Method Of Printing Graphics On Absorbent
Contents
1. Summarily referring to FIGS 8 9A and 9B a clothing article a dress is configured with an animal character a monkey a pattern bow on the monkey s ear color the color of the monkey s body having light colored paws de picted by gray shading texture the monkey being embroi dered and another pattern the torso arms and legs of the monkey being dotted while the absorbent article a printed diaper is configured with a coordinated animal character a monkey a coordinated pattern bow on the monkey s ear a coordinated color the color of the monkey s body having light colored paws depicted by gray shading a coordinated texture the monkey being embroidered and another coor dinated pattern the torso arms and legs of the monkey being dotted and further visual characteristic that are similar to the previous elements the monkey appearing to be partially inserted into a pocket in FIG 9A and both of the printed diapers having a different background color than the original dress FIGS 9A and 9B The clothing and the absorbent article are coordinated even though they are of different sizes and notwithstanding that an additional elements the pocket and the different background color are present on the printed diaper US 2013 0289511 0087 In various embodiments the first visual character istic may be a color and the second visual characteristic may be different colors embodied in an article2. nated to at least one visual characteristic of an article of clothing and or a line of clothing It is an object of this invention to provide absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual characteristic of a line of clothing It is an object of this invention to provide absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual characteristic of a particular article of clothing i e not a type of clothing or a genre of clothing It is an object of this invention to provide a method of printing graphics on absor bent articles where the graphics comprise designs inspired by designs suitable for or actually embodied in fabric It is an object of this invention to provide a method of printing with increased detail resolution It is an object of this invention to provide a method of printing with improved color to color register It is an object of this invention to provide a method of printing with thinner line weight These and other objects features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the following specification in conjunc tion with the accompanying drawing figures BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 0007 FIG 1A isa flowchart ofa method of printing graph ics on absorbent articles suit
3. The graphic design file shows giraffe spots as the sleeper the same pattern of giraffe spots as the sleeper and the same color depicted by gray shading as the sleeper with the addition of a visual characteristic of four giraffes that appear to be standing or walking FIG 5 an absorbent article a diaper with a graphic printed on it is shown The diaper shows giraffe spots as does the sleeper a portion ofthe same pattern ofgiraffe spots as the sleeper and the same color depicted by gray shading as the sleeper and the additional visual characteristic of giraffes that appear to be standing or walking as does the graphic design file These several visual characteristics are coordinated e g substantially the same shape even though they are of differ ent sizes and the graphic design file and printed diaper share a common visual characteristic that is not shared by the origi nal sleeper Summarily referring to FIGS 3 to 5 elements of the clothing article a sleeper is configured with a shape the giraffe spots a pattern the particular arrangement of giraffe spots and a certain color of spots while the absorbent article a printed diaper is configured with a coordinated shape of giraffe spots coordinated pattern of arranged giraffe spots coordinated color and a further visual characteristic that is similar to the previous elements depictions of giraffes The clothing and the absorbent article are coordinated even though they
4. a bodyfacing surface and a garment facing sur face a backsheet having a bodyfacing surface and a garment facing surface and an absorbent core disposed between the garment facing surface of the topsheet and the bodyfacing surface of the backsheet In an embodiment the graphics created by the method disclosed herein are disposed upon the bodyfacing surface of the topsheet In another embodiment the graphics are disposed upon the garment facing surface of the topsheet In another embodiment the graphics are dis posed upon the garment facing surface ofthe backsheet In yet another embodiment the graphics are disposed upon both the bodyfacing surface of the topsheet and the garment facing surface of the backsheet Other absorbent articles e g cata menial tampons may typically comprise a compressed absor bent core disposed within an overwrap substantially covering the exterior surface of the compressed absorbent core the overwrap having a core facing surface and a bodyfacing sur face In an embodiment the graphics created by the method disclosed herein are disposed upon the core facing surface of the overwrap In another embodiment the graphics are dis posed upon the bodyfacing surface of the overwrap In yet another embodiment the graphics are disposed upon both the core facing surface of the overwrap and the bodyfacing sur face of the overwrap In an embodiment the overwrap com prises a non woven material 0020 In an embodiment
5. a method of selling absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual charac teristic of an article of clothing and or a line of clothing As an example a child s dress has a pattern of purple printed flow ers thereon and an element of the absorbent article for example the backsheet ofa diaper may have the same pattern of purple flowers printed thereon The pattern of flowers is a first visual characteristic and the purple hue of the flowers is a second visual characteristic As a result the absorbent article is coordinated with the article of clothing due to the presence of the pattern of purple flowers on both components Coordination of the product in the present invention is obtained by having one or more visual characteristics that match While the present specification describes the invention in terms of at least one visual characteristic this does not mean that there cannot be two or more visual characteristics creating the desired coordination affect In fact the more shared visual characteristic there are the more the items appear to be coordinated In the present invention there may be two three four five six seven eight nine or more visual characteristic which are coordinated In one embodiment there are at least 2 preferably at least 3 more preferably at least 4 visual characteristics that are coordin
6. an embodiment the total thickness of the plate is from 1 3 to 1 7 mm preferably 1 5 mm In various embodiments the thickness of the plate is selected from 1 14 mm 0 045 1 70 mm 0 067 2 28 mm 0 090 2 54 mm 0 100 2 72 mm 0 107 and 2 84 mm Oct 31 2013 0 112 In an embodiment the thickness ofthe plate is 1 70 mm 0 067 with a relief of 0 020 inch In another embodi ment the thickness of the plate is 1 70 mm 0 067 with a relief of 0 025 inch 0069 The anilox and doctor blade meter an even amount of ink to the printing plate The ink is held in the billions of anilox cells while the doctor blade runs over the surface ofthe anilox removing any excess ink The anilox is typically manu factured from a ceramic compound whose hardness provides long life and is resistant to abrasion from the doctor blade The anilox roll is manufactured to release a certain ink weight from the laser engraved cells so the size of the cells and resolution are important to the color on the final printed image 0070 There are two main types of ink supply and doctor ing system used in flexography In open systems the anilox rotates in an open bath of ink and the doctor blade meters the ink just prior to the ink being transferred to the plate cylinder 0071 The Chamber system encloses the ink using two blades within a chamber The retaining blade at the bottom acts as a seal while the doctor blade at the top performs the ink meterin
7. be printed on the backsheet of an absorbent article In another Oct 31 2013 embodiment it is to be printed on the ear of a diaper In an embodiment the substrate has a basis weight of less than or equal to 20 gsm 0061 Inan embodiment the substrate has a low modulus i e 20 Newtons cm In another embodiment the modulus of the substrate is from 16 to 20 N cm In another embodiment the modulus is x16 N cm Applicants have learned that high winding speeds of 1000 feet per minute or more along with various film properties can impart defects into the wound layers of film during winding For example non uniform tensions and or pressures are oftentimes imparted to the film during winding e g at the outermost wound layers and near the core of the roll due to various factors such as tension variations in the winding device e g tolerance run outs in the winding cylinder film stability at the winding device caliper control of the film etc The resulting unevenness between the two wound layers e g the outermost wound layer and an immediately underlying wound layer can pro duce a wound in defect s that later grows as multiple suc cessive windings layers of the film are wound on top of the defect s These winding induced defects can include varia tions in print repeat length tin can type defects e g the film roll exhibits a series of raised annular bands so as to resemble the side ofa tin can and gauge band types of
