JP3215977B2 - Electronic Copying Method on Aluminum Using Anodized Film - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an alumite plate dyeing apparatus and method, and an electrocopying alumite plate, and particularly to plate making and printing of multicolored characters and graphic patterns on the surface of an anodized film. The present invention relates to an alumite plate dyeing apparatus and method capable of directly and instantaneously dyeing and drawing by an electronic copying machine without requiring complicated steps such as, and an electronic copying alumite plate.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, materials to be copied by color electronic copiers are
Most were limited to paper and specially treated transparent plastic sheets, and other than that, cloth was rarely used.
This is because the surface of a material such as metal or plastic cannot absorb and fix ink, and the strength of the ink film printed by a copier is not sufficient even if a subbing coating is applied to the surface in advance to compensate for this. Except for printing on a specially processed film for OHP, which is sufficient and does not require much durability, it cannot withstand practical use as a color print product.

On the other hand, even with a metal, an aluminum foil, an aluminum plate, or an aluminum alloy plate (hereinafter, simply referred to as an aluminum plate in the present specification) has an anodized film (hereinafter, simply referred to as an aluminum plate) formed on its surface. It is known that an aluminum plate on which an alumite film is formed can be subjected to multicolor dyeing on an alumite plate as needed to realize a durable color print product. Such multi-color dyed alumite plates are used at home for decoration, and many are used for industrial purposes such as name plates. For dyeing on alumite plates, roughly two methods have been used.

One is a dyeing method using a coating represented by a photographic printing method, and the other is a direct printing method.

In the photo printing method, a photosensitive film is applied to the entire surface on an unsealed alumite film, a film of the color-separated image is overlaid thereon, exposed, developed, and then the unexposed portion is washed away.
The step of dyeing the exposed part of the alumite film in a predetermined color is repeated by the number of colors.

Direct printing is a method in which images are color-coded, screen-plated for each color, and ink containing a dye of the required color is directly screen-printed on the alumite film, and only the dye is adsorbed on the alumite film and dyed. Yes, this process is repeated for the number of colors.

The direct printing method has a somewhat lower resolution than the photographic printing method, but the process is relatively simple, suitable for mass production, and is applied to the production of nameplates and the like.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the multicolor dyeing method for anodized alumite films and the products thereof which have been conventionally industrially used as described above have some disadvantages as described below.

1) In the photographic printing method, a film is required for masking the alumite film in the non-colored portion of the screen, and in the direct printing method, a plate is required for direct printing by a screen printing machine. Films and plates are required for each color separation. In addition, even if the plate making operation itself can be automated, most of the steps before and after that involve manual work that is difficult to automate,
A considerable amount of time and cost is required for the production, and when the number of productions of the same screen is small, the ratio of the plate making cost to the cost of the product is greatly increased. Therefore, in the case of small-scale production, the cost is extremely high.

2) The number of times that the multicolor dyeing can be repeatedly performed on the alumite film by the photographic printing method is about three times, and beyond that, the natural sealing of the film proceeds, and the dye becomes difficult to be adsorbed. There is a limit to the reproduction of.

Therefore, reproduction of a colorful original image has difficulty in reproducibility and tends to be a flat expression, and in particular, it is difficult to stably express various intermediate colors by mixing colors.

3) In the photographic printing method, in the process of dyeing a certain color,
The alumite plate is immersed in an aqueous dye, or an oil dye is applied with a roller, spray, or the like. In the direct printing method, an oil-based dye is printed. Therefore, each color can usually be expressed with the same color tone and the same density for each designated color. It is not impossible to give gradations to these color tones by the dot method or change the density for each part of the image, but this requires considerable time and effort in plate making and dyeing, and It is necessary to prepare many elements for setting the conditions, and the reproducibility is naturally limited, and it is difficult to obtain uniformity of a product or a dyed product when manufacturing in large quantities.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-115074 discloses a method of forming an image on aluminum by an ink jet method. However, although it is certainly possible to form an image by attaching a dye to the surface of an aluminum plate by the method described in the publication, the film formed by this method has only a barrier layer, and is not yet formed. , The pore is not growing. Therefore, the dye is not adsorbed in the film, and the image formed there is extremely poor in durability, and is easily discolored or easily peeled off. It seems that it is almost impossible to provide it as a commodity.

