Printer systems and associated ink cartridges can have specialized inksets and alternative fluids for use in printing. In such systems and cartridges, the inkset of a unique cartridge may be deliberately limited relative to traditional inksets that seek to have a wide color gamut such that chemistries having greater durability may be employed. Still further, such cartridges may include one or more functional inks that have a purpose other than merely coloration. Particularly in compact printers, for which space is limited, the system can be designed to accept various unique cartridges based on the intended printing application and print based on the characteristics of the received cartridge. Beyond this, the system may advise the user when a different cartridge is necessary and/or may be beneficially used for a particular application.

The present invention relates to using soft photopolymer plates in a printing process, and more specifically, to an apparatus and methods of using soft photopolymer materials to decorate an exterior surface of cylindrical metallic containers with high definition graphics and other indicia.

A printing method for drawing an image on a transfer-receiving medium by transferring the image printed on a transfer medium to the transfer-receiving medium, the method including: a printing stage of printing the image on the transfer medium with a printing unit, which is a printing device; a hot melt resin adhering stage of causing hot melt resin powder to adhere to the transfer medium; and a transfer stage of transferring the image from the transfer medium to the transfer-receiving medium, in which the printing unit includes a colored ink head that ejects a colored ink and a clear ink head that ejects a clear ink, and in the printing stage, the clear ink is further ejected from the clear ink head to at least a part of a region to which the colored ink is ejected from the colored ink head in the transfer medium.

A printing method for drawing an image on a transfer-receiving medium by transferring the image printed on a transfer medium to the transfer-receiving medium, the method including: a printing stage of printing the image on the transfer medium with a printing unit, which is a printing device; a hot melt resin adhering stage of causing hot melt resin powder to adhere to the transfer medium; and a transfer stage of transferring the image from the transfer medium to the transfer-receiving medium, in which the printing unit includes a colored ink head that ejects a colored ink and a clear ink head that ejects a clear ink, and in the printing stage, the clear ink is further ejected from the clear ink head to at least a part of a region to which the colored ink is ejected from the colored ink head in the transfer medium.

Methods of achieving precision registration in a roll to roll process for making patterned substrates by depositing first and second inks in a predetermined pattern, the predetermined pattern having fiducial marks and main pattern marks. One of these inks prints the fiducial marks onto a substrate while another ink prints main pattern marks 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. Touch screen displays including patterned substrates prepared of the methods are also disclosed.

A method of extending the gamut of standard 4 color process printing is presented. The method thus yields various novel process printing ink sets. According to exemplary embodiments, an extended color gamut can be provided without requiring the addition of a sixth or seventh primary ink to the existing 4-color ink set. In some embodiments, an enhanced gamut can be achieved by changing the colors of the four basic primary inks and only adding a fifth primary ink. This may be done, for example, by shifting the hue of two or three of the CMY primaries and adding an additional primary. Using only five process inks thus provides, for example, the typical packaging printer with more open print stations for spot color printing or for overprint varnish application. In another illustrative embodiment, a sixth process color may be added to the inventive five color ink set.

A method of extending the gamut of standard 4 color process printing is presented. The method thus yields various novel process printing ink sets. According to exemplary embodiments, an extended color gamut can be provided without requiring the addition of a sixth or seventh primary ink to the existing 4-color ink set. In some embodiments, an enhanced gamut can be achieved by changing the colors of the four basic primary inks and only adding a fifth primary ink. This may be done, for example, by shifting the hue of two or three of the CMY primaries and adding an additional primary. Using only five process inks thus provides, for example, the typical packaging printer with more open print stations for spot color printing or for overprint varnish application. In another illustrative embodiment, a sixth process color may be added to the inventive five color ink set.

Methods of achieving precision registration in a roll to roll process for making patterned substrates by depositing first and second inks in a predetermined pattern, the predetermined pattern having fiducial marks and main pattern marks. One of these inks prints the fiducial marks onto a substrate while another ink prints main pattern marks 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. Touch screen displays including patterned substrates prepared of the methods are also disclosed.

A security device includes an array of microimage elements formed of at least a first material and a second material, the microimage elements of the array being integrally registered with one another. The material composition of the array of microimage elements varies across the array along a first direction such that the array of microimage elements exhibits a gradual change in relative concentration of the first and second materials along the first direction.

A security device includes an array of microimage elements formed of at least a first material and a second material, the microimage elements of the array being integrally registered with one another. The material composition of the array of microimage elements varies across the array along a first direction such that the array of microimage elements exhibits a gradual change in relative concentration of the first and second materials along the first direction.