PRINTING OF MULTIPLE INKS TO ACHIEVE PRECISION REGISTRATION DURING SUBSEQUENT PROCESSING

摘要

A method of achieving precision registration in a roll to roll process by simultaneously depositing multiple inks onto a printing roll. One of these inks prints a pattern of fiducial marks onto a substrate while another ink prints a predetermined pattern on the same substrate such that the predetermined pattern bears a predictable spatial relationship to the pattern of fiducial marks. Consequently, even if the ink forming the predetermined pattern is invisible, or has such low contrast with the substrate that it is effectively invisible, or even has been dissolved away in a subsequent processing step, it is still possible to know where the predetermined pattern is by referring to the pattern of fiducial marks.

主权项

1. A method of providing a substrate having a predetermined pattern thereon comprising:
providing a printing roll, a first ink dispenser, and a second ink dispenser, the first ink dispenser and the second ink dispenser positioned to dispense a first and a second ink onto the printing roll in separate first and second zones respectively; dispensing a low contrast ink into the first zone and a visible ink into the second zone; advancing the substrate against the printing roll to print fiducial marks onto the substrate with the visible ink, while simultaneously printing a first predetermined pattern onto the substrate with the low-contrast ink; subsequently placing a secondary pattern in registration with the first predetermined pattern on the substrate using the fiducial marks as a guide.