HK1062820A - Image carrying laminated material - Google Patents

Description

Image-bearing laminate

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the manufacture of laminates with images that can be viewed from one or both sides of the material. The material may be made from any suitable substrate such as glass, polycarbonate, acrylic, Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB) or other thermoplastic resins. The image may be a pattern, artwork, written indicia or any other visible object.

Background

Laminates, particularly laminated glass, have many applications as building materials. They can be used, for example, for making windows, walls, doors and screens. They can also be used to make coffee tables and other small furniture. Laminates are used in a variety of applications due to their inherent safety compared to ordinary glass sheets. Laminates are typically made by joining two sheets of material with a polyvinyl butyral interlayer or a polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane interlayer such as PE399krystal flex film manufactured by Morton International, inc. The production process generally comprises two steps. The interlayer is placed between the two sheets of material in one step and heated while passing through press rolls which press the two sheets of material into contact with the softened interlayer. The other step is to treat the laminate thus formed in an autoclave to complete the bonding process.

In many applications it is required to create a certain image on the laminate. The image may serve a decorative purpose or a functional purpose by partially or completely blocking viewing through the laminate. Heretofore, there have been serious practical problems with the various methods of making image-bearing laminates. One method of forming an image on a laminate such as glass is to screen print the image onto the finished laminate. This process is cumbersome and the images that can be produced are limited in color and detail. For example, multicolor images require the printing of multiple colors in steps. Furthermore, the image can only be formed on a single glass sheet, which in practice means that the image cannot be formed in the usual way so that the glass sheet can be cut at will thereafter.

Other methods of forming images on laminates are also useful. These methods incorporate a layer of material having an image thereon into the laminate. The disadvantage of this method is that the strength of the bond between the individual material sheets is directly affected. This is because the material on which the image is provided causes the bonding area to decrease.

In another method described in U.S. patent No.4,968,553, an image-printed polyurethane is laminated with two sheets of glass to form an image-bearing laminate. The sheet of polyurethane is printed with a non-solvent based ink so as not to chemically react with the urethane. Commercial application of this process is limited by the need to use polyurethane sheets rather than conventional interlayers such as PVB.

One method described in brazilian patent application 9104893 is to print directly on the PVB interlayer. This application uses an acrylic lacquer to form an image on the PVB prior to lamination. Acrylic paints, however, are highly detrimental to the adhesion of the interlayer to the adjacent glass surface when laminated.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making an image-bearing laminate comprising the steps of: the laminate is formed by forming an image on a first surface of a sandwich sheet using a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system, sandwiching the sheet between two sheets of material, and joining the two sheets of material by activating the sandwich.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided an image-bearing laminate comprising two sheets of material joined by an interlayer, the image being formed on a first surface of the interlayer by a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system.

In a third aspect of the invention, an interlayer is provided having an image formed on a first surface of the interlayer using a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system.

The attaching step may include attaching one or more additional interlayers to the image bearing interlayer. In one form of the invention, a further interlayer is attached to the image bearing surface of the image bearing interlayer. In another form of the invention, additional interlayers may be attached to both surfaces of the image bearing interlayer. Multiple interlayers may also be attached to both surfaces of the image bearing interlayer.

The interlayers are preferably attached to each other as part of the lamination process.

Preferably, the interlayer is made of polyvinyl butyral. The interlayer may also be made of aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane based on polyether, or the like.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of making an image-bearing laminate comprising the steps of: mechanically stabilizing an interlayer sheet, forming an image on a first surface of the interlayer, removing the mechanical stabilization, placing the interlayer between two sheets of material, and then joining the two sheets of material into the laminate by activating the interlayer.

The attaching step may include attaching one or more additional interlayers to the image bearing interlayer. In one form of the invention, a further interlayer is attached to the image bearing surface of the image bearing interlayer. In another form of the invention, additional interlayers may be attached to both surfaces of the image bearing interlayer. Multiple interlayers may also be attached to both surfaces of the image bearing interlayer.

The interlayers are preferably attached to each other as part of the lamination process.

Preferably in this regard, the interlayers are made of polyvinyl butyral. These interlayers may also be composed of polyether-based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethanes such as PE399Krystal flex^And (3) preparing a film. The image is preferably formed on the interlayer using a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system. These systems may include pigments and/or other additives.

