Digital printing plastic containers with improved adhesion and recyclability

Abstract

A container having an external surface with a digital image printed thereon by droplets of ink is provided. The digital image includes a base coat and a secondary coat that is applied to the base coat. In an embodiment, the digital image adheres to the container with an acceptable or sufficient adhesion score and the image is removable using conventional recycling processes. Methods for digitally printing containers and facilitating recycling are also disclosed.

1 . A recyclable plastic container comprising:
 an external surface with a digital image printed thereon by droplets of ink, the digital image having an adhesion score of at least 6.0.   
   
   
       2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the digital image includes:
 a base coat including a plurality of cured base coat ink droplets, and   a secondary coat including a plurality of cured secondary coat ink droplets, the secondary coat being applied to at least a portion of the base coat.   
   
   
       3 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the printed digital image is configured to be substantially separated from the remainder of the container during a recycling process. 
   
   
       4 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the digital image is configured to, at a minimum, pass a tape test and a simulated shipment test. 
   
   
       5 . The container of  claim 4 , wherein the tape test includes a modified 3M #610 tape test. 
   
   
       6 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the digital image has an adhesion score of 6.0 or 7.0. 
   
   
       7 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein, at the time the secondary coat is applied to the base coat, the temperature differential between the base coat and the secondary coat is less than about 10° F. 
   
   
       8 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container includes a base portion, a sidewall portion, a shoulder portion, and a neck portion, and the neck portion includes a dispensing opening. 
   
   
       9 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the base coat includes white or colorless portions. 
   
   
       10 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein one or more adjacent secondary coat ink droplets overlap or are intermixed. 
   
   
       11 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the secondary coat ink droplets are colored. 
   
   
       12 . The container of  claim 11 , wherein the colors include one or more of the following colors: cyan, magenta, and yellow. 
   
   
       13 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the secondary coat ink droplets vary in diameter. 
   
   
       14 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the diameters of the secondary coat ink droplets are within the range of about 10 microns to about 200 microns. 
   
   
       15 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container is comprised of one or more of the following materials: polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, and polypropylene. 
   
   
       16 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container is a multi-layer container. 
   
   
       17 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container includes recycled plastic material. 
   
   
       18 . The container of  claim 17 , wherein the outermost layer of the container has a recycled content, the recycled content being 20% or less. 
   
   
       19 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the base coat and secondary coat ink droplets are UV cured. 
   
   
       20 . A recyclable plastic container comprising:
 an external surface with a digital image printed thereon by droplets of ink, the digital image including:   a base coat including a plurality of cured base coat ink droplets, and   a secondary coat including a plurality of cured secondary coat ink droplets, the secondary coat being applied to at least a portion of the base coat;   wherein the digital image is configured to pass a modified 3M #610 tape test and is configured to be substantially separated from the remainder of the container during a recycling process.   
   
   
       21 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein the digital image is configured to fail a standard 3M #810 tape test.