Further, the publication merely discloses the principle, and does not disclose a specific configuration and method for copying, for example, a multicolored painting on an aluminum plate.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is intended to realize a relatively small amount of color print products faithfully reproducing various original images including intermediate colors at low cost. .

[Means for solving the problem]

The alumite plate dyeing apparatus of the present invention is a storage means for storing data of an image to be dyed on a pure aluminum-based alumite plate having an alumite film having a number of fine pores and having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm formed on a surface thereof, Scanning means for scanning the plate in the sub-scanning direction, and black corresponding to the image data stored in the storage means by the inkjet head;
The ink containing the dyes of four colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan, is sequentially scanned in the main scanning direction, and is adsorbed inside the fine pores of the alumite film of the alumite plate scanned in the sub-scanning direction. Processing means for sealing the fine pores of the remaining alumite film.

The method of dyeing an alumite plate of the present invention stores data of an image to be dyed on a pure aluminum alumite plate having a surface of an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm having a number of fine pores in a memory, and performing main scanning. An ink ribbon is arranged under a plurality of thermal heads linearly arranged in the direction, and the alumite plate is scanned in the sub-scanning direction under the ink ribbon, and the plurality of thermal heads are scanned with the image stored in the memory. By controlling the energization individually according to the data and locally sublimating the dye of the ink ribbon, the dye is adsorbed inside the fine pores of the alumite film on the alumite plate,
It is characterized in that the fine pores of the alumite film in which the dye remains are sealed.

The pure aluminum-based electronic copying alumite plate of the present invention has an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm having a large number of fine pores formed on its surface, and the fine pores contain therein a dye of an electronically copied color ink. Are sealed in a state in which is left.

[Action]

In the alumite plate dyeing apparatus of the present invention, data of an image to be dyed on a pure aluminum-based alumite plate having an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm having a large number of fine pores formed on the surface is stored in a storage means, The alumite plate is scanned in the sub-scanning direction, and the ink jet head sequentially scans the ink containing four color dyes of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan in the main scanning direction corresponding to the image data stored in the storage unit. Then, the fine pores of the alumite film of the alumite plate scanned in the sub-scanning direction are adsorbed inside the fine pores of the alumite film, and the fine pores of the alumite film in which the dye of the ink remains are sealed.

In the method of dyeing an alumite plate of the present invention, data of an image to be dyed on a pure aluminum alumite plate having a surface of an alumite film having a number of fine pores and having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm is stored in a memory. An ink ribbon is arranged under a plurality of thermal heads linearly arranged in the scanning direction, and an alumite plate is scanned under the ink ribbon in a sub-scanning direction. Energization control individually according to the data of
By locally sublimating the dye of the ink ribbon, the dye is adsorbed inside the fine pores of the alumite coating on the alumite plate, and the fine pores of the alumite coating on which the dye remains remain sealed.

In the pure aluminum-based electronic copying alumite plate of the present invention, an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm having a large number of fine pores is formed on the surface, and the fine pores are provided therein for the electronically copied color ink. It is sealed with the dye remaining.

〔Example〕

First, an electronic copying method to an alumite film according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S1, an aluminum material is prepared. As the aluminum material, use a plate or foil of a pure aluminum material such as JIS-1050, 1070, or 1080, which has a low content of silicon and the like, and thus has good alumite properties, and the alumite film is colorless and transparent. .

Next, after cutting the material to a predetermined size in step S2, depending on the surface condition in step S3, it becomes a gloss, matte, matte finish, etc., the surface roughness according to the application, depending on the surface state, etc. Pre-treatment for scratch removal and smoothing as described above. Next, in step S4, an alumite film is formed to a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm by a known method such as a sulfuric acid method. In step S5, the alumite plate is washed with water without being sealed and dried.

