Surface Printable Polyvinyl Chloride Laminate With Carrier and Application Tape

The present invention relates to the graphic arts field, more specifically to sheet material utilizing plastic films that can be printed with selected graphics and employed for outdoor signs.

Plastic films are currently used as substrates for outdoor signage in which graphics are printed on a film and the printed film is adhered to a surface with pressure sensitive adhesive. The graphics printed on the film typically include identification information, such as a company name or trademark, advertising, instructional information, product identification, decorative designs such as striping, etc. Some of the applications for outdoor signage of this type include printed panels on trucks and truck trailers, rental trailers, aircraft and other vehicles and, to a lesser extent, exterior architectural signage. Thus, major users of the type of outdoor signage material under consideration are owners and operators of fleets of trucks, trailers, vans, and airplanes. The printed graphics to be applied to an exterior surface can be rather small or very large, such as in the case of graphics that cover the side of a truck trailer. Delivery of printed outdoor graphics of this type to the end user typically involves several companies or entities between the manufacturer of the sheet material and the end user. The manufacturer produces an assembly of unprinted sheet material including an unprinted layer of plastic film that will be used for the final signage; the unprinted sheet material is purchased by a printing company that prints the end user's selected graphics on the film, overcoats the printed graphics with a clear coating if required, and laminates an application tape over the printed graphics; last, a company specializing in the application of graphics of the subject type will apply the printed films to the end user's equipment or buildings.

The prior art utilizes a film of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic to make outdoor printed signs of the foregoing type in a sheet material construction in which the PVC has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on one surface which is covered by a release coated paper, and the sign is printed on the opposite surface of the PVC, which becomes the outermost surface of the sign when the PVC film is adhered to a surface. One of the principal objectives of our invention is to provide a new construction for a sheet material assembly for use in producing printed exterior signage on PVC film. Another is to provide a sheet material construction that improves protection of the graphics printed on PVC film. A further principal objective of our invention is to provide an assembly of sheet material to be printed with graphics for exterior signage that will facilitate the application of a printed PVC film to a surface. These and other objectives of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description presented below.

Our present invention provides a subsurface printable sheet material for outdoor signage comprising (1) a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film having a printable exterior surface, (2) an application tape comprising a substrate and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive that is releasably adhered to an interior surface of the PVC film, and (3) a carrier tape including a substrate and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive releasably adhered to a surface of the substrate of the application tape opposite from the adhesive layer thereof. When employed to provide a printed sign, the selected graphics are printed in reverse image on the exterior surface of the PVC film of the sheet material, and the application tape and carrier tape remain joined to the film during the printing process. Thereafter, a layer of adhesive is applied over the printed surface of the PVC film, such as by using transfer adhesive, and this adhesive is employed to affix the printed film to a selected surface or an object. This provides a printed sign wherein the printed graphics are along the innermost surface of the PVC film so that the graphics are covered by and protected by the film.

A complete and enabling description of the present invention is set out below by reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a typical use of outdoor printed signage of the type to which the present invention relates;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a typical prior art sheet material for outdoor signage printed on PVC film;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sheet material of FIG. 2 after being printed with a selected legend;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the printed material of FIG. 3 with an application tape added to the assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the sheet material of FIGS. 2-4 is applied to a truck trailer body;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the final condition of the printed sheet material of FIGS. 2-4 after being applied to the truck body of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view illustrating the several layers of our new construction of adhesive sheet material having a printable PVC film for outdoor printed signage in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, with portions broken away, of the layers of the sheet material of FIG. 7 joined together in a composite structure;

FIG. 9 illustrates the sheet material of FIG. 8 after being printed with a selected legend;

FIG. 10 illustrates the printed sheet material of FIG. 9 following a step subsequent to printing;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the sheet material illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the printed sheet material of FIGS. 7-11 during an initial step in the application thereof;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the step of FIG. 12 from the opposite side of the printed sheet material;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the application of the printed sheet material of FIGS. 7-13 onto a trailer body;

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the printed sheet material of FIGS. 7-13 after application to the trailer body as shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view, with portions broken away, of a second new sheet material including PVC film according to the present invention; and

FIG. 17 is a side view, with portions broken away, illustrating application of a sign printed on the sheet material of FIG. 16 onto a truck trailer body.

A tractor trailer 1 is shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate one end use of the type of printed outdoor signage material to which the present invention relates. A side of the body of the trailer 2 is covered with a sign consisting of one or more panels of plastic film 3 on which a sign 4 has been printed. The exemplary sign 4 includes a legend 5 that identifies the product being shipped in the truck, a company name 6 and a trademark 7. The sign 4 can serve to provide product advertising and corporate identification, and signage of this type is a highly useful and informative media for many companies.

