Method for Decorating the Sides of Plastic Cards

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for decorating the sides of plastic cards by means of hot foil stamping and the die for coupling to the heating head of a hot foil stamping machine in order to carry out said method. To this end, a plurality of plastic cards is placed in the supporting cradle of the stamping machine in such a way that the first shortest side of said plastic cards faces the die, a hot foil stamping being carried out on the shortest sides of the plastic cards.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is an innovative method for decorating the sides of plastic cards, by means of hot foil stamping, in addition to the engraver to be coupled to the heater head piece of the hot foil stamping machine, used to carry out the former method and the plastic cards, the sides of which have been decorated by means of the decoration process, using the engraver designed to carry out said method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic cards used for a multitude of purposes are well known in the state of the art, the most well-known including payment by debit or credit card, credit cards or identification for buildings or various kinds of events. The frontal and rear faces of these plastic cards are usually decorated with all kinds of motifs, which usually constitute advertising and on many occasions, contain some or all of the information required in order for them to fulfil their objective within this decoration, for example the name of the card holder.

One aesthetic requirement of decorated plastic cards is that their sides are the same colour as their frontal and rear faces or other kinds of decoration wished to be incorporated.

In order to ensure that the sides of cards are the desired colour, cards made of plastic of the desired colour are used. This solution requires manufacturers to maintain stock in each one of the colours offered, therefore meaning the cost of maintaining this stock is very high. Furthermore, since storing cards in all colours is very costly, it is highly likely that they will lose out on sales opportunities simply because they don't have the colour a client desires at any particular time.

The invention object of the present description offers a decoration technique, unpublished to date, for decorating the sides of plastic cards by means of the well-known hot foil stamping decoration method, the characteristics of this method making it possible to lower production and stock maintenance costs, thereby possibly meaning just one colour of card needs to be stocked, which is usually white.

The hot foil stamping method consists of applying a certain amount of pressure using an engraver, during a certain period of time at a certain temperature, to a piece of foil located on the surface to be decorated.

The surface where the engraver comes into contact with the foil may be completely flat or have a relief of the symbol to be decorated engraved onto it. After hot stamping, it is possible to clean the foil traces by means of the blowing, brushing or transfer process, in order to eliminate the traces of foil that may be left behind.

Hot foil stamping is carried out, amongst other things, in vertical stamping machines and roll-on stamping machines.

Vertical hot stamping machines constitute vertical presses, the mobile body of which is an arm, which moves up and down alternately, there being a heater head piece at the end of said arm, to which an engraver that may be heated up is coupled, in addition to a support or wedge, which positions and holds the pieces to be stamped, as well as various feeder, transportation and placement devices for the foil and devices for controlling pressure, stamping time and the temperature at which the engraver is to be heated.

In roll-on stamping machines, the heater head piece is a cylinder that rotates on its own axis, to which the engraver that may be heated up is coupled on the external cylindrical surface thereof, this kind of machine being used to carry out large series stamping.

Hot stamping foil is formed by various layers that are deposited on a polyester support. In order, these layers include: polyester, a coating layer, a protective layer, a decorative layer or layers or colour/aluminium layer and an adhesive layer, applied with heat and pressure.

It is applied using heat and pressure on the surface to be decorated, the relief with which the engraver is formed constituting the element that comes into physical contact with the foil, which is transferred to the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The method for decorating the sides of plastic cards object of the present invention comprises the following steps:

• • a. Placing a plurality, preferably 25 units, of plastic cards on a first support wedge, in such a way that the first, shortest side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.
  • b. Hot foil stamping the first shortest sides of the plastic cards.
  • c. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the first shortest sides.
  • d. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a first support wedge, such that the second shorter side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.
  • e. Hot foil stamping the second shortest sides of the plastic cards.
  • f. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the second longest sides.
  • g. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a second support wedge, in such a way that the first longest side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.
  • h. Hot foil stamping the first longest sides of the plastic cards.
  • i. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the first longest sides.
  • j. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a second support wedge, in such a way that the second longest side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.
  • k. Hot stamping the second longest sides of the plastic cards.
  • l. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the second longest sides, in order to eliminate overpress left behind from the hot stamping method.

