Shoe having a printed design and printing process for shoes

Abstract

A shoe has a cohesive design/logo that spans the entirety of the shoe and the design is printed prior to assembly. The panels of the shoe are included on a large piece of material large enough to encompass all the panels of the shoes that will require printing. The print will cover the entire piece of leather and result in what appears to be a segmented logo. Certain areas of the print will include a seam to account for the overlap that will occur when stitching the panels together. The panels will then be cut apart and then stitched together so that the panels of the designs line up in a cohesive and recognizable fashion. The resulting shoe will be one that bears a logo/design that covers multiple panels.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method of assembling a shoe including a printed design comprising the steps of:
 providing flat material having a first designated area and a second designated area;   printing a first portion of the design on the first designated area and printing a second portion of the design on the second designated area;   separating the designated areas into individual panels; and   assembling each panel, so that the first portion of the design joins the second portion of the design when each panel is arranged side by side to form an uninterrupted and complete design.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein prior to the printing step the designated areas are provided by separated panels. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the designated areas are located on a single sheet of material prior to separation into separated panels. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the flat material includes more than two designated areas and more than two portions of the design are printed across multiple designated areas and multiple panels. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a seam is provided on a panel and no printing occurs at the seam. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein upon assembly of the panels the seam is covered by an edge of the adjacent panel and the design is uninterrupted across the paired panels. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the flat material is one of leather and synthetic material. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the printing is one of digital printing, screen printing, sublimation, ink jet print, cold peel transfer, hot peel transfer and fabric dying. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein designated areas encompass the entire panel thereon. 
     
     
         10 . A shoe having a printed design comprising:
 multiple panels arranged and connected to form a shoe upper;   a first portion of a design printed on a first panel;   a second portion of a design printed on a second panel;   the first panel having a seam formed at an edge;   a first designated area provided on the first panel adjacent the seam and terminating at the seam at a termination line;   the first portion of the design printed in the first designated area extending at least up to the termination line;   the second panel having a second designated area terminating at a termination edge of the material; and   the first portion of the design abuts the second portion of the design where the termination line abuts the termination edge in order to form a continuous, uninterrupted design.   
     
     
         11 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the first portion of the design is printed so that no portion of the design is present on the seam and all printing terminates at the termination line. 
     
     
         12 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the first portion of the design is printed so that a portion of the design is present on the seam, but the portion printed on the seam is identical to at least a part of the second portion of the design at the termination edge of the second panel. 
     
     
         13 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the contiguous, uninterrupted design extends across two panels. 
     
     
         14 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the contiguous, uninterrupted design extends across more than two panels. 
     
     
         15 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the first designated area is contained within the first panel. 
     
     
         16 . The shoe of  claim 10  wherein the termination line extends along the seam and is parallel and adjacent to the edge of the first panel.