The opposite side of the trailer 2 also would have the same type of sign 4 applied to it, and in some instances the printed sign will appear on the front and back ends of the body of the trailer. The printed graphics typically will be in several colors and of a design to provide an attractive display. Although sign 4 shown in FIG. 1 is primarily intended as an advertising piece, signs of this type may instead, or in addition, include instructional information, or any other information or data selected by the end user. While a tractor trailer is illustrated in FIG. 1, many other types of over-the road vehicles also employ printed outdoor signage of this type, including fleets of vans, rental trailers and delivery vans; the printed graphics can be applied to automobiles for decorative purposes such as striping, as well as in the form of signs. Another significant use is on aircraft for identification or information signs or decorative applications. Printed signage of this type is also sometimes employed in architectural uses associated with buildings such as factories and commercial establishments.

FIGS. 2-6 illustrate a prior art construction of sheet material for outdoor printed graphics that now almost universally dominates the market in the absence of the availability of a superior material construction.

FIG. 2 illustrates sheet material 10 of the prior art that consists of a layer of PVC film 11, pressure sensitive adhesive layer 12 along one surface of the vinyl film, and a release liner 13 covering the pressure sensitive adhesive. As used herein PVC refers to polyvinyl chloride film which is defined in this specification and the claims as meaning a homopolymer of polyvinyl chloride or a copolymer with a major proportion of polyvinyl chloride with one or more co-monomers; the film is also sometimes referred to below as "vinyl" film. PVC film 11 typically is about 0.002 to 0.004" thick and most often is an opaque or translucent colored film, although there is limited use of transparent vinyl film for this layer. The liner is a sheet or web of relatively stiff paper, coated or impregnated with a suitable release coating, and supports film 11 during the printing of a sign. The surface of the layer of PVC film 11 opposite from adhesive 12, indicated as surface 11a in the drawings, is exposed. Sheet material 10 comprises a first assembly for producing printed outdoor graphics of the form in which it is produced by the manufacturer and sent to a printing company.

The printing company applies the graphics selected by the end user to sheet material 10 by printing the selected graphics on exposed surface 11a of the layer of PVC film 11. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a portion of sign 4, comprising the product legend 5, is printed on surface 11a. Surface 11a may be coated to provide good ink adhesion. Legend 5 is printed in normal left-to-right fashion as surface 11a of the prior art sheet material 10 will be the outermost, or exterior, surface of film 11 after application of the film onto a selected surface. After printed legend 5 has dried, surface 11a of film 11 is covered with a protective clear overcoating 14 which is necessary in order to protect the printed legend against degradation by UV radiation and physical damage by abrasion. Overcoating 14 may be formulated as a water based or solvent based coating that must be oven-dried after application over surface 11a or a UV curable coating.

Turning now to FIG. 4, after the graphics have been printed on PVC film 11, the next stage involves laminating an application tape 15 over the printed graphics. The application tape 15 in the prior art construction is a layer of paper 16 having a layer of low tack pressure sensitive adhesive 17 along its bottom surface. The low tack adhesive 17 is permanently bonded to the paper layer 16 to form the application tape so that the adhesive 17 will not separate from layer 16. The application tape is laminated to the printed sheet material of FIG. 3 by adhering its adhesive layer 17 over the overcoating 14 covering printed surface 11a of the sheet material. Application tape 15 typically is laminated to surface 11a bearing the printed graphics of FIG. 3 by the printing company after the printed graphics have been applied onto sheet material 10.

FIG. 5 represents the application of the printed assembly of FIG. 4 to trailer 2 of tractor trailer 1. The applicator company removes release liner 13 from the bottom of the sheet assembly and adheres the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12 on film layer 11 to the trailer body. Adhesive 12 is a tacky, high cohesive strength pressure sensitive adhesive that usually has some measure of repositionability for at least a limited period of time such as for about 20 minutes. The applicator company then removes application tape 15 from the assembly received from the printer, and the layer of low tack adhesive 17 releases from PVC film 11 without physically damaging the film, coating 14 or removing the printed sign 4. The sign 4 after being adhered to trailer 2 is shown in sectional view in FIG. 6. The layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12 on one surface of vinyl film 11 joins the sign to the trailer 2. Surface 11a of the PVC film layer, which carries the printed sign 4 covered by overcoating 14, is the outermost surface of the film layer.

The prior art sheet material 10 as shown in FIGS. 2-6 and described above has several disadvantages. The problem of ultraviolet degradation of the vinyl film is partially, but not completely, resolved by incorporating UV inhibitors or absorbers in the film. The printed sign 4 on the outer surface of the vinyl film when applied to the trailer is exposed to the elements and can be damaged by adverse weather conditions. Also, the sign is subject to damage by vandals, such as spray painting graffiti over the sign. These problems are to some extent resolved, but not completely adequately, by the use of various forms of clear overcoating, such as coating 14, that are applied after the sign has been printed and before it is adhered to a surface such as the trailer body. Also, in the prior art construction, the application tape 15 is a paper substrate that is opaque or nearly opaque. Even in view of, or in spite of, these and other shortcomings, sheet material 10 incorporating a layer of vinyl film is widely used for printable outdoor signage material and the market for this type of product is dominated by 3M, the Fasson Division of Avery International Corp. and Flexcon Company, Inc., with 3M being the principal supplier of the product. We have addressed the needs resulting from the inadequacies of the prior art sheet materials by developing the new sheet materials for outdoor printed signage described next in this specification.