8. color ona visible surface of an element 0081 Coordination in the present invention may also con tain commonly used color schemes which tend to harmonize or coordinate That is the first and second visual color char acteristics may be selected to enhance the visual coordination in addition to having at least a first and second color as the first and second visual characteristics Examples of these color schemes include for example monochromatic color complementary colors analogous colors warm and cool col ors neutral colors color contrast tetradic color scheme triad color scheme or other chord color schemes Monochromatic color scheme uses one base color but varies the color tint shade and or tone Complementary colors are colors which are opposite each other on a color wheel Analogous colors are colors which are adjacent each other on the color wheel Warm and cool color schemes use three colors two of which are warm colors and one is cool color or two cool colors and one warm color Warm colors are generally associated with fire and the sun for example red yellow and orange and cool colors are generally associated with water the sky and foliage for example green blue and violet Neutral color coordina tion includes using shades of black white gray and beige together Color contrast scheme include using dark and light colors together Tetradic is a four color scheme and a triad color scheme is a three color scheme both of
9. coor dinated to a particular article of clothing or to a particular line of clothing Purchasers increasingly prefer absorbent articles with graphics and it is believed that some purchasers would prefer absorbent articles with graphics that have a similar appearance to particular articles of clothing and or lines of clothing It is known for an absorbent article to bear a graphic that generically looks like a type of clothing e g blue jeans however it is not known to coordinate the graphics on an absorbent article to the graphics on actual articles of cloth ing e g a particularly patterned and or colored outfit that is sold as a clothing item or a series of related clothing items that constitute a line of clothing e g the Jane Doe collection sold by a particular retailer Accordingly there is a need for such absorbent articles SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0005 In one aspect the invention relates generally to absorbent articles having graphics disposed upon them and methods of printing graphics The graphics are suitable for or actually embodied in fabric and may be visually coordinated to clothing The clothing may be an article of clothing and or a line of clothing Oct 31 2013 0006 Itis an object of this invention to provide absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic and methods of printing and selling the absorbent articles wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordi
10. hue saturation and luminosity are considered matched Color may be imparted by any means know to those skilled in the art including for example printing dyeing pigmenting and the like 0033 Form may be accomplished by techniques know to those skilled in the art Form can be construed on the simplest scale as shape Shape may be imparted to the components by known methods suchas cutting and the like By using the term shape in this context it is intended that the outline edges and the like have a shape in addition to a linear outline Generally shapes are considered the same if the aspects of one shape are proportional to another shape For example in the case of a triangle if all the angles are identical in two different triangles but the sides are different in length the two triangles are considered to be coordinated since they have the same proportions relative to each other Stated another way shapes are considered to be coordinated if the shapes are the same or are proportional to each other 0034 Textures can be visual effects generated by rough surfaces and or differences in the surface characteristics or visual illusions created by mere color or pattern Texture may be the result of the natural characteristics of a given material as a result of the material formation process Textures may also be imparted to a material using known techniques known to those skilled in the art including for example printing emboss
11. or line of clothing visually belong together Visual characteristics are said to coordinate if one aspect of the visual characteristic is the same or falls within limits described with this specifica tion Visual characteristics are also said to coordinate if they match Components or elements are considered to be coordi nated if they match Graphics are considered to be coordi nated if they match An absorbent article and an article of clothing are considered to be coordinated if they match An absorbent article and a line of clothing are considered to be coordinated if they match Colors may be coordinated if they have a hue luminosity or saturation that match within limits described below 0030 As used herein the term nonwoven fabric or web means a web having a structure of individual fibers or threads which are interlaid but not in a regular or identifiable manner as in a knitted or woven fabric The term also includes indi vidual filaments and strands yarns or tows as well as foams and films that have been fibrillated apertured or otherwise treated to impart fabric like properties Nonwoven fabrics or webs have been formed from many processes such as for example meltblowing processes spunbonding processes airlaying processes and bonded carded web processes The Oct 31 2013 basis weight of nonwoven fabrics is usually expressed in ounces of material per square yard osy or grams per square meter gsm and the fiber d
12. plate cylinder The raised sections of a flexographic printing plate are coated with ink ready to be pressed on the material to be printed An impression cylinder presses the substrate film to be printed against the printing plate The raised sections of the printing plate transfer their ink coating to the material being printed The ink is dried Each ink color requires its own anilox inking rollers plate and cylinder and colors are printed one after the other on to the material as it passes through the press 0067 In an embodiment the flexographic press has a color to color registration accuracy of 0 04 mm Such a press is the ASTRAFLEX available from Windmoeller Hoelscher Corp Accordingly by using a flexographic press with such accuracy in color to color registration graphics may be printed having very narrow lines as fine as 0 032 inch in width preferably 0 020 inch Also suitable are flexographic presses known as the NOVOFLEX and VISTAFLEX both available from W amp H 0068 Suitable printing plates are typically made from one or more photopolymers and are typically supplied in flat sheets of un reacted polymer They are then processed by specialist pre press houses The use of a higher quality plate at this point in the process will typically result in a higher quality print ultimately being printed Raised areas of the plate transfer the ink In an embodiment the relief is up to and including 0 8 mm in height In
13. the invention provides a method of selling absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual charac teristic of an article of clothing and or a line of clothing The graphic and the clothing each has at least a first and prefer ably additional visual characteristics wherein the visual char acteristics of the graphic are matched the corresponding visual characteristics of the clothing In other embodiments there are at least 2 preferably at least 3 visual characteristics that are matched In yet other embodiments there are at least 4 preferably at least 5 visual characteristics that are matched In still other embodiments there are at least 6 preferably at least 7 visual characteristics that are matched In yet other embodiments there are at least 8 preferably at least 9 visual characteristics that are matched Oct 31 2013 0021 In an embodiment an absorbent article appears visually coordinated to an article of clothing and or a line of clothing to a consumer n absorbent article will be visually coordinated when one or more its visual characteristics are matched with the corresponding visual characteristics of the article of clothing and or line of clothing These visual char acteristics may be visible patterns of color The color ofthese patterns can be described by the value of the hue saturation and
14. the owl appears to be sitting The clothing and the absorbent article are coordinated even though they are of different sizes and notwithstanding that an additional elements the flower pattern and the branch are also present on the printed diaper 0086 In order to obtain a better understanding of the present invention attention is directed to FIGS 8 9A and 9B In FIG 8 an article of clothing a child s dress is shown Certain visual characteristics exhibited on the dress include a monkey a bow on the monkey s ear the color ofthe monkey s body having light colored paws depicted by gray shading the monkey being embroidered and the torso arms and legs ofthe monkey being dotted In FIGS 9A and 9B diapers with graphics printed on them are shown The diapers show a monkey as does the dress a bow on the monkey s ear the color of the monkey s body having light colored paws de picted by gray shading the monkey being embroidered and the torso arms and legs of the monkey being dotted and the additional visual characteristics of the monkey appearing to be partially inserted into a pocket in FIG 9A These several visual characteristics are coordinated e g substantially the same shape even though they are of different sizes and one of the printed diapers has a visual characteristic that is not shared with the original dress and in fact both ofthe printed diapers have a different background color than the original dress
