printing machine.

[0002] PCT / EP2023 / 067954 in the name of the applicant teaches a method using at least one physical mould for producing a physical representation of a painting which painting has a coloured relief contour. This method is not usable for carrier layers other than a traditional canvas which is used by artists to create their art.

[0003] It is an object to provide a method which allows the use of carrier plates which are made of a material different from canvas, in particular onto a carrier plate which is a paper product.

[0004] This object is achieved by a method with the features of claim 1 .

[0005] The method for producing a physical representation of a painting which painting has a coloured relief contour, using at least one digital printing machine, comprises at least the steps from step a to step e.

[0006] Step a:

[0007] In this step at least one carrier plate is provided which has at least one surface at least 90 % of the area of which is covered by a continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material.

[0008] The barrier layer is deemed to be “continuous” if it does not comprise cracks, holes or pores which reach from a surface of the barrier layer all the way through the barrier layer.

[0009] It is preferred that 100 % of the area of the at least one carrier plate or as much of 100 % as can be reached is covered by the continuous barrier layer but the use of at least one carrier plate is possible which, e. g., has an edge region which is not covered by the barrier layer such that the barrier layer is arranged only in a region which is at least partially, preferably completely, confined by the edge region.

[0010] Step b:

[0011] In this step 3D information and colour information of the coloured relief contour of the painting is provided. This 3D information can be obtained by contactless scanning of the painting in any of the ways known in the art.

[0012] Step c:

[0013] In this step, by using at least one digital printing machine, at least one first UV-curable layer of ink is printed directly onto the at least one surface of the at least one carrier plate which is covered by the continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material.

[0014] Step d:

[0015] In this step, afterthe at least one first UV-curable layer of ink has been cured and by using at least one digital printing machine and according to the provided 3D information of the coloured relief contour of the painting, a plurality of UV-curable layers of ink is iteratively printed and cured onto the at least one barrier layer having the at least one first UV curable layer of ink as at least one intermediate layer.

[0016] Step e:

[0017] In this step, by using at least one digital printing machine and according to the provided colour information of the coloured relief contourof the painting, colour is printed onto the surface of the last layer of the plurality of layers of cured ink.

[0018] Step f:

[0019] In this step a layer of diffusely reflecting varnish is applied to the coloured relief contour.

[0020] It should be noted that while step a has to be completed before step c and step b and step c has to be completed before step d and step d has to be completed before step e, otherwise the steps can be completed in any order that makes sense or can be executed in parallel.

[0021] The method according to the disclosure allows the use of a carrier plate made of a material which is not a canvas. Of course, canvas could be used as the material of the at least one carrier plate.

[0022] It has been found that only the use of a carrier plate having a continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material on at least one surface together with the step of printing at least one first UV-curable layer of ink directly onto the at least one continuous barrier layer of the carrier plate allows for printing with a quality such that all microscopic details of the painting are truthfully reproduced. Experiments by the applicant have shown that otherwise defects in the surface of the printed layers, e. g. in the form of bubbles, can develop within a short time after the physical representation has been produced.

[0023] Embodiments are defined in dependent claims.

[0024] In some embodiments, the physical representation is an exact replica of the painting, possibly with the exception of the effects of ageing or other damage of the painting which have been removed in the 3D digital model and are therefore missing in the physical representation.

[0025] In these embodiments, an exact replica is a physical representation of a painting which is an exact copy with respect to texture (i. e. elevational information), colour, and degree of gloss.

[0026] Texture of a physical representation of a painting can be checked using photometric stereo technology where a surface normal is estimated by observing the surface in different lighting conditions. This technology is based on the fact that an amount of light reflected from a surface depends on an orientation of the surface relative to a source of light and relative to an observer. By measuring the amount of light reflected into a camera it is possible to limitthe space of possible surface orientations. Provided there are enough light sources illuminating with different angles, the possible surface orientations can be restricted to one single possible orientation. Using this technology, it is possible to scan a surface with a resolution in a range of about 0,001 mm.

[0027] With respect to texture, a copy is understood to be exact if differences are in a range about or below about 0,05 mm, preferably below about 0,01 mm.

[0028] Colour of a physical representation can be checked using a spectrophotometer which measures radiant energy transmitted or reflected by a surface as a function of wavelength using a standardised illumination which allows to determine a colour position of a probe. A CRI / RA- value which lies between 0 and 100 is a quantity for quality of colour reproduction of light sources. The standardised illumination has a CRI / RA-value of 100.

