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EP0576261A2 - Impression avec une encre à changement de phase sur un substrat transparent à la lumière - Google Patents

Impression avec une encre à changement de phase sur un substrat transparent à la lumière Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0576261A2
EP0576261A2 EP93304878A EP93304878A EP0576261A2 EP 0576261 A2 EP0576261 A2 EP 0576261A2 EP 93304878 A EP93304878 A EP 93304878A EP 93304878 A EP93304878 A EP 93304878A EP 0576261 A2 EP0576261 A2 EP 0576261A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
printed
ink deposition
image
deposition configuration
pixels
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP93304878A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0576261A3 (en
Inventor
A.J. c/o Tekronix Inc. Rogers
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Tektronix Inc
Original Assignee
Tektronix Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Tektronix Inc filed Critical Tektronix Inc
Publication of EP0576261A2 publication Critical patent/EP0576261A2/fr
Publication of EP0576261A3 publication Critical patent/EP0576261A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M7/00—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to methods of printing phase change inks on light-transmissive substrates. More specifically, modified ink deposition methods are applied to light-transmissive substrates, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of subsequent substrate processing and improving the properties of images projected using the printed substrates.
  • phase change inks are solid at ambient temperatures and liquid at the elevated operating temperatures of ink jet printing devices.
  • Liquid phase ink droplets are ejected from the printing device at an elevated operating temperature and, when the ink droplets contact the surface of a substrate, they quickly solidify to form a predetermined pattern.
  • Phase change ink is advantageous for printing purposes since it remains in solid phase at room temperature during shipping and long-term storage. Also, problems associated with print head nozzle clogging due to ink evaporation are largely eliminated, thereby improving the reliability of ink jet printing. Furthermore, since the ink droplets solidify rapidly upon contact with the substrate, migration of ink along the printing medium is greatly reduced and image quality is improved. Rapid solidification allows high quality images to be printed on a wide variety of printing media.
  • Hot roll fusing has also been used in toner applications.
  • two rolls one heated are mechanically loaded together and rotated to provide transient application of heat and pressure to the substrate.
  • the toner is typically heated to above its glass transition temperature (T g ), which enables it to coalesce, flow, and penetrate the substrate. Rolling pressure and capillary action facilitate coverage.
  • T g glass transition temperature
  • Ink jet printing of colored inks onto light-transmissive media for displaying color images by overhead projection has historically been a problem.
  • special coatings must be provided on the light-transmissive medium to absorb the solvent so that images of high quality are formed.
  • special coatings are not required on receptor films used for phase change ink jet printing, images produced by prior art color phase change inks printed on light-transmissive substrate materials are not generally acceptable for use in an overhead projection system.
  • phase change inks that are substantially transparent, i.e., inks that transmit substantially all of the light that impinges on them, has improved the quality of images printed on light-transmissive substrates. Projection of images printed on light-transmissive substrates using substantially transparent inks is, however, generally unsatisfactory as a consequence of color ink jet printing techniques.
  • Fig. 1 schematically illustrates the transmission of light through an image printed on a light-transmissive substrate.
  • ink deposited on a light-transmissive substrate 14 solidifies as generally hemispherical ink droplets 12 that refract impinging light beams 10.
  • Refracted light beams 16 are generally directed away from a collection lens 18 of a projection system (not shown).
  • Substantially all light beams 10 impinging on substrate 14 are therefore transmitted through ink droplets 12 in non-rectilinear paths, even if ink droplets 12 are optically transparent. Consequently, the projected image is visible only in contrast, and the colors thereof have a dull grayish cast. This problem is exacerbated by subtractive color printing techniques wherein multiple layers of droplets 12 are required to produce secondary colors, while primary colors require a single ink droplet 12.
  • U.S. Patent No. 4,889,761 discloses substrates having a light-transmissive phase change ink printed thereon that are processed to improve the quality of images projected by overhead projection techniques.
  • Printed substrates are processed to reconfigure the surface configuration of solidified phase change ink droplets to provide a printed ink layer, having a generally uniform thickness and capable of transmitting light in a substantially rectilinear path.
  • Fig. 1B light beams 10 impinge on ink layer 20 in a generally rectilinear path, producing collimated, rectilinear transmitted light 22 that can be collected by collection lens 18 of a projection system (not shown).
  • Reconfiguration is achieved by the application of pressure or a combination of heat and pressure to the printed substrate by means of a dual roller assembly.
  • Rollers having various constructions are disclosed, including a TEFLON® coated heated roller and silicone rubber covered pressure roller.
  • Fig. 2 schematically shows an exemplary reconfiguration process in progress, wherein generally hemispherical ink droplets 12 have been deposited on light-transmissive substrate 14. Some droplets 12 have been reconfigured by a reconfiguration member 30 to form ink layer 20.
  • Fig. 3A schematically depicts the situation where every addressable pixel location of light-transmissive substrate 14 had ink droplets deposited thereon and reconfigured to form ink layer 20.
  • This ink layer 20 is characterized by a degree of residual curvature arising from incomplete reconfiguration of generally hemispherical ink droplets.
  • Fig. 3B schematically depicts rectilinear transmitted light 22 passing through the reconfigured, closely spaced ink droplets forming ink layer 20.
  • the limitation on the reconfiguration of the ink droplets, occasioned by the juxtaposition thereof, produces an ink layer 20 which projects colors of relatively low saturation, evidenced by a relatively small path width 40 of rectilinear transmitted light 22.
  • the present invention provides methods of producing improved printed light-transmissive substrates. Such printed substrates are capable of forming projected images of enhanced quality using overhead projection techniques. Improved ink deposition configurations are also contemplated by the present invention.
