Field

[0001] This description relates to printing images onto surfaces of plastic cards such as financial (e.g., credit, debit, or the like) cards, driver's licenses, national identification cards, business identification cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards which bear personalized data unique to the cardholder and/or which bear other card information.

Background

[0002] Flash, or flashing, refers to excess material that remains at one or more edges of a plastic card as a result of printing an image on the card surface. One example of where flash may occur is in retransfer printing. Retransfer printing is a known printing process where an image is printed by a printing mechanism onto an intermediate retransfer material. After the image is printed, the intermediate retransfer material is transferred by lamination onto the surface of the plastic card that is to bear the printed image. Figure 1 illustrates an example of a portion of a plastic card personalization machine 10 that is configured to perform retransfer printing. The machine 10 includes a printing section 12 that prints onto a retransfer material 14 via a print ribbon 16 and a print head 18. After printing is complete, the retransfer material 14 bearing the printing is transported to a transfer station 20 where a portion of the retransfer material 14 bearing the printing is transferred onto a surface of a plastic card 22. Suitable controls known in the art are provided to align the printing to be transferred with the plastic card 22. Further information on retransfer printing can be found in, for example, U.S. Patent 6894710 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a conventional retransfer printing process. An intermediate retransfer material 30 is illustrated onto which an image canvas 32 has been printed in the printing section 12 of Figure 1. The image canvas 32 is typically rectangular in shape with substantially right angle corners 34. The image canvas 32 is a term that refers to the entire area of printing that occurs on the retransfer material 30. Within the image canvas 32 an area 36 is depicted in the shape of an outline 38 of the perimeter edge of the card surface which forms the area of the image canvas 32 that is intended to be transferred onto the card surface (in actual practice, the outline 38 does not actually appear on the retransfer material 30). Surrounding the outline 38 is a margin or buffer zone 40 of printing that is provided to allow some tolerance in the printing process and so that if there are slight inaccuracies in aligning the card surface with the area 36 at the transfer station 20, some of the printing in the margin 40 will transfer to the card surface.

Summary

[0004] A printing process is described that reduces the amount of flash that occurs when printing to a surface of a plastic card. The printing can occur by a retransfer printing process.

[0005] The printing process includes generating an image canvas that has rounded corners instead of the conventional right angle corners. The use of rounded corners on the image canvas reduces the amount of printing in the image canvas at the corners compared to an image canvas that has right angle corners, thereby reducing the amount of printing that is present that could form flash at the corners of the card surface.

[0006] The techniques described herein can be applied to retransfer printing where an image is printed by a printing mechanism onto an intermediate retransfer material and thereafter the intermediate retransfer material containing the image is transferred by lamination onto the surface of the plastic card that is to bear the printed image.

Drawings

[0007] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a portion of a conventional plastic card personalization machine that is configured to perform retransfer printing.

[0008] Figure 2 illustrates an example of an image canvas used in a conventional retransfer printing process.

[0009] Figure 3 illustrates an example of an image canvas used in the printing process described herein. [0010] Figure 4 is a perspective view of a card substrate that is to be printed on.

[0011] Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment where a primer layer is applied before the start of the color printing forming the image canvas.

Detailed Description

[0012] Referring to Figure 3, a portion of an intermediate retransfer material 50 is illustrated. The retransfer material 50 can be any conventional retransfer material known in the art. In general, the retransfer material 50 includes a carrier layer (not specifically shown) and a transferrable printing receptive layer (not specifically shown) that can be printed on. The transferrable printing receptive layer is carried by the carrier layer, and is transferrable from the carrier layer onto a card surface in a manner well understood in retransfer printing. U.S. Patent 6894710, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, is one example of retransfer printing. The retransfer material 50 is supplied from a supply roll 17 (see Figure 1) and after transfer of the transferrable printing receptive layer bearing the printed image at the transfer station 20 (Figure 1) the remaining retransfer material 50 is wound onto a take-up roll 19 (see Figure 1).