A new sheet material assembly for outdoor printed signage and its application to trailer 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 7-15.

Referring first to the exploded view of FIG. 7, sheet material 20 is a three-element composite structure consisting of PVC film 21, application tape 22 and carrier tape 23. Application tape 22 consists of a substrate 24 and a layer of low tack adhesive 25 on first surface 26 of the substrate. Carrier tape 23 consists of a substrate 28 and a layer of low tack adhesive 29 on first surface 30 of the substrate.

Film 21, application tape 22 and carrier tape 23 are joined together in a composite structure as shown in FIG. 8. Adhesive 25 of application tape 22 is releasably adhered to first surface 32 of film 21. As indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 7, first surface 32 of film 21 can include a clear coating 32a including one or more UV absorbing or screening compounds to reduce ultraviolet degradation of printed sign 4 and/or film 21, in which case adhesive 25 is releasably adhered to coating 32a. Adhesive layer 29 of carrier tape 23 is releasably adhered to second surface 27 of the substrate of application tape 22, which is the surface thereof opposite from film 21. PVC film layer 21 has an exposed, or exterior, second surface 33.

Sheet material 20 of the above structure is purchased by a printing company who will print an end user's sign on exposed surface 33 of the composite structure. FIG. 9 illustrates sign 4 printed on second surface 33 of film 21 of sheet material 20. (Note that several panels of sheet material 20 may be used for a large sign.}As indicated in the drawing, the elements 5-7 of sign 4 are to be printed in reverse image, for the reason which will become apparent below.

After sign 4 has been printed on surface 33 of one or more panels of sheet material 20' turning now to FIG. 10, the printer laminates a transfer tape 40 that has a layer of transfer adhesive over printed surface 33 of the sheet material. Transfer tape 40 includes a substrate 41 comprising a web of paper or plastic film impregnated or coated with a suitable release agent such as a silicone or carbamate coating and a layer of transfer adhesive 42 over one surface of substrate 41. Transfer adhesive 42 can be transparent or opaque; in the latter case, the adhesive can be pigmented to provide an additional color effect to the sign. Transfer tape 40 is joined to sheet material 20 with transfer adhesive layer 42 adhered to surface 33 of the plastic film, as indicated by arrow 43. The construction resulting after joinder of transfer tape 40 to sheet material 20 is shown in cross section in FIG. 11.

After transfer tape 40 has been joined to the sheet material, carrier tape 23 can be removed from the assembled product resulting from FIGS. 10 and 11. This is illustrated in FIG. 12, in which carrier tape 23 is shown as being removed from the assembly as indicated by arrow 44; low tack adhesive 29 on the carrier tape is releasably adhered to application tape 22 but strongly bonded to substrate 28 so that the adhesive will remain with the carrier tape during the removal operation. The operation illustrated in FIG. 12 may be performed by a printer after joining transfer tape 40 to the sheet material or by an applicator company responsible for applying the sign to the selected surface of a vehicle or

FIG. 13 illustrates the first stage in the application of a sign made with sheet material 20 to an object. The person applying the sign removes substrate 41 of transfer tape 40 from the assembled product, as shown by arrow 45; substrate 41 separates from adhesive 42 so that the layer of transfer adhesive 42 remains bonded to surface 33 of plastic film 21 of the sheet material 20. That is, adhesive 42 is transferred from transfer tape 40 onto film 21 after lamination of tape 40 to the sheet material and is exposed upon removal of the substrate 41 and forms the permanent adhesive that will be used to join the printed sign to an object.

As depicted in FIG. 14, the applicator adheres film 21 of sheet material 20 to the side of trailer 2 by pressing adhesive 42 onto the trailer. Either during application of film 21 or after it is fully adhered to the trailer, application tape 22 is peeled from film 21. Removal of the application tape is denoted by arrow 46. The layer of low tack adhesive 25 joining the application tape to film 21 is strongly bonded to substrate 24 of application tape 22 but releasably adhered to film 21 so that it separates from film 21 easily and without transfer of adhesive onto the film.

The completed application of a sign from film 21 of sheet material 20 is illustrated in cross section in FIG. 15. Film 21 is adhered to trailer body 2 by means of adhesive layer 42 which was transferred onto the film from transfer tape 40. Further, an important difference between the prior art construction of FIG. 6 and that of the new sheet material 20 is illustrated in FIG. 15 wherein it will be noted that second surface 33 of PVC film 21 on which the sign 4 is printed is now on the innermost surface of film 21, next to adhesive 42, so that the printed sign is fully covered by film 21. First surface 32 of film 21 to which application tape 22 was releasably adhered is now the outermost surface of film 21. Clear coating 32a when included in the construction of sheet material 20 will be along first surface 32 of film 21 as shown by the dashed lines in FIG. 15.