FIG. 2 shows the state of the alumite plate 7 at this time. That is, the alumite plate 7 is made of aluminum base material 7A.
An alumite film 7B is formed on the substrate. In the alumite film 7B, a large number of fine pores 7C having the size of an electron microscope are formed. Fine pore 7C
Is in a state where the surface is open. That is, a large number of fine holes are formed in the alumite film 7B.

As a separate process, in step S11, prepare an original image such as an illustration or a color photograph in which figures and patterns are represented on paper with primary colors or a primary color original duplicated from the original, and in step S12, mount this on the attached color scanner machine. Into data to control the dyeing mechanism while performing color separation, step S1
In step 3, the information is temporarily stored in an IC memory or a memory device such as a magnetic disk or a tape.

When an external signal is input so that the copier can be used as a printer, an electric signal such as a TV image or a computer graphics image may be input thereto. Many. Therefore, in such a case, it is possible to take in the electric signal in step S21, convert the electric signal into predetermined data in the conversion device in step S22, and store it as input data in the memory in step S13.

Next, the alumite plate 7 previously prepared in steps S4 and S5
In step S6, the printer is mounted on an electronic copying machine and the electronic copying process is started. As a multicolor electronic copying machine (color electronic copying machine), the main functional parts such as an ink jet printer or a sublimation type thermal transfer printer are diverted as they are. Then, this is equipped with a mechanism part modified so that the alumite plate 7 can be mounted.

For coloring, the same black, yellow, magenta,
A color system of a subtractive color method using four colors of cyan is adopted. The color dots using these four inks are 6dot / mm
Scanning is performed in order while spraying or sublimation baking on the surface of the alumite film 7B at a resolution of about or more. As a result, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
Ink adheres to the surface of 7B, and an image of various colors, for example, 7 to 2,000 colors, which is colored at a gradation level that can be expressed by the copying machine, can be expressed.

In the anodized alumite film, as shown in FIG. 3, the dye contained in the ink is adsorbed into the micropores 7C like an electron microscope constituting the alumite film 7B by capillary action. Then, in step S7, the alumite plate is removed from the copying machine, and fine pores 7C in the alumite film 7B (the dye in the ink remains inside) as shown in FIG.
To fix the dye in the ink into the film.
In step S8, surface finishing is further performed as necessary, and the printing process is completed.

The thickness of the anodized film 7B depends on color stability (durability)
It has a tremendous effect on sharpness. That is, the dye in the ink is adsorbed inside the numerous fine pores 7C of the alumite film 7B, and the fine pores 7C are sealed, so that the dye of the ink remains in the fine pores and is fixed. When the thickness of the film is thin, the amount of dye remaining in the alumite film is small, so even after sealing, the dye changes under the influence of ultraviolet rays from the outside and loses its durability, and for several months, Or the colors fade in a few weeks. Conversely, when the thickness of the alumite film 7B is large, the durability is improved, but the transparency of the film is impaired, the color tone becomes cloudy, and it becomes difficult to reproduce a multicolored clear image.
The optimum film thickness that mimics these defects and has practically sufficient durability is about 10 μm to 30 μm.

Next, an example of a combination of color copying mechanisms and specifications of a dedicated ink to be used will be described.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the structural operation of a color copying machine having an ink jet mechanism and using a DOD (drop-on-demand) type bubble jet printer head using multiple nozzles. 128 in total for 4 colors
The inkjet head 1 in which the nozzles are integrated is mounted on a head carrier 2. The main scanning pulse motor / encoder 4 moves and positions the head carrier 2 in the left-right direction (main scanning direction). The vacuum suction part carrier 5 to which the unsealed alumite plate 7 made of a plate or foil is mounted is driven and positioned in the vertical direction (sub-scanning direction) by a sub-scanning pulse motor / encoder 6. The alumite plate 7 on which the alumite film is formed is formed by a vacuum generated by the alumite plate 7 blocking an air flow sucked from a large number of vacuum suction air hole rows 8 formed at predetermined positions on the vacuum suction part carrier 5. Adsorbed and held.