15. which are known to those skilled in the art Any of these color schemes may be used in the present invention to help coordinate and harmonize two or more colors as the visual characteristics in the present invention 0082 Coordination may be created by providing a theme on the absorbent article that matches the theme embodied in an article of clothing and or line of clothing Non limiting examples of themes include sporty outdoors sophisticated professional casual cute sassy feminine e g quilted pais ley curly cues polka dots fresh seasonal e g spring sum mer fall winter patriotic weather climatic e g sunny rainy snowy ethnic soft tones earth tones pastels rock n roll western e g cowboy cowgirl animal plant food or industrial 0083 Two patterns are considered coordinated when they have substantially the same pattern elements regardless of US 2013 0289511 other factors such as orientation To gain a better understand ing of how patterns are considered to be coordinated within the scope ofthe present invention reference is made to FIGS 3 to 5 In FIG 3 an article of clothing a child s sleeper is shown Certain visual characteristics exhibited on the sleeper include the giraffe spots the pattern of giraffe spots and the color depicted by gray shading In FIG 4 a print out of a graphic design file showing the graphic being developed for printing on an absorbent article is shown
16. L a b value of aselected area A non limiting example of such software may be Adobe Photoshop In another embodiment the L a b values of various color zones on a graphic can be measured directly from the printed substrate that bears the design inspir ing the graphic A suitable procedure for measuring the L a b values of a color zone is provided below 0057 In an embodiment color measurements are per formed using a commercial flat bed scanner capable of 4800 dpi at 16 bit color depth such as an Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner Epson America Long Beach Calif Each scan is calibrated against Pantone standards and measure ments made using Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended Edition Adobe Systems Inc San Jose Calif The sample is mea sured on the printed side of the substrate For example if a laminate consist of a nonwoven and a film where the printing is on the film and sandwiched between the film and non woven the nonwoven is removed before the printing on the film is measured 0058 Scans are calibrated using the Pantone Process Col ors standard from the Pantone Formula Guide Uncoated Papers Pantone Carlstadt N J CIE L a b values are measured for the Pantone standard for each color i e Process Yellow U Process Magenta U Process Cyan U Process Black U and the White uncoated paper Tristimulus colors are measured according to ASTM Method E1164 07 Standard Practice for Obtaining Spectrophotometric Data for Ob
17. US20130289511A1 as United States a2 Patent Application Publication Warner et al 10 Pub No US 2013 0289511 A1 43 Pub Date Oct 31 2013 54 76 Q1 Q2 METHOD OF PRINTING GRAPHICS ON ABSORBENT ARTICLES Inventors Alrick Vincent Warner Loveland OH US Timothy Wayne Roberston Cincinnati OH US Beth Goldman Mason Cincinnati OH US George Christopher Dobrin Mason OH US Rachel Eden Walther Union KY US Appl No 13 457 562 Filed Apr 27 2012 51 52 57 Publication Classification Int Cl A61F 13 84 2006 01 U S Cl USPE ec attt eerte 604 385 01 101 483 ABSTRACT Absorbent articles having graphics disposed upon them and methods of printing graphics The graphics are suitable for or actually embodied in fabric and may be visually coordinated to clothing The clothing may be an article of clothing and or a line of clothing US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 Sheet 1 of 10 Patent Application Publication VI 1 i 1 Lll22zeszesz2222 1 i uo payuud eq 511 SPME 1uegiosqe aui JO Case JUJ 14 Y ayes 01 21udeiJ aui jo MOAL pue 5215 aut syegndtuew i WEMAS uBis p usn BEY _ QC AL sonjdejb 91 oumuiaiaQ k ubisep bunsix ueas l TSO foyoud gubig 1 LI P US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 She
18. able for use with the present invention 0008 FIG 1B isa flowchart ofa method of printing graph ics on absorbent articles suitable for use with the present invention 0009 FIG 2 is an illustration of three axes respectively for the L a and b value of a given color used with the CIELAB color scale 0010 FIG 3 is a perspective view of a design embodied in an article of clothing 0011 FIG 4 is a perspective view of a design created using design software inspired by a creator who views the graphics embodied in an article of clothing 0012 FIG 5 is a perspective view of a graphic printed on a diaper that is inspired by the design shown in either of FIG 3 or 4 0013 FIG 6isa perspective view of a design embodied in an article of clothing 0014 FIGS and 7B are perspective views of graphics printed on diapers that are inspired by the design shown in FIG 6 0015 FIG 8isa perspective view of a design embodied in an article of clothing 0016 FIGS 9A and are perspective views of graphics printed on diapers that are inspired by the design shown in FIG 8 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0017 Inone aspect the invention is intended primarily for use with absorbent articles As used herein the term absor bent article refers to devices which absorb and contain body exudates and more specifically refers to devices which are placed against or in proximity to the body of the wearer to abs
19. an attribute or feature when the visual angle that the attribute or feature subtends is greater than about 5 minutes of visual arc and less than about 45 minutes of visual arc as determined by the following equation Min utes of visual arc 3438 length of the object distance from object wherein the length of the object size of the object measured perpendicular to the line of sight the distance from object distance from the front of the eye to the object along the line of sight and a minute of visual arc is 0 of 1 degree 0024 As used herein the term color is intended to mean an individual s perception of the spectral composition of visible light coming from a portion of an object Color char acteristics include hue saturation and luminosity Each is a separate color characteristic Hue is the attribute of a color which allows it to be classified as a given color Saturation which is sometimes referred to as vividness is the intensity of the color Saturation is the degree of freedom from gray Luminosity sometimes referred to as value is the degree of lightness paleness or darkness in a color For example a blue with white added is a pale color e g baby blue and blue with black added is a dark color e g navy blue A measure ment of hue saturation and luminosity are described in more detail below 0025 As used herein the term form is used to describe an individual s perception of the spatial variation of visibl
20. are of different sizes and notwithstanding that an additional elements the giraffes are also present on the printed diaper Stated another way in the present invention clothing and an absorbent article are considered coordinated if they have the same or similar visual characteristics whether the visual characteristics are matched identically or similarly matched It is further noted that patterns are considered coor dinated if there are pattern elements which are the same or similar even if additional pattern elements are present 0084 In one embodiment there are at least two different types of visual characteristics One particular combination is the use of color and pattern As set forth above the more shared visual characteristics there are the more coordinated the absorbent article and article of clothing and or line of clothing will appear 0085 In order to obtain a better understanding of the present invention attention is directed to FIGS 6 7A and 7B In FIG 6 an article of clothing a child s sweater is shown Certain visual characteristics exhibited on the sweater include an owl white as a coordinating color a flower pattern on the owl s wings the color of the owl s body depicted by gray shading and the owl being embroidered In FIGS 7A and 7B diapers with graphics printed on them are shown The diapers shows an owl as does the sweater white as a coordinating color a substantially similar flower patter
21. article of clothing a clothing line artwork a painting or the like In any of the aforemen tioned embodiments the graphic may be reduced in the form of a digital photograph or in the form of an electronic scan Oct 31 2013 Examples ofthe design being embodied in an article of cloth ing are shown in FIGS 3 6 and 8 In yet another embodi ment the graphic is created using design software e g Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator In such an embodiment the design may be created from scratch or it may be inspired by a creator who has viewed the graphics embodied in a fabric an article of clothing a clothing line artwork a paint ing or the like An example of the design being created using design software inspired by a creator who has viewed the graphics embodied in an article of clothing is shown in FIG 4 0047 The use of a higher quality file at this point in the process will typically result in a higher quality print ulti mately being printed In one embodiment resolution of the image of the graphic embodied in the file will be at least 150 dpi dots per inch When flexographic printing is used pref erably the print size of an image to be printed in pixel dimen sions will be 150 times the number of inches Thus for example to ultimately print on an 8 x8 swatch the image embodying the graphic will have a resolution of 1200 pixelsx 1200 pixels 0048 In an embodiment where the graphic is a scan of a de