PVC films suitable for film 21 of sheet material 20 are available commercially from a number of companies, and may be either an extruded or cast vinyl film. Film 21 may typically be in the range of 2 to 5 mils thick, preferably about 2-3 mils thick when it is to be applied on an uneven surface such as the side of a trailer body that may have rivets, ribs, etc. projecting from the body panels. Film 21 is to be transparent (the term "transparent" as used in this specification and the claims with respect to film 21 and other film and adhesive layers is defined herein as including both transparent and translucent) because the sign 4 must be visible through the film after it is applied to an object such as trailer body 2 illustrated in the drawings. This enables the underlying color of the surface to which the film is applied to be visible through the unprinted areas of film 21, which can be useful in many installations. Also, however, if so desired, the printing company can apply a background color of printing ink around and behind the printed sign 4 after the sign is printed. This feature is advantageous in comparison to current commercial films for this type of signage that utilize colored films on which a sign is printed, which limits the end user to the colors available from the manufacturer of the sheet materials; however, with the present invention, background areas of surface 33 of film 21 can be printed in a broader palette of colors so as to thereby increase the choices available to the end user when selecting graphics for its trucks or other products. Surface 33 of film 21 on which the sign 4 is printed may be coated or surface treated to enhance adhesion of printing inks. Various types of printing inks suitable for printing on PVC film 21 are available commercially from a number of ink manufacturers, and the inks are available in a broad range of standard colors and also can be formulated in custom colors. Screen printing is the preferred method for printing on the film for most end uses. Further, film 21 preferably incorporates ultraviolet light absorbers which act to screen ultraviolet radiation and thereby reduce UV degradation of the printed sign 4 and adhesive 42.

Application tape 22 of sheet material 20 has a substrate 24 of transparent plastic film, which can be about 2 to 8 mils thick, preferably about 3 to 6 mils thick. Polyolefin films have been found to be particularly effective for the substrate of application tape 22; suitable films include low density polyethylene, medium density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, rubber modified high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and blends of polyethylenes. The plastic film employed for the substrate of application tape 22 should be very smooth as it is joined to film 21 during printing of a sign on exposed second surface 33 of film 21, and it is preferable that film 21 should not become embossed with any surface texture of the substrate of the application tape during the printing operation. We have found during our development work that a 0.003" thick substrate 24 of transparent rubber modified high density polyethylene is especially useful for the application tape. Adhesive 25 of the application tape can be any suitable adhesive that will exhibit the appropriate adhesion to film 21 and yet release cleanly therefrom when the application tape is to be removed from film 21 after the sign has been adhered to a selected surface of an object such as a trailer body. The term "releasably adhered" when used in this description and in the claims in connection with adhesive layer 25 (as well as other adhesive layers) is defined to mean that the adhesive releases from film 21 during application of the film without transfer of adhesive to the film 21. Thus, adhesive layer 25 is to release cleanly from film layer 21 and remain on the substrate 24 of the application tape when film 21 is affixed to a surface. Various low tack adhesives are appropriate for layer 25 such as low tack rubber based adhesives acrylic adhesives, etc. An application tape 22 with an adhesive layer 25 of a type having adhesion to film 21 in the range of about 3 to 20 ounces per inch of width, preferably about 5 to 10 ounces per inch of width, is especially useful. Adhesive 25 also is transparent so that sign 4 printed on second surface 33 of film 21 is visible through the application tape as the sign is being applied. Further, the application tape, particularly the substrate 24 from which the tape is made, most usefully should have a low degree of shrinkage and minimum heat expansion; the latter characteristic is useful since the ink with which sign 4 is printed onto film layer 21 may be oven dried, air dried or UV cured and it is important that the application tape does not expand as it remains adhered to film 21 during the drying step.

