UV Curable Inkjet Leather Decoration with Pigmented Base Coat
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for decorating natural leather, such as screen printing and digital printing on finished leather, face challenges in achieving high image quality, color consistency, and reliability while maintaining flexibility and masking surface defects, especially when using white inkjet inks or radiation curable inks with high organic solvents.
Innovation Solution
A manufacturing method involving an inkjet printed leather with a base coat containing a chromatic or achromatic pigment, combined with UV curable pigmented inks, where the base coat's color interacts with the printed image to enhance color consistency and flexibility, and optionally includes a protective top coat for improved scratch resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If screen printing is used to decorate natural leather, then decoration can be achieved, but the process becomes labour intensive and requires many individual screens for each colour and size, increasing cost and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen printing system with a digital printing system that uses digital files and喷头 (print heads) to deposit ink directly onto the leather surface. This substitution eliminates the need for physical screens and manual operations, enabling automated high-speed decoration while maintaining design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the printing parameters by using variable data printing capabilities where digital files can be easily modified for different colors, sizes, and designs without requiring physical screen changes. This allows rapid customization and personalization of leather products while maintaining high productivity.
2Manufacturing precision
If inkjet printing with high organic solvent content is used on finished leather, then color consistency can be improved, but the leather flexibility deteriorates due to solvent damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the ink composition parameters by using water-based inks instead of organic solvent-based inks. This parameter change eliminates the harmful effects of organic solvents on leather flexibility while maintaining color consistency through optimized water-based ink formulations and printing parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves color consistency through optimized water-based ink formulations that provide vibrant and consistent coloration on leather surfaces without requiring high organic solvent content. The ink formulation includes specific pigments and binders designed for water-based systems that maintain color fidelity.
3Manufacturing precision
If white inkjet inks are used to mask surface defects, then image quality can be improved, but the ink layer becomes thick and causes cracking, reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the ink formulation parameters by using water-based inks with optimized viscosity and drying characteristics. This allows for thinner ink layers that mask surface defects effectively without becoming too thick and causing cracking, thereby maintaining ink layer integrity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies ink in optimized quantities that are sufficient to mask surface defects and provide good image quality but not excessive enough to cause cracking. The printing parameters are tuned to achieve the minimum necessary ink coverage for defect masking while maintaining leather flexibility and ink layer integrity.
4Reliability
If UV curable pigmented inks are used for printing, then light fading resistance can be improved, but the ink formulation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses UV curable pigmented inks which change the chemical composition parameters of the ink to include photopolymerizable components. This provides excellent light fading resistance through UV curing that creates cross-linked polymer structures resistant to degradation, while the formulation complexity is managed through standardized ink recipes and manufacturing processes.
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
This method achieves excellent flexibility, color consistency, and image quality by reducing the amount of UV curable ink needed, minimizing cracking, and providing enhanced scratch resistance without compromising reliability or luxury appearance.
Implementation Method 1
inkjet printing a colour image (43) on the base coat (44) using one or more pigmented UV curable inkjet inks
Implementation Method 2
one or more pigmented UV curable inkjet inks
Data Source
AI summary
A manufacturing method for decorating natural leather with a decorative image includes applying on a crusted leather a base coat containing a pigment for providing a chromatic colour or an achromatic colour different from black, inkjet printing a colour image on the base coat using one or more pigmented UV curable inkjet inks, optionally applying a protective top coat on the image, and optionally applying a heat pressing or embossing step, wherein the chromatic colour or the achromatic colour different from black of the base coat and the inkjet printed colour image are used in combination to provide the decorative image.