In a highly preferred form of the invention, the image is printed on the interlayer using a piezoelectric switch-command digital printing process. This method uses solvent-based ink, paint or dye systems.

In one form of the invention, the mechanical stability is achieved by a mechanical connection between the interlayer and a removable membrane or substrate. The removable membrane may take any suitable form. The removable film sheet may be a sheet of backing paper that is adhered directly to the interlayer. The removable membrane may also be a sheet of suitable material that is bonded to the edges of the interlayer in any suitable manner. The bonding may be performed, for example, with adhesive tape. Suitable materials for the substrate that may be removed also include fiber reinforced vinyl. The mechanical stability may also be provided to a component of the printing press by a connection in some processes.

The removable film sheet or substrate tensions the interlayer during image formation so that the interlayer is handled without deformation during the process of forming the image. A process suitable for forming an image requires moving the interlayer in a system at a consistent rate to prevent "head marks and omissions" from occurring during printing. In addition, many processes suitable for forming images on the interlayer involve the use of heat. The interlayer is sensitive to heat and typically loses most of its mechanical strength at temperatures of 60 c or above. The use of a substrate membrane or matrix allows the interlayer to be processed in a system using heat without stretching or damaging the interlayer.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the term "solvent-based ink, paint or dye system" as used herein refers to a system in which a colorant is contained in a suitable organic solvent or solvents. For example, in the case of using ink, a pigment is dispersed in an organic solvent or solvents. These inks include so-called "oil-based" inks.

Forming an image on the interlayer with a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system does not interfere with the bonding process between the interlayer and the sheet. The reason for this is that solvent-based ink, paint or dye systems etch into the surface of the interlayer, causing areas where the interlayer separates from, and thus does not adhere to, adjacent sheets. This is in contrast to, for example, acrylic-based pigment carriers that pool on the interlayer surface, thereby reticulating the interlayer surface. This results in areas of the interlayer that cannot be bonded to adjacent sheets, and thus a laminate cannot be formed.

In the case of solvent-based inks, especially oil-based inks, the organic solvent is formed to play a significant role in the secure adhesion of the pigment to the interlayer.

The use of additional interlayers in one form of the present invention can increase the adhesive strength of the laminate. These additional interlayers may be attached to one surface of the image bearing interlayer. The surface may be a surface having an image thereon.

Additional interlayers can also be attached to either or both surfaces of the image bearing interlayer.

Additional interlayers may be attached to the image bearing interlayer as part of the lamination process. That is, the interlayers (including the image bearing interlayer) are placed or stacked together between two sheets of laminate material so as to be bonded together when the entire interlayer-sheet sandwich is laminated.

In addition, the additional interlayer may also protect the image from light, particularly ultraviolet light in sunlight. This helps prevent ink in the image from fading, maintain the image clear, and improve the life of the image in the laminate.

Preferably, in the lamination process, the image is cured on the interlayer prior to use of the interlayer. Depending on the ambient temperature, curing times of up to 24 hours or more than 24 hours are advantageous in some cases. The reason for this improvement is believed to be due to further evaporation of the solvent, whereby the remaining ink, lacquer or dye is further etched into the interlayer.

The image may be formed on any suitable interlayer. For example, the image may be printed on an interlayer that is transparent once laminated between two sheets of material. Interlayers that are rendered opaque or partially opaque, for example, by coloring, may also be used. Any thickness of interlayer suitable for laminating a particular sheet may be used. The thickness of a number of common interlayers is a multiple of 0.38 mm.

The invention is illustrated and described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a laminated safety glass of the present invention, with the layers partially cut away for illustration;

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the safety glass sheet shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a laminated safety glass of the present invention, with the layers partially cut away for illustration;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sheet of safety glass shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of a laminated safety glass of the present invention with the layers partially cut away for illustration;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the safety glass sheet shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a laminated safety glass of the present invention with the layers partially cut away for illustration;

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the safety glass sheet shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic end view of a first printing press used in carrying out the method of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the printer of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic end view of a second printing press used in carrying out the method of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 showing how the interlayer is transferred to the printer;

FIG. 13 is a schematic end view of a third printing press used in carrying out the method of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic end view of a fourth printing press used in carrying out the method of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic end view of the printing press of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 15; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the equipment and steps in a glass lamination process.