The substrate 28 of carrier tape 23 may comprise a web or sheet of paper or plastic film. Suitable papers include polyethylene coated paper (coated on one side or two sides), clay coated papers, chrome coated papers, and densified kraft papers, most usefully with a basis weight in the range of about 90 to 150 pounds per ream of 3,000 square feet. A plastic film employed as substrate 28 of the carrier tape can be about 5 to 10 mils thick; a stiff plastic film such as high density polyethylene (e.g. 5 mils thick), polyester (e.g. 5-7 mils thick) or polyethylene terephthalate-glycol (e.g. 10 mils thick) or polystyrene (e.g. 10 mils thick) can be used. A specific material for substrate 28 of carrier tape 23 that has proved effective during our development work is two-side coated paper coated on one surface with low density polyethylene and coated on its opposite surface with high density polyethylene. The differential coating of the foregoing paper substrate for the carrier tape is employed so that the carrier tape will impart a slight degree of "back curl" to the sheet material 20 to counteract shrinkage of the application tape 22 and film 21 during drying of printing applied to the film so as to assist in maintaining the sheet material flat during drying. Substrate 28 of the carrier tape most usefully has back curl in the range of 4/32" to 12/32" measured at the corners of a 6 inch square of the substrate. Adhesive layer 29 of the carrier tape is applied to the surface of the foregoing paper substrate 28 that carries the low density polyethylene coating, and adhesive 29 is releasably adhered to second surface 27 of the substrate 24 of the application tape. With this arrangement, the surface 28 of the substrate with the high density polyethylene coating is an exterior surface of sheet material 20 and is slightly concave. Low tack adhesive layer 29 of the carrier tape may comprise a ultra removable pressure sensitive adhesive coated onto one surface of the substrate, or a slightly tacky film-forming coating.

As described above, transfer tape 40 is to include a layer of transfer adhesive 42 on substrate 41 that bonds to surface 33 of film 21 when the transfer tape is laminated to the printed surface. Various types of commercially-available adhesives can be used for transfer adhesive 42, including acrylic adhesives, which we presently prefer, rubber based adhesives, etc. The adhesive 42 is releasably adhered to substrate 41 of the transfer tape and exhibits higher bond strength to surface 33 of film 21 than its bond strength to substrate 41 after lamination, so that the adhesive will transfer to and remain bonded to surface 33 after removal of substrate 41. Adhesive 42 also should be a reasonably aggressive adhesive that will bond well to various surfaces, such as metal surfaces and plastic or fiberglass surfaces, so as to firmly hold a printed film 21 onto the selected surface to form a sign. We also prefer that the adhesive exhibit fairly low tack so that film 21 can be repositioned when applied to a surface to a sufficient extent to allow the printed film to be adjusted to a selected position on the surface.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate a second subsurface printable sheet material assembly for outdoor printed signage according to the present invention, identified as sheet material 20'.

Sheet material 20' includes all of the same elements as sheet material 20 described above in part 3, which are identified by the same reference numerals in FIGS. 16 and 17. Sheet material 20' consists of PVC film 21, application tape 22 including substrate 24 and adhesive 25, and carrier tape 23 including substrate 28 and adhesive 29. Substrate 24 of application tape 22 is a layer of transparent plastic film, as in sheet material 20. The several elements of sheet material 20' are joined together in the same manner and arrangement as in sheet material 20.

The new structure of sheet material 20' as compared to sheet material 20 resides in reference line means which are formed, as by printing, on one of the surfaces of substrate 24 of the application tape. The reference line means is indicated by the general reference numeral 50 in FIG. 16. In the exemplary embodiment, reference line means 50 comprises a series of spaced parallel horizontal lines 51 and a series of spaced parallel vertical lines 52 arranged to intersect at right angles to each other. Other line constructions may be used for the reference line means 50; for example, the reference line means can comprise only one set of lines rather than the grid shown in the drawings, such as one set of spaced parallel horizontal lines or one set of spaced vertical lines, or one or more sets of lines arranged at different angles than as shown in FIG. 16. Lines 51 and 52 may be applied to either surface of substrate 24 of the application tape. The spacing between lines 51 and the spacing between lines 52 can vary within a broad range. For example, our development work to date indicates that spacing in the range of one inch between the lines to six inches between the lines is especially useful for the intended purpose, although even wider spacing can be used if so desired. A grid of parallel horizontal lines 51 that are one inch apart and parallel vertical lines 52 that are one inch apart represents our best mode for practicing this embodiment of our invention at the time of filing this patent.

After sign 4 is printed on surface 33 of film 21, transfer tape 40 is applied over printed surface 33 of sheet material 20' in the same manner illustrated in FIG. 10. Next, carrier tape 23 is removed from sheet material 20' in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 12. When the sign printed on sheet material 20' is ready to be applied to an object, substrate 41 of transfer tape 40 is removed from the assembly in the manner illustrated in FIG. 13 and as previously described, which results in adhesive 42 of the transfer tape remaining bonded over surface 33 of sheet material 20'.

The application of a sign printed on sheet material 20' is illustrated in FIG. 17. At this stage of the process, the assembly includes PVC film 21 with sign 4 printed along its second surface 33, transfer adhesive layer 42 over the printed second surface 33 and application tape 22 releasably adhered to the opposite first surface 32 of film 21. Inasmuch as substrate 24 of the application tape and film 21 are transparent, both the printed sign 4 on innermost surface 33 of film 21 and the lines 51 and 52 printed on substrate 24 of application tape 22 are visible to the person applying the sign. The lines 51 and 52 are employed to obtain appropriate alignment of the printed sign on trailer 2 as the person applying the sign can use them as reference lines as an aid in obtaining the appropriate registration or arrangement of the sign on the trailer. The reference line means exemplified by lines 51 and 52 thereby assists in obtaining accurate placement of the sign printed on film layer 21 on the object to which the sign is to be applied. The final configuration of a sign applied to trailer 2 with sheet material 20' is the same as shown in FIG. 15.