  • Enhanced projected images are produced in accordance with embodiments of the present invention by widening the path width of rectilinear light transmission through a reconfigured ink layer on a light-transmissive substrate.
  • Such path widening is achieved by an image thinning process. More specifically, "white” (i.e., non-printed) pixels are introduced into an image to be printed on a light-transmissive substrate.
  • the modified printed image is characterized by a less dense ink droplet configuration.
  • printed image reconfiguration is more successful, in that droplet-droplet contact is decreased to allow reconfiguration of each ink droplet into a thinner and flatter arrangement.
  • Image thinning embodiments of the present invention may be employed with respect to primary or composite colored images.
  • One embodiment of the image thinning technique of the present invention involves introducing a white pixel at every other printed pixel location of a densely packed image.
  • Another embodiment of the present invention features the use of a linear transformation to achieve image thinning.
  • Image thinning techniques employing, for example, gamma tables or alternative image lightening procedures are also useful in accordance with the present invention.
  • black pixels preferably to densely packed composite color or large volume primary color images.
  • One embodiment of the black pixel addition technique involves introducing a black pixel at every other printed pixel location of a densely packed image. Since composite color images are formed from multiple-layer ink droplet deposition, black pixel addition to such densely packed colored images reduces the volume of ink to be reconfigured, thereby facilitating improved reconfiguration. Improved reconfiguration results in a wider rectilinear light transmission path across each composite color ink droplet. In addition, black pixels do not pass white light, further enhancing the projected composite color image and improving contrast in projected images.
  • ink droplet configuration enhancing (printed image modifying) embodiments of the present invention are useable alone or in combination. That is, different printed images or portions of the same printed image may be modified using different embodiments of the present invention.
  • the precise implementation of the methods of the present invention depends upon the color and density of the image to be printed on the light-transmissive substrate.
  • Image modification in accordance with the present invention can be accomplished at a variety of levels within the printing process. For example, image modification can occur prior to communicating color information to the printer, in a printer application program, in the printer driver, in a printer-embedded high level controller (e.g., a PostScriptTM controller), in a printer-embedded low level controller or a combination thereof.
  • a printer-embedded high level controller e.g., a PostScriptTM controller
  • printer-embedded low level controller e.g., a printer-embedded low level controller
  • Fig. 1A is a schematic representation illustrating the substantially non-rectilinear transmission of light beams from a light projection source through a printed substrate having a printed ink layer.
  • Fig. 1B is a schematic representation illustrating the substantially rectilinear transmission of light beams from a light projection source through a printed substrate having a reconfigured printed ink layer.
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating a prior art reconfiguration process.
  • Fig. 3A is a schematic representation illustrating a prior art reconfigured printed ink layer.
  • Fig. 3B is a schematic representation illustrating rectilinear light transmission through the reconfigured printed ink layer shown in Fig. 3A.
  • Fig. 4A is a schematic representation illustrating a reconfigured printed ink layer of an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 4B is a schematic representation illustrating rectilinear light transmission through the reconfigured printed ink layer shown in Fig. 4A.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic representation illustrating an embodiment of a reconfiguration process of the present invention, producing a reconfigured printed ink layer embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a schematic representation illustrating rectilinear light transmission through the reconfigured printed ink layer shown in Fig. 5.
  • the present invention is directed to the production of printed substrates capable of generating high quality projected images using overhead projection techniques. Improved printed substrates can be produced by increasing the efficiency of reconfiguration processes which alter the shape of printed ink droplets to improve images projectable thereby. Another method to achieve projected image improvement is to enhance the apparent projected colors of a printed substrate generated by a printing or marking technology, wherein the shape of the deposited colors detracts from the apparent saturation of the projected colors.
  • the methods of the present invention involve the preparation of printed light-transmissive substrates capable of projecting saturated color images using overhead projection techniques. Projected images of higher saturation are achieved by widening the path width of substantially rectilinear light transmission though the printed substrate. Printed substrates characterized by such rectilinear light transmission path widths are also contemplated by the present invention.
  • a "densely packed” image or image portion is one in which from 100% to about 75% of available pixel locations are to be printed.
  • a “composite” color for the purposes of the present invention, is a mixture of primary colors.
  • One embodiment of the present invention involves the introduction of "white" or non-printed pixels into a densely packed image. Less densely packed or “thinned” printed images can be more effectively reconfigured, because droplet-droplet contact is decreased or avoided.
  • a pressure reconfiguration procedure for example, the pressure on each drop is increased because pressure is applied to fewer drops simultaneously, resulting in a reconfigured printed substrate 50 such as schematically shown in Fig. 4A.
  • a comparison of Figs. 3A and 4A reveals that the introduction of white pixels results in a flatter (i.e., more parallel to the surface of substrate 14 upon which deposition occurs) and thinner (i.e., the upper ink surface being disposed closer to the deposition surface of substrate 14) ink layer 20. That is, ink layer 20 of reconfigured printed substrate 50 exhibits little or no residual curvature from the non-reconfigured ink droplet printed substrate configuration.
  • Fig. 4B shows transmitted rectilinear light 22 passing through reconfigured printed substrate 50.
  • Path width 40 of transmitted rectilinear light 22 is wider for reconfigured printed substrate 50 of the present invention than for a reconfigured, densely packed primary color image. Compare Figs. 4B and 3B.
