Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS SUBLIMATION
PRINTING ON BOTH SIDES OF A SINGLE LAYER OF FABRIC
AND DOUBLE-SIDE GARMENT PRODUCED THEREBY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field Of Invention
This invention relates to a system and method for printing on fabric and, more
particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for achieving high
quality
simultaneous double-sided sublimation printing on a single-layer of fabric.
Background
For decades, a variety of well-known techniques have been used to print on
fabrics.
These printing techniques include screen printing, dyeing, flexographic
printing, and
sublimation printing. Sublimation printing techniques have been used in the
manufacture of
fabrics and clothing for decades. US Patent No. 4,242,092 and US Patent No.
6,698,958 each
disclose systems and methods for sublimation printing.
Generally, sublimation printing involves the creation of a mirror image of a
desired
design and color scheme on a paper backing sheet known as a transfer sheet.
Sublimation inks
are deposited on one side of the transfer sheet. With the sublimation inks in
a solid state, the
transfer papers are then placed with their ink side in contact with the fabric
that is to be printed
on. The transfer sheet and fabric are placed in a sublimation printing machine
which employs
heat and pressure so as to cause the sublimation inks to change from a solid
state to a gaseous
state. The gaseous sublimation inks chemically react with the fibers of the
cloth and are
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effectively transferred from the transfer sheets to the cloth itself in a
mirror image of the
design on the transfer sheet.
Traditionally, sublimation-printing machines are "single-sided." Such printing
machines typically have a moveable upper side with a heating element and a
lower side with a
device that applies pressure upward, against the fabric, the transfer sheet
and the upper side of
the printing machine. Since at least 2000, however, Monti Antonio SPA of Italy
has
manufactured a sublimation printing machine which has heating elements on the
top and
bottom panels of the machine and a mechanism so as to allow the application of
pressure.
(See, Figure 6) This design provides for the application of heat on both sides
of a fabric at the
same time.
Traditionally, the technique of sublimation printing has only been employed
successfully on one side of a single-layer of fabric. (See, US Patent Nos.
6,811,840 B1;
6,698,958 B2; 5,246,518; and 4,058,644.) As described above, the sublimation
printing
technique involves the impregnation of the fibers of a fabric with sublimation
inks in their
gaseous state. (See, US Patent Nos. 4,107,365; and 4,021,591.) Accordingly,
when
sublimation printing was attempted on both sides of a single-layer fabric at
the same time, or
on one side at a time, the colors and designs impregnated on one side of the
fabric would be
blurred or changed by the design and colors of the sublimation ink applied to
the opposite side
of the fabric. These attempts left very unsatisfactory results.
At the same time, and in the area of sporting attire for example, there has
been a need
for clothing which is double-sided; i.e., clothing with different colors or
designs on the inside
and outside of the clothing. This type of apparel is also known as
"reversible" clothing. In
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1959, Levi was issued US Patent No. 2,890,460 on a "REVERSIBLE GARMENT AND
METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME." There, a reversible garment was made by sewing
two different pieces of fabric together such that a "double layered" article
of apparel was
manufactured. US Patent Nos. 4,078,265, 4,277,848, 4,296,498 and 4,453,274
achieve similar
results. That is, a double-sided or reversible garment made of two layers of
fabric. The
deficiencies associated with double layered reversible garments include added
weight, cost
and time of manufacture, and different arts and colors on each side of the
fabric.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is a primary object of the invention to provide an improved system and
method for
simultaneously sublimating two or more sublimation dyes on the opposite sides
of a single
layered fabric. The final intent of this invention is to provide the wearer
with the garment
having a single layer of fabric with two distinctive and different arts and
colors on each side of
the fabric. Previous single-layer dyed garments with different colors required
each side of the
fabric to be made from different yarn types such as polyester on the first
side and nylon on the
reverse side. This required a dye process that will only be accepted by the
polyester yarn and
a second dye process that will only be accepted by the nylon yarn.
A preferred embodiment of a garment manufactured pursuant to this invention
represents a game jersey for use in a sporting event which has a player's home
colors on one
side and the player's away colors on the reverse side using only a single
layer of fabric.
Before this invention, either two separate home and away jerseys were required
or a double
fabric layer sewn together after printing two fronts and backs was required.
The benefits of a
single layer garment include a lightweight garment and double usage. Other
benefits include
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providing the wearer with the comfort of moisture wicking, anti-microbial,
ultraviolet
protection, as well as any other enhancement available using the performance
polyester and
polyester blend fabrics (see, US Patent Application US 2005/0112976 Al. and US
Patent No.
6,006,550) which can be decorated using the invention. The invention is not
limited to any
particular warp knit, circular knit, woven, single face or double face fabric.
Unlike single-sided sublimation printing, according to a preferred embodiment
of the
invention, the color formulation for the dyes employed in double-sided
simultaneous
sublimation printing must be specifically formulated for the two sided
printing process. First,
the top transfer paper must be of a lighter shade of color than the color
employed on opposite
sides of the fabric. Accordingly, the bottom transfer paper must be the darker
shade of the two
colors to be employed.
Second, if the colors used on the top transfer sheet have pigments in common
with the
colors used on the bottom transfer sheet, the formulation of the lighter shade
color (the top)
requires the manufacturer reduce or eliminate the base pigments which are
common to the
dyes on both sides of the fabric. For example, if the upper transfer paper
includes a green
sublimation dye made of yellow and blue base pigments and the lower transfer
paper contains
purple sublimation dye made of red and blue base pigments, then the
formulation of the lighter
shade color (green) must be adjusted by reducing or eliminating the pigment in
common to
both purple and green (i.e., the blue base pigment).