A third subsurface printable sheet material for outdoor printed signage according to our present invention involves using a different substrate 24 for the application tape 22 of sheet material 20 and/or sheet material 20', all other structure being the same as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. Instead of substrate 24 of transparent plastic film as described in parts 3 and 4 of this specification, the substrate 24 can be a layer of opaque or nearly opaque plastic film or paper. An opaque plastic film for substrate 24 can have the same characteristics as described for the substrate in part 3 of this specification. Paper when used for substrate 24 should be slightly stretchy so as to preclude problems when printing a sign on film 21 and to facilitate application of the sign. Also, a paper substrate 24 should have a smooth first surface so that film 21 does not become embossed with any surface texture of the paper substrate.

The printing and subsequent application of a sign with sheet material of this embodiment is the same as described in part (3) and illustrated in FIGS. 9-15. Sheet material made with a paper or opaque plastic film as the substrate of the application tape provides a signage material having the advantages described in parts 3 and 4 above, except that the printed sign may not be clearly visible during application because of the opaqueness of the application tape substrate. This may be suitable in various uses of the sheet material, inasmuch as persons who apply signs of this general type are presently accustomed to using a paper application tape. Printed reference line means on an opaque substrate can be useful in obtaining proper alignment of the printed sign on the object or surface to which it is applied.

The following Examples 1-3 describe three specific constructions of PVC sheet material assemblies according to our present invention which have been tested under laboratory conditions as of the filing date of this patent. Various physical properties of the several layers of the constructions as set forth in the Examples were measured according to appropriate procedures of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) or Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC) as follows: thickness, PSTC-33; tensile strength, PSTC-31, using an Instron.RTM. machine operated at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/minute except as otherwise noted; burst strength, ASTM D-774 Elmendorf tear strength, PSTC-38; stiffness, PSTC-37; adhesion, PSTC-4 except that adhesion of the transfer adhesive layer was measured according to PSTC-1; Kiel release value, PSTC-4; and polyken probe tack, ASTM D-2979. A "ream" as used in the Examples in connection with basis weight means 3,000 square feet of material, either plastic film or paper. The "machine direction" of a web of material is identified as MD and "cross machine direction" as XD in the Examples.

Several other physical properties were measured according to test procedures which we devised. Shrinkage of some of the materials used in the Examples was determined by very accurately marking off a 6".times.6" square of the selected material, and measuring the exact length of all four sides to four decimal paces. The sample was then placed in a preheated oven at a selected temperature for 20 minutes on a flat glass plate. The sample was removed from the oven and allowed to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, following which the four sides of the square were again accurately measured. The percentage of shrinkage was calculated by comparing the change in area of the square of material. The curl of the carrier tape described in the Examples was measured by cutting a 6".times.6" square of the material, and measuring the curl at each corner of the sample in 1/32 inch increments. The sample was placed on a flat countertop, and the curl measured as the distance between the countertop and each of the four corners of the sample; the initial back curl was then taken as the average of the four measurements.

Sheet material 20' as described in part 4 above and illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 was made as follows.

Plastic Film 21: a layer of 0.004" thick transparent PVC film, 70 pounds/ream basis weight, with a 0.0001" thick coating 32a (3M's 3920 Overprint Clear) on its first surface 32. The coating 32a incorporated ultraviolet absorbers to provide a weatherable transparent coating over first surface 32 of film 21.

Application tape 22: a substrate 24 of 0.003" thick transparent rubber modified high density polyethylene film with a 0.0005" thick adhesive layer 25 consisting of transparent acrylic adhesive on first surface 26 of the substrate. The total basis weight was 44 pounds/ream. When elongated to 5%, the application tape had a tensile strength of 5 kg/inch width (MD) and 5.4 kg/inch width (XD) at 30.degree. F., 1.5 kg/inch width (MD) and 1.8 kg/inch width (XD) at 75.degree. F., and 1.5 kg/inch width (MD) and 1.8 kg/inch width at 110.degree. F. The shrinkage of a 6".times.6" square piece was 0.33%. First surface 26 of substrate 24 of the application tape was printed with a grid of MD parallel lines spaced 1" apart and XD parallel lines spaced 1" apart to provide reference lines 51 and 52, respectively, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17.

Carrier Tape 23: a substrate 28 of natural machine finish paper with a basis weight of 98 pounds/ream coated on one surface with 14 pounds/ream of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and coated on its opposite surface with 14 pounds/ream of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The coated substrate had a basis weight of 118 pounds/ream, was 0.0091" thick and had a minimum tensile strength at break (measured with crosshead speed of 10 mm/minute) of 35 kg/inch width (MD) and 15 kg/inch width (XD) with nominal elongation of 2% (MD) and 3.4% (XD), and stiffness of 11.3 Taber units (MD) and 24.7 Taber units (XD). The initial back curl of a 6".times.6" square of the coated substrate was 9/32". A nonaggressive, low tack modified rubber based adhesive was coated over the LDPE coating of the substrate at a weight of 15 pounds/ream to form adhesive layer 29 of the carrier tape.