  • ink layer 20 of reconfigured printed substrate 50 does not completely cover the surface area of light-transmissive substrate 14, white light 52 passes therethrough when overhead projection techniques are applied to reconfigured printed substrate 50. Such white light 52 transmission does not appreciably adversely impact the saturation of the projected image as a result of the increased amount of transmitted rectilinear light 22 of the appropriate color or colors. Also, white pixel addition can be selected to minimize exposed light-transmissive substrate 14 surface area and, therefore, minimize white light 52 passed therethrough during projection.
  • Thinning may be accomplished in any convenient manner therefor.
  • a white pixel can be introduced at every other printed pixel location within a densely packed printed image.
  • a linear transformation may be employed in the white pixel introduction step.
  • the three colors are lightened by 35% and black remains constant. There is no need to thin the black pixels, because an ideal black ink field blocks all light passage through light-transmissive substrate 14.
  • Gamma tables or other thinning methodologies can also be employed in the practice of the present invention.
  • Figs. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of the present invention involving the addition of black printed pixels to a densely packed composite color image in replacement of a number of composite colored printed pixels.
  • Composite colors are those formed by combining two primary colors, which require deposition of a greater volume of ink at a given pixel location than is required to deposit a primary color at that location.
  • Fig. 5 shows light-transmissive substrate 14 printed with a plurality of composite ink droplets 15' and a plurality of "primary" black ink droplets 15. Black is a primary color in the sense that only a single ink deposition is required to print black by a printer operating, for example, in CMYK color space.
  • ink layer 20 is formed as shown on the right side of Fig. 5. Ink layer 20 is characterized by a plurality of substantially flat composite colored portions 17' and a plurality of substantially hemispherical (i.e., non-reconfigured) black portions 17.
  • Fig. 6 shows a reconfigured printed substrate 60 having transmitted rectilinear light 22 passing therethrough at path width 40.
  • reconfiguration member 30 acts on a lesser volume of ink than it would if all pixels were printed with composite color ink droplets 15'. Reconfiguring composite color ink droplets 15' encounter less resistance from next or closely adjacent black droplets 15 (in comparison to a next or closely adjacent composite color droplet 15'). As a result, ink layer portions 17' are formed, which exhibit reduced residual curvature when compared to ink layer portions produced when a dense field of composite color ink droplets 15' undergoes reconfiguration. Moreover, the reduced volume of ink to be reconfigured permits more efficient functioning of reorientation member 30.
  • Image modification embodiments of the present invention may be accomplished at a variety of levels within the printing process.
  • a "high level” approach involves implementation of the image modification process prior to communicating the color information to the printer.
  • Image modification may also occur at other levels, including in an application program such as ADOBE ILLUSTRATORTM by Adobe Systems, Inc. of Mountain View, California, in a printer device driver, in a printer-embedded, high level controller such as a PostScriptTM controller, in a print engine-embedded, low level controller or a combination thereof.
  • White pixel and black pixel addition embodiments of the present invention can be used alone or in combination. More specifically, white pixel addition may be employed for a first printed image, while black pixel addition may be employed for a second. Alternatively, white pixel addition may be used on one or more portions of a single printed image, while black pixel addition may be employed on one or more different portions of that printed image.
  • image modification technique depends upon the color (primary or composite), size of the ink droplets (large volume or standard volume), density of printed pixels and the like. Simple procedures can be implemented to permit a user to select an appropriate image modification, with a set of defaults to apply when no such user selection is made. Alternatively, image modification may be embedded within printer hardware or software.
  • Phase change inks useful in accordance with the present invention are solid at ambient temperatures and liquid at printing temperatures. Phase change inks preferably exhibit the following characteristics: low viscosity in the liquid phase; transparency and durability in the solid phase; and malleability at intermediate temperatures to facilitate manipulation. Light-transmissive phase change inks are preferred.
  • Suitable light-transmissive substrates 14 are substantially impermeable.
  • Light-transmissive substrates 14 useful in the practice of the present invention are known and commercially available, for example, transparency film for Phaser III PXiTM from Tektronix, Inc. of Beaverton, Oregon.
  • Ink droplets printed on substantially impermeable substrates are reconfigured in any convenient manner therefor, such that the processed ink layers have generally flat surface conformations.
  • Reconfiguration of a printed ink layer can be accomplished by application of pressure alone or during a temperature-controlled operation. Reconfiguration of the printed ink layer is particularly important for image projection by light-transmissive substrates.
  • Reconfiguration can be accomplished by elevating the temperature of the printed ink layer to a temperature at which the ink is malleable and simultaneously applying pressure to the printed substrate.
  • the printed substrate is preferably supported by a resilient support means during reconfiguration.
  • Resilient support means useful in the practice of the present invention are capable of withstanding the application of elevated temperatures and pressures required therefor. Silicone rubber pads having a Durometer of about 50 (Shore A) and a thickness of about 0.2 inches were purchased from McMaster-Carr Supply Company, Catalog No. 8632K15, and performed well in experimental tests.
  • Reconfiguration of the ink droplets is accomplished by application of pressure sufficient to reconfigure the malleable ink droplets having various surface conformations to provide an ink layer having one or more substantially flat surface conformations corresponding to areas having different volumes of ink.
  • Suitable contact pressures vary depending upon the configuration of the reconfiguration member, but contact pressures of from about 400 to about 4000 psi are generally suitable. Contact pressures of from about 500 to about 800 psi are generally preferred when large contact surfaces are employed. Contact pressures of from about 2500-4000 psi are generally preferred when reconfiguration members having smaller contact surface areas are employed.

