JP2010076189A - Printing plate and printing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

There are provided a printing plate and a printing method using the printing plate that can apply ink over the entire surface and transfer a fine pattern on a substrate with good shape accuracy.
On a printing surface of a printing plate, a first lyophilic region 1 made of a lyophilic material, a first lyophobic region 2 made of a lyophobic material, and a first And a second lyophilic region 3 which is disposed so as to surround the lyophilic region 1 and the first lyophobic region 2 and is made of a lyophilic material.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing plate used for printing a pattern on a substrate and a printing method using the same.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a prior art document that discloses a pattern forming method that eliminates the ink stringing phenomenon and obtains a high-quality printed material similar to the photolithography method. The printing method described in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional pattern forming method. In the conventional pattern forming method, first, as shown in FIG. 11A, a lyophilic layer 101 having lyophilicity with ink and a lyophobic layer 102 having lyophobic property with ink are formed on a printing plate 103. To form. Ink 105 is applied to the entire top surface of the printing plate 103 using a doctor blade 104 as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 11C, a transfer blanket 106 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the printing plate 103 to which the ink 105 has been applied. The blanket 106 has higher lyophilicity with the ink 105 than the lyophobic layer 102, and has lower lyophilicity with the ink 105 than the lyophilic layer 101. For this reason, the ink 105 applied on the liquid repellent layer 102 is transferred to the surface of the blanket 106. On the other hand, the ink 105 applied on the lyophilic layer 101 remains on the printing plate 103. In this manner, the blanket to which the ink 105 has been transferred is brought into contact with the upper surface of the substrate 109 as shown in FIG. Since the substrate 109 is made of a material having higher lyophilicity with the ink 105 than the blanket 106, the ink 105 on the blanket 106 is transferred onto the substrate 109. In this way, the portion where the ink has been transferred becomes the image line portion 107, and the portion where the ink has not been transferred becomes the non-image portion 108, and a pattern is formed on the substrate 109.

In this printing method, the ink is not torn and transferred as in normal offset printing, but the ink stringing phenomenon does not appear in the transfer from the printing plate to the blanket and from the blanket to the substrate. In addition, since the ink can be transferred without applying a strong pressure on the substrate, a fine pattern with high shape accuracy can be formed.
JP 2004-249696 A

  In the printing method described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to apply ink to the entire surface of the printing plate. However, when the proportion of the liquid repellent layer on the printing plate is large, or when ink having poor wettability is applied to the liquid repellent layer, the ink on the liquid repellent layer is repelled and cannot be applied. . FIG. 12 is a view showing a conventional printing plate in which the ratio of the liquid repellent layer is large, (A) is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 12, a dot-like lyophilic layer 101 is formed on the printing plate 103. 13 and 14 are views in which ink is applied to the printing plate shown in FIG. 12, (A) is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 13, it is necessary to apply the ink 105 to the entire surface of the printing plate 103, but in the actual printing process, the ink is applied only on the lyophilic layer 101 as shown in FIG. In such a case, the ink cannot be transferred onto the substrate, and thus the pattern cannot be formed.

  15 to 18 show the case where the lyophilic layer is formed on the line on the printing plate. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a conventional printing plate in which a lyophilic layer on a line is formed and the ratio of the liquid repellent layer is large, (A) is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a plan view. . 16 and 17 are views in which ink is applied to the printing plate shown in FIG. 15, (A) is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a plan view. 18A and 18B are diagrams showing a substrate formed when ink is transferred satisfactorily. FIG. 18A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 18B is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 16, it is necessary to apply the ink 105 to the entire surface of the printing plate 103, but in the actual printing process, the ink is applied only on the lyophilic layer 101 as shown in FIG. In this case, since the ink cannot be transferred onto the substrate, the pattern as shown in FIG. 18 cannot be formed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a printing plate that can apply ink to the entire surface and transfer a fine pattern onto a substrate with good shape accuracy. And a printing method using the same.

The printing plate according to the present invention is a printing plate used when printing a pattern on a substrate,
On the printing surface of the printing plate, a first lyophilic region composed of a lyophilic material, a first lyophobic region composed of a lyophobic material, a first lyophilic region, and a first lyophilic region. And a second lyophilic region that is disposed so as to surround the lyophobic region and is made of a lyophilic material.