In order to carry out the above described process, a hot foil stamping machine of the vertical or roll-on variety described above is used, to which an engraver that may be heated up is coupled on the heater head piece, said engraver being made from silicone, the external face thereof opposite the foil having a recess, such that the shape of a cross-section of said engraver is the negative shape and the same size as a side of said card, including the rounded corners formed by said side with the adjacent sides of the card. Said vertical hot foil stamping machine also comprises one or more wedges, suitable for positioning and holding the plastic cards in such a way that the sides to be decorated are opposite the lower face of the engraver, it being possible for said wedges to be holding devices that facilitate the use of the same wedge to hot stamp all four sides of the cards.

The cross-section of the engraver is preferably the same shape and size as the first and second longest side of the plastic cards and in another preferred embodiment, is the same shape and size as the first and second shortest side of said plastic cards.

The engraver is preferably made of 80° Shore A silicone.

The card stamped with hot foil according to the method described in the paragraphs above, using the hot stamping machine, the sides of which are hot stamped with foil, also forms the object of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1: is a cross-section of the controlled temperature engraver.

FIG. 2: is a perspective view of a detail of a plastic card, showing the sides thereof.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. Engraver

2. Plastic card

3. Longest side

4. Shortest side

5. Rounding

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plastic cards comply with ISO 7816 and the measurements thereof are:

• • Length: 85.6+1/−0.5 mm
  • Width: 53.98+/−0.2 mm
  • Nominal depth: 0.762 mm
    and groups of 25 cards are preferably worked with.

The method uses hot foil stamping machines that are either vertical or roll-on, with the engraver and the wedge described previously; the production chain may consist of:

• • Four hot stamping machines, each of which is followed by its corresponding blowing station. In this production chain, each hot stamping machine stamps one side.
  • Two hot stamping machines followed by their corresponding blowing stations, each one of the hot stamping machines stamping two sides.
  • One hot stamping machine followed by a blowing station.

Claims

1. Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards of the hot foil stamping variety, characterised in that it comprises the following steps:

a. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge, such that a first side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.

b. Hot foil stamping the first sides of the plastic cards and including round corners formed by said first sides with the adjacent sides of the cards.

c. Blowing air on the stamping applied to the first sides.

d. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge such that a second side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.

e. Hot foil stamping the second shortest sides of the plastic cards and including round corners formed by said second sides with the adjacent sides of the cards

f. Blowing air on the stamping applied to the second sides.

g. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge, such that a third side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.

h. Hot foil stamping the third sides of the plastic cards and including round corners formed by said third sides with the adjacent sides of the cards.

i. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the third sides.

j. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge, such that a fourth side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.

k. Hot foil stamping the fourth sides of the plastic cards and including round corners formed by said fourth sides with the adjacent sides of the cards.

l. Blowing air onto the stamping made on the fourth sides.

2. Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cards consists of 25 cards.

3-10. (canceled)

11. Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards according to claim 1, wherein a same wedge is used to hot stamp all four sides of said plastic cards.

12. Engraver of the variety coupled to the heater head pieces of hot foil stamping machines, whether vertical or roll-on, according to the method for decorating the sides of plastic cards according to previous claims, wherein the engraver is made of silicone that may be heated up and has a recess on its external face opposite the foil, in such a way that a cross-section of said engraver is the negative shape and same size as one side of said plurality of cards, including the round corners formed by said side with the adjacent sides, wherein the size of the engraver is dependent on the number of cards of the said plurality of cards, said engraver may be heated up and is suitable for being coupled to the heater head piece of a hot stamping machine.

13. Engraver according to claim 4 wherein the engraver is made from 80° Shore A silicone.

14. Engraver according to claim 12 wherein the negative of the three-dimensional shapes to be decorated on the sides of the plastic card are suitably arranged on the engraver.

15. Engraver according to claim 12 wherein it is suitable to be coupled to the heater head piece of a vertical hot foil stamping machine.

16. Engraver according to claim 12 wherein it is suitable to be coupled to the heater head piece of a roll-on hot foil stamping machine.

17. Plastic card wherein the sides and the round corners formed by said sides with the adjacent sides of the card are stamped with hot foil according to the method described in claim 1.

18. The plastic card of claim 17 formed using the engraver described in claim 12.