EP1381515A4 - Method and apparatus for ink jet printing - Google Patents

Abstract

Ink jet printing is provided on large area substrates such as wide width textile webs. The printheads are driven by linear servo motors (633) across a bridge (630) that extends across the substrate. The timing of the jetting of the ink is coordinated with the motion of the printheads (640, 641), so that the heads can be rapidly moved and the ink can be jetted while the printheads are accelerating or decelerating as they move on the bridge. Preferably, ultraviolet (UV) light curable ink is jetted and first partially cured with UV light (645, 646) and then subjected to heating to more completely reduce uncured monomers of the ink on the substrate. Preferably, the heat is applied by contacting the substrate with a heated plate (661, 662). Ink jet printing is provided using ultraviolet (UV) light curable or other curable composition or stable or other printable substance. In certain embodiments the UV ink has a dye-component therein. The ink is jetted onto a substrate, the composition is cured, then heated to set the dye. Sublimation dye-based UV ink printing onto polyester is preferred. A release layer of protective material (702, 704) such as a TEFLON film or sheet, covers a substrate support (705, 706). A porous substrate to be printed, such as a textile material (711), is supported on or above the support. Ink is jetted onto the substrate, with some of the ink passing through pores in the substrate and landing on the protective material. UV curable ink is preferably used and is exposed by UV light from a UV light curing head, which solidifies the ink on the substrate. The UV curing light has a long enough focal length to focus on the surface of the substrate and also, where it passes through pores in the substrate, on ink on the protective material, thereby solidifying the ink on the protective material. When the substrate is removed from the support, the solidified ink on the protective material may be wiped from the protective material. The protective material may be a coating on the support over which the substrate slides or a belt that moves with the substrate. A textile substrate may be preconditioned by singeing or shaving to remove fuzz from the fabric that could clog the printheads. A printhead cleaning station is also provided.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INK JET PRINTING

This is a continuation in pai t of U S Application Senal No 09/932 427 tiled August 17 2001 which is a coiUinuation-in-pai t ot U S Patent Application Senal No 09/824,517, tiled Apnl 2, 2001, which is a continuation in pan ot U S Patent Application Senal No 09/823 268 tiled aic 30 2001

This application is also a continuation-in-pai t ot piovisional U S Patent Applications Senal No 60/327 622 tiled Octobei 5 2001 and Senal No 60/333 319 tiled Novembei 26 2001 both heieby expiessly incoi poi ated by leteience hei ein

This application is also lelated to U S patent applications tiled Match 30, 2001 and entitled Method and Appaiatus toi Punting on Rigid Panels and Othei Contouied oi Textured Sin faces", Serial No 09/822,795 and "Punting and Quilting Method and Appai atus' , Senal No 09/822,794, each commonly owned with the piesent application and each heieby expiessly incoipoi ated heiein by lefeience

This application is also ielated to U S Patent Application Senal No 09/390 571 f iled Septembei 3 1999 and ot International Application Senal No PCT/US00/24226, tiled September 1, 2000, ot which U S Application Senal Nos 09/932,427 09/824 5 17 and 09/823 268 ai e continuations in pai t which aie commonly owned with the pi esent application and aie each heieby expiessly incoi poi ated heiein by leteience Field of the Invention:

The piesent invention lelates to Inkjet punting and pai ticulai ly useful toi Inkjet punting onto textiles onto wide web, laige panel and othei extended aiea substiates, and onto othei substiates on a high speed and commeicial scale Background of the Invention Needs have ai isen toi the pi lilting ot lai ge bannei s, flags and signs in quantities that aie not economical toi many conventional punting pi ocesses Pioposals have been made to punt such pioducts tiom electionic souice tiles that can be piocessed diiectlyon the punting pies oi pi inting system, l athei than thiough steps such as f ilm image-setting and platc-makmg One such piocess is ink-jet punting These piocesses have been attempted on suitaces such as vinyl, but punting with success onto textile suitaces has been even moie limited Such piocesses have been slow and lack lehability The clogging ot punt heads in ink jet punting has been too liequent foi use in wide width and lai ge aiea substiates and the piocesses used have not pioduced acceptable punting on textile matenals

The punting ot substi ates that aie moie than sevei al feet, oi a metei , wide, leteued to as the special categoiy ot ' wide width' punting into which categoi y the punting ot signs and banneis office pai titions mattiess ticking and most othei qui liable matenals would tall, is beyond many ot the limitations ot conventional punting methods A numbei ot technical pioble s L X I SI that t deten ed the t lopmeni ot the punting ot wide tabncs such as mattiesscoveis upholsteiy automobile seat covei tabncs, office paititions and othei wide width substiates

Wide width pioductsaie tiequently punted in i elan vely small quantities Tiaditional punting typically involves the ueation ot a plate a mat a scieen oi some othei peimanent oi at least tangible physical image fiom which ink is transteued to the object being punted Such images contnbute a lelatively high set up cost that is only economical wheietheiuimbei of identical copies ot thepioduct is laige At the othei extieme oil ice piinteis toi example punt a single copy oi a small numbei ot copies ot a given document oi othei item and aie cuiiently ot the type that uses no peimanent physical image lianstei element but which lathei punts liom a sottwaie oi piogiam contiolled electionic image which can be changed fiom piodiict to pioduct Such punting is sometimes leteued to as dnect digital punting although the piocess need not necessaiily be litei lly digital in the sense ot a set ol stoicd discictt numencal values Inkjet piinteis aie a common t)pc ol such dnect digital piinteis in use today

Inkjet piinteis punt by piojecting chops ot ink on demand onto a substiate fiom one oi moie nozzles on neoi moie punt heads Office piinteis and othei naiiow width Inkjet piinteis usually dispense watei based oi othei solvent based inks onto the substiate by heating the ink and exploding bubbles ot the ink out ot the nozzles lhese piinteis aie often called bubblejet piinteis The ink fiom such printers dues by evapoiation ot a solvent Sometimes additional heat is used to evapoiate the solvent and diy the ink Printing onto wide width substiates with bubble type ink jet piinteis oi ink jet piinteis that use high tempeiatuie techniques topiopel the ink sullei fiom limited punthead lite oi high mean time between tailuies that lequiie downtime and sei vicing The heat used to expel the ink and to cause the evapoiation ot the solvents evapoiation that occuis dining punthead downtime and thetheimal cycling ot the heads causes these punt heads to clog oi othei wise tail attei as little as 20 milhhteis ot ink is dispensed Office piinteis aie loi example often designed so thai the punt head is leplaced eveiy time a leseivon ot ink is leplenished Foi this leason, tor laiger scale ink jet punting piocesses such as wide width punting ol tilms used toi outdooi adveitising signage and ai liitcctui il applications punt heads that use mechanical ink piopulsion techniques aie moie common Such mechanical pi nit heads include piezooi piezo-ciystal punt heads which conveitelectiicaleneigy into mti ciystal vibiations that cause diops ot ink to be ejected fiom punt he id nozzles

Piezo pi int heads aie paiticulaily us ful loi applying inks that diy by polyineuzation which can be bi ought about attei the ink leaves the pi int he id and is deposited onto the substi ate usually by exposuie to some foim ot eneigy medium such as electiom ignetic oi puticle ladiation Inks ha\c been foimul ited toi ink jet punting that can be polymeuzed by exposuie to a ladiation cuiing souice such as a focused beam ot ultia violet light (UV) oi high eneigy beams of elections (EB) The inks geneially incoipoiate stabihzeis which pievent piematiue cuiing due to low levels ot light exposuie 1 heietoie the inks usually lequiie exposuie to some thieshold level ol eneigy to initiate a polyineuzation leaction Unless exposed to such thieshold eneigy levels such inks do not polymeuze and lemam stable with a low tendency to dry in the nozzles oi elsewheie unless cuied bv adequate exposuie to the eneigy medium

Solvent based inks aie pnm inly cuied by evapoiation ot the solvents Some solvent based inks can be cuied only by air diymg while otheis lequiie the application ot heat to enhance the evapoiation ot the solvent In some cases heat will facilitate a chemical change oi polymeuzation ot the ink along with an evapoiation ot a solvent Polymeuzable inks include monomeis and ohgomeis that polymeuze ind olhti additives UV un able inks polymeuze when exposed to UV light at or above the thieshold eneigy level These UV cui able ink toi mutations include photo-initiatoi s which absoi b light and theieby pioduce tiee l adicals 01 cations which induce ci υss-linking between the unsatui aiioπ sites ot the monomei s, ohgomei s and polymeis, as well as othei additive components Election beam-cuied inks do not lequiie photO iihibitois because the elections aie able to dn ectly initiate cioss-hnking

Heat oi an cuiable inks that aie oigaiuc solvent based oi watei based inks often do not have as high a coloi intensity as UV ui able oi othei polymeuzable inks because the pigments oi dyes that pioduce the coloi ai e somewhat diluted by the solvent Fuithei nioic oi gaiuc solvents can produce an occupational hazaid, lequinng costly measuies be taken to minimize contact ot the evapoiating solvents by woi ei s and to minimize othei nsks such as the nsks ot tne Solvent based inks, whethei applied with heat oi not, tend to di y out and eventually clog ink jet nozzles In addition, solvent based inks set by toi ming a chemical bond with the substiate, and accoidingly then foi mulation is substi ate mateual dependent As a lesult, the selection υl solvent based ink vanes fiom tabnc to tabi ic Specific ink compositions are paued with specific tabuc compositions to impiove the fastness ol the ink to the tabuc, which lesults tiom chemical oi electiostatic bonds toi med between the ink and the tabuc Wheie the selected ink composition does not leact oi othei wise has an affinity with the suitace ot the pai ticulai tabuc the ink meiely maintains a physical contact with the tabuc sui tace and typically is easily lemoved by watei , anothei solvent oi abi asion With UV and othei l adiant beam-cui able inks such as election beam-cuied inks, the bonding between the ink and tabnc is pnmai i ly mechanical and not limited to specific combinations ot ink and tabuc Polymeuzable inks, pai ticulai ly those cuied upon exposui e to a l adiation oi eneigy medium, aie difficult to cine on thiee dimensional substiates such as the suitace ot a textile While UV cui able inks aie capable ot pioviding highei coloi intensity and do not piesent the hazaids that many solvent based inks piesent and can avoid nozzle clogging, punting with UV cui able ink onto textile fabi ic pi esents othei problems that have not been solved in the puoi ai t To uie UV ink toi example, it must be possible to pi ecisely focus a UV cui ing light onto the ink UV ink, when jetted onto labile paiticulai ly onto highly textuied tabuc, is disti ibuted at vai ious depths ovei the textuie ot the tabnc suitace Fui thei moie, the ink tends to soak into oi wick into the tabuc As a lesult, the ink is piesent at vanous depths on the tabuc, so that some ot the ink at depths above oi below the f ocal plane ot the UV cui ing light evade the light needed to cause a total cine ot the ink In oi dei to cin e, UV ink must be exposed to UV light at an enei gy level above a cui ing thieshold Howevei ci easing the intensity ol the cui ing light beyond cei tain levels in oidei to enhance cuie ot the ink can bum scυich oi othei wise have desti uctive effects on the deposited ink oi the tabuc Fuithei moie, ink jet punting can be cai ned out with ditteient ink coloi dots applied in a side-by-side pattern oi in a dot-υn-dot (oi diυp-on-diop) pattern, with tlie dot-on-dot method being capable ot pioduciiig a highei coloi density, but the highei density dot-on-dot pattern is even moie difficult to cin e w hen the cuie is by UV light In addition UV ink can be applied quickly to leduce wicking and UV ink can be developed to allow minimized wicking Some wicking howevei can help to lemove ai titaets Fui thei , many inks developed to eliminate wicking leave a stiff paint-like lavei on the suitace ot the tabuc, giving the tabnc a stiff feel oi "bad hand' Theietoie, to leduce the UV cui ing ptoblem by eliminating wicking is not always desnable