  According to the present invention, by providing the second lyophilic region on the printing plate, the ink is held so as to cover the first liquid-repellent region, so that the ink can be applied to the entire surface of the printing plate. . Also, by printing using this printing plate, transfer can be performed so that the ink stringing phenomenon does not appear, and a fine pattern can be formed on the substrate with good shape accuracy. Become.

  Hereinafter, a printing plate and a printing method using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention based on the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
1A and 1B are diagrams showing a printing plate according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, where FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a plan view. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a substrate on which a pattern is formed using the printing plate according to the present embodiment, where FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 2B is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing plate according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes a first liquid-repellent region 2 made of a liquid-repellent material on the printing plate 5 and a lyophilic material. The first lyophilic region 1 is formed. The first lyophilic region 1 has various shapes, and may be linear, for example. A second lyophilic region 3 made of a lyophilic material is formed so as to surround the first lyophilic region 1 and the first lyophobic region 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the pattern printed on the substrate 6 includes an image line portion 7 and a non-image line portion 8. In the transfer from the printing plate 5 to the substrate 6, the image line portion 7 corresponds to the first liquid repellent area 2 on the printing plate 5, and the non-image line portion 8 corresponds to the first lyophilic property on the printing plate 5. Corresponds to region 1. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a printing plate in which the first lyophilic region is formed in a dot shape according to the present embodiment, where FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 3B is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 3, the first lyophilic region 1 may be formed in a dot shape.

  Below, an example of the printing method using the said printing plate 5 is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a printing method using the printing plate according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4A, a printing plate 5 on which a first lyophilic region 1, a first lyophobic region 2, and a second lyophilic region 3 are formed is prepared. As a first step, as shown in FIG. 4B, ink 10 is applied to the upper surface of the printing plate 5 using a doctor blade 9. As the second step, as shown in FIG. 4C, the blanket 11 having a roll shape is brought into contact with the printing plate 5 to which the ink 10 is applied, and the ink 10 is transferred onto the blanket 11. As a third step, as shown in FIG. 4D, the blanket 11 to which the ink 10 has been transferred is brought into contact with the substrate 6 to transfer the ink 10 onto the substrate 6. In this way, the image line portion 7 and the non-image line portion 8 are formed on the substrate 6 so that the pattern is printed.

  As a method for applying the ink 10 to the printing plate 5, various methods other than the above-described methods can be used. For example, spin coating method, ink jet method, casting method, ion beam irradiation (IB) method, dispenser method, micro gravure coating method, gravure coating method, bar coating method, roll coating method, wire bar coating method, dip coating method, flexographic method The printing, offset printing, or screen printing may be used.

  The blanket 11 needs to be a material that can be brought into uniform contact with the printing plate 5 by deforming itself to the very hard printing plate 5 or the printing plate 5 having some unevenness in the second step. There is. In the third step, the ink 10 needs to be transferred from the blanket 11 onto the substrate 6 while maintaining the shape accuracy. From these conditions, the material used for the blanket 11 is suitable for the material having excellent flexibility and chemical resistance. Specifically, silicon rubber or acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is preferable. The shape of the blanket 11 is not limited to a roll shape, and may be a flat plate shape.

The ink 10 can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the printing plate 103 as long as the contact angle at the liquid repellent layer 102 on the conventional printing plate 103 shown in FIGS. there were. However, in the case of ink having a contact angle larger than 30 °, it could not be applied uniformly over the entire surface of the printing plate 103. In the printing plate 5 according to the present embodiment, if the contact angle of the ink 10 in the first liquid repellent region 2 is up to 80 °, it can be uniformly applied on the entire surface of the printing plate 5. This is because the ink 10 applied to the upper surface of the printing plate 5 is bridged so as to cover the upper surface of the first lyophobic region 2 under the influence of the surface tension while being in close contact with the second lyophilic region 3. This is because the connected phenomenon occurs. This phenomenon is hereinafter referred to as ink bridge. As the ink 10 having a contact angle in the first liquid repellent region 2 of 30 ° or more and 80 ° or less, for example, a wiring material such as Au, Ag, or Cu, a transparent conductive material such as In, SnO ₂ , or indium tin oxide (ITO). There are interlayer insulating materials such as materials or polyimide resins, acrylic resins, and fluorine resins. By applying the ink 10 composed of these materials to the printing plate 5 according to the present embodiment, a pattern film such as a wiring film, a transparent conductive film, or an insulating film can be formed on the substrate 6.

