Monolithic Lenticular Card Ink System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lenticular transaction card manufacturing techniques face challenges in achieving the required thickness, durability, and cost-effectiveness while meeting ISO standards, often resulting in complex laminations and delamination issues.
Innovation Solution
A process involving a transparent sheet with a lenticulated region and a printed image formed using a combination of UV-curable inks and solvent-based inks, including an opaque white outer layer, to achieve a monolithic card thickness of 27-30 mils without additional layers, enhancing adhesion and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex laminations with multiple film layers are used to protect the printed image, then durability and protection are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protective function and the printed image into a single monolithic lenticular card structure. The printed image is integrated directly into the lenticular lens sheet through UV curable ink formulation, eliminating the need for separate protective film layers and complex lamination processes. This merging of functions resolves the contradiction by maintaining durability while reducing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite ink formulations containing UV curable resins, pigments, and additives that provide both printing functionality and protective properties. The ink system includes photoinitiators and crosslinking agents that create a durable, scratch-resistant coating when cured, replacing multiple protective layers with a single composite material layer that integrates protection and imaging functions.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple film layers are laminated to achieve required thickness, then ISO standards are met, but manufacturing time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates the protective and thickness-providing functions into the ink formulation itself, which is applied and cured in advance as part of the printing process. The UV curable ink is formulated to provide the necessary thickness and protective properties, eliminating the need for subsequent lamination steps. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by meeting thickness specifications without adding manufacturing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the ink system by using UV curable formulations with specific viscosity, solids content, and cure characteristics. These parameter changes allow the ink to provide both the required thickness for ISO compliance and the protective durability in a single application, eliminating time-consuming lamination processes while meeting precision requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional inks are used for printing, then printing flexibility is maintained, but adhesion and scratch resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops composite UV curable ink formulations that combine multiple functional components: adhesion promoters for substrate bonding, crosslinking agents for network formation, pigments for color, and UV photoinitiators for curing. This composite material approach maintains printing flexibility while dramatically improving adhesion and scratch resistance through chemical crosslinking and strong substrate bonding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the ink system from conventional solvent-based or water-based inks to UV curable formulations, changing the curing mechanism from evaporation to photopolymerization. This parameter change enables the ink to achieve superior adhesion and scratch resistance through crosslinked network formation, while maintaining printing flexibility through adjustable formulation parameters such as viscosity, cure speed, and color properties.
4Reliability
If additional protective layers are added to the card, then durability is improved, but the card thickness exceeds ISO standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective coating function with the printed image layer itself, creating a single integrated structure. The UV curable ink formulation provides both the imaging function and the protective durability in one layer, eliminating the need for additional protective layers that would increase card thickness. This merging resolves the contradiction by achieving scratch resistance without exceeding ISO thickness standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a thin film of UV curable ink that, when cured, forms a durable protective coating. The ink formulation is designed to provide maximum protective properties in a minimal thickness, creating a flexible yet robust protective layer that meets ISO card thickness requirements while providing superior scratch and adhesion resistance compared to conventional thick protective laminations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in a simpler, cost-effective, and more durable lenticular card that meets ISO standards with improved scratch resistance, adhesion, and visual quality, eliminating the need for complex laminations and reducing manufacturing complexity.
Implementation Method 1
The first set of ink layers are formed from a first family of inks, while the outer ink layer is formed from a second family of inks that has a different cure process compared to the first family of inks. The outer ink layer can be a solvent-based continuous white topcoat, while the first set of ink layers that underlie the outer ink layer is defined by a plurality of UV curable inks.
Implementation Method 2
The outer ink layer can be a solvent-based continuous white topcoat
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment of the present invention, a process for making a lenticular card includes the steps of: (a) providing a transparent sheet having a first planar side and a second side having a lenticulated region; and (b) forming a printed image on the first planar side. The printed image is formed from a plurality of inks including a first set of ink layers and a second ink layer that is disposed on the first set of ink layers and is located a greater distance from the first planar side. The first set of ink layers are formed from a first family of inks, while the second ink layer is formed from a second family of inks that has a different cure process compared to the first family of inks. The outer ink layer is a solvent-based continuous white topcoat, while the first set of ink layers that underlie the second ink layer is defined by a plurality of UV curable inks.