The head carrier 2 can reciprocate horizontally to perform scanning positioning in both directions. However, if the ink supplied from the ink tank 3 is used for ink jet ejection in both reciprocations, the order of color superposition is constantly inverted, which causes color unevenness. Easily. Therefore, usually, only one direction is used for the ejection of the ink jet, and the ejection is not performed in the opposite direction. In principle, a DOD type head cannot deflect ink droplets after ejection, but in the case of the head shown in FIG. 5, since it has multiple nozzles, only a width of 32 dots (approximately 4 mm as 8 dots / mm) is used. Printing can be performed by one scan.

In a one-color, one-nozzle machine, which is often used in a simple color photographing machine, a method of winding a copying material around a drum and rotating it at several hundred rpm to perform main scanning at high speed is often adopted. However, when the alumite plate 7 is not a foil but a thin plate, it cannot be wound around a drum because it has considerable rigidity in a plane. Therefore, it is necessary to perform scanning by moving the alumite plate 7 in a plane with respect to the nozzle. However, such a method takes an abnormally long time to print one alumite image, and is not practical.

Therefore, a multi-nozzle type DOD system is selected, or a mechanism of a continuous jet system, which is another type of the ink jet printing mechanism, is adopted, and deflection of the jetted ink jet is controlled by electromagnetic force.

However, in the case of an extremely thin material such as aluminum foil, it can be wound around a drum and held at a high speed, and can be scanned at a high speed, similarly to paper, so that an inexpensive DOD single noise system can be adopted.

Next, the operation principle when a sublimation heat transfer type color copying machine is used will be described. In FIG. 6, a heating resistor element 24 is 1 mm on an alumina substrate 22 constituting a thermal head 21.
A plurality of pieces are arranged linearly at a rate of 4 to 6 pieces per piece. The power and time of power supply to the heating resistor elements 24 are independently controlled in accordance with the color and density of the image to be dyed. The thermal head 21 is provided with an aluminum radiator plate 23 in order to prevent the overall temperature from gradually rising due to repetition of energization, and detects the temperature of this portion to adjust the head heating temperature.

The color ink ribbon 25 includes a synthetic resin base film 27 having a thickness of several μm whose outer surface is covered with a heat-resistant layer 26,
A sublimable ink layer 29 containing a dye dedicated to alumite dyeing is applied to the base film 27 via a binder. A colorless and transparent alumite film 30 is formed on the surface of the alumite plate 31 wound around the printing material mounting drum 32. This anodized film 30
Is pressed by the thermal head 21 via the ink ribbon 25 as shown in FIG. The ink sublimated by the heat generation of the thermal head 21 is adsorbed in the fine pores of the alumite film 30 in contact. The ink ribbon 25 and the alumite plate 31 are moved by one step with respect to the thermal head 21 while being in contact with each other, and the same operation is repeated, so that the recorded image portion 33 is formed with gradation.

When the scanning of one color of the entire image is completed, the same scanning is repeated for the four colors while changing the color of the ink ribbon to complete the color image.

It is necessary for the thermal head 21 to effectively transfer the heat of the heating resistor element 24 to the ink ribbon 25 and sublimate it, and for the heat concentration, the heating resistor element 25 requires point contact and a certain pressing pressure or more. Becomes For this purpose, it is easiest and most reliable to wind the alumite plate 31 around the drum 32 and keep it in contact with the heating resistor element 24. Therefore, when an aluminum material such as a thin plate or a foil is used as the anodized plate 31, the structure shown in FIG. 6 can be adopted similarly to a normal copying machine, but a flat material such as a thick plate is used. In this case, a roller as shown in FIG.
A mechanism (not shown) is employed in which the alumite plate 31 and the ink ribbon 25 are separately driven and positioned in a horizontal plane in a planar manner, using only the pressing force 41.

Next, the specification and selection of the dyeing ink will be described. There are an oil-soluble dye and a water-soluble dye as dyes for dyeing the alumite film. Usually, an aqueous dye is used for immersion dyeing of the entire film, and an oil-soluble dye is used for dyeing a masked pattern. This is because gelatin, which is a main raw material of a photosensitive emulsion, and a commercially available synthetic resin for a resist are hydrophilic, and therefore penetrate with an aqueous dye and cannot be dyed separately.

