Method for producing a digitally imaged screen for use in a screen printing process
US6927014B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 13, 2000 |
| Grant date | Aug 9, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 6, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/12
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for producing a digital screen printing blank usable in a screen printing process, directly from digital information in the computer, in an economical fashion. In a preferred embodiment, a screen (28) is provided with a photosensitive layer (38), and a digitally determined image from a computer is printed on the screen by means of an inkjet printer. Preferably, a flat bed ink-jet imaging system is used so that the screen can be stretched in a frame and directly placed under the ink-jet head (44). The ink (46) used need not have strong colorant, but functions as a UV mask and thus must contain a UV absorbing pigment. The ink is not absorbed into the photosensitive layer, but remains as an undried image (56) on the surface. The ink must remain wet so that it does not spread and therefore gives a sharp image, and so that the UV absorbent material remains concentrated. The solvent of the ink must be chosen so as to assure that it will not affect the screen. The screen is then irradiated with UV, and the areas which have been printed with ink serve to mask the photosensitive layer from the UV light, while those areas having no ink are exposed so that the photosensitive layer is…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.