The sheet material 20' of this Example 1 was assembled by adhering the above application tape 22 to first surface 32 of the PVC film 21; the adhesion of adhesive layer 25 of the application tape 22 to coating 32a on the first surface 32 of film 21 was 16 ounces/inch of width, so that the adhesive layer was "releasably adhered" to the film 21. Next, the adhesive layer 29 of the above carrier tape 23 was adhered to second surface 27 of the substrate of the application tape 22; the adhesion of the adhesive layer 29 to second surface 27 of the substrate of the application tape was measured at 14 ounces/inch of width so that adhesive layer 29 was releasably adhered to the second surface. The exposed second surface 33 of PVC film 21, which is an exterior surface of sheet material 20', was screen printed with several test signs including words and design elements in from one to four colors with commercially-available inks formulated for printing on vinyl film. Temperatures during ink cure were kept below 150.degree. F.; the stiffness and high basis weight of the sheet material allowed for easy handling and transfer of the sheets during printing.

Transfer tape 40: a substrate 41 of kraft glassine paper differentially coated on its two surfaces with silicone release agents (Daubert 2-65KG-157). The substrate was 0.0034" thick with a basis weight of 62 pounds/ream, and had a mullen burst strength of 45 psi minimum, Elmendorf tear values of 40 minimum (MD and XD), tensile strength at break (MD, 20 mm/minute crosshead speed) of 23.5 kg/inch width at 2% elongation and a tensile strength at break (XD, 50 mm/minute crosshead speed) of 11 kg/inch width at 5.5% elongation. The Kiel release value was 5 g/inch width for one surface of the substrate 41 and 12 g/inch width for the other surface. An acrylic adhesive (Duro-Tak 80-1047 from National Starch and Chemical) crosslinked with 0.025% (solids on solids) of a melamine formaldehyde resin (Uformite MM-55 #27-803) was applied to the surface of the substrate with the 12 g/inch width Kiel release value at a coating weight of 17 pounds/ream to provide a 0.001" thick layer of transfer adhesive 42.

After surface 33 of PVC film 21 of this Example 1 was printed with signs as described above, the foregoing transfer tape 40 was laminated over printed surface 33 with its adhesive 42 in contact with surface 33. The adhesion of the layer of transfer adhesive 42 to printed surface 33 was greater than 40 ounces/inch width. The polyken probe tack of the adhesive 42 was measured at 300 g/cm nominal after lamination to surface 33. Lamination of transfer tape 40 to printed sheet material 20' proved to be very straightforward.

Following joinder of the transfer tape 42 over the printed surface 33 of PVC film 21 of the above sheet material 20', the composite assembly was laboratory tested by application to aluminum and fiberglass test panels. Carrier tape 23 was removed, which presented no significant problems since adhesive layer 29 of the carrier tape was releasably adhered to surface 27 of the substrate of the application tape 22. Substrate 41 of transfer tape 40 was then removed, which resulted in the layer of transfer adhesive 42 remaining bonded over printed surface 33 of film 21. The printed signs were then applied onto the test panels by means of adhesive 42; the assembly at this point in the application process included adhesive 42, printed film 21 and application tape 22, and it was found that this assembly handled extremely well during application. The tack of the adhesive 42 was low enough to allow repositionability of the sign on the test panels, which was squeegeed in place after being properly located. It was found that the printed reference lines 51 and 52 on the transparent application tape assisted in properly locating the sign. After the sign was squeegeed in place, the bond of adhesive 42 to the test panels was sufficiently strong to prevent disturbance of the sign during removal of the application tape. The application of the printed sheet material 20' was accomplished by using the traditional application tools in their usual fashion. The adhesive 42 of this Example 1 adheres very well to aluminum and fiberglass panels, which are often used for trailer bodies.

Sheet material 20 as described in part 3 above and illustrated in FIGS. 7-15 using the same materials for plastic film 21, application tape 22, carrier tape 23 and transfer tape 40 as described in Example 1 was made except that the substrate 24 of the application tape did not include printed reference lines 51 and 52. Test signs were printed on the exterior surface 33 of the PVC film 21 of sheet material 20 in the same manner as described in Example 1, and the printed signs were applied to test panels of aluminum and fiberglass also in the manner described in Example 1.

Sheet material 20 of this Example 3 behaved in the same manner as the sheet material 20' of Example 1 during both printing operations and lamination of transfer tape 40 to the sheet material. Application was also readily accomplished with the traditional tools used for applying signs of this type, and the transparent substrate and adhesive of the application tape assisted in accurately locating the sign on the panels.