In the case of the process of the present invention, a resist for dyeing is not used, and any water-soluble or oil-soluble dye may be used.
Therefore, it can be freely selected from those satisfying the following conditions.

The conditions of the liquid ink for an inkjet system are as follows.

1) The color value of the dye contained in the ink itself is high, the color tone is clear, the ejection nozzle is narrow, and the return ink is often pumped and circulated for use. It is important that the particles do not contain fine particles that cause the particles to be caught, and that there is no danger of forming particles due to spontaneous oxidation or chemical deterioration during use.

2) The content of the dye in the ink is desirably 10% or more by weight%. When the ink having the appropriate concentration is adjusted, the physical properties optimal for jetting, that is, the viscosity of 3 to 10 CP and the viscosity of 30 dyn,
A surface tension of e / cm to 65 dyne / cm must be obtained.

3) Strong light resistance to ultraviolet light, not easily discolored by sunlight, and sufficient resistance to acid and alkali.

4) Stable printing work with little change in physical properties at room temperature in the range of 0 ° C to + 60 ° C.

5) A dye that is soluble in non-volatile solvents such as glycols used to prevent nozzle clogging.

Predetermined dyes are selected from dyes that meet the above conditions. Water-soluble dyes are roughly classified into inorganic dyes and organic dyes. The former is not suitable for multicolor dyeing because the weather resistance is strong but the color is limited. Therefore, organic dyes are mainly used.

Among these organic dyes, those having a structure of, for example, anthraquinone type, monoazo type, dehydroxypyrazole type, and triphenylmethane type have good adsorption to a film and good weather resistance.

However, it goes without saying that the dye used is not limited to those having these structures.

When adjusting the ink, use water and a nitrogen-containing solvent such as glycols, glycol ethers, amides, and pyrrodolines to adjust and prevent clogging, and further blend a surfactant etc. as necessary The resulting solution is added to the dye as a solvent.

Next, oil-soluble dyes are roughly classified into dyes that dissolve in fats and oils and dyes that dissolve in solvents such as alcohols.If the former is used, the adsorption drying time after ink jetting is used, and if the latter is used, In particular, it is necessary to mix the ink with careful attention to changes in the physical properties of the ink due to evaporation of the solvent. There are many examples of the structure of the dye that can be used for this purpose, and examples thereof include quinaldine-based and anthraquinone-based structures.

Examples of the solvent include oils and fats, alcohols, petroleums, nitrobenzol, cyclohexanone, and the like. A viscosity modifier and a surfactant are added to the solvent to adjust the ink.

The sublimation heat transfer film can be manufactured by spray coating or gravure printing of an ink containing a sublimable dye on a base film via a binder. Sublimable dyes include basic dyes such as triphenylmethane, phenoxazine, leuco auramine and spiropyran.

 The features of the above embodiment are summarized as follows.

(1) A multicolor color image alumite having semi-permanent durability and stain resistance can be printed directly and immediately by a color electronic copying machine without masking the image pattern on the alumite film and thus without the need for plate making. Dyeing can be completed very inexpensively in a short time. Therefore, paintings, photographs, etc. can be enlarged or reduced to the desired size on the anodized plate and copied, or patterns for interior wall decoration,
It becomes possible to produce illustrations and the like. For outdoor use, it can also be used for the production of equipment that requires durability against wind, rain and sunlight, such as maps for guidance and colored explanation boards. Further, as an improvement of the conventional alumite dyeing method, production of products of all industries such as nameplates, dials and decorative panels can be simplified.

2 The range of colors and gradations that can be dyed is extremely wide, so that it is possible to faithfully reproduce the natural colors of the original image, which has been difficult with the prior art, and to stably and electronically control color prints with varying chromaticity and saturation. And because it can be mass-produced uniformly, color photographs and reproductions of famous paintings can be made for appreciation, commemorative photographs such as weddings, aluminum postcards, business cards, etc.
A durable new product can be manufactured utilizing this function.