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  • Ink Jet Recording Methods And Recording Media Thereof (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
EP19930304878 1992-06-23 1993-06-22 Improved phase change ink printing on light-transmissive substrates Withdrawn EP0576261A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US90325592A 1992-06-23 1992-06-23
US903255 1992-06-23

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0576261A2 true EP0576261A2 (fr) 1993-12-29
EP0576261A3 EP0576261A3 (en) 1994-06-01

Family

ID=25417191

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19930304878 Withdrawn EP0576261A3 (en) 1992-06-23 1993-06-22 Improved phase change ink printing on light-transmissive substrates

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EP (1) EP0576261A3 (fr)
JP (1) JPH08473B2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4216480A (en) * 1978-11-13 1980-08-05 International Business Machines Corporation Multiple speed ink jet printer
US4721968A (en) * 1983-09-22 1988-01-26 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet transparency-mode recorder
JPS60116464A (ja) * 1983-11-30 1985-06-22 Toshiba Corp プリンタ
US4889761A (en) * 1988-08-25 1989-12-26 Tektronix, Inc. Substrates having a light-transmissive phase change ink printed thereon and methods for producing same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH08473B2 (ja) 1996-01-10
EP0576261A3 (en) 1994-06-01
JPH06262843A (ja) 1994-09-20

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