Abstract: An aqueous, foam-retarding, printing ink composition consists essentially of:(A) an aqueous thermoplastic or thermosetting printing ink;(B) benzotriazole, fumaric acid, malic acid, hydroquinone, dodecanethiol, succinic anhydride, or adipic acid as foaming or blowing agent modifiers or inhibitors;(C) optionally a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 water soluble or water dispersible alcohol; and(D) water.The printing ink composition has a pH of about 3 to about 5. The composition is useful for chemically embossing heat expandable or heat foamable resinous materials. The embossed materials are useful, for example, as floor coverings.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for manufacturing surface coverings including the steps of printing a design on a base layer; overlying the printed base layer with a coating of substantially transparent or translucent material; printing a subsequent design using an ink including decorative particles on such transparent or translucent overlying material; and overlaying the ink printed design with a substantially transparent or translucent material prior to subsequent processing, such as heat curing to ensure an effectively fused product of the resulting surface covering. The present invention may include the required processing steps of chemical or mechanical embossing as more clearly hereinafter described.