  5 and 6 are views in which ink is applied to the entire surface of the printing plate according to the present embodiment, (A) is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a plan view. The first lyophilic region 1 shown in FIG. 5 is formed in a line shape, and the first lyophilic region 1 shown in FIG. 6 is formed in a dot shape. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, even when the ratio of the first liquid repellent area 2 formed on the printing plate 5 is large, the ink 10 is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the printing plate 5. The second lyophilic region 3 needs to function as an ink reservoir. This ink reservoir is a portion having a function of holding the ink 10 on the printing plate 5 until the ink 10 is transferred to the substrate 6 by the action of the ink bridge described above. In this way, by applying the ink 10 to the entire surface of the printing plate 5, the ink 10 on the first liquid repellent region 2 is transferred onto the blanket 11, and the ink 10 is further transferred onto the substrate 6 from the blanket 11. Is transferred well. In the conventional printing plate 103 shown in FIGS. 13 and 16, the second lyophilic region 3 is not formed. Therefore, when the ratio of the liquid repellent layer 102 on the printing plate 103 is large, or when the ink 10 having poor wettability is applied to the liquid repellent layer 102, the ink 105 on the liquid repellent layer 102 is repelled. End up. As a result, since the ink 105 cannot be applied to the entire surface of the printing plate 103, subsequent transfer cannot be performed, and a pattern cannot be formed on the substrate.

  In the printing plate 5 according to the present embodiment, the lyophilic material constituting the lyophilic region needs to have high wettability of the ink 10 with respect to its surface. Further, the lyophilic material needs to have an adhesive force for holding the ink 10 on the printing plate 5 when the ink 10 is transferred from the printing plate 5 to the blanket 11. Because of these requirements, a lyophilic material having an affinity for the ink 10 is used. As the lyophilic material, for example, a metal such as aluminum, titanium, nickel, or tantalum, or a metal oxide or metal nitride thereof may be used. In addition, an inorganic oxide such as silicon oxide or a hydrophilic organic material such as polyvinyl alcohol may be used. When the ratio of the lyophilic region in the entire printing plate 5 is small, it is preferable that the affinity for the ink 10 is larger. For example, the contact angle of the ink 10 with respect to the lyophilic region is 15 ° or less. preferable.

  The liquid-repellent material constituting the liquid-repellent region needs to have an adhesive force that holds the ink 10 to such an extent that the ink 10 can be applied when the ink 10 is applied onto the printing plate 5. Furthermore, the liquid-repellent material needs to have a repulsive force to repel the ink 10 when the ink 10 is transferred from the printing plate 5 to the blanket 11. In order to satisfy these conflicting requirements, it is preferable to use a liquid-repellent material that has a low adhesion to the ink 10. The ink 10 can be easily applied on the printing plate 5 by increasing the difference in height at which the lyophilic region and the liquid repellent region are formed. In general, the adhesion force with the ink 10 in the liquid repellent region can be reduced by increasing the contact angle with respect to the ink 10 in the liquid repellent region. Examples of the liquid-repellent material constituting the liquid-repellent region include liquid-repellent materials whose surfaces have been subjected to liquid-repellent treatment with organic resin materials, fluorine resins, silicon resins, polyolefin resins, oligomers, and the like. It is done. Among these, considering that the printing plate is used repeatedly, a silicon-based resin having high solvent resistance is particularly preferable.