UV cui ing ot jetted ink on tabnc has been plagued by a limited cuie depth that is detei mined by the depth ot field ot the focused cui ing UV light When UV cui able ink is jetted onto tabuc, UV light may be ineffective to cuie a sufficient poi tion ot the ink A lai ge uncuied poition ot the deposited ink can cause movement ot the ink oi the loss ot the ink ovei time lesulting in deteiioiation ot the punted images Even it a sufficient poi tion ot the ink is cuied to avoid visibly detectable effects, uncuied ink at some level has the possibility ot pioducing symptoms in some pei sons who contact the punted tabnc The amount ot uncuied monomeis oi ink components that can cause pioblems by inhalation oi dnect skin contact has not been officially detei mined but standaids exist loi detei mining limits loi components ot packaging matei ial ingested with food Foi example it moie than appioximately 100 pai ts pei million (PPM) of ink fiom packaging matei ial is piesent in lood some pei sons who aie sensitive to the uncuied mυnomei s may suttei l eactions and υthei s may dev elop sensitivities to the matei ial Such cutei ia assumes that 1 squaie inch ot packaging matei ial makes contact with ten gi ms ot food Thus to mtei i et this cutei ia it is assumed that each PPM ot ink component in packaged food is equivalent to 15 milligi ams ot ink component migi ating out ot each squaie metei of packaging matei ial into the food While this does not piovide an exact measuie ot the amount ot uncuied ink components that might be hai mtul to humans, it suggests that appioximately 10% of uncuied ink components on items ot clothing, mattiess covei s oi othei tabncs with which peisons may be in contact toi extended peuods ot time, may be unacceptable

Foi the leasons stated abυ\ e UV cui able inks hav e not been successfully used to punt onto tabuc wheie a high degiee ot cui e is l equned Heat cui able oi othei solvent based inks that diy by evapoi ation can be cuied on tabuc As a lesult, the ink jet punting ot solvent based inks and heat cui able oi an di yable solvent based ink has been the pnmaiy piocess used to punt on tabnc Accoidingly, the advantages ot UV oi othei l adiation cui able Ink jet punting have not been available toi punting onto tabuc

UV inks, othei polymeuzable inks and othei stable inks aie typically those that leside on the suitace ot the substi ate The coloi components ot the inks ai e in the toi m ot pigments suspended in a polymei or othei cui able matux When the punted substi ate is washed oi exposed to weathei oi weai , the ink coating usually fades oi othei wise degi ades Inks containing dyes, on the othei hand, piovide coloi fastness because the dye dissipates into and becomes chemically oi mechanically bonded to the tibei s ot the substiate Such dye based inks aie paiticulai ly useful in punting on pυlyestei substiates, wlieie sublimation dyes effectively bond to the polyestei tibei s But because such inks employing dyes as the coloi component have tiadinonally lequned a solvent to suspend and cany the dye to the substi ate, dye-based inks have lesulted in "diop-spiead", wicking of the ink oi blui ung ol the images that aie being pi mted As a iesult, the need to leduce this diop-spiead with dye-based inks has necessitated the use ol ti anslei piocesses l athei than dnect digital punting

Fui thei moie in the ink jet punting ot textiles, specifically those made ot poious matenals oi open weave tabncs, the jetted ink passes thiough holes in the substiate and deposits onto the substi ate suppoi t Ti aditionally, an absoi bent blottei -like layei is placed undei the substi ate to collect the excess ink The handling and disposal ot the ink cau ying layei is messy and inconvenient Theie exists a need in punting ot patterns onto mattiess ticking and mattiess covei quilts as well as onto othei types ot tabncs, toi a pi ocess to bung about an effectiv e cuie ot ink compositions containing UV cui able inks and to lendei pi actical the punting w ith UV cui ble inks onto tabuc toi clog tiee ink-jet punting with stable inks that aie completely cui able lesult color fast images with a minimum ot diop spread Additionally, a bettei way is needed foi handling excess ink that passes thiough poious textiles in an ink-jet punting piocess Summary of the Invention

Objectives ot the piesent invention include pioviding ink-jet printing with stable inks, pioviding tor the complete cui ing ot such inks, and pioviding foi pi oducing coloi fast images with such punting, pai ticulai ly with a minimum ot diop spiead A tui ihei and moie pai ticulai objective ot the invention is to piovide toi the In jet punting ot dye-based inks

One objective ot the piesent invention is to pi o ide an effective method and appaiatus foi wide width dnect digital punting, and toi pi lilting onto textiles Anothei objective ot the invention is to effectively apply a stable cuiable ink onto a textile oi othei substi ate and to eltectively cuie the ink on the substi ate with UV oi othei enei y, a chemical cui mg agent oi othei cui ing medium, and paiticulai ly doing so using ink jet punting A tui thei objective ot the invention is to successfully apply and effectively cuie ink jetted onto textiles and othei substi ates in a leliable niannei w ithout a tendency ot the nozzles ot the heads to fiequently clog Pai ticulai ly it is an objective ol the invention to punt onto textile tabncs and wide width substi ates with a piezo oi othei mechanical oi electio mechanical pi int head

Anothei objective ot the invention is to piovide toi the punting onto textiles and othei textuied oi wide width substiates using a puiitable substance that lemains stable until deposited onto the suitace ot the substiate, and pai ticulai ly by cui ing the substance a sufficiently shoi t time tiom when the substance contacts the substi ate to ti eeze the substance and pievent the spieadmg t ei eot It is a tin ther objective ot the invention to do so while pioviding coloi fastness oi othei advantages ot dye-based inks

A pai ticulai objective is to piovide such a pi ocess toi printing with UV ink oi othei inks that aie cui able by exposuie to impinging enei gy A pai ticulai objective ot the invention is to piovide toi the effective cui ing ot UV inks jetted onto textile oi tabuc by i educing uncuied monomeis and othei exti actable non-solvent polyineuzation leactants, including leactant bypioducts, oi components ot the ink, to a level most likely to be tolei able by oi acceptable to pei sons contacting the punted substi ates

Anothei objective ot the invention is to accommodate ink that lsjetted thiough a poious oi open weave substi ate in a neat and el l icient niannei

Accoi ding to the pnnciples ol the piesent invention, a stable ink is digitally punted onto tabnc and setting ot the ink is initiated attei the ink is deposited onto the substi ate By a ' stable ink" is meant one that ill not begin to cuie thicken oi othei w ise change piopei ties in a way that will advei sely attect the ability to apply the ink to the substi ate unless and until such ink is exposed to a cui ing medium that is othei wise absent fiom its envnυnment Inks that begin to set oi which thicken upon evapoiation ot a solvent aie not stable as heiein defined Inks that begin to polymeuze beloie being exposed to UV light fiom a pai ticulai light souice oi to chemical agents that aie piovided to contact the inks attei being applied to a substi ate aie also not consideied stable

In the piefeu ed embodiment, stable UV ink monomei s aie deposited onto the substiate and polyineuzation ot the ink is initiated by exposuie to dt\ impinged energy beam, such as UV, EB oi othei such enei gy beam In accoi dance with cei tain aspects ot the invention, the UV exposed oi othei wise polyineuzation initiated ink is theieattei subjected to heat to l educe the content in the ink of unpolymei ized polymeuzable ieactants and othei exti actable components ot the ink to low levels that aie likely to be tolei able oi othei wise acceptable to pei sons contacting the tabuc Accoiding to embodiments ol the invention stable dye components can aie added to the othei wise polymeuzable 01 stable ink 01 othei pi intahle cυloi ant oi substance to toi in a stable composition The composition is digitally punted onto the substi ate, v hei eupon the dye component is bi ought into contact with fibei sui taces in the tabuc to chemically bond 01 toi m an affinity with those suitaces Polyineuzation ot the UV oi othei cui able ink component is initiated by exposuie to an impinged eneigy beam, such as UV EB oi othei such eneigy beam This exposui e is pietei ably earned out upon contact of the substrate by the substance 01 immedkitely attei This effects at least a sin face euie ot the UV oi othei cuiable ink component, f ieezmg the dots on the substi ate surface and pieventing dot spi ead, but geneially has little effect on the dye component Then the pai tially polynienzed oi cuied punted substance is theieattei subjected to heat to complete chemical bonding ot the dye oi to finalize toi mation ot its af f inity to the fibei suitaces, and to leduce the unpolymenzed polymeuzable leactants and othei extiactable components ot the UV oi othei cui able component In paiticulai the invention pi ovides toi an ink composition which contains, in combination with the UV ink υi othei inks cui able by ex|)osuie to impinging enei gy one oi moie dyes which aie both leactive oi have an affinity to some oi all ot the fibei sui taces ot the tabnc and ai e compatible with the UV oi othei cui able ink I he UV inks oi othei inks cui able by exposuie to impinging enei gy ai e compused ot a polymeuzable poition and at least one pigment suspended m the polymeuzable poi tion

The ink composition incoi poi ates a scpai ate dye component which is combined with the UV oi othei impinging enei y cui able ink base The base may oi may not also contain pigment The dye component ot such ink compositions may be selected tioin the gioup including, but not limited to, dispei sion dyes reactive dyes acid dyes, basic dyes, metallized dyes, naphthol dyes and dyes that do not lequiie a post-tieatment to either set the dye oi to develop the coloi Dispeision dyes ai e widely used toi dyeing most manutactuied tibei s, including paiticulai ly the tibei s ot polyestei and othei synthetic textiles Reactive dyes aie anionic dyes which leact with hydioxyl gioups in cellulose tibei s in the iesence ot alkali Acid dyes are used on wool and othei animal tibei s as well as cei tam manutactuied tibeis such as nylon Basic dyes are positive-ion-can ymg dyes which have a dnect aff inity foi wool and silk These dyes may also be used on basic dyeable aci yhcs modaci yhcs nylons and polyestei s Naphthol dyes aie toi med on the fibei by tn st tieating the fibei with a phenolic compound in caustic solution and then applying a solution ot a diazonium salt the salt leacts with the phenolic compound to pioduce a coloied azo compound Genei ally, these dyes aie used toi cellulose tibei s

Dye based inks accoiding to the piesent invention may also be applied to solid non-textile at tides as toi example cei amic mugs and plates Such ai ticlcs ai e coated with aciylates oi othei pυlymeuc substances to which dyes such as dispei sion dyes can bond With the invention, the ti aditional ti ansfei punting piocess used toi such ai tides can be leplaced with dnect digital punting with dye-based polymeuzable ink

In cei tam embodiments ot the inv ention a stable ink composition is jetted onto tabnc and the set oi cuie ot the ink is initiated by exposuie to a chemical substance, eneigy oi othei wise attei it is ejected fi om the ink jet nozzles In the pi eteued and illusti ated embodiments UV polymeuzable ink lsjetted onto the substi ate wheie it is exposed to UV light toi its cuie Pieteiably, a non-bubblejet print head such as a piezo-ciystal oi othei mechanical ink ejection ti ansducei is used to jet the ink Heat may be applied to the piezo-ci ystal oi othei mechanical ink injection ti ansducei dunng opei ation but geneially only to the extent necessaiy toi ink viscosity leduction With oi following the exjwsuie to the UV light, the punted tabnc is subjected to heat, either in the toi m ot a heated an stieam, a heated platen oi othei heal souice which eithei extends the UV light initiated cui ing piocess, dt ives oft uncuied components ot the ink, 01 both Any dye component suspended in the ink is also activated and set by the heat With a sublimation dye component the suspended dye pai tides aie believed to sublime into molecule sized pai tides which aie highly l etlective and pioduce intense coloi These molecules dispei se into cavities in the substi ate, into poi es on the textile tibei sui tace, 01 elsewheie in the cuied matnx ot the polymeuzable ink component, wheie they aie fi xed upon cooling

Typically one oi moie sets ot toui punt heads ai e piovided on a carnage, with each ot the toui heads ot each set contiguied to scan the substi ate sequentially to deposit each ot tour colors ot a CMYK coloi set In a pietened embodiment two sets ot toui punt heads each aie contiguied so that each set punts the same toui coloi s in a two punthead wide sn ip, 01 alternatively, the sets aie contiguied and conti oiled to pi int ovei the same aiea with each of eight coloi s

