Printing of digital images onto fiberglass
OwnerJohn Reinhardinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Processes, systems and methods for applying graphics digitally to fiberglass, along with products thereby including surfboards, allowing a true image to be conformably disposed upon geometrically complex surface without spherical or chromatic aberration detectable by the human eye. Unexpectedly, by applying digital elements as structural features, the graphics make the board stronger and less subject to breakage and delamination issues.
Claims16
A process for applying digital graphics directly onto surfaces, which comprises, in combination:
- providing at least a fiberglass core and a desired image digitally rendered;
- sizing and uploading said desired image into a printer, including profile calibration and color settings;
- applying said at least a desired image to the surface whereby the integrity of the desired image digitally is rendered conformably, that is without spherical or chromatic aberration upon the surface;
- and
- finishing over layers upon the surface to preserve by lamination the outer integrity of the surface of the now digitally conformably rendered image disposed upon said fiberglass core.
A fiberglass-based article of manufacture having a digital image disposed thereupon, wherein there is no detectable level of spherical or chromatic aberration, when observed by the human eye within the digital image disposed thereupon, and the image is cross-linked into the fibers increasing structural integrity.
A system for operatively linking at least two processing units for scalably making fiberglass articles of manufacture having digital images conformably applied to a least a portion of its surface, comprising, in combination:
- Providing data from a data source regarding the interface between at least a substrate which is a fiberglass core and data regarding a desired image digitally rendered;
- sizing and uploading said data regarding desired image into a processor further comprising a printer, including profile calibration and color settings to drive the operation thereof;
- applying said at least a desired image to the surface whereby the integrity of the desired image digitally is rendered conformably, that is without spherical or chromatic aberration upon the surface, on the basis of matching the surface topographical data set via the interface with data regarding a desired image digitally rendered;
- and
- finishing over each of the respective articles of manufacture layers upon their respective surfaces to preserve by lamination the outer integrity of the surface of the now digitally conformably rendered images disposed upon said fiberglass cores, whereby structural integrity is enhanced by physical and chemical integration of the digitally conformed images to the surface contours of each of the articles of manufacture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.