  The printing plate may be a laminate in which a plurality of layers of different materials are laminated, and the shape is not particularly limited. Further, the lyophilic region and the liquid repellent region on the printing plate 5 may be formed flat or with some unevenness. The printing plate is made of, for example, an aluminum base material that is a lyophilic material, and the upper surface of the aluminum base material where the first liquid repellent region 2 is not formed on the upper surface of the printing plate 5 is the first lyophilic region. It may be set to 1. The following method can be considered as a method for producing a printing plate having such a configuration. First, a silicon resin is placed on an aluminum substrate, and a photosensitive resin layer and a primer layer are provided therebetween. Next, by exposing and developing the photosensitive resin layer through a mask, the liquid repellent area made of silicon resin and the lyophilic area made of the upper surface of the aluminum base material are patterned on the aluminum base material, thereby producing a printing plate. It is formed. The printing plate can also be produced by using a Toray waterless lithographic plate. In addition, a liquid-repellent region and a liquid-repellent region can be formed by forming a liquid-repellent material on the upper surface of the aluminum substrate by a coating method and patterning the printing plate. . As a printing plate patterning method, a drawing means such as a laser or a photolithography method can be used. The light used for exposure can pattern the photosensitive resin, and for example, ultraviolet rays, visible rays, infrared rays, or electromagnetic waves or radiation having a shorter or longer wavelength than these rays may be used. .

Embodiment 2
7A and 7B are diagrams showing a printing plate according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, in which FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 7B is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 7, the printing plate according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is a second liquid repellent formed of a liquid repellent material so as to surround the second lyophilic region 3 on the printing plate 5. A sex region 4 is provided. About the 1st lyophilic area | region 1 and the 1st lyophobic area | region 2, it is the same as that of Embodiment 1, and the 1st lyophilic area | region has various shapes, and is formed in linear or dotted | punctate shape etc. Yes. The second lyophilic region 3 is composed of a plurality of patterns having a line shape or a dot shape, and is formed so as to surround the first lyophilic region 1 and the first lyophobic region 2. A second lyophobic region 4 is formed so as to surround the second lyophilic region 3. FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating a state in which ink is applied to the printing plate according to the present embodiment, where FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 8B is a plan view. As shown in FIG. 8, also in the printing plate 5 according to the present embodiment, the ink 10 can be applied to the entire surface of the printing plate 5 including the second liquid repellent region 4. This is because the second lyophilic region 3 becomes an ink reservoir and the above-described ink bridge action is recognized. Therefore, the upper surface of the first lyophobic region 2 and the first lyophilic region 1 surrounded by the second lyophilic region 3 and the second lyophobic region provided on the outer periphery of the second lyophilic region 3 Ink 10 is uniformly applied to the upper surface of 4. In the pattern printed on the substrate, the first lyophobic region 2 and the second lyophobic region 4 correspond to the image area, and the first lyophilic region 1 and the second lyophilic region 3 are not. Corresponds to the image area. Therefore, when the image line portion corresponding to the second liquid repellent region 4 can be handled as a dummy pattern, the printing plate according to the present embodiment can be used.

Embodiment 3
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a printing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the printing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9A, first, a roll blanket 11 is prepared. As shown in FIG. 9B, the ink 10 is applied on the blanket 11. As shown in FIG. 9C, the ink 10 was applied on the printing plate 5 on which the first lyophilic region 1, the first lyophobic region 2, and the second lyophilic region 3 were formed. The blanket 11 is brought into contact. At this time, the ink 10 is transferred from the blanket 11 to the first lyophilic region 1 and the second lyophilic region 3 on the printing plate 5. As shown in FIG. 9D, the blanket 11 after the ink 10 is transferred is brought into contact with the substrate 6. The ink 10 on the blanket 11 is transferred onto the substrate 6, and the image line portion 7 and the non-image line portion 8 are formed, whereby a pattern is formed on the substrate 6. In the printing method according to the present embodiment, it was confirmed that the ink 10 can be applied onto the blanket 11 when the contact angle of the ink 10 with respect to the blanket 11 is 25 ° or less. Further, when the application area of the blanket 11 is larger than the area of the upper surface of the substrate 6, unnecessary portions can be removed by adjusting the formation range of the second lyophilic region 3 on the printing plate 5. it can. The method of applying the ink 10 to the entire surface of the blanket 11 is, for example, a spin coating method, an ink jet method, a casting method, an ion irradiation (IB) method, a dispenser method, a micro gravure coating method, a gravure coating method, a bar coating method, a roll. The coating method, wire bar coating method, dip coating method, flexographic printing, offset printing, or screen printing may be used.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a printing plate according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, if the size of the first liquid repellent region 2 on the printing plate 5 is about 50 μm × 50 μm to 500 μm × 500 μm, the ink 10 described above is applied to the entire surface of the printing plate 5. It was confirmed that it could be applied. Further, the lyophilic material constituting the second lyophilic region 3 is the same material as the lyophilic material constituting the first lyophilic region 1 in consideration of the ease of manufacturing the printing plate 5. It is preferable that The film thickness of the pattern printed on the substrate 6 can be easily controlled by the viscosity of the ink 10, the solid content concentration of the ink 10, the printing pressure when the blanket 11 is pressed against the printing plate 5, and the like. For example, even when the viscosity and solid content concentration of the ink 10 cannot be changed so much, by controlling the coating film thickness or the printing pressure on the printing plate 5, from a thin film of about 100 nm to a thick film of about 1 to 2 μm. Printing is possible. By using the above printing method, a fine pattern formed on the substrate can be formed with good shape accuracy.