Moie pai ticulai ly, UV cui able ink is jetted onto the substiate, and the jetted ink is exposed to UV cunng light to cui e the UV ink component to an extent sufficient to lendei the punted image substantially lesistant to tuithei wicking, which is genei ally about 60 to 95% polyineuzation depending on ink density substiate poiosity and composition, and substi ate weight and thickness Pieteiably, UV light cunng heads ai e mounted on the cai uage cau ying the puntheads acioss the substi ate, one on each side ot the heads with the lights alternating dui ing the bidnectional motion ot the puntheads to expose the ink immediately attei being deposited on the substiate with light orn the ti ailing light cunng head T he light cunng heads aie duected onto the substi ate to expose the ink immediately attei it contacts the substi ate to tieeze the dots of ink and ctutain the wicking ot the ink into textile and othei absυi bent tabuc Then, the tabnc beai ing the pai tially cuied jetted ink is heated with heated an in a heat cunng oven oi by contacting the substi ate with a heated platen oi both, at which time the UV light initiated polyineuzation may continue oi uncuied monomei s aie vapouzed oi both in oidei to pioduce a punted image ot UV ink that contains a leduced level ot uncuied monomeis oi othei components ot the ink which is likely to be toleiable by peisons sensitive oi potentially sensitive to such ink components Wheie dye is included in the ink, the piesence ot heat facilitates chemical bonding oi affinity toi niatiυn ot umeacted dye in contact with tibei suitaces m the tabnc Pielei ably, the uncuied components ot the ink aie leduced to an oidei ot magnitude ot about a giam pei squaie metei , foi example, and genei ally not moie than about t 555 giams pei squai e metei of uncuied monomei on the tabnc substiate

In the pietened embodiments, lineal sei vo motoi s ai e piovided to duve the pi int heads, at least tiansvei sely, ovei the substi ate Lineai motoi s aie easiei to tune, l equiie little sei vice and have bettei acceleiation and deceleiation than belt oi othei duv e systems Such sei vos piovide acciu acy that enables punting to be earned out while the heads aie acceleiating oi deceleiating Piogrammed compensation is made toi the vauable head speed by the timing ot the jetting of the ink Thus, aieas ot the substi ate having no punting can be skipped at high speed, gieatly impiovmg the speed and efficiency of the pi int opeiation by minimizing the time din ing which the pi int head is not depositing ink on the substi ate To the extent that a dye component is included which does not bind chemically to the tibei suitaces oi toi m an affinity, the poi tion ot dye which does not leact with the suitaces is encapsulated within the polymenzed UV ink composition to minimize migianon ot the dye This encapsulation effect leduces oi eliminates the need toi post-n eatment to lemove the mobile dye f i om the tabnc

According to the pi eteued embodiment ot the invention, ink is jetted onto a textile matei ial oi a highly textuied tabuc such as a mattiess covei ticking matei ial, pietei ably pnoi to the quilting ot the tabnc into a mattiess covei The ink is jetted at a dot density ot about 180x256 dots pei inch pei coloi to about 300x300 dots pei inch pei coloi, though lowei dot densities ot tiom about 90x256 dots pei inch oi as low as about 90x90 dots pei inch can be applied with acceptable l esolution loi cei tam applications 1 ypical ly, toui coloi s ot a CMYK coloi palette aie applied, each in diops oi dots ot about 75 picohtei s oi appioximately 80 anogi ams, pei diop utilizing a UV ink jet punt head A UV cunng light head is piovided, which moves eithei with the pi int head oi independent ot the punt head and exposes the deposited diops ot UV ink with a beam ot about 300 watts pei hneai inch applying about 1 joule pei squai e centimetei Genei ally, UV ink will begin to cuie, at least on the sui tace, at low levels ot enei gy in the l ange ot about 20 oi 30 milhjoules pei squaie centimetei Howevei to et lect cunng in commeicial opei ation, highei UV intensities in the lange ot about 1 joule pei squaie centimetei are desued Piovided that some minimal thieshold level ot eneigy density is achieved, which can vary based on the loi mutation ot the ink, the enei y ot the beam can be vaned as a function ot tabnc speed lelative to the light head and the sensitivity ol the tabuc to damage ti om the enei gy ot the beam

The tabuc on which the jetted ink has been theieby pai tially UV cured is then passed thiough an oven wheie it is heated to about 300'F toι fiom about 30 seconds up to about thiee minutes Foiced hot an may be used to apply the heat the oven, but othei heating methods such as liitraied oi othei nidiant heateis may be used Alternatively, heated platens may be used to heat the ink beai ing matei ial, and such platens aie pai ticulai ly effective in bunging the matei ial quickly up to the 300"F tempeiatuie The UV enei gy level, ov en heating tempeiatuie and oven heat time may be vaned within a lange ot the above listed values depending on the natuie of the tabnc, the density type and composition ot the applied ink, and the speed ot the tabnc dui ing piocessmg lelative to the UV cunng light head t hus a highei ink density applied to the tabuc will geneially l equiie moie UV eneigy, highei oven heating tempei atuie, longei oven heat time oi a combination ot these vanables to effect the necessai y cunng on the pai ticulai tabuc With dye-based inks, the tempei atui e should be that most etlective to set the dye, often ovei 350 h loi example, at about 385T

The leliabihty of the pi lilting piocesses may be enhanced, accoiding to cei tam aspects of the invention, by piecondmoning the substi ate, such as by piecoating, shaving oi singeing ot the sui tace to be punted Such pieconditioning eliminates dust and lint that could collect on the punt heads and potentially contnbute to clogging ol the nozzles

The invention tui thei piovides an online punthead cleaning station toi automatic cleaning ot the puntheads din ing the coui se ot the punting piocess Pietei ably, pei iodically dui ing the couise ot the punting ot an extended aiea substi ate, the punthead cai uage is ti avei sed to the punthead cleaning station wheie ink is jetted fiom the heads to pui ge the nozzles and the heads aie wiped ot ink and toieign mattei that might have collected on them

The invention tui thei piovides toi ΛU ink composition which contains, in combination with the UV ink oi othei inks cuiable by exposuie to impinging enei gy, one oi moie dyes which aie both leactive oi have an affinity to some oi all ot the tibei surfaces ot the tabuc and aie compatible with the UV oi othei cui able ink

The UV inks oi othei inks cui able by exposuie to impinging enei gy aie compused of a polymeuzable poi tion and at least one pigment, suspended in the polymeuzable poi tion

Stable dye components can be added to the othei wise polymei izable ink to toi m a stable composition ^'I he composition is digitally punted onto the substi ate wheieupon the dye component is biought into contact with tibei surfaces in the tabuc to chemically bond Fui thei , the amount ot heat applied is that needed to cause leaction oi toi m an affinity with those sui taces Polyineuzation ot the UV or othei cui able ink component is initiated by exposuie to an impinged eneigy beam, such as UV, EB oi othei such eneigy beam This effects at least a surface cuie of the UV oi othei cui able ink component, but genei ally has little effect on the dye component Then the pai tially polymenzed 01 cuied mk is theieaftei subjected to heat to both complete chemical bonding ot the dye υi finalizing foi mation ot an affinity to the tibei surfaces and leduce the unpolymei ized polymeuzable leactants and othei exti aclable components ot the UV oi othei cui able ink component to low levels that aie likely to be tolei able oi othei wise acceptable to pei sons contacting the tabuc Wheie such dye is included in the ink the piesence ot heat facilitates chemical bonding oi aff inity foi mation of unieacted dye in contact with tibei sui taces in the tabuc Wheie the ink composition mcoi poi ates a sepai ate suitace ot the substi ate is a function ot at least the dye component which is combined with the UV oi othei cuiable ink base, the dye poi tion ot such ink compositions may be selected tiom dyes that aie stable and aie compatible with the ink and the substiate, and aie selected t iom the giυup that includes, but is not limited to, dispeise dyes, i each ve dyes, acid dyes, basic dyes metallized dyes, naphthol dyes and othei dyes which do not lequiie a post-neatment to eithei set the dye oi to develop the coloi Dispei se dyes aie widely used toi dyeing most manufactured tibeis Reactive dyes aie anionic dyes which leact with hydioxyl gi oups in cellulose tibei s in the piesence of alkali Acid dyes aie used on wool and othei animal tibei s, as well as cei tam manutactuied tibeis such as nylon Basic dyes aie positive- lon-canying dyes which have a dnect aff inity toi w ool and silk these dyes may also be used on basic-dyeable aci yhcs modaci yhcs, nylons, and polyestei s Naphthol dyes aie toi med on the tibei by fu st ti eating the tibei w lth a phenolic compound m caustic solution ind then applying a solution ot a diazonium salt the salt leacts with the phenolic compound to pioduce a coloied azo compound Genei ally, these dyes aie used toi cellulose tibei s

To the extent that a dye component is included which does not bind chemically to the tibei surfaces oi toi m an affinity, the poi tion ol dye which does not leact with the suitaces is encapsulated within the polymenzed UV ink composition to minimize migi ation ol the dye This encapsulation effect leduces oi eliminates the need toi post-tieatment to lemove the mobile dye tiom the tabnc

Fui thei the amount ol heat needed to cause leaction oi toi m an affinity ot the dye component when mcluded, with the tibei surface ot the tabuc is a function ot at least the dye component cυncentiatiυn, dye chemical composition, tibei composition, and tabnc pi ocess g speed past oi thiough the heat souice Genei ally, the uppei limits toi the UV oi othei impinging beam ol enei gy and oven heating tempei atuie aie those values which, when applied to the specific ink and tabuc, begin to damage or otheiwise advei sely attect the applied ink, the undei lying tabuc oi both

The invention has the advantage that toi ditteient inks and using ditteient cutei ia toi the desued lesidual amount of uncui ed ink components lemainmg on the substiate, the pai ameteis can be vaned to inciease oi l educe the iesidual amount By incieasing oi decieasing the intensity of enei gy, oi using a dif teient toi m ot enei gy than UV, oi by incieasing oi decieasing the time ot exjrosuie ot the ink to the eneigy, the amount ot leniaining unpolymei ized non-solv ent ink components can be changed Additionally, using highei oi lowei tempei atuies, oi moie oi less an flow, oi gieatei oi less heating time in the post cunng oven, can change the final comjrosition ot the ink on the substi ate Caie howevei , should be taken that the eneigy cunng oi heating piocess does not damage the tabuc oi the ink A tui thei advantage ot the invention is that a poi tion ot the ink composition can be included that will combine with tibei suitaces to piovide coloi ation which is chemically bonded or has an affinity to those sui taces Coloi oi wash fastness due to chemical l eaction oi affinity foi mation ot the dye to t ibei surfaces ovei at least a poi tion ol the punted tabuc is accomplished while maintaining the advantage of mechanical bonding ot the UV mk component onto othei poitions ot the tibei

The invention makes it possible to punt images on tabnc with UV curable ink by pioviding effective cunng ot the ink, leaving less than a nominal 1 5 giams ot uncuied monomei s pei squaie metei ot punted matei ial and usually leaving only about 0 1 gi ms pei squaie metei ot uncuied monomei s Thus, the invention piovides the benefits ot using UV cui able ink ovei watei and solvent based inks including the advantages ot high coloi satuiation potential low potential sensitivity oi toxicity, and without clogging the jet nozzles and enabling the use ot piezo oi othei high longevity pnnt heads Fui thei moie the encapsulation ettect piovided by the cuied UV ink substantially oi completely piev ents migi ation ol non-binding dye, it included onto othei sections ot the tabuc, oi onto othei tabncs as in the case ot w ashing the punted tabnc with othei items Fui thei moie, the ability to punt on wide width tabncs with polymeuzable inks, which do not toi m chemical bonds with the substi ates and thei etoie aie not matei ial dependent, piovides an advantage, pai ticulai ly w ith tabncs such as mattiess covei s and othei tumituie and bedding pioducts

The invention also makes possible the digital punting ot shai p, cleai images with dye-based inks on suitaces wheie the spieading ot the dots has heietofoie occuned

In accoi dance with othei punciples ot the invention, ink that passes thiough a porous oi open weave substi ate is collected and lemoved w ithout contaminating the substi ate Wheie a substiate, toi example, is a texti le sheet oi is in the toi m ot a continuous loll-to loll web that is ted thiough a punting station at a cai uage cai ues an ink jet punthead an ay acioss the substiate and jets ink onto the substiate Where the substrate is poi ous oi ol an open weave, ink passes thiough the substi ate Foi such a substiate a layei ot piotective film, pietei ahly ot the type to which the ink does not sti ongly adheie, undei hes the substi ate A sheet ot TEFLON oi othei non-stick matei ial, may, toi example be used to covei a table on which the substiate is suppoited

