GB2287220A

GB2287220A - Swatch with detachable portions

Info

Publication number: GB2287220A
Application number: GB9402906A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jane Helen Reese
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-02-16
Filing date: 1994-02-16
Publication date: 1995-09-13
Also published as: GB9402906D0

Abstract

A swatch for colour design and matching, comprises a fabric or paper sample 3, bonded by means of an adhesive 2 to a release paper/carrier paper combination 1. The combination sheet 1 includes an information sheet 1a printed with colour and/or shade identification and other desired information, columns etc, and an adhesive layer 1b carrying a siliconised release sheet 1c. A portion of the swatch may be cut off, the release sheet removed, exposing the adhesive layer, and the shade sample adhered to any desired substrate. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN SWITCHES This invention concerns improvements in swatches, that is swatches or collections of coloured fabric, paper or the like, used by designers, and a colour system incorporating such swatches.

Known swatches consist of a booklet of coloured fabrics.

Designers frequently cut a portion of fabric of a desired shade or colour from a "page* of the booklet, and attach it, eg by pinning, it to a document, such as an order, or to another material, to facilitate colour ordering and matching. Other swatches include colour charts produced by paintmakers and pigment manufacturers, which normally have product shades printed onto paper; these are generally used by designers in a similar manner.

There remains a need for an improved swatch construction, having greater ease of use and practical application.

The present invention provides a colour swatch having a plurality of shades, comprising a shade sample adhering to an information sheet, whereby the shade sample, or a portion thereof, may be detached from the information sheet and adhered to a desired surface by means of an adhesive layer on the shade sample or on the information sheet.

The shade sample is desirably a piece of dyed fabric, of any type (eg woven, knitted etc), directly adhering to the information sheet, or, more desirably, the fabric is bonded to a carrier layer which in turn is bonded to the information sheet. A simple and inexpensive method of achieving the desired structure is to utilise as the information sheet a support medium such as a plastics or paper carrier having an adhesive backing layer and which is already laminated to a release sheet. Such materials are commercially available, for example from Folex Ltd of England, and are sometimes known as "laser crack-back". Such a plastics or paper carrier provides easy separation of sections of the release sheet to enable the shade sample to be peeled easily therefrom.

It is desirable that the adhesive layer is not too agressive, but still remains capable of adhering the shade sample onto a desired substrate material. When a carrier layer is utilised, the adhesive strength of the bonding adhesive should be greater than that of the adhesive backing layer to prevent undesired delamnation.

I have found that the "photo-dry-iiunt" or Zdrymount tissue", an adhesive sheet with to release sheets, is especially suitable for adhering fabric samples to the information sheet. When a release sheet is removed, a tacky surface is exposed to which can be adhered a fabric sample. The remaining release sheet may then be removed, and the sample/adhesive sheet laminate is adhered to the information sheet. Desirably, the resulting laminate is heated using a commercial photo dry mount press utilizing a pair of heated platens for a few seconds, causing a bonding of the fabric sample to the information sheet by means of the adhesive sheet.

The bonding process does not significantly affect the adhesive properties of the adhesive backing layer.

In another embodiment of the invention, the shade sample may be an ink or enamel printed onto a carrier layer which has the adhesive layer on its opposite face.

The e shade sample may be in the form of a single sheet of a desired size, for example approx 2Qn by lcm, or may be perforated or pre-cut to permit easy separation of a portion of the shade sample. If desired, the shade sample may be detached by cutting by the user manually using scissors or a scalpel.

The swatch may be in the form of a book or more desirably in the form of a pad having a swivel point and having a plurality of pages. Each page of the swivel pad preferably carries a group of shades each identified by information printed on the information sheet. Such a preferred swivel pad may form part of an integrated colour identifying and matching system, for example each shade is identified in a matrix of hue, lightness and chroma, and the system includes a loose leaf book having the same shades set out, so that individual shades may be juxtaposed in order to judge colour contrasts or matching.

The swatch of the invention may be in the form of an area of card or the like, and may contain a multiplicity of shades of the same colour, or may contain a complete colour and shade collection.

Each page desirably has a column or heading which identifies each colour or shade. This identifying information can therefore be retained even after all the colour or snade samples on that page have been used.

The novel swatch offers designers the opportunity for easy separation of a shade sample, or portion thereof, and the sample or portion may then be stuck onto any document or material to show the desired shade for ordering or illustrative purposes.

The swatch of the invention may form part of a colour design package or system as described above, but its use is not limited to any particular product or theory. It should be understood that the information sheet need not actually carry printed information, since alternative methods of identifying the shades, such as overlay transparent or translucent sheets may also be used.

The invention will now be illustrated by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing which is a cross-section of an individual shade sample of a swatch. In the drawing, a commercial release paper/carrier paper combination sheet, 1, forms the basis for the swatch and acts as the information sheet. The carrier paper, la, is printed with columns, headings, identifying information etc, and carries on its opposite face an adhesive layer, Ib. A siliconised release sheet, lc, covers the adhesive layer, and may readily be stripped therefrom, thus exposing an adhesive surface.

A commercial photo-dry-mount adhesive sheet, 2, which when purchased has two release sheets (not shown) is adhered to the information sheet, and to areas of dyed fabric shade samples, 3.

One release sheet of the adhesive sheet is stripped off, and the fabric sample 3 is positioned on the exposed adhesive face. The remaining release sheet is then stripped off and the fabric/adhesive sheet laminate is positioned on the carrier paper la. A heat sealing operation causes the fabric to be bonded firmly to the information sheet.

In use, a portion of the swatch may be cut therefrom, the release sheet lc is removed, and the fabric sample may be adhered to any desired substrate.

It will readily be understood by the man skilled in the art that the details of the invention as specifically described above may be changed without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims

CLA2;:

1. A colour swatch having a plurality of shades, comprising a shade sample adhering to an information sheet, whereby the shade sample, or a portion thereof, =y be detached from the information sheet and adhered to a desired surface by means of an adhesive layer on the shade sample.

2. A swatch according to claim 1, wherein several different shade samples adhere to a single information sheet.

3. A swatch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said information sheet carries an identification associated with each shade.

4. A swatch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the or each shade sample is a dyed piece of fabric.

5. A swatch according to claim 4, wherein the piece of fabric is bonded to one face of a carrier layer or laminate, which on its opposite face carries the adhesive layer.

6. A swatch according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the shade sample is bonded to a plastics or paper carrier having an adhesive backing layer, which carrier is releasably laminated to a release sheet.

7. A swatch according to any one of the preceding claims, in the form of a swivel pad.

8. A swatch according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described.