Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
7185
1 This invention relates to laminated sheet material
for use in the manufacture of folders, showcards, display
materials and the like made from a stiff insert of bookbinding
material such as cardboard with a plas~ic covering.
The invention for example, relates to folders,
particularly sample, advertising, or quotation folders,
For use as folders it is known to cover a stiff insert
with a polyvinyl chloride coating on both sides, and to weld the
coating at the edges. Plastic folders of this kind are in
themselves very wear resistant, but they do not have an at~active
appearance. Although their surface can be improved by embossing
the printing, nevertheless the printing is restricted to relatively
large characters and coarsely drawn stylised illustrations. The
printing may be done in colour, but hitherto was possible only
in pale shades having poor luminosityO If on the other hand it is
desired to provide plastic.folders of this kind on the outside
with sharply defined, strongly coloured pictures possessing good
luminosity, for example with advertising photographs, this was
possible hitherto only by welding insertion pockets of transparent
plastic film on the outside of the plastic folder and inserting
the desired prints into the pockets. Folders of this kind, however,
give an impression of poor quality which is not suitable for high
class advertising and presentation.
Folders are also known in which a sheet consisting of a
print coated with a smooth acetate film is mounted on the stiff
insertO Although folders of this kind can be printed in strong
colours, the smooth acetate film results in disturbing reflections
and is also not very wear resistant. After being in use for a short
time it becomes damaged in places and consequently loses its
30 originally pleasing appearanceO ~
~S7185
1 The aim of the present invention is to provide wear-
resistant materials for use for example in folders, showcards,
display materials and the like which have a high quality and
pleasing appearance, and which completely complies with the
versatile and strict demands of modern advertising and presentation.
To this end according to the invention a laminated
material comprising a decorative sheet coated with embossed
polypropylene film is mounted on at least one face of a stiffener
of the kind commonly used in bookbinding.
The decorative sheet can take many forms and in the
context of the present invention is meant to include any sheet
the desired appearance of which is required to be seen through
the polypropylene. Thus the sheet can be printed material applied
by any of the conventional printing methods, extracts from newspapers,
journals, catalogues and the like, bottle labels, photographs and
so on. It can be merely a sheet in one or more colours.
Thus according to the invention, a folder is achieved
by laminating a decorative sheet such as printed sheet which
is laminated with an embossed polypropylene film mounting it on the
outside of an insert and drawing the laminate over the edges of the
insert on all sides and onto the inner side of the insert.
The wearing properties of a folder showcard or display
of this kind are ensured by the use of a polypropylene film the
high breaking strength, impact strength, and scratch resistance
of which permanently protect the surfaces of the Eolders. The poly-
propylene film is preferably thin and is embossed conjointly with the
printed sheet. A thin film does not reduce the brilliance of the
sheet covered by it, but on the other hand is still strong enough
to permit its use even with printed sheets of very weak material.
Durability and transparency are particularly effectively combined
~B 2 -
~57~35
1 in a propylene film the weight per unit area of which amounts
to 20 g per m . With a film of this kind it is even immediately
possible to use newsprint, cuttings from newspapers or catalogues,
bottle labels, and the like, so that in principle the production
of special printed sheets for the folders is not necessary. The
unrestricted choice of the nature of the prints to be used permits
extremely varied types of folders and gives the advertising
specialist a completely free hand in the choice of his design
means, while at the same time it is possible to use existing
printed sheets, which in certain circumstances means a considerable
saving of moneyO
The embossing of the laminated sheet leads to a reduction
Gf light reflection as compared with a smooth glossy film covering,
and thus leads to a more handsome and more attractive appearance of
the covered folders. At the same time, the feel is improved by
the embossingO In comparison with known folders, the new folders
constitute a particular improvement in respect of the combination
of good wearing properties and the permitting of outstanding, vers-
atile aesthetic design.
It is expedient for a sheet which is laminated and con
jointly embossed with a polypropylene film to be mounted on the
inside of the insert of the novel folders, this sheet covering
the edges of the sheet mounted on the outside. The inner faces
of the folders are thus also given an att~active, wear-resistant
surface The inner faces of the folders may simply be made white,
but in special cases the sheet mounted on the inner side of the
insert may advantageously be printed with text or pattern, or of
a single colour.
Alternately, the polypropylene film may also be embossed
3C alone and then laminated with the printed sheetO In this case,
-- 3 --
iOS7185
1 however a higher weight per unit area of the polypropylene film,
of the order of 100 grams per m , is necessary in order to achieve
permanent embossing. Such thick films however, frequently do not
have the same good transparency as thinner films, so that a col-
oured print covered by the film loses in brilliance in comparisonwith a thin polypropylene film. If however, a thick film is
available the transparency of which is equal to that of a poly-
propylene film of a weight per unit area of 20 grams per m ,
good results can then also be achieved with a pre-embossed film.
The invention is described below with reference to
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a printed sheet covered
by a polypropylene film, before embossing;
Figure 2 shows the same printed sheet as in Figure 1,
coated with a polypropylene film, after the conjointly effected
embossing; and
Figure 3 shows diagrammatically the construction of a
folder with the coated printed sheet mounted and suitable for use
in a loose leaf binder.
Referring to the drawings the printed sheet 1 may consist
of any desired paper material, even very thin material. It may
have any desired designs and be printed in black and white, in
one colour, or in a plurality of colours. Its strength is
acquired by coating with a thin, clear polypropylene film, which
preferably has a weight per unit area of 20 grams per m .
After the printed sheet has been coated with the poly-
propylene film, the resulting coated sheet 4 (Figure 2) is provided
with embossing, which affects both the printed sheet 1 and the
polypropylene film 20 Although the polypropylene film is very
thin, the embossing is nevertheless very durable because the printed
1~57~85
1 sheet 1 is simultaneously embossed. Good aesthetic results and
a good feel are achieved by embossing which imparts to the sheét
4 a structure similar to woven line~O The depressions produced
by embossing in the sheet 4 are designated 3 in Figure 2.
The coated, embossed sheet 4 is adhesively bonded on
a stiff insert 5(Figure 3), preferably made of cardboard, for the
purpose of producing the folder. The sheet 4 covers at least the
outer faces of the folder and is drawn a certain distance over
the edge 8 of the latter and onto the inner face 7. However, the
inner faces 7 are also preferably covered completely by a coatedJ
embossed sheetO