Pieteiably, the substiate is maintained in tension oi othei wise suppoited out ot contact with an undei lying suitace and a sui tace ot a table in the legion undei the punthead is pi ovided with the layei ot pi otectiv e film Ink deposited onto the film may be pai tially cuied paiticulai ly wheie it is UV cui able ink and UV light that is piovided to cuie ink on the substi ate also pai tially impinges on the piotective film Wheie the substi ate contacts the undei lying suitace, the film is pieteiably such that the adhesion between the jetted and pai tially cui ed k and the layei ot piotective im is only gieat enough to piev ent the ink tiom being wiped fiom its suitace b) the substiate In any event, this adhesion is pi etei ably such that ink can be easily lemoved by wiping oi washing ti om the piotective film layei

The collection ot Ink that is jetted tiom a punthead thiough a poious substi ate is useful f oi all types otjetted ink, but paiticulai ly whei e the ink is UV cuiable ink In such a case, a pumaiy UV light cunng souice exposes the ink that has been jetted onto the substi ate Pietei ably, the cunng light is mounted on oi neai the cai uage to cine the ink immediately attei it leaches the substi ate so that the dots ot ink aie tiozen betoie they hav e a chance to flow into the substi ate oi spi ead As some mk passes thiough holes in the substi ate and deposits onto the undei lying lelease layei UV light tiom the pumai y souice exposes the ink on the layei may be dnected to at least pai tially cui e the ink deposited onto the piotective film In this case the souice pietei ably - I I - emits essentially paiallel UV light oi light having a focal length sufficiently long that the light peneti ates the substi ate at the holes and cuies ink on the undei lying layei Anothei UV cunng souice may alternatively be piovided oi piovided in addition to the UV souice on the pumai y soui ce toi cunng ink on the lelease layei The layei may be fixed so that the substi ate moves pai allel to it υi may be in the toi m ot a belt that moves with the substi ate The mk on the lelease layei , which is al least pai tially cuied, may be wφed 01 vacuumed tiom the layei

These and othei objects ot the piesent invention will be moie leadily appaient tiom the following detailed descnption of the pietened embodiments ot the invention Brief Description ot the Drawinn Fig. 1 is a diagi ammatic pei spective view ot a one embodiment ot a web-ted mattiess covei punting and quilting machine embodying punciples ol the piesent invention

Fig. 2 is a peispective view of an ink jet punting machine embodying punciples ot the piesent invention

Fig. 3 is cioss-sectional view ol the punting machine ot Fig. 2 Fig. 4 is a pei spective view of a poi tion ot the machine ol Figs. 2 and 3

Fig. 5 is a top view ot the poi tion ot the machine illusti ated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5A is a pei spective view ot a poi tion ot Fig. 5

Figs. 6 and 6A-6D aie punts ot display sci eens ot the opeiatoi tenninal and intoimation budge ot the machine ot Fig. 1 Figs.7A-7C ai e diagi ams i llusti ating ltei natl ve embodiments ot the teatuie ot the invention by which ink jetted thiough a poious substiate is accommodated Detailed Description ot the Preferred Embodiment

Fig. 1 illusti ates a quilting machine 10 having a stationai y tiame I t with a longitudinal extent lepiesented by an anow 12 and a ti ansveise extent lepiesented by an anow 13 The machine 10 has a tiont end 14 into which is advanced a web 15 of ticking oi facing matei ial from a supply loll 16 lotatably mounted to the ti ame 1 1 A loll ot backing matei ial 17 and one oi moie ils of fillei material 18 aie also supplied in web toi m on lolls also lotatably mounted to the ti ame 1 1 The webs aie dnecled ai ound a pluiality ot lollei s (not shown) onto a conveyoi oi conveyoi system 20 each at vauous points along the conveyoi 20 The conveyoi system 20 pietei ably includes a pan ot opposed pin tenteung belt sets 21 which extend thiough the machine 10 and onto which the outei layei 15 is ted at the tiont end 14 ot the machine 10 The belt sets 21 letain the web 15 in a piecisely known longitudinal position theieon as the belt sets 21 can y the web 15 thi ough the longitudinal extent ot the machine 10, pieteiably with an accui acy ot 0 to 1/4 inch The longitudinal movement ot the belts 21 is contiolled by a conveyoi dnve 22 The conveyoi 20 may take alternative toi ms including, but not limited to, opposed cog belt side secuiements longitudinally moveable positive side clamps that engage and tension the matei ial ot the web 15 oi othei secui ing sti uctuie toi holding the facing matei ial web 15 fi xed l elative to the conveyoi 20

Along the conveyoi 20 aie piovided thiee stations, including an ink jet punting station 25, a UV light cunng station 24, a heated di ymg station 26 a quilting station 27 and a panel cutting station 28 The backing matei ial 17 and tillei matei ial 18 aie biought into contact with the top layei 15 between the di ying station 26 and the quilting station 27 to toi m a multi-layeied matei ial 29 toi quilting at the quilting station 27 Pieteiably, the layei s 17, 18 aie not engaged by the belt sets 2 I ol the conveyoi 20, but l athei , aie biought into contact with the bottom ot the web 15 upstieam ot the quilting station 27 to extend beneath the web 15 thiough the quilting station 27 and between a pan ot pinch i nllei s 44 at the downstieam end ot the quilting station 27 The ιolleι s 44 opei ate in synchionism with the belt sets 21 and pull the webs 17, 18 thiough the machine 10 with the web 15 The punting station 25 includes one oi moi e ink jet punting heads 30 that aie tiansvei sely moveable aci oss the ti ame J 1 and may also be longitudinally moveable on the ti ame 11 undei the powei ot a tiansvei se duve 3 1 and an optional longitudinal duve 32 Altei natively, the head 30 may extend acioss the width ot the web 15 and be contigui ed to pnnt an entiie tiansvei se line ot pomts simultaneously onto the web 15

The ink jet punting head 30 is contigui ed to jet UV ink at 75 picohtei s, oi appioximately 80 nanogi ams, pei diop and to do so toi each ot toui coloi s accoiding to a CMYK coloi pallette Pietei ably, the pnnting head 30 does not undei go a heating step dunng opeiation A mechanical oi electio-mechanical punt head such as a piezo pi ml head is pietened The dots aie pieteiably dispensed at a iesolution ot about 180 dots pei inch by about 256 dots pei inch The l esυlution may be highei oi lowei as desned, but the 180x256 lesolution is pietened It desnable toi tinei images oi gieatei coloi satui ation, 300x300 dots pei inch is pieleiable The diops ot the ditteient coloi s can be side-by-side oi dot-on-dot Dot-on-dot (sometimes leteued to as diop-υn-diop) pioduces highei density

The punt head 30 is pi ovided with cυπtiols that allow toi the selective opei ation ot the head 30 to selectively pi int two-dimensional designs 34 ol onc oi moie coloi s onto the top layei web 15 The dnve 22 toi the conveyoi 20, the duves 31 ,32 toi the pnnt head 30 and the opeiation ot the pnnt head 30 aie pi ogi am contiolled to punt patterns at known locations on the web 15 by a conti ollei 35, which includes a memoi y 36 toi stoi ing pi ogi ammed patterns, machine conti ol piogi ams and l eal time data l egaiding the natuie and longitudinal and ti ansveise location ot punted designs on the web 15 and the l elative longitudinal position ot the web 15 in the machine 10

The UV cunng station 24 includes a UV light cunng head 23 that may move with the pnnt head 30 oi , as is i llusti ated, move independently ot the punt head 30 The UV light cunng head 23 is contiguied to shai ply focus a nanow longitudinally extending beam of UV light onto the punted surface ot the tabuc The head 23 is pi ovided with a tiansvei se dnve 1 which is contiolled to ti nsveisely scan the punted surface ot the tabnc to move the light beam acioss the tabuc Pi etei ably, the head 23 is intelligently contiolled by the conti ollei 35 to selectively opei ate and quickly move acioss aieas having no punting and to scan only the punted images with UV light at a late sufficiently slow to UV cuie the ink, theieby avoiding wasting time and UV enei gy scanning unpi inted aieas It the head 23 is included in the punting station 25 and is coupled to move with the pnnt head 30, UV cunng light can be used in synchionism with the dispensing ot the ink immediately lollowing the dispensing of the ink

The UV cunng station 24, in the illusti ated embodiment, is located immediately downstieam ot the punting station 25 so that the tabnc, immediately toi lowing punting, is subjected to a UV light cui e In theoi y, one photon ot UV light is lequned to cuie one tiee ladical ot ink monomei so as to set the ink In piactice, one joule ot UV light eneigy is supplied by the UV cunng head 23 pei squaie centimetei of punted sui tace aiea This is achieved by sweeping a UV beam acioss the punted aiea ot the tabnc at a powei ot 300 watts pei hneai inch ot beam width and exposing the sui tace loi a time sufficient to dehvei the eneigy at the desned density Alternatively, if tabnc thickness and opacity aie not too high, cunng light can be piojected tiom both sides ot the tabuc to enhance the cunng of the UV mk Using power much highei can lesult in the burning oi even combustion ot the tabuc, so UV powei has an uppei pi actical limit

The heat cunng oi di ymg station 26 is hxed to the ti ame 1 1 , pieterably immediately downstieam ot the UV light cunng station With sufficient UV cuie to stabilize the ink such that the punted image is substantially lesistant to tuithei wicking, the ink will be sufficiently coloi -fast so as to pci mit the diy g station to be off-line, oi downstieam ot the quilting station 27 In embodiments in which a dye component is inc luded in the ink composition, the dye will have eithei leacted oi toi med an affinity with cei tam tibei suitaces, oi will have become substantially oi completely encapsulated within the cui ed UV in component When on-line the di ymg station should extend sufficiently along the length ot tabnc to adequately cuie the punted ink at the l te that the tabnc is punted Heat cuie at the oven oi di ymg station 26 maintains the tempei tuie ol the ink on the tabnc at about 300°F toi up to thi ee minutes Heating ot tiom 30 seconds to 3 minutes is the anticipated acceptable l ange Heating by tυiced hot ΛU IS pietened, although othei heat souices, such as mfiaied heatei s, can be used as long as they adequately peneti ate the tabuc to the depth ot the ink

The exact peicentage ot tolei able uncuied monomei s vaues from ink to mk and pioduct to pioduct Genei ally, it is thought that uncuied monomei s ot UV curable ink should be leduced to below about 0 1%, υi

1000 PPM In the pieten ed embodiment ot the invention, uncuied monomei s ot UV cui able ink aie l educed to less than 100 PPM and pi etei ably to about I 0 PPM As explained above, each 1 PPM is equivalent to about 15 5 milhgi ams extractables pet squaie metei ol punted matei ial As used heiein, the peicentage oi portion ot i emainmg uncuied monomei s letei s to the mass ot exti actable matei ial that can be removed tiom a given sample ot cuied ink by immei smg the cuied ink sample in dn aggiessive solvent such as toluene, and measunng the amount ot matei ial in the solvent that is lemoved orn the ink by the solvent The measui ements aie made with a gas chiomatogi aph with a mass detectoi In the pietened embodiment ot the invention the measuied amount ot matei ial l emoved tiom a given sample ot the ink is less than 1 5 gi ams exti actables pei squaie metei ot punted matei ial Measuiements ot highei than 100 PPM oi 1 5 gi ams exti actables pei squaie metei of punted matei ial ai e undesu able Measui ements ot 10 PPM aie pietened

In cei tam embodiments, an k composition compi ismg a UV mk component and a dye component aie toi mulated in a mannei which genei ates a compatible shelf-stable composition The lelative concent! ation l anges ot UV ink component to dye component in such compositions will vai y with the natuie ot the tabnc being punted, and the l espective physical chai actei istics ot the UV ink and dye components Non-limiting physical chaiactei istics ot the UV ink and dye which aie evaluated in connection with enhancing compatibi lity ot the UV ink component with the dye component include polanty, viscosity, and pH The dye and UV ink would he selected so that no leaction occui s oi can be expected to occui between these ink components oi with any othei incoi poi ated additive undei the conditions expected dunng stυi age and punting opei ation