  In addition, the said embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It does not become the basis of limited interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted only by the above-described embodiment, but is defined based on the description of the scope of claims. Further, all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims are included.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the figure which showed the printing plate which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the board | substrate which formed the pattern using the printing plate which concerns on the embodiment, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the printing plate in which the 1st lyophilic area | region which concerns on the embodiment was formed in dot shape, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the printing method using the printing plate concerning the embodiment. It is the figure which applied the ink to the whole surface on the printing plate which concerns on the same embodiment, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which applied the ink to the whole surface on the printing plate which concerns on the same embodiment, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the printing plate which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is a figure explaining the state which applied the ink to the printing plate based on the embodiment, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the printing method which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the printing plate which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the conventional pattern formation method. It is the figure which showed the conventional printing plate in case the ratio for which a liquid repellent layer accounts is large, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which apply | coated the ink to the printing plate shown in FIG. 12, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which apply | coated the ink to the printing plate shown in FIG. 12, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the conventional printing plate in case the lyophilic layer on a line | wire was formed and the ratio for which a liquid repellent layer occupied was large, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which applied the ink to the printing plate shown in FIG. 15, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which applied the ink to the printing plate shown in FIG. 15, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view. It is the figure which showed the board | substrate formed when ink was transferred favorably, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a top view.

Explanation of symbols

  1 first lyophilic area, 2 first lyophobic area, 2nd lyophilic area, 4 second lyophobic area, 5 printing plate, 6 substrate, 7 image area, 8 non-image area, 9 Doctor blade, 10 ink, 11 blanket, 101 lyophilic layer, 102 lyophobic layer, 103 printing plate, 104 doctor blade, 105 ink, 106 blanket, 107 image area, 108 non-image area, 109 substrate.

Claims (8)

A printing plate used when printing a pattern on a substrate,
In the printing surface of the printing plate,
A first lyophilic region composed of a lyophilic material;
A first liquid repellent region composed of a liquid repellent material;
A printing plate comprising: a first lyophilic region and a second lyophilic region which is disposed so as to surround the first lyophobic region and is made of a lyophilic material.   2. The printing plate according to claim 1, wherein the size of the first liquid repellent region is 50 μm × 50 μm or more and 500 μm × 500 μm or less.   The printing plate according to claim 1, wherein the liquid repellent material is a silicone resin.   The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first lyophilic region and the second lyophilic region are composed of the same lyophilic material. A printing method using the printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Applying ink to the printing surface of the printing plate;
Bringing the transfer blanket and the printing plate coated with ink into contact with each other, and transferring the ink coated on the first liquid-repellent region onto the blanket;
And a step of bringing the blanket onto which the ink has been transferred into contact with the substrate to transfer the ink onto the substrate. A printing method using the printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Applying ink to a transfer blanket;
A transfer step of bringing the printing surface of the printing plate and the blanket into contact with each other to transfer ink onto the first lyophilic region;
And a step of bringing the blanket after the transfer step into contact with the substrate and transferring the ink remaining on the blanket onto the substrate.   The printing method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein an ink having a contact angle of 30 ° or more and 80 ° or less in the first liquid repellent region is used.   A printing pattern formed on the substrate by the printing method according to claim 5.

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