Printable Film Layer with Carrier for Borderless Inkjet Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aqueous inkjet printers fail to achieve edge-to-edge printing on printable templates, resulting in unwanted margins and requiring additional plastic covering to seal inks, which is cumbersome and prone to bubbles.
Innovation Solution
A combination of a printable coating on a carrier layer that tricks the printer into printing beyond the edge of the printable layer by defining a smaller printable surface within the carrier layer, allowing for borderless printing without additional covering, using materials like PET or BOPP with a microporous inkjet-adhering layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If aqueous inkjet printers print on printable templates, then images can be transferred onto the template, but the printers leave unwanted margins around the edge instead of achieving edge-to-edge printing
Solution Approach 1:
A carrier layer is introduced as an intermediary between the printable template and the inkjet printer. The carrier layer extends beyond the printable template edges, allowing the printer to deposit ink beyond the template boundaries. The printable template is then removed, leaving only the desired image area with no margins, while the carrier layer retains the printed image for display.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into separate functional layers: a printable template layer containing the image and a carrier layer that extends beyond the template edges. This segmentation allows the printable template to be removed after printing, while the carrier layer remains to hold the printed image, enabling edge-to-edge printing without margins on the final product.
2Reliability
If plastic coating is added to seal in the ink, then ink retention is improved, but the process becomes cumbersome and requires bubble-free application
Solution Approach 1:
The printable template is extracted and removed from the system after the printing process is complete. The carrier layer, which remains attached to the substrate, inherently provides ink retention through its microporous coating structure, eliminating the need for additional plastic sealing layers and the associated application complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the printable layer is made smaller than the carrier layer, then edge-to-edge printing is enabled, but the printable surface area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier layer serves as an intermediary that extends beyond the printable template boundaries. This allows the printable template to be smaller than the carrier layer, enabling the inkjet printer to deposit ink edge-to-edge across the entire template area without margins, while the carrier layer provides the necessary support and ink retention properties.
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
Enables edge-to-edge printing without borders on printable surfaces, eliminating the need for plastic sealing and ensuring ink retention, thus producing high-quality, borderless prints.
Implementation Method 1
The printable layer also utilizes a printable coating so that the ink does not run. By way of example, this printable coating may be a film such as PET, BOPP, Polypropylene, or Polycarbonate that has been coated with a microporous aqueous inkjet-adhering layer.
Implementation Method 2
The carrier layer also has an adhesive coating that holds the printable layer on top of the carrier layer during transport and printing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a printing template for use during an aqueous inkjet printing process in which ink is transferred onto a printable layer. The printing template includes a printable layer having a first side, a second side opposite the first side, and a shaped perimeter, the first side defining a printable surface. The printing template further includes a carrier layer sized and configured to entirely encompass the shaped perimeter of the printable layer. The carrier layer includes a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The first side includes an adhesive coating causing the first side of the carrier layer securely associated with the second side of the printable layer during the printing process, and is thereafter allowing removal of the carrier layer from the printable layer after completion of the printing process. Further, a predefined number of parts in a desired shape are die cut through the printable layer up until the carrier layer.