The heating the dye-based cuied mk may oi may not be earned out to leduce the uncuied level ot uncuied monomei s of the cui able component on the substiate With the dye-based toi mulation, the heating step ot the piocess causes the dye to set With sublimation dyes, toi example, heat causes dye pai tides to sublime into the substiate such as, toi example, into polyestei tabuc tibei s The heating pi ocess causes dyeing by the dispei sion piocess, paiticulai ly with a subclass ol such dispei sion dyes known as sublimation dyes, wheie heat causes the dye pai tides to change state tiom solid to gas duectly The heat opens poies in the polyestei tibei allowing the gas to entei It also is believed to cause the pai tides ot dye to entei a moleculai toi which is moie highly l etlective and capable of pioducmg moi e bu lliant coloi on the substi ate Once the matei ial cools, the dye pai tides aie ti apped nitei nally in the polyestei tibei , possibly levei ting back to then solid state oi at least being fixed in the solid substi ate tibei s Some ot the dispei sed dye may also be enti apped in poies in the matux ot the cuied UV 01 othei cuiable medium The matux may be a polymeuzable ink tυi mulation 01 the deal polymeuzable ink base with the dye suspended 01 othei wise contained thei em Foi example, the UV ink can be a cleai UV ink oi ink base that only contains dye pai tides It may also, but need not contain an ink pigment Effectively, using the cleai base would lesult all ot the coloi ation being denved tiom the sublimation or othei dispeision of the dye pai tides in the ink into the polyestei tibei s ot the substi ate, and tiom the potential dyeing ot the cleai UV polymei itself by the dye pai ticles This has sevei al advantages ovei othei ink jet dye piocesses Firstly, spot cunng with UV light tieezes the UV ink diop immediately altei in hits the substiate suitace Once this ink diop is heated the dye sublimes at the exact point wheie it was ti ozen This eliminates the "diop spi ead" associated with watei based and othei pnoi dye based ink jetting piocesses With these othei pi ocesses, the dye cai uei , usually watei , must be dnven out tiom the substi ate, oi the dye must be heated to sublime, in oi dei to li mit the di op spi ead v ia wicking Tins is extiemely diffi ult to accomplish in a timely fashion lelative to the point in time when the ink diop is jetted Ultimately, conliolling the diop spiead lesults in cleaiei images with considei ably highei levels of coloi satui ation and "ti ne" coloi gamut lepicsentation

By using a cleai UV base ink devoid ot pigments, the lesulting "hand" ot the tabnc is sottei than oidinai y UV based pigment ink systems I his is due to the tact that the coloiation ot the substrate, wheie a tabu ot polyestei oi cotton/polyestei mix, is accomplished via the sublimation ot the dye pai ticles As a iesult the tabuc tibeis aie believed to be coloied on a moleculai level With oidinai y pigment systems, the pigment pai tide would lemain in solid toi m, encapsulated within the UV matux Since these pai ticles aie vei y hard by natuie, the lesult is a significantly stittei tabnc hand The use of a UV cleai base with only dye pai ticles eliminates this haid hand The coloi letention attei lepeated washing of the cleai UV + dye is extiemely high I his is due to the tact that dyed tibei s aie the excellent at letainmg then coloi fastness attei lepeated washings The only effect the washings have upon the tabuc is to wash away some level ot the UV aci ylate Although a small peicentage ol the coloied aci ylate is lost dunng the wash pi ocess, the majonty ot dyed polyestei tibei s le ain unaffected At the same tune the hand ot the matei ial impioves as the au ylaie is washed away The use ot UV based pigment inks that ai e also loaded with dye pai ticles has sevei al benefits This type ot mk system allows us to be unconcerned as to substi ate composition This is possible since the pigment based UV ink is substiate inditteient At the same time, it the substi ate contains a polyestei oi polymei , the dye poi tion ot this ink will dye it dunng the heating/sublimation oi othei dispei sion piocess It the substi ate is devoid ot dyeable components then the dye pai ticles wi ll coloi the UV polymei dunng the heating pi ocess This combined dye + pigment matux can aftoi the usei the benefits ot a substiate independent ink while of lei g the additional benef its ot coloi fastness on washable matenals containing polyestei tibei s oi polymei s At the same time this pigment + dye UV ink system letams all ot the advantages discussed above

With the dye-based inks, the heat sets the dye, which applies to many dyes and many substiates UV ink can be only the ink base, without a pigment Sublimation ot dispei sed dye is the mechanism applicable to polyestei , but the concept is not limited to sublimation oi to polyestei Foi polyestei dyeing can occui by heating the dispo sed dye without getting to sublimation but in pi actice, the majonty ot the dyeing involves sublimation Sublimation was at one time thought to be something to be avoided Dispei sed dye can be used on polyestei mix It is thought that a UV ink matux with leactive dye can be used toi cotton Theie aie othei dye gioups Most dye gioups will wυi k using a UV 01 othei polymeuzable matux Dyes that must be earned in solution ai e believed to woi k less effectively, as is the case with acid dyes such as inoidant dyes Direct oi substantive dyes aie expected to woi k with this piocess moie effectively Foi leactive dyes and dyes that l equue watei solution watei matux UV can be used, and steam setting can be used to set such dyes

In addition to heat, othei mechanisms can be used toi setting the dye, which can be detei mined tiom those mechanisms commonly used with pai ticulai dyes and substiate combinations Howevei , the majoi and most lmpoi tant commeicial use expected in the neai t utuie will involve heat cunng ot UV earned dye on polyestei

Retel l ing tui thei to Fig. 1 the quilting station 27 is located downsti earn ot the oven 26 in the pietened embodiment Pieteiably a single needle quilting station such as is descnbed in U S Patent Application Senal No 08/831,060 to Jeff Kaettei hemy, et al and entitled Web-fed Cham-stitch Single-needle Mattiess Covei Quiltei with Needle Deflection Compensation which is expiessly incoi poiated by leteience heiein, now U S

Patent No 5,832,849 Othei suitable single needle type quilting machines with which the piesent invention may be used ai e disclosed in U S Patent Applications Sei lal Nos 08/497 727 and 08/687 225 both entitled Quilting Method and Appaiatus, expiessly incoi poi ated by leteience heiem, now U S Patents Nos 5,640,916 and 5 685 250 l espeetively 1 he quilting station 27 ma) also include a multi-needle quilting sti uctuie such as that disclosed in U S Patent No 5 154 130 also expiessl) incoipoiated by leteience heiem In the tiguie a single needle qui lting head 38 is illustiated which is ti ansvei sely moveable on a cai uage 39 which is longitudinally moveable on the ti ame 1 1 so that the head 38 can stitch 360° patterns on the multi-layeied matei ial 29

The contiollei 35 contiols the lelative position ot the head 38 lelative to the multi-layeied matei ial 29, which is maintained at a piecisely known position by the opei ation ot the dnve 22 and conveyor 20 by the contiollei 35 and thiough the stoiage ot positioning inlounation in the niemoiy 36 ot the contiollei 35 In the quilting station 27, the quilting head 38 quilts a stitched pattern in registiation with the punted pattern 34 to pi oduce a combined oi composite punted and quilted pattern 40 on the multi-layeied web 29 This may be achieved, as in the illusti ated embodiment by holding the assembled web 29 stationaiy in the quilting station 27 hile the head 38 moves, on the ti ame 1 1 , both ti ansvei sely undei the powei of a ti ansvei se hneai sei vo dnve 41, and longitudinally undei the powei ot a longitudinal sei vo dnve 42, to stitch the 360^" pattern by di ivmg the sei vos 41,42 in lelatiυn to the known position ot the pattern 34 by the contiollei 35 based on i ntoi mation in its memoi y 36 Altei natively the needles ot a single oi multi-needle qui lting head may be mov ed lelative to the web 29 by moving the qui lting head 38 only ti ansvei sely l elative to the ti ame 1 1 while moving the web 29 longitudinally lelative to the qui lling station 27, undei the powei ot conveyoi dnve 22 which can be made to l evei sibly 0|)eιate the conveyoi 20 undei the contiol of the contiollei 35

In cei tam applications, the oi dei ot the punting and quilting stations 25,27 lespectivel} can be l evei sed, with the punting station 25 located downstieam ot the quilting station 27, toi example the station 50 as illustiated by phantom lines in the tiguie When at the station 50, the pnnting is legisteied with the quilting pi eviously applied at the quilting station 27 In such an ai i angement, the function ot the cunng station 26 would also be leloeated to a point downstieam ot both the quilting station 27 and punting station 50 υi be included in the punting station 50, as illustiated

The cutott station 28 is located downstieam of the downstieam end ot the conveyoi 20 The cuiott station 28 is also contiolled by the contiollei 35 in synchionism with the quilting station 27 and the conveyoi 20 and it may be contiolled in a mannei that will compensate toi shiinkage of the multi-layeied mateiial web 29 dunng quilting at the quilting station 27 oi in such othei mannei as descnbed and illustiated in U S Patent No 5,544,599 entitled Piogiam Contiolled Quiltei and Panel Cuttei System with Automatic Shiinkage Compensation heieby expiessly incoipoiated by leteience heiein Infoimation legaiding the shiinkage ot the tabuc dunng quilting which is due to the gaihei in t mateiial that lesults when thick, tilled multi-layei mateiial is quilted, can betaken into account by the contiollei 35 when quilting in legistiation with the punted pattern 34

The panel cuttei 28 sepaiates individual punted and quilted panels 45 tiom the web 38, each beaiing a composite punted and quilted pattern 40 The cut panels 45 aie lemoved tiom the output end ot the machine by an outteed conveyoi 46, which also opeiates undei the contiol ot the contiollei 35

Piezo pnnt heads useful toi this piocess aie made by Spectia ot New Hampshire UV cunng heads useful toi this piocess aie made by Fusion UV Systems, Inc Gaitheisburg, Maiyland

An alternative embodiment ot the invention is the ink jet punting machine 600 illustiated in Fig.2 The machine 600 is a loll-to-iυll Inkjet pnnting machine that is particulaily contiguied toi pnnting onto wide textile webs Such machines aie paiticulaily useful toi punting a facing layei ot mateiial which may then be tiansteiied to a quilting machine on a scpaiate quilting line oi to teed mateiial downstieam to a quilting station as in the embodiment illustiated in Fig.1 descnbed above The machine 600 is also paiticulaily suited to punt on textiles that aie not necessaiily to be used in a quilted pioduct such as toi signs, banneis appaicl and othei pioducts

The pnnting machine 600 has a statiυnaiy housing 601 with a longitudinal extent lepiesented by anow 602 and a tiansveise extent lepiesented by anow 603 ^'I he machine 600 has a fi out end 604 fiom which is advanced a substiate web ot textile mateiial 605 downstieam in the longitudinal duection The mateiial may be a gicige goods textile mateiial oi some othei mateiial on which pnnting is desned Wheie the material is a textile, it can have been pieconditioned by piecoating, shaving oi singeing ot the surface to be punted to eliminate dust and lint that could collect on the pnnt heads and potentially conti ibute to clogging of the nozzles Failuie to lemove the fuzz can cause the fuzz υi dust to be sucked into the nozzle oiifices as the flow leveises between dot ejections, which could clog the nozzles

An opeiatoi station 606 is piovided at the light sideot the tiont end otthe housing 601 having a push button contiol panel 607 and a touch scieen and display 608 The housing 601 includes a base assembly 609 which suppoits the machine 600 and encloses the supply ot substiate mateiial as descnbed in connection with Fig.3 below Acioss the top ot the housing 601 tiansveisely and suppoited on the base 609 extends an infoimation budge 610 The infoimation budge 610 has toui display scieens 611-614 facing the tiont 604 ot the machine 600 Fiom the contiol panel 606 an opeiatoi can select the infoimation to be displayed on each ot the scieens 611-614 Such infoimation can includ status data machine paiametei settings scheduling batch and pioduct infoimation, pattern data machine status and alaim conditions, oi othei infoimation useful in opeiating the machine One oi moie ot the scieens 611-614 can also be set to display video images of the pnnting aiea oi the substi ate downstieam ot the punting station tiom infoi mation captuied by video camei as (not shown) mounted on the machine 600

The base 609 ot the housing 601 has a conveyoi table 615 on the top theieot on the upwardly facing hoi izontal suitace ot which is suppoi ted a length ot the substi ate web 605 toi pnnting as illusti ated in Figs. 3 and 4 The conveyoi table 615 has a conveyoi belt 616 that extends ti ansveisely acioss the width ot the table