Sheet material 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention described in part 5 above was made with the same materials for plastic film 21, carrier tape 23 and transfer tape 40 as set out in Example 1. However, the application tape 22 consisting of a 43 pound/ream rubber fibrous paper, 0.00042 inches thick coated with 17 pound/ream (0.0001 inches thick) rubber base adhesive as adhesive layer 25. This material is available commercially from American Bilt Rite as their product #6760. The machine direction tensile strengths at break of the application tape were 11 kg/inch width at 3% elongation at 30.degree. F., 4.1 kg/inch width at 2% elongation at 75.degree. F. and 2.7 kg/inch width at 1.3% elongation at 110.degree. F. The cross machine direction tensile strengths of the application tape when elongated to 5% were 4.5 kg/inch width at 30.degree. F., 2 kg/inch width at 75.degree. F. and 1.5 kg/inch width at 110.degree. F. The adhesion of the adhesive 25 to coating 32a on the first surface 32 of the PVC film 21 was measured at 7 ounces/inch of width. The adhesion of the adhesive layer 29 of the carrier tape 23 to the uncoated surface 27 of the application tape was 16.3 ounces/inch width. Thus, the application tape of this Example was releasably adhered to the film 21 and the carrier tape 23 was releasably adhered to the application tape.

Test signs were printed on the exterior surface 33 of PVC film 21 of sheet material 20 in the same manner as described in Example 1, and the printed signs were applied to test panels of aluminum also in the manner described in Examples. Sheet material 20 of this Example 3 behaved in the same manner as the sheet materials of Examples 1 and 2 during both printing operations and lamination of transfer tape 40 to the sheet material. Application was also readily accomplished with the traditional tools used for applying signs of this type. The signs could be appropriately positioned on the panels even with the nearly opaque substrate of the application tape, although the advantages of a transparent application tape found with the sheet material of Examples 1 and 2 were not present with the sheet material of this Example 3. However, most applicators are accustomed to applying vinyl signs with paper application tapes, so that the sheet material of this Example should present no additional problems during application.

The new sheet materials described in parts 3, 4 and 5 can be made in the form of sheets or as a web that is wound into a roll. The sheets or webs can be in the size desired for the sign or cut to the appropriate size after a sign has been printed on film 21. Signs made from the sheet materials can have various shapes. Rectangular and square signs are commonly used. Also, however, the signs can be cut into other shapes such as circular, oval, triangular, etc., as may be required by the end user, by contour cutting by either of two methods. One method is to cut transfer tape 40, film 21 and application tape 22 in the desired shape, weed out the waste portions of these three layers, and leave the carrier tape uncut. A second method is to cut through all layers of the sheet material and transfer tape, i.e. transfer tape 40, film 21, application tape 22 and carrier tape 23 and separate out the waste portions of these layers. Cutting of the sheet materials typically will be done by the printing company who prints a sign 4 on film 21 of the materials.

The several constructions of sheet materials 20 and 20' described above provide novel important and useful technical advantages to the end users of printed outdoor signage. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 in particular, the graphics of sign 4 when applied to a surface such as the side of trailer 2 are completely covered by the PVC film 21. Film 21 thereby serves to protect the printed sign graphics from physical damage and vandalism such as graffiti; further, film 21 functions to protect printed sign 4 from fading on exposure to adverse weather conditions and also fading due to ultraviolet rays from sunshine, in addition to which the film protects adhesive 42 from similar environmental damage. The latter function is achieved when PVC film 21 incorporates UV absorbers to provide UV screening properties, which can be employed in the construction of sheet materials 20 and 20' to reduce or prevent fading of the printed graphics from exposure to sunlight. Also, as noted previously in this specification, first surface 32 can be coated with a clear overcoating 32a that includes UV absorbers or blocking compounds to provide further protection against UV degradation of sign 4 and/or adhesive 42 in lieu of or in addition to incorporating such compounds in film 21. Another important advantage is that graffiti can be removed from film 21 without damaging the printed sign inasmuch as the sign, after application to a selected surface is printed on the innermost surface of the film instead on its outermost surface as in the prior art sheet materials.

Still another important and useful characteristic of sheet materials 20 and 20' as described in parts 3 and 4 above resides in the use of a transparent plastic film as the substrate and transparent adhesive for application tape 22. This feature of our new sheet materials 20 and 20' enables the applicator to see the printed sign 4 through the application tape while he or she is applying a film 21 onto a surface such as trailer body 2. This facilitates application of a sign with sheet materials 20 and 20' in that the applicator is better able to properly align the printed graphics relative to the surface on which the sign is being applied.

The foregoing detailed description is made by reference to several specific embodiments of subsurface printable sheet material suitable for outdoor signage according to the present invention as illustrative, not limiting, disclosures and it is anticipated that those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to devise modifications to the described embodiments that will remain within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.