Esselte Pendaflex Corporation

Letraset Corporation

Other

John V Shepherd

Simon L Scrutton

John S Thornley

Eric M Sutton

Discontinuous transferable adhesive layers have been proposed for manufacture by printing or by coating and subsequent stripping of a matrix to leave a plurality of individual areas of adhesive. Such processes are slow and difficult to effect leading to increased cost. According to the invention, a coating composition is continuously coated on to a release substrate, the composition and drying thereof being selected that, at the end of drying, the adhesive composition is present as a plurality of discrete areas. This may be effected, e.g. by coating an emulsion and drying down appropriately.

Method of manufacturing discontinuous pattern on a support material

Multi-colored images are built-up from thermoplastic, separation negatives obtained for example on a laser printer. Colored positive separations are obtained by applying a colored, transferable non-thermoplastic layer on a carrier over each thermoplastic negative separation, subjecting the assembly to heat and pressure, and peeling apart the assembly whereby colored non-thermoplastic positive images remain on the carrier sheet. Each colored non-thermoplastic positive separation in turn is then transferred to a receptor having a thermoplastic surface. Each colored, non-thermoplastic positive is applied over the receptor having a thermoplastic surface, the image being in contact with the thermoplastic surface, the assembly is subjected to heat and pressure and the carrier sheet removed to leave the positive image adhered to the thermoplastic surface of the receptor. This process is repeated for each color positive separation to build up the multi-colored image on the receptor surface.

Coloured images

Legends are built up from dry transfers in the usual way but on an intermediate carrier. Water or other liquid is applied to the rear surface of the intermediate carrier and an adhesive tape or sheet applied over the letters. The adhesive tape is then peeled away from the intermediate carrier bearing the letters which can then be adhered where desired, e.g. on a background scene or in a frame, using their own adhesive, whereafter the adhesive tape or sheet is peeled away to leave the letters looking as though they had been transferred there in the usual way.

Production of artwork

Photosensitive materials for use in the making of dry transfer material are described which comprise two carrier sheets which may be peeled apart and three interlayers. The central interlayer is an image-forming layer e.g. a pigmented polymer with a photocrosslinkable or photopolymerizable layer on one side and an adhesive layer on the other side. A dry transfer is obtained by imagewise exposing through a photographic positive and peeling apart the carrier sheets. Thereafter the material is further irradiated e.g. with UV light, to give a dry transfer material.

Photosensitive materials for use in making dry transfers

Photosensitive materials are described which may be used in a variety of applications such as making dry transfer materials, resist masks, printing plates and silk screen stencils. The material consists of two carrier sheets may be peeled apart and which are laminated together via at least two interlayers viz. a photosensitive layer and an image forming layer. Prior to exposure, if the carrier sheets are peeled apart the carrier sheet adjacent the photosensitive layer separates wholly from it leaving both photosensitive layer and image forming layer on the other carrier sheet. After exposure, if the sheets which are peeled apart the whole of the photosensitive layer and at least part of the image forming layer remains attached to the carrier sheet adjacent the photosensitive layer. By incorporating adhesive in or adjacent the shearable image forming layer, the photosensitive material may constitute a material from which dry transfers may be manufactured simply by imagewise exposure and peeling apart.

Photosensitive materials

A method of making signs is disclosed in which a photographically sensitive material is imagewise exposed and developed. The developed image is so constituted that, under the action of heat and pressure, it may be made to adhere to a surface of a transparent or translucent sheet, e.g. of plastics or glass, to form a sign in which the legend is visible through and protected by the sheet. In order to render the legend more visible, a coating or layer may be applied over the legend which accordingly forms a background to the legend as viewed through the sheet. Production of the legend photographically gives very great flexibility in terms of letter size, spacing and the like and allows the production of 'one off' signs on a rapid and economic basis. A simple hot press may be used to adhere the legend to the sign sheet.

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Ashford, United Kingdom

John V Shepherd