615 on nansversely extending lollei s 617 and 618 that aie lespectively lotatably mounted at the tiont and back ot the base 609 of the housing 601 The belt 6 L6 extends acioss the width ot the ti ame 601 and tests on a smooth stainless steel vacuum table 620 which lias theiein an an ay of upwai dly facing vacuum holes 621 which communicate with the undei side ol the belt 616 The belt 616 has a high ti iction i iibbei-hke polvmeuc suitace 622 to help pi event a hoi izontal sliding ot the substiate 605 and thiough which an au ay ot holes 623 is piovided to facilitate communication ot the vacuum orn the v acuum table 620 to the substiate 605 The belt 616 is inelastic and has an open w eave backing 107 winch pi ovides dimensional stability to the belt 616 while allowing the vacuum to be communicated between the holes 621 ot the vacuum table 620 and the holes 623 in the suitace 622 ot the belt 616 I he toi waid motion ot the substi ate 605 lelative to the on the housing 601 is piecisely contiollable by indexing ot the belt 616 by conti ol ot a DC biushless sei vo dnve motoi 624 (Fig. 3) toi the lollei s 617,618 with signals tiom a contiollei 625 behind the opeiatoi panel 606 on the housing 601 The indexing of the belt 616 is contiollable to dn accuiacy ot about 0 0005 inches to move the substiate web 605 lelative to the housing 601

Fixed to the base 609 ot the housing 601 and extending tiansvei sely theieot is a punting budge 630 above the conveyoi table 615 and below the lntoi mation budge 610 The pnnting budge 630 supports a pnnt head cai uage 631 toi ti ansveise movement above and pai allel to the substiate 605 suppoi ted on the conveyor table 615, as illustiated in moie detail in Figs. 3 and 4 The budge 630 has a pan ot lails 632 on the tiont side theieot on hich the cai uage 631 is adapted to move A lineai sei vo motoi 633 has a statoi bai 633a containing a hneai an ay ot pei manent magnets mounted aci oss the tiont face ot the punting budge 630 and an ai matuie 633b tixed to the cai uage 631 and electi ically connected thiough a wue cage chain 634 on the budge 630 to the contiollei 625 An encodei 636 also extends acioss the tiont ol the budge 630 and piovides feedback infoi mation to the conti ollei 625 as to the position ot the cai uage 631 on the budge 630 Lineai motoi s such as the sei vo motoi 633 ai e pietened because they aie easiei to tune, lequiie little sei vice, and have bettei accelei ation and decelei ation than belt oi othei duve systems Because ot then accui acy, pnnting can be earned out whi le the heads 640,641 aie accelei atmg oi decelei ating, with piogiammed compensation in the timing ot the jetting ot the ink being made by the contiollei 625 This impioves the speed and efficiency ol the punt opei tion by allowing the pi int heads 640,641 to use aceelei ation and deceleiation time and to skip at high speed acioss aieas ot the substi ate 605 that will have no pnnting and to aieas at which ink is to be deposited, theieby minimizing the time dunng which the pi int head is not depositing ink on the substiate Accoidingly, lineai sei vo motoi s to ti ansvei sely move the cai uage 631 that cai ues the pnnt heads 640,641across the budge 630 aie pietened toi the machine 600

The pnnt head caiuage 631 has fixed at the bottom theieot two sets 640, 64 t, each having toui ink jet punt heads 640a-d,64 la-d The punt heads ot each set aie auanged in a tiansvei se I OW so that they punt successively along a ti ansvei e sn ip acioss the substi ate 605 as the punt head cai uage 631 moves ti ansvei sely acioss the budge 630 to l espectively apply the foui coloi s ot a CMYK coloi set The k jet pnnting heads 640a-d,641a-d each include a lineai an ay ot two bundled titty-six (256) mk jet nozzles that extend in the longitudinal diiection lelative to the ti ame 60f and in a line pei pendiculai to the diiection ot tiavel ot the cai uage 631 on the budge 630 The nozzles ot each ot the heads 640 641 are contiguied and contiolled to simultaneously but selectively jet UV ink ot one ot the CMYK coloi s, and can pnnt a stnp ot 256 pixels side by side acioss the substiate 605 at 15,000 dots pei second The spacing ot the nozzles is, in the embodiment heiein descnbed, 90 jets per lineai inch, so that the punt heads aie each slightly less than thiee inches wide One pass ot the punt heads punts, toi example, punts a ti ansvei se stnp about 2 85 inches wide ot ninety rows ot pixels With the two sets ot heads 640 and 641 , the stnp is about 5 7 inches wide By indexing the web 1/lSOth ot an inch and punting with anothei pass ot the cai uage 631, which can be in the opposite diiection, a longitudinal lesolution ot 180 dots pei inch (dpi) can be achieved, as illusti ated in Fig. 5 With toui passes ot the pnnt heads, indexing between the scans l/360th inch, a longitudinal dot lesolution ot 360 dpi can be achieved Schemes to leduce ai titacts and achieve dittei ent levels ot pnnting quality involve activating halt oi one thu d ot the jets and scanning two oi thiee times indexing as lequned Ti ansvei se l esolution is settable at any lesolution up to appioximately 720 dpi by contiolling the lesolution and timing ot the information sent by the contiollei 625 to the pnnt heads A ti ansvei se dot l esolution is pieterably maintained close to the longitudinal l esolution being used

Ink is supplied to each ot the pnnt heads 640a-d,641a-d by a lespective one ot a set ot eight ink supplies (not shown) in the left side ot the base 609 ot the housing 601, which are connected to the respective heads thiough tubes earned by the vvue cage 634 Each ot the ink supplies includes a collapsible plastic bag and a pei istaltic pump to supply UV ink to one ot the ink jet pi int heads 640a-d,64 l a-d Each collapsible supply bag is coupled to one ot the pei istaltic pumps via a tube that may include a quick disconnect The pei istaltic pump in tui n supplies ink thiough a tube to a lespeetive one ot the ink jet punt heads An optional intei veiling lesei von may be piovided in each tube between the pump and the pnnt head to allow intei mittent opei ation of the pei istaltic pump oi to handle intei mittent demands exceeding pump output In the pietened and illustiated embodiment, the ink is ultiaviolet light polymeuzable ink composed essentially ot polymei izable monomei s which ai e stable unless and unti I exposed to a sufficient level ot UV light to initiate a polymei izing ieaction UV light is piovided by a pan of UV cunng heads 645,646 mounted on each side ot the cai uage 631 to cx|iose the ink immediately attei it is deposited onto the substi ate 605 b the pi mt heads 640,641 Tlie UV light heads 645,646 opei ate altei natively, with the head on the side ot the can iage that nails the pi int heads 640,641 being activated to l ieeze the dots ot ink within appioximately 0 05 to 0 20 seconds attei being deposited as the cai uage 631 moves ti ansvei sely on the budge at appioximately toi ty inches pei second The location ot the heads 645,646 has the advantage ot cunng any atomized UV ink that might be pi oduced by the nozzles ot the pnnt heads, theieby tin ning the liquid monomei s into a dust that is less likely to be hai mtul An optional additional UV light cunng head 647 may be piovided on a sepaiate carnage 648 (as shown in phantom in Fig. 3) to move acioss the back ot the budge 630 independently ot the movement ot the pnnt head cai uage 631 to moie thoioughly cuie the ink by scanning the substi ate 605 downstieam ol the pnnt heads 640,641

The supply ot the substiate matei ial 605 is loaded on a loll 650 onto a sliding earner 651 that slides out ot the base 609 ot the housing 601 toi loading and letui ns to the position shown in Fig. 3 toi opei ation ot the machine 600 The web ot the matei ial 605 exlends ti om the loll 650 aiound an idlei lollei 652 aiouiid the bottom ot a veitically moveable accumulatoi lollei 653 and ovei the conveyoi belt 616 on the top ot the conveyoi table 615 The accumulatoi l ollei 653 is w eighted and supported by the web ot matei ial 605 so as to apply a unitoi m tension on the vveb ot matei ial 605 I lie ends ot the shaft ot the lollei 653 ude in vei tical H acks contiguied to keep the lollei level Limit switches oi othei detectoi s (not shown) sense uppei and lowei positions ot the accumulatoi i ol lei 653 so that the amount ot matei ial advancing ti om the supply loll 650 can be contiolled At the ieai oi downstieam end ot the conveyoi table 615, a pinch llei 619 is piovided to clamp the web 605 against the belt 616 as it passes aiound the lollei 618

Below the nip of lollei s 618 and 619 is piovided a heatei 660 The web ot matei ial 605 entei s the heatei 660, which heats the substi ate 605 to leduce the content of uncuied monomei s ot the UV ink in the same mannei as the heating station 26 descnbed above in connection with the embodiment 10 of Fig. 1 Rathei than using heated an , as in the case ot heating station 26, the heatei 660 contacts the substiate 605 with one oi moie heated platens, which quickly bung the substi ate to a tempei atuie ot 360°F within appioximately one to two seconds The heating station oi heatei 660 has a path theiethrough ot tiom about thii ty inches to about toi ty inches toi the web 605 The heatei 660 includes an initial heated stainless steel bullnose platen 661 is positioned to contact the undei surface ot the matei ial 605 opposite the side on which the ink tiom the pi int heads 640,641 has been deposited The bullnose platen 661 bungs the substi ate 605 to a desned tempeiatui e ot 300 380^° in one to two seconds, wheie hot an takes h orn 30 seconds to 3 minutes Hie web 605 passes ovei a second bullnose platen 662 downstieam ot the fu st platen 661 which contacts the ink beai ing side ot the substi ate 605 instil ing that the tempei ature ot the substi ate 605 and pai ticulai ly the ink, is at the desned tempeiatuie thi oughout the thickness ot the matei ial 605 Once bi ought to tempeiatuie the substi ate 605 is maintained at the desned tempei atuie by a seues ot additional plates 663 664 In lieu ot the additional plates othei ways ot maintaining the desned tempeiatuie toi anothei thii ty seconds moie oi less, such as with heated an oi l adiant heatei s would be adequate An exhaust system (not shown) connects to the heatei 660 to exhaust and dispose ot any vapoi s that may contain monomei s of the ink Such exhaust may be connected to an electiostatic caibon tiltei and the an thei etiom letui ned to the envn onment

At the outlet ot the heatei 660 a seues ot lolleis 666 take up and t oll the punted matei ial web 605 The seues ot lollei s 666 includes anothei accumulatoi lollei 667 which maintains tension on the web 605 downstieam ot the nip ot the lollei s 618,61

As illusti ated in Fig. 5, at the t ight side ot the path ot the punt head caiuage 631 is piovided a head cleaning station 670 Pei lodically in the coui se ot the punting ot a web ot matei ial 605 toi example attei the punting ot some length ot web twenty metei s toi example, oi whenevei an opei atoi detei mines that the heads need to be cleaned, the cai uage 631 is ti avei ecl to the l ight side ot the budge 630 ovei the cleaning station 670 The cleaning station 670 is piovided with a pan 671 toi collecting ink When the heads aie moved to the cleaning station 670, they pass ovei a slot 672 in a vvipei blade mounting block 673 and ink is jetted tiom the heads into the pan 671 to cleai the heads The cleaning station 670 is also piovided with an anay ot longitudinally extending upwaidly pi ojectmg polyui ethane wipei blades 675 that aie mounted to the block 673 The cai uage 631 is opeiated to move on the budge 630 to wipe the heads 640,641 back and toi tli ovei the wipei blades 675 to wipe the bottom faces theieot which house the nozzles tiee ot excess ink oi dust The blades aie made ot a polymei ic matei ial such as polyui ethane and held to the block 673 in slotted blade holdei membei s 677 fixed to the top ot the block 673 Slots 676 aie piovided in the block 673 so that ink wiped tiom the heads by the blades 675 diains into the collecting pan 671 Once the heads aie cleaned, the caiuage lesumes the scanning and punting ot the web 605 Such head cleaning is piogiammed to occui automatically, penodically dunng the pnnting piocess, when an automatic head cleaning option is selected by the opei atoi