22. ated 0039 In an embodiment a first and second visual charac teristic are different in some aspect from each other It is possible for the visual characteristics to be two different colors a color and a pattern a texture and a color a texture and a pattern two different patterns two different textures and the like If there are three characteristics which are dif ferent then there could be two different colors and a pattern three different colors a color a pattern and a texture among many other combinations 0040 Inanembodiment white is generally not considered as a color is used as the coordinating feature if white is a predominate color on the element being coordinated This is because white is the predominate color of absorbent articles and thus white does not lend itself as a coordinating color However white may be a coordinating color provided that it is not used as the predominate color on the components or surfaces being coordinated Stated another way white may be a coordinating color if it is used as an accent or a non dominate color By non dominate color it is intended mean a color which encompasses less than 50 desirable less that 30 of the surface area of a surface 0041 Inan embodiment the first and second visual char acteristics may be configured as first and second colors Each of the first and second colors may be different from one Oct 31 2013 another by having a different hue One or m
23. ation is made of whether the print trials were successful for the attributes measured an editing loop is provided whereby any desired changes to improve success for the attributes measured are made a commercial print trial is conducted wherein absorbent articles are shipped to a manu facturing plant for being converted into saleable absorbent articles a check is conducted to check whether the printed absorbent articles are suitable for sale a determination is made of whether the printed absorbent articles are suitable for sale based on the attributes measured an editing loop is provided whereby any desired changes to improve success for the attributes measured are made the printed absorbent articles suitable for sale are offered for sale These steps and additional optional steps are discussed in more detail herein It is to be noted that it will be appreciated by the skilled person that in alternate embodiments some steps may be performed in a different order or they may be performed concurrently 0046 Inselecting a graphic the graphic may comprise one or more designs inspired by designs suitable for or actually embodied in fabric The graphic may be embodied in an electronic file Suitable file formats are JPG JPEG PNG GIF TIF e g 8 bit uncompressed Preferably the file will be less than 30 megabytes in size The source of the graphic may vary In certain embodiments ofthe invention the design may be embodied in a fabric an
24. cordingly in an embodiment the method may pro vide for a a manufacturer or a retailer allowing a purchaser to select a plurality of design graphics from a collection b the manufacturer printing sets of absorbent articles each bearing a different design graphic selected by the purchasers c the manufacturer co packaging the sets of absorbent articles and d making the co packaged sets available to the purchaser The skilled person will appreciate that in the embodiment just described any or all of the steps being carried out by a manufacturer or a retailer or even a pur chaser may be performed by an agent or designee thereof Furthermore the step of making available to the purchaser may include sending the sets of absorbent articles to a bene factor of the purchaser e g as a gift 0095 The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numeri cal values recited Instead unless otherwise specified each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value For example a dimension disclosed as 40 mm is intended to mean about 40 mm 0096 Every document cited herein including any cross referenced or related patent or application 1s hereby incor porated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited The citation of any document is not an admission that it is pr
25. de electrostatic magnetographic ion or electron deposition and ink jet printing It is it to be appreciated that various types of printing processes may be used to create the graphics disclosed herein For example in some embodi ments it may be preferable to use flexography In particular flexography may utilize printing plates made of rubber or plastic with a slightly raised image thereon The inked plates are rotated on a cylinder which transfers the image to the substrate Flexography may be a relatively high speed print process that uses fast drying inks In addition flexography can be used to print continuous patterns on many types of absorbent and non absorbent materials Other embodiments may utilize gravure printing More particularly gravure print ing utilizes an image etched on the surface of a metal plate The etched area is filled with ink and the plate is rotated on a cylinder that transfers the image to the substrate Still other embodiments may utilize ink jetprinting Ink jet is a non impact dot matrix printing technology in which droplets of ink are jetted from a small aperture directly to a specified position on a media to create an image Two examples of inkjet technologies include thermal bubble or bubble jet and piezoelectric Thermal bubble uses heat to apply to the ink while piezoelectric uses a crystal and an electric charge to apply the ink 0043 In addition to the aforementioned various types of printing proces
26. defects In this regard while efforts are made to precisely design and build the mechanical components of the winding device for large film width winding applications e g on the order of 1 meter 1 5 meters or even 2 meters or greater unavoidable precision runouts tend to produce non uniform tension during winding in instances where the affected film layer is unable to readily move or relax relative to the immediately underlying layer e g due to friction one or more of the winding induced defects mentioned above can occur Winding defects are typi cally more frequently observed when the film is thin has a low basis weight and or has a low modulus In an embodi ment the film is has a thickness of 1 mm preferably it is lt 0 75 mm In an embodiment the film has a basis weight of x20 gsm preferably lt 16 gsm In an embodiment the film has a modulus of x20 N cm preferably about 16 N cm In an embodiment the film is has a thickness of x1 mm a basis weight of x20 gsm and a modulus of 20 N cm In yet another embodiment the film is has a thickness of x0 75 mm a basis weight of x16 gsm and a modulus of 16 N cm 0062 The size and layout of the graphic are manipulated to make it fit the area ofthe absorbent article it is to be printed on The graphic can be centered on atemplate ofthe areato be printed e g the diaper backsheet by any suitable process that obtains the desired color and shape of the graphic for the given
27. e light due to the bulk shape and structure of a portion of an object in three dimensions Stated another way form is shape and structure of an item which distinguishes it from its sur rounding which causes a spatially discontinuous change in light that is transmitted through or reflected from an item 0026 As used herein the term texture is used to describe the individual s perception ofthe spatial variation of US 2013 0289511 visible light due to surface structure of a portion of an object in two dimensions Textures can be visual effects generated by surface roughness and visual illusion created by mere color or pattern Texture may be the result of the natural characteristics of a given material as a result of the material formation process Textures may also be imparted to a mate rial using techniques known to those skilled in the art includ ing for example printing embossing bonding aperturing and the like 0027 As used herein the term pattern is used to describe the individual s perception of spatial variation of visible light due to contrasts in spatial variation of light due to the color form and texture of a portion of an object incorpo rated into the object by the manufactory ofthe elements This contrast creates various visual distinct regions or lines some times referred to as figures within its surrounding some times referred to as ground Patterns can be formed by combinations of co
28. et 2 of 10 Patent Application Publication i I BYES 304 i Hi SI Hd UR pacem TENURE SBS ee dmn ponsop Au IXe TIT TA 1 BRS 10 AJENOS S n 3940902 aus LUI gans FAP o1 SBD p SARNE 309810808 Out Fun sends b 8 nd bid e ass EERI FUL je SUAS Ruaugsnipe pasan Aue agep on 20 YOON p L ARDAS 205 peus HUE MIOQUOSGE RR pO MAUI ip INCAT put 40003 u 238803 01 sepnie wuediosqe opeui pue SHENI IBE 0100 Bue SPREY JORA 13992 03 eus Uid Axeuruspig el PiE NudeJoxP a U61641 Bunun deag ved uno peseq i sunpejdepe Aymgegns 3uud pue Jor Huewgsnipe PARED AUE BEER Buse raumsio 10 payuud o Ap o sEeun qg ese peropua are spydet SCIEN uusha d Xa SAO UOTA sdeus sda 1 We tye sunpod uncus tamopeus 58 YMS Ten P QE ppe ag uova aaendisepy i Loci Kraemer i aseds ayer paimbaran gg Saveur pauuess i o pasesdas pug paddays aqAgin i 8189 JO SS6U8 DOUUESS dU j SARU VRID 30 f uc poseq SORRU OIA 818813 WE Fos seins o BUNS BARA sony 10421 Y 536933 UR MORE NGS Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2013 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2013 0289511 A1 L 400 white bius Ls black Fig 2 Patent Ap
29. g The ink is pumped through the system to maintain ing a constant supply of ink to the anilox surface Advanta geously the closed doctoring system requires less ink to charge the system and there is no release of VOC s as the system is contained 0072 In an embodiment the flexographic printing press comprises from 2 to 10 stations These include but are not limited to three main configurations the central impression press the in line press and the stack press 0073 A web passes around the central impression CT cylinder with each color being printed in turn Inter station driers are used to cure the inks between print stations to ensure wet on dry printing An advantage of this type of press is that registration is excellent as the web is held over the CI drum between print stations There is less chance of the sub strate being extended between the print stations The press speed of central impression presses can generally be increased beyond that of the other press types 0074 The in line press is a combination of individual units with a small distance between the print heads Each color is printed on the web fed substrate Each color has an individual impression cylinder against which the plate is pressed An advantage of the in line press is that other printing technolo gies such as rotary screen or gravure and additional colors processes can be incorporated by simply adding another sta tion These machines often u
30. hod which comprises one or more of the following steps an inspi rational theme is selected available design elements are scanned into a computer file a layout is created using Adobe Creative Suite or similar software vector images are cre ated based on the scanned image or scanned images are placed on a template of the absorbent article to be printed on scanned or drawn images may be stepped and repeated to fill the space on a template of the absorbent article to be printed on artwork is manipulated to add 3 dimensional effects and details e g shadows stitching pockets belts belt loops snaps button button holes and the like graphics are ren dered as a 3 dimensional image or digitally printed for con sumer testing a determination is made of consumers accep tance of the graphics an editing loop is provided whereby any desired changes to improve consumer acceptance are made color separation and print suitability adaptations are deter mined and made based on press fingerprinting information flexographic plates are manufactured a preliminary printing trial is conducted to check color builds and color match hand made absorbent articles are made to confirm color and layout in the context of the absorbent article a check is conducted to check the safety appearance and market suit ability of the absorbent articles a check is conducted to check ink adhesion and colorfastness print trial results are reviewed a determin
31. iameters useful are usually expressed in microns 0031 Coordination may be achieved using certain combi nations of visual characteristics which unite or harmonize the appearance of an absorbent article with an article of clothing and or a line of clothing Coordination may be achieved by matching visual characteristics of the absorbent article and clothing components As described above visual character istics are features or characteristics that are discernible by sight during the normal use of the product Examples of different types of visual characteristics which may be employed in the present invention include without limitation color form texture pattern transmittance opacity gloss and sheen among others 0032 Ofthe visual characteristics color is a characteristic that is simple to quantify Colors have some basic character istics including hue saturation and luminosity Each of these terms is described above A given color may be varied by changing the saturation and luminosity Saturation is changed by adding a neutral color black white or gray Luminosity may be changed by adding a brightener to a given color In the present invention iftwo colors have the same hue whether or not they are different in saturation or luminosity the two colors are considered coordinated Likewise if two colors have the same saturation or the same luminosity the colors are considered to be coordinated Colors which have the same
32. ill be lt 3 In yet another embodiment the difference will be lt 2 The visible surfaces are analyzed according to the Test Method described below Upon analysis the inherent color of an element comprising a visible surface will yield L a and b coordinates Two elements are selected and the L a and b values of the elements are inserted into the formula presented above to result in a hue difference 0080 Visible surfaces are tested in a dry state and at an ambient humidity of approximately 50 2 Reflectance color is measured using the Hunter Lab LabScan XE reflec tance spectrophotometer obtained from Hunter Associates Laboratory of Reston Va The spectrophotometer is set to the CIELab color scale and with a D50 illumination The Observer is set at 10 and the Mode is set at 45 0 Area View is set to 0 125 and Port Size is set to 0 20 for films Area View is set to 1 00 and Port Size is set to 1 20 for nonwovens and other materials The spectrophotometer is calibrated prior to sample analysis utilizing the black and white reference tiles supplied from the vendor with the instrument Calibration is done according to the manufacturer s instructions as set forth in LabScan XE User s Manual Manual Version 1 1 August 2001 A60 1010 862 If cleaning is required of the reference tiles or samples only tissues that do not contain embossing lotion or brighteners should be used e g Puffs tissue Any sample point on the vi
33. ing bonding aperturing and the like 0035 One or more objects one or more geometric and non geometric shapes and or one or more colors having some relationship with one another may achieve patterns Patterns may be random or repeating Repeating patterns will typically have objects shapes and or colors in a given frequency or spacing Patterns can be achieved by repeating a single object or shape or can be achieved by repeating multiple objects or shapes Repeating or alternating two or more colors with a given frequency may also create patterns Patterns may be US 2013 0289511 formed by using techniques including for example printing embossing bonding aperturing and the like 0036 Any known printing method may be used so long as a pattern or a texture can be imparted to the surface being printed Such methods for printing are described briefly in FIGS 1A and 1B 0037 Embossing may be accomplished for example by passing a material between a heated or non heated anvil roll and a heated or non heated embossing roll with the emboss ing roll containing a pattern Other techniques for imparting patterns or texture include for example aperturing creating layers orientation of materials bonding patterns and the like Texture can also be created by selection of materials having the same or similar visual characteristic beyond color and patterns imposed on the material 0038 In an embodiment the invention provides
34. ior art with respect to any US 2013 0289511 invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone orin any combination with any other reference or references teaches suggests or discloses any such invention Further to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition ofthe same term in a document incorporated by reference the meaning or defini tion assigned to that term in this document shall govern 0097 While particular embodiments ofthe invention have been illustrated and described it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention What is claimed is 1 An absorbent article bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual charac teristic of an article of clothing 2 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the article of clothing is part of a line of clothing 3 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the at least one graphic matches at least one visual characteristic ofthe article of clothing 4 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the article of clothing is a single item of clothing being sold by one or
35. ith the CIELAB color scale When a color is defined according to the CIELAB color scale L represents lightness O black 100 white a and b inde pendently each represent a two color axis a representing a red green axis a red a green while b represents a yellow blue axis b yellow b blue The maximum for L is 100 which represents a perfect reflecting diffuser and the minimum for L is zero which represents black The a and b axes have no specific numerical limits The CIELAB color scale is an approximate uniform color scale wherein the differences between points plotted in the color space corre spond to visual differences between the colors plotted Based on the L a and b values for a first color i e L a b and a second color i e L 8 b2 the difference between the colors i e AE can be calculated using the following formula AEN AL cAa US 2013 0289511 0052 0053 0054 wherein AL L L Aa a a and 0055 Ab b b 0056 The L a b values for each zone of color in the graphic may be determined in various ways For example the L a b values of the color zones may be determined by using ink with relatively known L a b values Alternatively the L a b values in a zone can be determined from the elec tronic file that is generated when a pattern is created In such a case the L a b values may be obtained with a computer equipped with a software that can provide the
36. ject Color Evaluation using a Hunter Labscan XE HunterLab Reston Va with HunterLab Universal Software vs 4 10 with the following settings Scale CIELAB 0 45 StdMode Area View 0 50 in Port Size 0 70 in UV filter Nominal During measurement the standard is backed using the white calibration plate provided by HunterLab To increase the reli ability of the measurement each color should be measured at least in triplicate and averaged The sample is placed on the scanner with the printed side toward the sensor The Pantone standard is also placed on the scanner such that the sample and standard are both captured in the same image 0059 The scan is collected at 1200 dpi at 8 bit color depth into Photoshop for objects with a primary dimension of greater than 3 mm and at 2400 dpi 8 bit color depth for objects with a primary dimension of less than 3 mm Within Photoshop the image is transformed into a Lab 8 bit image note in this version of Photoshop L a b is imprecisely denoted as Lab Using the Levels command the L channel of the image is adjusted to read within 2 units for each of the yellow magenta cyan black and white colors on the Pantone standard L a b values are measured using the Color Sam pler Tool using an 11 by 11 average sample size 0060 The graphic may be selected to be printed on a suitable area for printing on any surface suitable for printing on the absorbent article In an embodiment the graphic is to
37. l as actually selling them 0091 According to the method absorbent articles visually coordinated to an article of clothing and or a line of clothing are sold Such articles are described above In an embodi ment the article of clothing to which the absorbent article is being coordinated is a stand alone or single item of clothing e g being sold by one or more retailers In another embodi ment the article of clothing is one article in a line of clothing being sold by one or more retailers In yet another embodi ment the absorbent article is visually coordinated to a whole or portion of a whole clothing line In such an embodiment the visual characteristics being coordinated to will be embod ied in several of articles of clothing in a line of clothing Such visual characteristics will be common among at least a few of the articles of clothing in the line and may be in the fashion sense consider the signature elements of the line In an embodiment such visual characteristics that are signature elements are not characters from story books nursery rhymes television shows movies comic books cartoons and the like In another embodiment such visual character istics that are signature elements are designed by a fashion designer 0092 Inan embodiment a retailer sells absorbent articles that are visually coordinated to an article of clothing that the retailer sells In another embodiment a retailer exclusively sells absorbent ar
38. least one visual characteristic of the article of clothing 13 The method of claim 9 wherein the article of clothing is a single item of clothing being sold by one or more retailers 14 The method of claim 9 wherein the article of clothing is one article in a line of clothing being sold by one or more retailers 15 The method of claim 9 wherein the absorbent article is visually coordinated to a whole or portion ofa whole clothing line 16 The method of claim 15 wherein the visual character istics being coordinated to are embodied in several of articles of clothing in a line of clothing such visual characteristics being common among at least two of the articles of clothing in the line 17 A method of selling an absorbent article bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual characteristic of an article of clothing
39. luminosity This color will be determined from the visible spectral and angular distribution of light coming from an object The patterns can be described by their location extent shape and orientation These patterns may have smaller pat terns contained within them The pattern may be the result of the non uniform chemical composition ofthe element like the printing ofa pattern ofa dye or from the texture ofthe element like the embossing of a pattern The pattern will be deter mined from the visible spatial spectral and angular distribu tion of light coming from an object 0022 As used herein the term visual characteristic is intended to mean a visible distinguishing or recognizable feature or attribute ofa visible aspect of one or more elements of an absorbent article and or an article of clothing and or a line of clothing Non limiting examples of visual character istics are color texture pattern form and the like 0023 As used herein the term visible is intended to mean attribute of feature which is visually perceived by an individual user or consumer Generally for a consumer or user the attribute should be visible in the range of about 0 25 feet 0 075 meters to about 3 feet 0 91 meters For a non consumer or non user generally for an attribute to be visible the distance will typically be greater than about 3 feet 0 91 meters As used herein perceived or perception is the ability to recognize
40. more retailers 5 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the article of clothing is one article in a line of clothing being sold by one or more retailers 6 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent article is visually coordinated to a whole or portion ofa whole clothing line 7 The absorbent article of claim 6 wherein the visual characteristics being coordinated to are embodied in several of articles of clothing in a line of clothing such visual char acteristics being common among at least two ofthe articles of clothing in the line Oct 31 2013 8 The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent article is selected from the group consisting of diapers femi nine pads pantiliners tampons and incontinence pads 9 A method of printing graphics on absorbent articles comprising the steps of a selecting a graphic b determining the graphic s color or colors c selecting a substrate on which to print the graphic d manipulating the size and layout of the graphic to make it fit the area ofthe absorbent article it is to be printed on and e printing the graphic on a substrate 10 The method of claim 9 wherein at least one visual characteristic of the graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual characteristic of an article of clothing 11 The method of claim 9 wherein the article of clothing is part of a line of clothing 12 The method of claim 9 wherein the graphic matches at
41. n Ser No 13 185 543 filed on Jul 19 2011 which claims the benefit of U S Provisional Application No 61 368 255 filed on Jul 27 2010 the substances of which are hereby incorporated by reference FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0002 In one aspect the invention relates generally to absorbent articles having graphics disposed upon them and methods of printing graphics The graphics are suitable for or actually embodied in fabric and may be visually coordinated to clothing The clothing may be an article of clothing and or a line of clothing BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0003 Absorbent articles are used commonly In many cases e g diapers the purchaser ofthe absorbent article is not the end user of the article Many factors influence the pur chaser s decision to purchase particular absorbent articles non limiting examples of which include price and product performance e g absorbency ease of fastening refastening tactile feel against the skin etc The aesthetics of an absorbent article have become an increasingly important factor in driv ing purchase decision making Many purchasers prefer to have colors patterns and or other designs employed by the absorbent article This creates a need to provide desirable graphics without having an unacceptably negative impact on other decision factors such as price and absorbency 0004 Although absorbent articles bearing graphics are known these graphics are not designed to be visually
42. n on the owl s wings as the sweater the same color of the owl s body depicted by gray shading as the sweater the owl having an embroidered appearance and the additional visual characteristics of a substantially similar flower pattern being printed on the fasteners of the diaper in FIG 7A or of a branch upon which the owl appears to be sitting in FIG 7B These several visual characteristics are coordinated e g sub Oct 31 2013 stantially the same shape even though they are of different sizes and printed diapers have a visual characteristic that is not shared with the original sweater Summarily referring to FIGS 6 7A and 7B elements of the clothing article a sweater is configured with a animal character an owl a coordinating color white a pattern the flower pattern on the owl s wings the color of the owl s body depicted by gray shading and a texture the owl being embroidered while the absorbent article a printed diaper is configured with a coordinated animal character an owl a coordinated coordi nating color white a coordinated pattern the flower pattern on the owl s wings a coordinated color of the owl s body depicted by gray shading and a coordinated texture the owl being embroidered and further visual characteristic that are similar to the previous elements substantially similar flower pattern being printed on the fasteners of the diaper in FIG 7A or of a branch upon which
43. ntrasting color form and texture relative to its surroundings An element can have more than one pattern but each pattern would be distinguishable recogniz able and separate from the other patterns on the element Pattern is also a term used to describe the observer s percep tion of combined effect of more than one color form or texture within a portion of an observer s field of view Patterns may have a length extent shape position and ori entation Each is a pattern characteristic within the scope of the present invention Length is the perceived distance along the major axis of the pattern The major axis is the axis of the longest symmetry The extent of the pattern is the area of the pattern Shape is simply the shape of the pattern Position is the location of the pattern relative to its surroundings And orientation is position of the major axis of the pattern relative to its surroundings 0028 As used herein the term match or matched is used to describe the way or degree two items visually fit together For example two items are considered matched if some aspects of one of the items are identical to similar aspects of another item In one form of match two items resemble each other are said to match 0029 As used herein the term coordinate or coordina tion is used to describe how two components or elements of the absorbent article and the article of clothing and
44. of clothing and or a line of clothing with both of the colors applied to the absor bent article In another embodiment the first visual charac teristic may be a color and the second visual characteristic may be an embossment pattern or shape e g fastening element In yet another embodiment the first visual charac teristic may be a first embossment printing or dyeing pattern and the second visual characteristic may be a second emboss ment printing or dyeing pattern 0088 Embossing is an effective way to impart texture and pattern visual characteristics to an absorbent article The embossing pattern may be a high density embossing pattern or a low density embossing pattern both of which may be registered or non registered 0089 Additional examples of visual characteristics include the location and appearance of tabs fasteners bor ders junctions of materials stitching printing borders seams pockets zippers zipper flaps topstitching emboss ment quilting buttons bows ribbons straps snaps belt loops suspenders and the like 0090 In an embodiment a method of selling absorbent articles bearing at least one graphic wherein at least one visual characteristic of the at least one graphic is visually coordinated to at least one visual characteristic of an article of clothing and or a line of clothing is provided It should be understood that the method relates to the offer to sell such absorbents articles as wel
45. orb and contain the various exudates discharged from the US 2013 0289511 body As used herein the term diaper refers to an absorbent article generally worn by infants and incontinent persons that is worn about the lower torso of the wearer It should be understood however that the invention is also applicable to other absorbent articles such as incontinence briefs inconti nence undergarments incontinence pads diaper holders and liners feminine hygiene garments feminine hygiene pads feminine hygiene pantiliners tampons and the like As used herein the term disposable refers to absorbent articles that generally are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored or reused as absorbent articles i e they are intended to be discarded after a single use and preferably to be recycled composted or otherwise disposed of in an environ mentally compatible manner In an embodiment the absor bent articles for which the invention is primarily intended for use are disposable absorbent articles 0018 In an embodiment of the invention the method described herein is used to print one or more graphics for an absorbent article In another embodiment the graphics match one or more graphics on a particular article of clothing In yet another embodiment the graphics match one or more graph ics on articles of clothing that comprise a line of clothing 0019 Absorbent articles may typically comprise a top sheet having
46. ore colors may also be different by virtue of having a different luminosity and or saturation vividness Saturation vividness is the inten sity of the color from pale to dark Colors of different hues can be coordinated or match by virtue of having the same lumi nosity or saturation For example pale or pastel colors of different hues tend to blend together or appear that they belong together or are matched due to the fact that the satu ration levels are similar Other factors in color differences include different finishes e g gloss finish verses a matte fin ish Matte finishes tend to diffuse or scatter light compared to a gloss finish which is specular 0042 Printing may generally be characterized as an indus trial process in which an image is reproduced on a substrate such as paper polyolefin film or nonwoven fabric There are various classes of printing processes which may include stencil and screen printing relief printing planographic printing intaglio printing and electronic printing Stencil and screen printing may be used for printing T shirts signage banners billboards and the like Examples of relief printing may include letterpress and flexography Examples of plano graphic printing may include offset lithography screenless lithography collotype and waterless printing In addition examples of intaglio printing may include gravure steel die and copper plate engraving Examples of electronic printing may inclu
47. ors and patterns and or solid prints In an embodiment they may be selected from groups being catego rized as being gender neutral boy appropriate or girl appro priate In another embodiment they may be selected from groups categorized as being sporty outdoors sophisticated professional casual cute sassy feminine e g quilted pais ley curly cues polka dots fresh seasonal e g spring sum mer fall winter patriotic weather climatic e g sunny rainy snowy ethnic soft tones earth tones pastels rock n roll western e g cowboy cowgirl animal plant food or industrial 0078 The hue difference represents the distance between two points within CIELab color space The CIELab color space hue difference AH for a first color L a b and a second color L a 532 is calculated according to the following formula AH V AE AC AL Within said formula AE is the CIELab color space total color difference between the two colors and is calculated as presented above The AC is the CIELab color space chroma difference between the two colors and is calculated by AC J ay by ya b The AL is the difference in L values between the two colors and is calculated by AL L L 0079 Inan embodiment at least two visible surfaces each comprising an imparted color will have a CIELab color space hue difference of lt 4 in order to be considered matching In another embodiment the difference w
48. placing them in separate pri mary packages that are then placed together into a secondary package e g a cardboard box containing both polybags by securing separate primary packaging to each other e g adhe sive or physical binding means e g string or tape or other suitable means for ensuring that the absorbent articles are sold ultimately as a unit Accordingly in an embodiment the method may provide for a selecting a plurality of design graphics from a collection b printing sets of absorbent articles each bearing a different design graphic selected in the previous step c co packaging the sets of absorbent articles and d offering the co packaged sets for sale The skilled person will appreciate that in the embodiment just described any or all of the steps typically carried out by a manufacturer or a retailer of the absorbent articles may be performed by an agent or designee thereof 0094 This may be accomplished e g online by making available any ofthe aforementioned co packaged executions by allowing a purchaser to click on combinations that will ultimately be co packaged prior to shipping to the purchaser or other suitable means for ensuring that the absorbent articles are sold ultimately as a unit It is contemplated that by allowing a purchaser to click on combinations that will ultimately be co packaged prior to shipping to the purchaser a significant degree of customization of the order may take place Ac
49. plication Publication Oct 31 2013 Sheet 4 of 10 US 2013 0289511 A1 US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 Sheet 5 of 10 Patent Application Publication US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 Sheet 6 of 10 Patent Application Publication US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 Sheet 7 of 10 Patent Application Publication US 2013 0289511 A1 Oct 31 2013 Sheet 8 of 10 Patent Application Publication Ciis AA TA Dii C E M ed lt an LAD AY eee d PRX oo C i CX f i uM T M S A NT i ao N 3 eA To l pe 0 v eel bb ak 4 x amp v i FN Z Pa So a I EN 1 bs bt 4 pd Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2013 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2013 0289511 A1 cO pe EA Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2013 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2013 0289511 A1 Fig 9B US 2013 0289511 METHOD OF PRINTING GRAPHICS ON ABSORBENT ARTICLES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 This application claims the benefit of U S applica tion Ser No 13 156 583 filed on Jun 9 2011 which claims the benefit of U S Provisional Application No 61 368 071 filed on Jul 27 2010 U S application Ser No 13 156 954 filed on Jun 9 2011 which claims the benefit of U S Provi sional Application No 61 368 252 filed on Jul 27 2010 and U S applicatio
50. print area In an embodiment a designer alters the size or dimensions of the graphic to fit the area of the absorbent article substrate to be printed on This typically involves cropping enlarging decreasing the overall dimensions ofthe graphic and may involve modifying the graphic itself by introducing or removing design features of the graphic in order to make it fit the print area Care should be taken not to modify the graphic in a way that causes too much detail to be lost 0063 The difference between the colors i e AE can be used to compare the colors graphic being printed versus tar get e g when conducting test prints In one embodiment the AE between the graphic being printed and the original design is less than 16 In another embodiment the AE between the graphic being printed and the original design is less than 12 US 2013 0289511 Inyetanother embodiment the AE between the graphic being printed and the original design is less than 9 0064 The graphic is printed on a substrate FIG 5 shows a graphic printed on a diaper that was inspired by the design shown in either of FIG 3 or 4 FIGS 7A and 7B show a graphics printed on diapers that were inspired by the design shown in FIG 6 FIGS 9A and 9B show graphics printed on diapers that were inspired by the design shown in FIG 8 0065 Optionally one or more test prints are done Settings may be adjusted e g color size and or shape after each successive tes
51. se UV inks which are dried between each print station 0075 When using flexographic printing certain manage ment of the surface energy of print tools and substrates and the surface tension of the inks can lead to unexpected results The surface tension energy of the components of the printing pro cess are advantageously arranged such that it increases from the inks to anilox to plates to substrates In one embodi ment the difference in surface tension energy between the inks and the substrates is from 10 to 14 dynes preferably 12 dynes cm 0076 A design will typically comprise various design ele ments of the absorbent article Design elements may be physi cal features of the absorbent article such as the overall out line location of tabs fasteners borders junctions of materials stitching and like elements Design elements may also be either actual physical features of the absorbent article or elements that are not actual physical features but are to be US 2013 0289511 printed on the absorbent article to make it appear that they are actual elements of the absorbent article non limiting examples of features that may fall within either or both of these groups include printing borders seams pockets zip pers zipper flaps topstitching embossment quilting but tons bows ribbons straps snaps belt loops suspenders sales tags etc 0077 A design may also be themed or exhibit an otherwise like group of col
52. ses it is to be appreciated that various types of inks or ink systems may be applied to various types of sub strates to create the disclosed patterns such as solvent based water based and UV cured inks The primary difference among the ink systems is the method used for drying or curing the ink For example solvent based and water based inks are dried by evaporation while UV cured inks are cured by chemical reactions Inks may also include components such as solvents colorants resins additives and for ultraviolet inks only UV curing compounds that are responsible for various functions 0044 As shown in FIG 1A a method of printing graphics on absorbent articles 10 is provided According to method 10 which comprises one or more of the following steps a graphic US 2013 0289511 is selected the graphic s color s are determined the sub strate on which to print the graphic is selected the size and layout ofthe graphic are manipulated to make it fit the area of the absorbent article it is to be printed on and the graphic is printed on a substrate These steps and additional optional steps are discussed in more detail herein It is to be noted that it will be appreciated by the skilled person that in alternate embodiments some steps may be performed in a different order or they may be performed concurrently 0045 As shown in FIG 1B a method of printing graphics on absorbent articles is provided According to the met
53. sible surface of the element con Oct 31 2013 taining the imparted color to be analyzed should be selected Typically sample points are selected so as to be close in perceived color A single ply of the element is placed over the spectrophotometer s sample port A single ply as used within the test method means that the visible surface of the element is not folded Thus a single ply of a visible surface may include the sampling of a laminate which itself is comprised of more than one lamina The sample point comprising the color to be analyzed must be larger than the sample port to ensure accurate measurements A white tile as supplied by the manufacturer is placed behind the visible surface The L a and b values are read and recorded The visible surface is removed and repositioned so that a minimum of six readings are obtained for the visible surface If possible e g the size of the imparted color on the element in question does not limit the ability to have six discretely different non overlapping sample points each of the readings is to be performed at a substantially different region on the visible surface so that no two sample points overlap If the size of the imparted color region requires overlapping of sample points only six samples should be taken with the sample points selected to minimize overlap between any two sample points The readings are averaged to yield the reported L a and b values for a specified
54. sign suitable scanners will typically scan at 2400 dpi reso lution or higher Suitable scanners include the Epson Expression 10000XL which is particularly useful when the graphic is embodied in a fabric 0049 Two colors are considered coordinated if they have first and second hues that are the same Colors of different hues are also considered coordinated if they have a value luminosity difference of less than 5 of maximum alter natively less than 396 of maximum or alternatively less than 196 of maximum Colors of different hues are also considered coordinated if they have a saturation difference of less than 596 of maximum alternatively less than 396 of maximum or alternatively less than 2 596 of maximum 0050 In an embodiment color matching of visible sur facesis determined by the color ofan absorbent article and the corresponding color of the clothing and or line of clothing having a specified CIELab color space hue difference AH Characterizing color matching by the hue difference is desir ablein that hue difference accounts for and considers all three dimensions within CIELab While not being limited to this theory such a three dimensional measurement is believed to more fully characterize the difference in two colors 0051 CIELAB is a conventional color model used to describe colors visible to the human eye FIG 2 is an illus tration ofthree axes respectively for the L a and b value of a given color used w
55. t print until the desired color and appearance of the graphic are obtained One factor to consider in adjusting settings is to compare the colors and density of the graphic being printed versus target Colors may be printed by using a variety of methods Some suitable methods are single spot color 4 color process printing using cyan magenta yellow and black also known as CMYK expanded color gamut 6 color or 7 color CMYK orange green and violet also known as OG V or a combination of 4 color 6 color or 7 color process printing with spot color printing In an embodi ment 7 color process printing is combined with spot color printing Additional factors to consider in adjusting settings are the shape and layout ofthe graphic This may also include color to color alignment Yet another factor to consider in adjusting settings is ink adhesion e g how well it resists rub off and or leaching 0066 In an embodiment the graphic is printed using a flexographic press The flexographic generally operates by transferring ink from a soft rubber transfer roller to an anilox roll this roll is filled with billions oftiny cells Once they are filled a doctor blade is used to scrape away any excess ink from the surface of the roller this meters the quantity of ink to reach the printing plate Ink is spread evenly on the anilox rollers to transfer ink to the raised parts ofthe flexible printing plate The printing plate is wrapped around a
56. ticles that are visually coordinated to an article of clothing that the retailer exclusively sells In an embodiment a retailer sells absorbent articles that are visu ally coordinated to a line of clothing that the retailer sells In an embodiment a retailer exclusively sells absorbent articles that are visually coordinated to a line of clothing that the retailer exclusively sells In various embodiments any or all of the selling steps disclosed in this paragraph may be con ducted in store on line or a combination of both The term on line is intended to include any e commerce medium e g internet wireless internet websites mimics of any ofthe Oct 31 2013 preceding that are embodied in personal digital devices including smart phones and the like 0093 Collections of absorbent articles comprise a plural ity of design graphics preferably from 2 to 6 more preferably from 2 to 4 that are visually coordinated to an article of clothing and or a line of clothing It is contemplated that an entire collection or fewer than an entire collection may be sold contemporaneously In an embodiment absorbent articles in a collection are co packaged Co packaged means sold together at the same time This may be accomplished e g in store by actually placing the similar and or related graphic absorbent articles in the same primary package e g a polybag made of e g polyethylene polypropylene or mix tures or laminates thereof by
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