[0029] With respect to colour, a copy is understood to be exact if CRI / Ra > 90, preferably if CRI / Ra > 95.

[0030] Gloss of a physical representation can be checked using a reflectometer. Gloss of a surface is understood to be a proportion between incident radiation and radiation reflected by the surface in an angle of specular reflection.

[0031] With respect to degree of gloss, a copy is understood to be exact if gloss of the original painting and the copy match to a degree better than at least 90 %, preferably better than at least 95 %.

[0032] In some embodiments, the physical representation is coded to mark it as a replica of the painting. This code can be printed onto the physical representation.

[0033] In some embodiments, a single carrier plate is used to produce the physical representation of a painting. More than one carrier plate can be used if the painting is too large to be represented using a single carrier plate.

[0034] In some embodiments, as a step g, a further layer of varnish is applied to the coloured relief contour onto the layer of diffusely reflecting varnish, preferably mimicking an appearance of a varnish which is present in the original painting.

[0035] In some embodiments, in step a, at least one carrier plate is used which is a paper product, preferably cardboard or thick paper. Preferably, the thickness of the at least one carrier plate is between about 1 mm and about 3 mm, preferably about 2 mm.

[0036] In some embodiments, in step a, at least one carrier plate is used onto which the at least one barrier layer has been laminated, preferably a carrier plate in the form of a paper product onto which the at least one barrier layer has been laminated.

[0037] In some embodiments, in step a, at least one carrier plate is used which has at least one surface which is completely covered by the continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material.

[0038] In some embodiments, at least one carrier plate is used the surface of which has the property that the non-flatness or unevenness lies in a range from zero to about 3 mm.

[0039] In some embodiments, the non-absorbent material of the at least one barrier layer is chosen from the group consisting of plastics, preferably polyethylene.

[0040] In some embodiments, in step c, the at least one first UV-curable layer of ink is printed directly onto the at least one surface of the at least one carrier plate which is covered by the continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material such that the at least one first UV-curable layer of ink completely covers the continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material.

[0041] In some embodiments, in step c, the at least one first UV-curable layer of ink is printed with a thickness of about 0,05 mm and about 0,1 mm, preferably about 0,08 mm.

[0042] In some embodiments, in step f, a diffusely reflecting varnish is used which has the following properties:- when being applied the varnish is liquid- glossiness reflection of smaller than 1 %, preferably 0 %

[0043] In some embodiments, in step f, the layer of diffusely reflecting varnish is applied onto the complete surface of the coloured relief contour.

[0044] In some embodiments, if, according to the 3D information provided in step b, the thickness of the coloured relief contour will be more than 0,5 mm, an edge region of the coloured relief contour is printed such that there is a smooth transition to the level of the at least one surface of the carrier plate thereby avoiding a hard edge.

[0045] In some embodiments, at least between step d and step e, the at least one carrier plate is mechanically secured against inadvertent movement.

[0046] In some embodiments, the 3D information of the coloured relief contour of the painting is digitally sliced, using a computer, into a plurality of digital layers wherein a thickness of each of the digital layers is between about 0,05 mm and about 0,3 mm, preferably about 0,08 mm, and each of the layers of the plurality of layers of ink corresponds to one of the digital layers.

[0047] In some embodiments, the at least one continuous barrier layer of non-absorbent material has a thickness of about 0,05 mm to about 0,2 mm.

[0048] In some embodiments, it is possible to use at least one carrier layer which has mechanical stability, i. e. which does not have to be stretched mechanically in orderto be printed upon.

[0049] Preferably, in at least some of the embodiments, the at least one first UV-curable layer of ink of step c and / or the plurality of UV-curable layers of ink of step d is or are continuous, i. e. they do not comprise cracks, holes or pores which reach from a surface of the ink layer all the way through the ink layer.

[0050] An example is discussed making use of the enclosed figures. It is to be noted that in all figures the 3D elevational structure of a painting and the corresponding 3D relief contour information is massively exaggerated. All other dimensions are to scale.

[0051] Figure 1 shows a cut through a physical representation of a painting produced by the method of the disclosure.

[0052] Figure 2 shows a detail from Figure 1 in which the layer structure of the printed layers can be seen.