Opei ation of the machine 600 is earned out at the conti ol panel 606 descnbed above Fig. 6 illustiates the mam contiol window 680 displayed on the seieen 608 ot the panel 606 The window 680 includes a function key 68 f and set ot buttons 682 toi assigning functions to the haid buttons 607 on the panel 606, such as manually advancing the web 605, moving the slide 651 to load a loll 650 and facilitating othei such opeiatoi pioeeduies, and toi selecting the infoi mation to be displayed on the scieens 61 1-614 on the infoi mation budge 610 The opei atoi can manually choose a selected pattern, which is displayed in window 683, by piessmg the button 684, to open the pattern select window 684a, which displays icons 683a ot the available patterns, as i llusti ated in Fig. 6A The opei atoi can also set up pi intei paiametei s by piessing the button 685 on window 680, winch opens the pnntei setup window 685a i llustiated m Fig. 6B The opei atoi can tui thei configuie the pi intei by piessing the button 686011 window 680, which opens the pi intei configui ation window, vanous pages 686a, 686b ot which aie illusti ated in Figs. 6C and 6D Input, punted output and othei communication functions can be conti oiled by piessing the button 687 while diagnostic information can be displayed by piessing the button 688 Speed and timing lntoi matiυn is displayed 111 boxes 689 while batch and job status data, such as items and quantities completed and job (pioduct 01 customei) identification data is displayed in boxes 690 The machine 600 is contiguied to function in accoidanee with the batch contiol and automatic scheduling piocesses descnbed in U S Patent No 6, 105,520 by fames T Fi azei , Von Hall, Ji and M Bul l White entitled Quilt Making Automatic Scheduling System and Method hei eby expiessly incoi poi ated by letei ence heiein

Fig. 7A shows a punting appai atus 700 thi ough which a web 01 othei substi ate 71 1 ot woven 01 knitted polyestei textile matei ial is being ted toi punting The appai atus 700 includes a suppoi t table 702 ovei which the web 71 1 is ted A hxed budge 713 extends ti ansvei sely acioss the path ot the web 71 1 ovei the table

702 A punthead cai uage 714 is mounted to move acioss the budge 713, dnven by lineai sei vo motoi s 717 On the cai uage 7 14, an ink jet punthead 715 is suppoi ted and onented so as to jet UV cui able ink onto the substi ate 71 1 on the table 702 Also mounted on the cai uage 714 on opposite sides ot the punthead 715 is a pan ot UV light cunng heads 7 L6 onented to expose UV ink jetted onto the substiate 711 immediately attei the ink l eaches the substi ate

The table 702 is made ot metal, toi example stainless steel, and has an upwaidly facing surface that is coated, at least in the aiea on which the punthead 7 15 punts, with a layei ot lelease matei ial 704 such as

1EFLON, a sihcone lelease matei ial 01 some othei matei ial to which the ink will eithei not stick, 01 will stick with such low adhesive toice that it can be easily wiped υi othei wise lemoved tiom the lelease matei ial layei 704 Ideally, the lelease matei ial layei 704 has enough adhesion to the ink to pievent it tiom wiping oft by the passage ol the substiate 71 1 ovei the table 702, but has sufficiently low adhesion to allow the ink to latei be wiped 01 othei wise lemoved tiom the layei 704 with l elative ease Alternatively, the ink on the layei 704 may nυi mally stick to the layei 704 but be lemovable with a solvent υi othei cleaning agent

The UV cunng heads 16 pieteiably have light souices that focus ovei a sufficiently long depth of field so as to expose and cuie not only mk that deposits on the substi ate 71 1 but that which passes thi ough poies 01 holes in the weave ot the substi ate 71 1 and collects on the undei lying lelease matei ial layei 704 As a lesult, the ink on the lelease matei ial 704 is suffi iently set 01 cuied so as to be in a powdei 01 othei wise substantially solid state as it entei s the cleaning station so that it can be wiped oi othei wise easily lemoved tiom the surface ot the lelease matei ial 704

The table 702 may be a vacuum table with vacuum holes 721 thiough the layei 704 to allow the vacuum to pass thiough to help hold the substi ate 71 1 in place foi punting Fig. 7B shows a punting appaiatus 710 thiough which web 71 1 of woven oi knitted polyestei textile matei ial is being ted toi pnnting The appai atus 710 includes a suppoi t table 712 ovei which the web 71 1 is ted Fixed budge 13 extends ti ansveisely aci oss the path ot the web 7 1 1 ovei the table 712 Punthead cai uage 14 is mounted to move acioss the budge 713 di iv en by lineai sei vo motoi 717 On the cai uage 714, Ink jet punthead 7 15 is suppoi ted and onented so as to jet UV cui able ink onto the substi ate 71 f on the table 712 Also mounted on the cai uage 7 14 on opposite sides ot the punthead 715 aie UV light cunng heads 716 onented to expose UV ink |etted onto the substiate 7 1 1 immediately attei the ink teaches the substrate

Positioned ovei the table 712 between the table 712 and the substi ate 711 is a sheet ol lelease matei ial 720, such as TEFLON oi a silicone coated f ilm matei ial oi some othei matei ial to which the ink will not easily stick oi will stick with such low adhesive toice that it can be easily wiped or otheiwise lemoved tiom the suitace ot the lelease matei ial 720 The lelease matei ial 720, in the appai atus 710, is in the foi m ot a web oi endless belt The belt ot lelease matei ial 720 moves with the substiate 711 thiough the appaiatus 710 and letui ns thiough a path 722 undei the table 712 Along the path 722 is a cleaning station 723 thiough which the belt ol telease matei ial 720 passes The cleaning station 723 contains bi ush and vacuum elements (not shown) which wipe ink ti om the surface ot the belt 72 I and lemove it to a tiltei (not shown) The UV cm ing heads 716 pieteiably have light souices that focus ovei a sufficiently long depth ot field so as to expose and cuie not only mk that deposits on the substi ate 71 1 but that which passes thiough poies oi holes in the weave of the substiate 711 and collects on the undei lying belt ot lelease matei ial 720 As a lesult the ink on the telease matei ial 720 is sufficiently set oi cuied so as to be in a powdei oi othei wise substantially solid state as it entei s the cleaning station, so that it can be wiped oi othei wise easily lemoved tiom the suitace ot the icleasc matei ial 720

Whei e the substi ate is suf f iciently poi ous f i the ink to pass thiough it, but not sufficiently poious to allow enough UV light to pass so as to cuie the ink on the piotective matei ial the moveable belt may be used to collect the ink while moving with the substi ate so the ink does not smeai , then when the belt sepaiates ti om the substi ate, a sepai ate souice ol UV light can be used to solidity the ink on the piotective layei Alternatively the ink may be l emoved in liquid state tiom the belt

The table 712 may be a vacuum table in winch case the matei ial 720 should be sufficiently poious to allow the vacuum to pass thiough to help hold the substiate 711 in place toi pnnting

Fig. 7C shows a cioss-sectional view ot a pnnting appai atus 705 similai to the appaiatus 700 ot Fig. 1 and thiough which the web oi othei substi ate 711 ot w oven oi knitted polyester textile matei ial is being ted toi pnnting The appai atus 705 includes a platen oi table 706 ovei which the web 711 is ted Punthead cai uage 714 is mounted to move acioss the budge as illusti ated in Fig. 7A and has ink jet punthead 715 suppoi ted theieon and onented so as to jet UV cui able mk onto the substiate 7 J 1 above the table 705 Also mounted on the cai uage 714 on opposite sides ot the punthead 715 is the pan ot UV light cunng heads 716 onented to expose UV ink jetted onto the substi ate 71 1 immediately attei the ink leaches the substi ate The table 705 may be made ot metal toi example stainless steel, and has an upwaidly facing surface that is coated at least in the aiea on which the punthead 715 punts, with the layei ot lelease matei ial 702 thei eon Instead ot piovid g the lelease matei ial layei 704 with enough adhesion to the ink to prevent it tiom wiping ott by the passage of the substiate 71 1 ovei the table 706, the substi ate 71 1 is maintained out ot contact with the layei 704 and table 705 in the legion between the punthead 715 and the table 706

Spacing between the table 706 and the substi ate 711 is maintained by guide sti uctuie such as side secuiemeiits suppoi t wn es oi mesh, sets ot ti ansvei se lollei s oi othei sti uctuie that so maintains the substi ate 11 loi punting The guide sti uctuie may include sets ot ti ansvei sely extending elements to pinch the tabuc and stietch it pai allel to and spaced fiom the table 706 The pinch element sets may each include a pan ot smooth low tuction bais, a bai and I ol lei set oi a pan ot lollei s The pinch elements may toi example, hold the substiate in sufficient tension to keep it in position l elative to the punthead toi punting and to keep it out ot contact with the table 706 In the embodiment ol Fig. 7C the guide sti uctuie maintains the substi ate 71 1 in tension and spaced above the table 706 a shoi t distance toi example 1/4 inch so that the matei ial does not touch the suitace ot the table 706 The tension in the substi ate 71 1 may, toi example as shown m Fig. 7C be maintained by two spaced sets 731 and 732 ot lolls 73 l a,73 l b and 732a,732b, one set 731 upstieam ot the punthead 7 15 and one set 732 downstieam ot the punthead 715, such that the sets aie hoi izontally spaced about thiee oi toui inches apai t

The UV cunng heads 16 pietei ably have light souices that focus ovei a suff i iently long depth ot field so as to expose and cuie not only ink that deposits on the substi ate 711 but that which passes thiough poies or holes in the weave ot the substi ate 71 1 and collects on the undei lying telease matei ial layei 704 on the table 706 spaced below the substi ate 71 1 As a l esult, the ink on the l elease material 704 is sufficiently set oi cui ed so as to be in a powdei oi otheiwise substantially solid state as it enteis the cleaning station, so that it can be wiped oi othei wise easily lemoved tiom the sui tace ot the lelease matei ial 704

With the embodiment 705 ot Fig. 7C, the platen 706 is penodically wiped ot the ink that passes thiough the porous substiate 7 I I onto the lelease layei 704

The above desci iption is lepiesentative ot cei tam embodiments of the invention T hose skilled in the ai t will appieciate that vanous changes and additions which may be made to the embodiments descnbed above without depai tmg tiom the punciples ot the piesent invention

Claims

Thei etoie, the following is claimed

1. A method ol punting Λ\I image onto a substi ate composing depositing onto a substiate a substance that is stable until contacted with a cunng medium, the substance having a dye contained thei em at least pai tially cm g the substance on the substiate by applying the cunng medium theieto, and toi ming the image on the substiate by dying the substi ate with the dye tiom the deposited substance

2. The method ot punting ot claim 1 whei ein the substiate is a textile, the substance includes UV cuiable monomei s that polymeuze when contacted by UV radiation the depositing includes jetting the substance containing the dye onto the textile, the cunng includes contacting the monomei s deposited on the substi ate with UV l adiation to toi m a polymei on the suitace ot the textile and the forming ot the image occtiis as dye horn the suitace ot the substiate moves into bonding contact with tibei s ot the textile

3. The method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 wheiein the depositing includes jetting an ink composition containing a UV cui able component and a dye component, and the cunng includes substantially cunng at least the jetted UV cuiable component on the substiate by exposing the UV cui able component to UV light the cunng lesulting in a substantially cuied UV component on the substiate containing the dye component

4. The method ot claim 3 wheiein the foi ming ot the image includes heating the substi ate having the substantially cuied UV cuied component theieon and theieby el lectmg the dyeing ot the tabnc with the dye component

5. The method ot claim 4 wheiein the cunng lesults in the substantially cui ed UV component containing uncuied monomei s ot the UV cui able component, and the heating includes I educing the level of the uncuied monomeis ot the UV cut able component on the tabnc

6. The method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 whei ein the substance lias a pigment included theiem and the cunng includes fixing the pigment in the cuied substance on the sui tace ot the substiate

7. The method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 wheiein the depositing includes jetting onto the substi ate a substance containing a UV cuiable component and a dye component, and the cunng includes substantially cunng at least the UV cui able jetted component on the substi ate by exposing the UV cui able component on the substi ate to UV l adiation

8. The method ot claim 7 wheiein the toi ming ol the image includes heating the substance containing the substantially cuied exposed UV component and the dye component on the substi ate

9. The method ol claim 8 wheiein the substantially cuied UV cui able component includes at least some uncuied monomeis and the heating ot the substance includes leducing the amount ol uncuied monomeis on the substi ate

10. The method ot claim 7 tuithei composing heating the substance containing the substantial ly cuied exposed UV component and the dye component on the substiate, the heating includes contacting the substi ate with a heated plate

11. I he method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 whei ein the depositing includes punting the substance onto a lai ge aiea substi ate

12. The method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 whei ein the at least pai tial cunng ot the substance on the substiate includes tieezing the substance on the substiate by applying the cunng medium to the substance immediately upon the pnnting theieot to leduce the spiead ot the substance on the substi ate

13. The method υi claim 1 oi claim 2 wheiein the at least pai tial cunng ot the substance on the substiate includes tieezing the substance on the substiate by exposing the substance to UV light immediately upon the punting theieot onto the substiate to leduce the spi ead ot the substance on the substi ate

14. The method ol claim 1 wheiein the toi ming ot the image includes contacting the substi ate having the at least pai tially cuied substance theieon with a heated plate

15. The method ot claim 1 wheiein the substance is a polymeuzable substance containing the dye, the cunng includes polymei izing the substance by initiating a polymei lzing leaction in the substance and maintaining the leaction until the substance is substantially polymenzed

16. T he method of claim 15 wheiein the toi ming of the image includes heating the substantially polymenzed substance and the dye contained thei em while on the substi ate to effect the dyeing ot the substi ate

17. The method of claim 1 oi claim 14 oi claim 15 oi claim 16 wheiein the depositing includes the jetting ot the substance onto the substiate

18. The method ot claim 16 wheiein the at least pai tially cui ed substance includes at least some unpolymei ized monomei s and the heating includes leducing the amount ot unpolymei ized monomei s on the substi ate

19. The method ot claim 1 oi claim 2 wheiein the substance is a cui able liquid having the dye component contained theiem, the cunng includes at least pai tially solidifying the liquid on the surface ot the substiate

20 I he method ot claim 19 wheiein the toi ming ot the image includes heating the at least paitially solidified liquid on the suitace ot the substi ate so as to effect the dyeing ot the substi ate

21. The method ot claim 1 wheiein the depositing includes jetting onto the substi ate a cui able liquid polymei having the dye suspended

the cunng includes substantially cunng the liquid polymei on the subsn ate to tix the position ot the suspended ye on the substi ate

22. The method ot claim 21 tui thei compusmg heating the substantially cuied liquid polymei on the substi ate to activate the dye and theieby effect the dyeing ot the substi ate

23. The method of claim 22 wheiein the dye is a sublimation dye, the heating includes heating the dye to sublime the dye to dye the substi ate

24. The method ot claim 22 wheiein the cui able liquid polymei is a UV cui able substance, the dye is a sublimation dye, the cunng includes exposing the substance to UV light toi a sufficiently shoi t time attei jetting the substance onto the substi ate to at least pai tially pievent a spieading ot the polymei on the substiate, and the heating includes heating the dye to subli me the dye

25. A digital punting method compusing di iving a punthead acioss a substiate with a lineai sei vo motoi , and digitally pnnting an image on the substi ate thei ewith

26. The method ot claim 25 wheiein the punting includes jetting ink tiom the pnnt head onto the substi ate

27. The method ot claim 26 tuithei compusing contiolling the jetting ol the ink by advancing the timing theieot in lelation to the speed ot the pnnt head acioss the substi ate

28. T he method ot claim 26 tui thei compusing contiolling the jetting ot the ink by advancing the timing theieot in lelation to the speed ot the punt head acioss the substi ate to compensate toi ti ansvei se displacement ot the ink due to the velocity ot the pnnt heads paiallel to the substiate

29. The method ot claim 25 wheiein the di iving ot the punt head includes accelei atmg and decelei atmg the print head while dnving it acioss a substi ate w ith the lineai sei vo motoi and the pnnting includes pnnting on the substiate while the head is acceleiatmg oi decelei atmg

30. The method ot claim 29 wheiein the pnnting includes jetting ink f iom the punt head onto the substi ate while the head is acceleiatmg oi deceleiatmg

31. The method ot claim 30 t ui thei compusing conti olling the jetting ot the ink by adv ancing the timing thei eot in l elation to the speed ot the pnnt head acioss the substiate

32. The method ot claim 26 tui thei compusing conti olling the jetting ot the ink by advancing the timing theieot in lelation to the speed ot the punt head acioss the substiate to compensate toi tiansveise displacement ot jetting ink due to the velocity ot the pi int heads pai allel to the substi ate

33. The method ot claim 25 wheiein the substiate is a textile, and the pnnting includes jetting ink ti om the pnnt head onto the surface ot the textile

34. A method ot pnnting onto textiles compusing lemoving fibeis tiom the suitace ot the substiate, then inkjet punting onto the substiate

35. The method ol claim 34 wheiein the lemoving ot the tibeis includes shaving the surface ot the substiate

36. The method ot claim 34 wheiein the lemoving ot the tibeis includes singeing the suitace ot the substiate

37. The method ot claim 34 wheiein the lemoving ot the tibeis is jjeitoimed on the substiate when supported on the tiame ot a pnnting machine, and the pnnting is earned out while the substiate is still suppoited on the tiame ot the pnnting machine

38. An Inkjet punting appaiatus compusing means toi jetting onto a substiate a substance containing a cuiable component and a dve component means toi substantially cunng at least the cuiable jetted component on the substrate by exposing the cuiable component on the substiate to i cm i n _. medium

39. The appaiatus ot claim 38 tuithei compusing means toi heating the substiate having the cuied component and dye component theieon

40. The appaiatus ot claim 38 tuithei compusing a heated plate contiguied to thennally contact the substiate having the cuied component and dye component theieon

41. The appaiatus ot claim 38 tuithei compusing a budge extending paiallel to the substiate, an Inkjet punthead caiuage moveable on the budge, a lineai seivo connected to the budge and the punthead caiuage so as to dnve the caiuage acioss the budge, and a piogiammed contiollei connected to the seivo to contiol the motion ot the caiuage on the budge

42 A digital pnnting appaiatus compusing a substiate suppoit a lineai seivo motoi extending paiallel to the suppoit, a digital punthead moveable on the lineai seivo motoi paiallel to the suppoit and duected towaid the suppoit, a contiollei opeiabletυdnve the lineai sci vυ motoi paiallel to the suppoit and to opeiate the pnnt head in synchionism with the movement ot the seivo motoi so pnnt an image on a substiate on the suppoit in accoidaπce with data tiom an electionic souice tile

43. The appaiatus ot claim 42 wheiein the punthead is an ink jet punthead

44 The appaiatus ot claim 43 wheiein the contiollei is opeiable to time the jetting ot the ink tiom the pnnthead in lelation to the speed ot the lineai seivo motoi

45. The appaiatus ot claim 43 wheiein the contiollei is opeiable to time the jetting ot the ink tiom the punthead in i elation to the speed otthe lineai seivo motoi by advancing oi letaiding the timing of the jetting ot the ink tiom the punthead in lelation to the speed ot the punt head acioss the substiate to compensate toi tiansveise displacement ot the ink due to the velocity ot the punthead paiallel to a substiate on the suppoit

46 The appaiatus ol claim 42 wheiein the contiollei is opeiable to contiol the |)iιntuιg of the punthead so as to accuiately pioduce an image tiom the electionic souice tile when the seivo motoi is acceleiatmg oi deceleiatmg

47. A textile pnnting appaiatus compusing a substiate suppoit a budge extending acioss the suppoit an Inkjet punt head moveable acioss the budge and positioned to deposit a dot pattern ot mk onto a substiate on the suppoit a computei contiolled lineai seivo motoi positioned to move the punthead acioss the budge

48. A method ot punting onto textiles compusing pioviding a substiate sup|X)it with a layei ot non stick piotective mateiial suppoiting a textile having poies theiem above the substiate support with the layei ol non-stick piotective sheet mateiial between the substi ite suppoit and the substiate jetting UV cuiable ink onto the substiate with some ot the ink passing thiough the poies ot the substiate onto the layei ol mateiial exposing the jetted UV cuiable ink to UV light lemoving the substiate tiom above the suppoit wiping exposed UV cuiable mk fiom the layei ol piotective sheet mateiial

49. The method ot claim 48 wheiein the non-stick piotective mateiial is a coating ot mateiial on the suppoit to which UV ink, jetted theieon and at least paitially cuied, has an adhesive toice sufficiently high to pievent such ink fiom being wiped tiom the coaling by the tnction ot the substi te sliding ovei the suppoit, but has an adhesive toice that is υi can be made, sufficiently low to allow such ink to be cleaned tiom the suppoit, and the textile is suppoited on the substiate suppoit in contact with the layei ot non-stick piotective sheet material

50. The method ot claim 48 wheiein the suppoiting ot the textile above the substiate suppoit includes extending the substiate in tension, spaced tiom the substiate suppoit adjacent the layei ot non-stick piotective sheet mateiial at least in a legion between the punthead and the substiate suppoit

51. An ink jetting punting appaiatus compusing a substiate table, a layei of non stick piotective mateiial oveilying the table so as to collect, and piotect the substiate suppoit tiom, ink jetted towaid a poious substiate ovei the table and passing thiough the poious substiate, an mkjet punthead duected towaid the table a cuiable head positioned adjacent the table to facilitate the cunng ot ink jetted tiom the punthead low aid a substiate ovei the table

52. The appaiatus ot claim 51 wheiein the non stick piotective mateiial is TEFLON

53. The appaiatus of claim 51 wheiein the cunng head includes a pumaiy UV light cunng souice positioned to expose ink that has been jetted onto a substiate ovei the table

54. The appaiatus ot claim 53 wheiein the cunng souice is mounted on oi neai a caiuage on which the pi mthead is mounted so as to cuie ink immediately attei it leaches the substiate so that the dots ot ink aie tiozen betoie they have a chance to flow into the substiate oi spiead

55. The appaiatus ot claim 53 wheiein the UV souice has a focal length sufficiently long so that the light penetiates holes in the substiate and cuies ink on the undeilying layei

56. The appaiatus ot claim 51 wheiein the non-stick piotective mateiial is a coating ot mateiial on the table to which UV ink, jetted theieon and at least paitiallv cuied, has an adhesive toice sufficiently high to pievent such mk tiom being wiped tiom the coating by the tnction ot the substiate sliding ovei the table, but lias an adhesive toice that is, oi can be made, sufficiently low to allow such ink to be cleaned tiom the table

57. The appaiatus of claim 51 tuithei compusing guide stiuctuie contiguied and positioned to suppoit the substrate pioximate to but out ot contact with the non-stick piotective mateiial at least in a legion between the punthead and the substiate table

58. The appaiatus ot claim 57 wheiein the guide stiuctuie includes tiansveisely extending sets ot pinch elements, one set located upstieam ot the punthead and one set located downstieam ot the punthead, to hold the substiate in tension pioximatebut out ot contact with the table

59. The appaiatus ot claim 57 wheiein the guide stiuctuie includes tiansveisely extending pans ot lolleis, one pan located upstieam ot the punthead and one pan located downstieam ol the punthead, to hold the substiate pioximate but out ol contact with the table

60. An ink jetting punting appaiatus compusing a substi te suppoit, a layei ot non-stick piotective mateiial ovei lying the suppoit so as to collect, and piotect the substiate suppoit tiom, ink jetted towaid a poious substiate on the suppoit and passing thiough the poious substrate, an inkjet punthead dnected towaid the suppoit, a cuiable head positioned adjacent the suppoit to facilitate the cunng ot inkjetted tiom the punthead towaid a substiate on the suppoit

61. An inkjet punting appaiatus compusing an inkjet punthead contiguied to jet UV cuiable ink onto a substiate, a UV cunng head contiguied to at least paitially cuie UV cuiable inkjetted onto the substiate, and a heated plate contiguied to thennally contact the substiate having the at least paitially cuied UV cuiable ink theieon

62. The appaiatus ot any ol claims 38 thiough 61 tuithei compusing means toi cleaning M Inkjet punthead

63. An inkjet punting appaiatus compusing a tiame having a substiate suppoit aiea theieon, an mkjet punthead contiguied to jet onto a substiate on the substiate suppoit aiea a UV cuiable ink a UV souice contiguied to substantially cuie the UV cuiable ink on the substiate, and a head cleaning station beside the substiate suppoit aiea having located theieat means toi puiging the punthead and wiping the punthead