Best mode for carrying out the invention

The following description and examples refer to the use of PVB interlayers to make laminated safety glass articles according to the present invention and using the methods of the present invention. The invention is equally applicable to other laminates and to interlayers using different forms.

Fig. 1-8 show four different embodiments of laminated safety glass with tapes formed in accordance with the present invention. The process of forming the image is described below in conjunction with fig. 9-16 and the lamination process is described in conjunction with fig. 17.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, laminated safety glass 10 is formed by joining two glass sheets 12, 14 with a PVB interlayer 16 having an image 18 printed thereon using solvent-based ink.

Figures 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a laminated safety glass according to the invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views. In this form of the invention, two additional PVB interlayers 20, 22, onto which no image is printed, are interposed between interlayer 16 and the respective glass sheets 12, 14. That is, there is a second interlayer sheet 20 between the surface of the interlayer 16 on which the image 18 is printed and the sheet of glass 12 adjacent to that surface. A third interlayer sheet 22 is interposed between the surface of the interlayer 16 opposite the surface on which the image 18 is located and the sheet of glass 14 adjacent the opposite surface.

Figures 5 and 6 show a third embodiment of a sheet of laminated glass according to the invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views. In this form of the invention, only a single additional PVB interlayer having no image printed thereon is interposed between the surface of interlayer 16 having image 18 printed thereon and the adjacent glass sheet 12.

Fig. 7 and 8 show a fourth embodiment of a laminated safety glass according to the invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views. In this form of the invention, an additional PVB interlayer 24 is printed with the image 18 using a solvent-based ink. The interlayer 16 with the image 18 printed thereon is adjacent 24 and another PVB interlayer 20 is interposed between the surface of the interlayer 16 on which the image 18 is printed and the adjacent glass sheet 12. The two interlayer 16, 24 with the spaced apart images 18 printed thereon may be used to provide greater depth throughout the images when viewing the laminated safety glass 10.

Fig. 9-16 illustrate some ink jet printers that can be used to form images on a PVB interlayer. These printers are commercially available wide format ink jet printers. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that in order to print an image on any substrate using these printers, it is necessary to provide the printer with the appropriate image data in the usual manner. In most cases, this involves first obtaining or preparing a digitized image. Suitable digital images can be generated on a conventional computer by scanning an original image from a storage medium such as a CD or using conventional scanning techniques. Using a suitable meterComputer programs such as Adobe^Photoshop^A PostScript file is generated. The printer may be provided with the data necessary to reproduce the image in a PostScript file via an appropriate interface. In some cases, ancillary software such as Posteshop may be used before outputting the data necessary to reproduce the image to the printer^RIP (raster image processing) scales and corrects colors. As part of the method of the present invention, the features of four different printing presses and their use are described below.

Fig. 9 and 10 schematically show the components of a wide format inkjet printer called MMT (Metro Media technologies international Inc.) painting system. The printer uses a large drum 32, which large drum 32 is rotatably supported on a shaft 38 by spokes 36. The frame 34 of the printer supports the drum against a print head 40 mounted on a carriage 42. The carriage 42 moves the print head 40 axially, as indicated by arrow 46 in fig. 10, in response to printer controls (not shown). The print head 40 is driven by printer electronics (not shown) as is well known.

PVB interlayer 16 is mechanically stabilized by application to the surface of drum 32 during this process. To this end, the interlayer 16 may be applied to the drum and the edges of the interlayer adhered to the drum 32 using a conventional adhesive tape shown in phantom at 44. It has been found that attaching the PVB interlayer to the drum 32 of the printer 30 in such a manner as to provide it with sufficient mechanical stability to allow accurate printing as the drum 32 rotates adjacent the print head 40, as is known.

The ink jet printer 30 uses an automotive lacquer based on a solvent which is MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone).

FIGS. 10 and 11 schematically illustrate an Idanit^An ink jet printer 50. The ink jet printer 5 is similar to that described in connection with fig. 9 and 10 in that a suitable shaft 60 supports a rotating drum 58. A frame formed by a base 54 and upright 52 positions two print heads 56 against a rotating drum 58. In this example the drum 58 is perforated with a series of holes (not shown) and the vacuum is applied to the interior of the drum. The PVB interlayer 16 is maintained and mechanically stabilized by vacuum. As shown in FIG. 12, the nip 16 passes from a supply cylinder 62 through the guide roller 64 are mounted on the drum. In most cases, the leading edge of the interlayer 16 is first taped to the drum, preventing the interlayer from contacting the print head 56. Once a large section of the sandwich 16 is wrapped around the drum, the vacuum applied by the holes (not shown) holds the sandwich, and then the print head 56 prints as the sandwich 16 is moved by the rotation of the drum 58, as is known.