(3) A signal converted from an electrical output such as a computer graphics image or a high-definition television image can also be used as input data, so that a colored original image is not necessarily required, and the present invention can be applied to the storage of these images.

4 Suitable for long-term preservation of materials and records, or for applications that need to withstand frequent and rigorous handling, such as explanatory boards for equipment.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the alumite plate dyeing apparatus of the present invention, inks of four colors of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan are ejected and scanned by the inkjet head.
The ink can be finely and quickly adsorbed on a pure aluminum-based alumite plate having an alumite film having a thickness of μm formed on the surface, and a precise image can be formed quickly and reliably.

According to the method of dyeing an anodized aluminum plate of the present invention, the dye of the ink ribbon is sublimated so that the dye is adsorbed on the pure aluminum-based anodized aluminum plate having an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm formed on the surface. The ink can be reliably adsorbed on the alumite plate without clogging the ink as in the case of the ink jet head.

According to the pure aluminum-based electronic copying alumite plate of the present invention, the fine pores of the alumite plate having an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm formed on the surface thereof in a state where the dye of the electronically copied color ink remains. Since the holes are sealed, a clear color image can be held for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a multicolor image copying process to an alumite film of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining pores of the alumite film. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a state in which the dye of the ink is adsorbed on the pores of the alumite film. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the alumite film is sealed. FIG. 5 is a structural operation conceptual diagram of a dyeing mechanism section of a DOD type copying machine using a multi-nozzle bubble jet head as an example of application of the ink jet copying mechanism. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operating principle of a copying machine using a thin aluminum plate or foil as a print material when a sublimation thermal transfer type color copying mechanism is used. FIG. 7 is a view showing the operation principle of a copying machine when a rigid flat material such as a thick plate is used as a printing material. 1 ... Inkjet head, 2 ... Head carrier, 3 ...
… Ink tank, 4… Pulse motor / encoder for main scanning, 5… Vacuum suction parts carrier, 6… Pulse motor / encoder for sub-scanning, 7… Alumite plate, 8… Air hole array for vacuum suction, 21: Thermal head, 22: Alumina substrate, 23: Aluminum heat sink, 24: Heating resistor element, 25:
Color ink ribbon, 26 ... Heat resistant layer, 27 ... Base film, 28 ... Binder, 29 ... Ink layer, 30 ... Alumite film, 31 ... Alumite plate, 32 ... Drum for material mounting, 33 ... Recorded image part, 41 ... roller.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fine pore has a number of fine pores.
A storage means for storing data of an image to be dyed on a pure aluminum-based alumite plate having a thickness of an alumite film formed on a surface thereof; a scanning means for scanning the alumite plate in a sub-scanning direction; The alumite scanned in the sub-scanning direction by sequentially scanning inks including four color dyes of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan corresponding to the image data stored in the storage unit, in the sub-scanning direction Processing means for adsorbing inside the fine pores of the alumite film of the plate and sealing the fine pores of the alumite film in which the dye of the ink remains. 2. A 10 μm to 30 μm having a large number of fine pores.
The image data to be dyed on a pure aluminum-based alumite plate with an alumite film with a thickness of 3 mm is stored in the memory, and the ink ribbon is placed under the thermal heads arranged linearly in the main scanning direction. Arranging, scanning the alumite plate in the sub-scanning direction under the ink ribbon, and controlling energization of the plurality of thermal heads individually according to the image data stored in the memory; By locally sublimating the dye of the ink ribbon, the dye is adsorbed inside the fine pores of the alumite film of the alumite plate, and the fine pores of the alumite film where the dye remains are sealed. Alumite plate staining method. 3. A pure aluminum-based electronic copying alumite plate in which a color image is electronically copied, an alumite film having a thickness of 10 μm to 30 μm having a large number of fine pores is formed on the surface, and the fine pores are formed therein. An electronic duplicating alumite plate, wherein the electronic duplicating alumite plate is sealed in a state where the dye of the color duplicated ink remains.