[0053] In Figure 1 a physical representation 1 of a painting is shown, having:- a carrier plate 2 which has two surfaces one of which is provided with a continuous barrier layer 3 of non-absorbent material- one first UV-curable layer 7 of ink printed directly onto the at least one surface of the carrier plate 2 which is covered by the continuous barrier layer 3- a plurality of UV-curable layers of ink printed onto the barrier layer having the first UV curable layer 7 of ink as an intermediate layer; this plurality of layers represents the 3D information of the coloured relief contour of the painting- a colour layer printed to the surface of the plurality of layers 4 of cured ink; this colour layer represents the colour information of the coloured relief contour of the painting- a layer 5 of diffusely reflecting varnish applied to the coloured relief contour- optionally, a further layer of varnish 6

[0054] In Figure 2 the structure of the plurality of UV-curable layers 4 of ink printed onto the barrier layer having the first UV curable layer 7 of ink as an intermediate layer can be seen. Not all of the layers are provided with a reference sign.List of reference signs: physical representation of a painting carrier plate barrier layer layer of ink layer of diffusely reflecting varnish further layer of varnish first UV-curable layer of ink

Claims

Claims:1 . A method for producing a physical representation (1) of a painting which painting has a coloured relief contour, using at least one digital printing machine and comprising at least the steps of: a. providing at least one carrier plate (2) which has at least one surface, at least 90 % of the area of which is covered by a continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material b. providing 3D information and colour information of the coloured relief contour of the painting c. by using at least one digital printing machine, printing at least one first UV-curable layer (7) of ink directly onto the at least one surface of the at least one carrier plate (2) which is covered by the continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material d. after the at least one first UV-curable layer (7) of ink has been cured and by using at least one digital printing machine and according to the provided 3D information of the coloured relief contour of the painting, iteratively printing and curing a plurality of UV-curable layers (4) of ink onto the at least one barrier layer (3) having the at least one first UV curable layer (7) of ink as at least one intermediate layer e. by using at least one digital printing machine and according to the provided colour information of the coloured relief contour of the painting, printing colour onto the surface of last layer (4) of the plurality of layers (4) of cured ink f. applying a layer (5) of diffusely reflecting varnish onto the coloured relief contour.

2. The method of the preceding claim wherein, as a step g, a further layer of varnish (6) is applied to the coloured relief contour onto the layer (5) of diffusely reflecting varnish.

3. The method of one of the two preceding claims wherein the at least one first UV-curable layer (7) of ink is printed with a thickness of about 0,05 mm and about 0,1 mm, preferably about 0,08 mm.

4. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step a, at least one carrier plate (2) is used as the at least one carrier plate (2), which is a paper product, preferably cardboard or thick paper, and which preferably has a thickness between about 1 mm and about 3 mm, preferably about 2 mm.

5. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step a, at least one carrier plate (2) is used as the at least one carrier plate (2), onto which the at least one barrier layer (3) has been laminated, preferably a carrier plate (2) in the form of a paper product onto which the at least one barrier layer (3) has been laminated.

6. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein at least one carrier plate (2) is used as the at least one carrier plate (2) which has mechanical stability.

7. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step a, at least one carrier plate (2) is used as the at least one carrier plate (2) which has at least one surface which is completely covered by the continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material.

8. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein the non-absorbent material of the at least one barrier layer (3) is chosen from the group consisting of plastics, preferably polyethylene.

9. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step f, a diffusely reflecting varnish is used which has the following properties: when being applied the varnish is liquid glossiness reflection of smaller than 1 %, preferably 0 %10. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step c, the at least one first UV-curable layer (7) of ink is printed directly onto the at least one surface of the at least one carrier plate (2) which is covered by the continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material such that the at least one first UV-curable layer (7) of ink completely covers the continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material.11 . The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, in step f, the layer of diffusely reflecting varnish is applied onto the complete surface of the coloured relief contour.

12. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein if, according to the 3D information provided in step b, the thickness of the coloured relief contour will be more than about 0,5 mm, an edge region of the coloured relief contour is printed such that thereis a smooth transition to the level of the at least one surface of the at least one carrier plate (2) thereby avoiding a hard edge.

13. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein, at least between step d and step e, the at least one carrier plate (2) is mechanically secured against inadvertent movement.

14. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein the 3D information of the coloured relief contour of the painting is, using a computer, digitally sliced into a plurality of digital layers wherein a thickness of each of the digital layers is between about 0,05 mm and about 0,1 mm, preferably about 0,08 mm, and each of the layers (4) of the plurality of layers (4) of ink corresponds to one of the digital layers.

15. The method of at least one of the preceding claims wherein the at least one continuous barrier layer (3) of non-absorbent material has a thickness of about 0,05 mm to about 0,2 mm.

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