The printer 50 uses any suitable solvent-based pigment ink.

Fig. 13 schematically illustrates a piezoelectric switch-commanded wide Vutek5300 digital printer. The printer is manufactured by Vutek inc.

In operation of the printer 70, the material to be printed passes over a series of rollers and past a print head 90. The printer 70 tensions the material to be printed between the rollers 82 and 84 to provide a stable printing surface. Due to the nature of the interlayer 16, it must be stable during the printing process. For this purpose a sacrificial sheet 72 is used which is passed through the printer 70 together with the interlayer 16. The sacrificial sheet 72 may be fiber reinforced vinyl or paper or any other material that does not stretch under moderate tension. In some cases, the interlayer 16 may be taped to the sacrificial web 72. In other cases, the interlayer 16 may provide the desired mechanical stability by passing through the printer simultaneously with the web 72.

As shown in this figure, the sandwich 16 is supplied from a supply cylinder 74 which sits on two of three rollers 78. A sacrificial support sheet 72 is supplied from a similar drum 76 which also sits on two of the rollers 78. This ensures that the two materials are supplied at approximately the same rate. The interleaf sheet 16 and sheet 72 pass around tension rollers 78 and 80 before passing around registration rollers 82 and 84 where printing takes place. After passing around roller 84, the interleaf sheet 16, 72 passes around another roller 86 before being wound onto take-up roller 88. The printer 70 tensions the sheet 72 between rollers 82 and 84 to provide a stable printing surface. The interlayer 16 is held against the sheet while the sheet 72 is held in tension so that the interlayer 16 is not under significant tension. This ensures that the interlayer 16 does not stretch or deform as any other substrate is accurately printed on passes in front of the print head 90.

The printer 70 uses solvent-based pigment inks such as those available from Inkwear inc.

One suitable ink, referred to as ULTRAVU-3, may have the following colors:

cyan light cyan

Magenta IID light magenta HD

Yellow and black

Orange green

These inks contain 80% ethylene glycol-butyl ether acetic acid, 20% cyclohexanone, 10% methyl-2-pyrrolidone (light magenta HD) and other ingredients not disclosed by the manufacturer.

Inks produced for another similar press called the Arizona press include the following ingredients:

percentage of ingredient name

2-buftoxethyl acetic acid 70%

Propanol, 1 (or 2) - (2-methoxymethyleneethoxy) -acetic acid 30%

Carbon ink 1.0-5.0%

Vinyl chloride-ethyl acetate Polymer 1.0-5.0%

Acrylic copolymer 1.0-5.0%

NJ TS RN 12307-5038P 1.0-5.0％

FIGS. 14-16 schematically illustrate a platform piezoelectric switch-commanded ink Jet printer such as Mutoh Falcon Jet 6100, manufactured by Easteche, Taiwan. The Falcon Jet 6100 is essentially a standard Mutoh Falcon Jet 6000 with only minor modifications to the print head. This modification preheats the ink in the printhead to change the viscosity of the ink so that the ink flows properly. This modification is necessary for the use of oil-based inks in the printing press.

As shown in the drawings, the flatbed printer 100 has a frame 101 supporting an upper platen 106. The sandwich 16 stored on a supply roll 110 passes over the platen 106 to the take-up roll 112. The nip is driven by a pair of nip rollers 102 and 104 positioned above and below the nip near the print head 108, respectively. The lower roller 102 is driven as usual to advance the sandwich 16 at a controlled speed past the print head 108. The positioning of the sandwich 16 on the platform 106 adjacent the nip rollers 104 and 102 mechanically stabilizes the sandwich for printing by the print head. That is, the sandwich is substantially free of tension and can be precisely aligned with the print head 108, allowing 360dpi or 720dpi printing of high quality images on the sandwich. The Mutoh Falcon Jet 6100 printer is typically provided with data from a suitable computer. To drive the printer, the computer uses, for example, Onyx^Postershop^The software converts postscript data into a raster image processing format for use by the printer. The ink used by MutohFalcon Jet 6100 is supplied by Eastech and has the following composition:

colorant 8%

30 percent of ethyl alcohol

Ethyl acetate 8.5%

Methyl ethyl ketone 7%

N-butylacetic acid 17.5%

Ethylcece ethylene glycol-methyl 29%

Once the image is formed on the interlayer by any of the techniques described above, a sheet of laminated glass is formed from the interlayer as is known. Fig. 17 schematically illustrates this lamination process.