[0013] Figure 3 shows an image canvas 52 that has been printed onto the printing receptive layer of the retransfer material 50, for example using the printing section 12 of Figure 1. The image canvas 52 can be printed using a pigment, a dye or a primer. Primer is an additional adhesive to provide a better bond and is applied before the dye or pigment printing. For example, the transferrable printing receptive layer can be difficult to adhere to some cards (e.g., ABS and polycarbonate), and thus a primer may be used to create a better bond between the card and the transferrable printing receptive layer. The image canvas 52 has the shape of a rounded rectangle with linear sides 54, linear ends 55, and rounded corners 56. The image canvas 52 has a shape that mimics, and a size that is larger than the size of, a card surface 100 of a card 102 (see Figure 4) to which printing on the transferrable printing receptive layer of the retransfer material 50 is to be transferred. [0014] Figure 3 illustrates an area 58 in the shape of an outline 60 of the perimeter edge of the card surface 100. The area 58 bounded by the outline 60 forms the area of the image canvas 52 that is intended to be transferred onto the card surface 100 (the outline 60 is illustrated in Figure 3 to delineate the area of the transferrable printing receptive layer material that is to be transferred onto the card surface 100 but in actual practice the outline 60 does not actually appear on the retransfer material 50). Surrounding the outline 60 is a margin or buffer zone 62 of printing that is provided to allow some tolerance in the printing process and so that if there are slight inaccuracies in aligning the card surface 100 with the area 58 at the transfer station 20 (see Figure 1), some of the printing in the margin 62 will transfer to the card surface 100.

[0015] The distance X between the linear sides 54 of the image canvas 52 and the corresponding linear sides of the outline 60 can be, for example, about 0.8 to about 1.0 mm. In addition, the distance Y between the linear ends 55 of the image canvas 52 and the corresponding linear ends of the outline 60 can be, for example, about 0.8 to about 1.0 mm. The radius R of the rounded corners 56 can be, for example, about 0.125 inches (i.e. 3.175 mm).

[0016] The card 102 can be a plastic card such as a financial (e.g., credit, debit, or the like) card, driver's license, national identification card, business identification card, gift card, and other plastic cards which bear personalized data unique to the cardholder and/or which bear other card information. As used herein, the term data is intended to encompass text and graphics such as images. In one embodiment, in addition to the printing described herein, the financial card can include a magnetic stripe that can be magnetically encoded with data, an integrated circuit chip that can be programmed with data, or both a magnetic stripe and an integrated circuit chip. In one embodiment, at least some data on the magnetic stripe and/or the integrated circuit chip can match data that is printed on the financial card. For example, the intended card holder's name and/or the account number can be printed on the financial card as well as stored on the magnetic stripe and/or on the integrated circuit chip. Encoding data on the magnetic stripe (if present) and programming data on the integrated circuit chip (if present) can occur prior to or after the printing on the card 102, within the same card personalization machine. [0017] The printing in the area 58 of the image canvas 52 that is transferred to the card surface 100 can include, for example, alphanumeric text or characters, images, or combinations thereof. The printing can include variable data (e.g. data that is variable from one card to the next) that is personal to an intended holder of the card. Examples of variable data include, but are not limited to, a home address, a name, a portrait image (e.g., a photograph), and other identifying information. Variable data can similarly be referred to as personalization information. The variable data can be personal to an individual for whom the card is printed, randomly generated, related to the card issuer, or the like. The printing can also include fixed or non-variable data that may appear on multiple cards and is not personal to the intended holder of the card. Examples of non-variable data include, but are not limited to, a background image or graphics of the card surface, a government entity name, a name of the document issuer, a company logo, a general security logo, or the like.

[0018] The printing described herein can occur in any card personalization machine. The card personalization machine can be a desktop card personalization machine that is designed to personalize cards one at a time, for example on the order of tens or hundreds per hour, or a central issuance system that is designed to simultaneously personalize multiple cards, for example on the order of thousands per hour.

[0019] In operation, and referring to Figures 1 and 3, when the surface 100 of the card 102 is to be printed on, the data sufficient to form the image canvas 52 is generated and the image canvas 52 is printed onto the transferrable printing receptive layer of the retransfer material 50 at the printing section 12. Thereafter, the retransfer material 50 bearing the printed image canvas 52 is advanced to the transfer station 20. In addition, the card 102 is transported into the transfer station 20 with the surface 100 facing toward the transfer material 50. The card 102 and the retransfer material 50 are aligned with one another, for example using conventional alignment techniques, so that the area 58 of the image canvas 52 is aligned with the surface 100. Heat and pressure are then applied to the retransfer material 50 to transfer and laminate the transferrable printing receptive layer bearing the printed area 58 to the surface 100. [0020] Referring to Figure 5, in some embodiments, when a primer is used, the primer can be printed/applied starting about 0.5 to about 1.5 mm in advance of the dye or pigment printing. In another embodiment, the primer can be applied/printed starting about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm in advance of the dye or pigment printing. Thus, as seen in Figure 5, a leading edge 70 of the image canvas 52 may include a primer layer 72 that is put down (i.e. starts) in advance of the pigment or dye printing 76 so that there is a buffer area 74 of about 0.5 to about 1.5 mm, or about 0.5 to about 1.0 mm, of primer before the start of the pigment or dye printing 76 on the image canvas 52.

[0021] The examples disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limitative. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.