In addition, the temperature and pressure settings applied by the double-sided
sublimation printing machine are also critical components to a preferred
embodiment of the
invention. Double-sided sublimation machines are made up of a top element and
a bottom
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element. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes a temperature
setting of the top
element which is approximately ten to twenty degrees Celsius less than the
temperature setting
for the bottom element of the printing machine. Yet another preferred
embodiment of the
invention includes setting the temperature of the top element at 200 degrees
Celsius and the
5 bottom element of the machine to 215 degrees Celsius.
Pressure of 5-8 bar (i.e., one bar equals 29.54 inches of Mercury) is applied
for
approximately 30-50 seconds at the temperatures set forth above. This
temperature
differential at a constant increased pressure and time allows the sublimation
dyes on the
bottom element (which are exposed to a higher temperature) to sublimate faster
than the
sublimation dyes attached to the top transfer sheet. Together with the
selective elimination or
reduction in base pigments in the top transfer sheet sublimation dyes, this
temperature
differential has achieved the unique and unexpected result of clear, uniform
colors on both
sides of the garment without the bleeding associated with prior attempts to
print by
sublimation on both sides of a single layer of fabric.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. I provides a perspective view of a double sided simultaneous sublimation
printing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, showing
an upper
heating side (20) and a lower heating side (21), an upper or top sublimation
dye and design
transfer sheet (11), a single layered fabric (14) and a lower or bottom
sublimation dye and
transfer sheet (12);
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FIG. 2 provides a side plan view of the double sided simultaneous sublimation
printing
machine of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 depicts two examples of a potential upper transfer sheet (11) and a
potential
lower transfer sheet (12) according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a double sided simultaneous sublimation
printing
machine showing an upper transfer sheet (11), a blank single layered fabric
(13) and a
potential lower transfer sheet (12) according to one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 5 is another perspective view of a double sided simultaneous sublimation
printing
machine depicting the placement of said blank single layered fabric (13) on
top of the lower
transfer sheet (12) with the upper transfer sheet (11) being placed on top of
said blank single
layered fabric (13) according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is another perspective view of said double sided simultaneous
sublimation
printing machine depicting a potential control panel (23) which controls the
application of heat
and pressure over specified time periods to upper heating side (20) and lower
heating side (21)
and the placement of upper transfer sheet (11) on top of lower transfer sheet
(12), according to
one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a double sided simultaneous sublimation
printing
machine after the sublimation process has taken place, depicting the transfer
of the design and
colors from the upper transfer sheet (11) to the top side of the now dyed
single lay of fabric
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(13) and the transfer of the colors and design from the lower transfer sheet
(12) to the lower
side of the now dyed single layered fabric (13);
FIG. 8 depicts four examples of top and bottom sides of single layer of
fabrics
simultaneously printed by sublimation (14), pursuant to one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 9 is front and back perspective views of the inside and outside of a
single layered
garment produced pursuant to one embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is shown open and closed perspective
views of a
double sided simultaneous sublimation printing machine pursuant to one
embodiment of the
invention. The embodiment in FIG. 1, as well as those found in FIGS. 3, 4, 5,
6 and 7 provide
separate heating controls for their upper (20) and lower (21) heating
elements. Dual heating
surfaces with independent heating capabilities are necessary for at least one
of the preferred
embodiments of the invention so as to allow one skilled in the art to reduce
the heat of the
upper element to increase the desirability of the resulting simultaneous color
and design
transfer. Since at least 2000, Monti Antonio SBA of Italy has manufactured a
sublimation
printing machine which has independent heating elements on the top and bottom
panels of the
machine and a mechanism so as to allow the application of pressure.
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown two examples of potentially compatible
upper (11)
and lower (12) transfer sheets prepared according to one embodiment of the
invention. As
depicted herein, as is generally the case when printing on both sides of a
single layer of fabric,
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the design and color pattern to be used on one side of the fabric will be of a
lighter shade than
the design and color pattern to be printed on the other side of the fabric.
When selecting
which transfer sheet is to be used on top of the blank fabric, pursuant to one
embodiment of
the invention a printer would select the lighter shaded transfer sheet to be
placed on the top
side of the blank single layered fabric and the darker shade to be placed on
the lower
sublimation dye and design transfer sheet (12). Those skilled in the art will
recognize that
sublimation dyes range in color from violet to blue to green to yellow to
orange and finally to
red with many shades in between. Colors in the violet side of the spectrum are
considered to
be darker than the lighter colors on the red and of the spectrum. Those
skilled in the art will
also be familiar with the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (CMYK) subtractive
color model
used in color printing wherein three colored substrates are mixed to create
various color
shades. In CMYK, Magenta plus Yellow produces Red, Magenta plus Cyan makes
Blue and
Cyan plus Yellow generates Green. Cyan, Magenta and Yellow printed together on
white
result in black.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, printers will compare
the base
pigments needed for production of the various colors to be used on either side
of a single layer
of fabric. After such a comparison is made, the formulation of the lighter
shade color (i.e., the
colors to be used on the upper or top sublimation dye and design transfer
sheet) involves the
reduction or elimination of the base pigments which are in common to the dyes
on both sides
of the fabric.
The combination of these properly formulated colors, the elected positioning
of the
transfer sheets in the machine, and differing degrees of heat applied
simultaneously under a
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constant pressure to a single layered fabric has yielded surprisingly
different results from
earlier attempts to print on both sides of a single layered fabric. The
product produced by this
method and system is a double sided, single layered garment which is light
weight, extremely
versatile, aesthetically appealing and less costly to manufacture than other
double-sided
garments.
While the method herein described, and the form of apparatus for carrying this
method
in to effect, constitute preferred embodiments of this invention, together
with the garment
produced thereby, it is understood that the invention is not limited to these
precise methods,
form of apparatus and garments, and that changes may be made in either without
departing
from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.