The lamination process includes passing the glass sheet stock 120 from above a table 122 to a washer 124. The image-printed polyvinyl butyral interlayer is typically stored in a storage zone 126 at a controlled humidity temperature of about 6-7 c. The glass sheet 120 passes to one of the storage compartments 128, 130, which is kept environmentally clean. They are then passed to a transfer station 132 where the image bearing interlayer is superimposed on the surface of the first sheet of glass. A second glass sheet is laminated to the top surface of the image-bearing interlayer in alignment with the first glass sheet to form an interlayer (image-bearing) glass laminate.

Any desired additional interlayer can also be interposed between the image-bearing interlayer and the glass sheets. For example, an interlayer can be laminated to a first glass sheet, followed by an image bearing interlayer, another interlayer, and a second glass sheet. Thereby forming a sheet-interlayer-image-interlayer-sheet-interlayer sheet.

The sandwich panel is passed through an oven 134 at an operating temperature of about 200 c and between two press rolls at a pressure of about 10bar to soften the sandwich and bond the two glass sheets together. The pressure roller ensures that air is removed from the laminate. The sandwich panel thus formed is then transferred to an autoclave operating at a temperature of 135 ℃ and a pressure of 11.5bar, typically for about 3.5 hours.

Example 1

Laminated glass samples were prepared using a single sheet of 0.38mm thick PVB interlayer as described in connection with figures 1 and 2. The sheet of glass was 3mm thick. Samples were prepared with an interlayer prepared using the printer and method described in connection with fig. 9 and 10 (sample a) and fig. 13 (sample B). The glass laminate is produced using the known lamination process described above. Both samples of the resulting glass laminate had good lamination strength. The image on the interlayer is of superior quality and less distortion.

Example 2

Laminate glass samples were prepared with PVB interlayers printed using a flatbed printer using the switching instructions described in connection with fig. 14-16. The laminate (three layers of interlayer, one on each surface of the image bearing interlayer) was formed using the known lamination process described above in accordance with the examples described in connection with figures 3 and 4.

The following laminated images were excellent in quality and were not deformed.

These samples were tested according to australian laminated safety glass standard AS2208-1996, including boiling and fragmentation tests. These tests were performed separately on laminated glass articles having an interlayer printed with light and dark colored images. A dark image corresponds to a large amount of ink, paint or dye per unit area of the interlayer. As a result, the samples all met the australian standard.

Although some of the above examples made in accordance with the present invention meet australian test standards for safety glass or laminated glass class a applications, the present invention is not limited to these applications. The glass of the present invention may also be used in other applications where safety glass or class a standards need not be met.

Also as noted above, although the examples described refer to the use of glass sheets to make laminated glass, it is within the scope of the invention that the invention may be used with a variety of other materials suitable for lamination, such as polycarbonate, acrylic, CAB, and other thermoplastic resins.

Different material sheets can be used in the manufacturing process to achieve the same result. For example, a polycarbonate-laminated-glass sandwich panel can be formed from one sheet of polycarbonate and one sheet of glass and then bonded to form a laminate.

In addition, suitable materials such as aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethanes based on polyethers may also be used as interlayers within the scope of the present invention. For example, PE399Krystal flex can be used^The film forms an interlayer.

The foregoing is illustrative of certain embodiments of the invention and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims (42)

1. A method of making an imaged laminate comprising the steps of: forming an image on a first surface of one of the sandwich sheets using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system, inserting the one of the sandwich sheets between the two sheets of material, and joining the two sheets of material into a laminate by activating the sandwich.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of joining said two sheets of material comprises inserting a second sheet of interlayer between the first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the first surface.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of joining said two sheets of material comprises interposing a third sheet of interlayer between the surface of the interlayer opposite the first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the opposite surface.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising the steps of: at least two interlayer sheets are inserted between the two sheets of material after the images are respectively formed on the first surfaces of the at least two interlayer sheets using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system.

5. A method according to any preceding claim, comprising the steps of: mechanically stabilizing the sheet during formation of said image.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said image is formed by a piezoelectric switch command digital printing process.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said mechanically stabilizing step is accomplished by passing the sandwich between a pair of nip rollers positioned adjacent a printhead used in said digital printing process.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of mechanically stabilizing is accomplished by supporting the interlayer with a removable membrane during the formation of the image.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the interlayer is temporarily attached to the membrane sheet.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the membrane is selected from the group consisting of fiber reinforced vinyl and paper.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the mechanically stabilizing step is accomplished by removably attaching the interlayer to a component of a printing press.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the member is a rotating drum.

13. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the two sheets of material are glass.

14. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the interlayer is polyvinyl butyral or polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane.

15. A method of making laminated safety glass with an image, comprising the steps of: forming an image on a first surface of a ply of interlayer sheet using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system, inserting the ply between two glass sheets and joining the two glass sheets by heating the interlayer.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said image is formed by a piezoelectric switch command digital printing process.

17. A method of making an imaged laminate comprising the steps of: mechanically stabilizing a sheet of interlayer sheet to form an image on a first surface of the interlayer, removing the mechanical stability, inserting the sheet of interlayer sheet between two sheets of material and joining the two sheets of material into a laminate by activating the interlayer.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said mechanically stabilizing step is accomplished by passing the sandwich between a pair of nip rollers positioned adjacent a printhead used in said digital printing process.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of mechanically stabilizing is accomplished by supporting the interlayer with a removable membrane during the formation of the image.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the interlayer is temporarily attached to the membrane sheet.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the membrane is selected from the group consisting of fiber reinforced vinyl and paper.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the mechanically stabilizing step is accomplished by removably attaching the interlayer to a component of a printing press.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the member is a rotating drum.

24. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the image is formed using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said image is formed by a digital printing process of a piezoelectric switching step.

26. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the step of joining said two sheets of material comprises interposing a second sheet of interlayer between the first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the first surface.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the step of joining said two sheets of material comprises interposing a third sheet of interlayer between the surface of the interlayer opposite the first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the opposite surface.

28. The method of claim 17, comprising the steps of: an image is formed on a first surface of at least two interlayer sheets, respectively, using a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system, the at least two interlayer sheets being interposed between the two sheets of material.

29. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein said two sheets of material are glass.

30. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, wherein the interlayer is polyvinyl butyral or polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane.

31. A method of making laminated safety glass with an image, comprising the steps of: mechanically stabilizing a heat-softened interlayer, forming an image on a first surface of the interlayer using solvent-based ink, paint or dye, removing the mechanical stability, inserting the interlayer between two glass sheets and joining the two glass sheets into laminated safety glass by heating the interlayer.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said image is formed by a digital printing process of piezoelectric switching instructions.

33. An image bearing laminate comprising two sheets of material joined by an interlayer, the image being formed on a first surface of the interlayer using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system.

34. An image carrying laminate as set forth in claim 33, further comprising a second sheet of interlayer interposed between the first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the first surface.

35. An image carrying laminate as set forth in claim 34, further including a third sheet of interlayer interposed between a surface of the interlayer opposite said first surface and the sheet of material adjacent the opposite surface.

36. An image carrying laminate as claimed in claim 33, further comprising at least one further interlayer interposed between said two sheets of material, respective further images being formed on the first surface of said further interlayer or interlayers by means of a solvent based ink, paint or dye system.

37. An image carrying laminated sheet as claimed in any one of claims 33 to 36 wherein said two sheets of material are glass.

38. An image carrying laminate according to any one of claims 33 to 37 wherein the interlayer is polyvinyl butyral or polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane.

39. An image bearing laminated safety glass comprising two glass sheets joined by a heat-softening interlayer, the image being formed on a first surface of the interlayer using a solvent-based ink, paint or dye system.

40. The imaged laminated safety glass according to claim 39, wherein the interlayer is polyvinyl butyral or polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane.

41. An interlayer having an image formed on a first surface thereof using a solvent based ink, paint or dye system.

42. An interlayer having an image on a first surface thereof, wherein the interlayer is polyvinyl butyral or polyether based aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane.