Floor panel for forming a floor covering and method for manufacturing such floor panels
A method for manufacturing a panel having a substrate, a decorative layer that includes a digital print, and a translucent or transparent wear layer. The method may involve providing the substrate with the digital print by jetting one or more inks from a set of inks using a digital inkjet printer. The ink may include a binding agent and/or a primer or an adhesion layer may be provided between the digital print and the translucent or transparent wear layer. The panel may be a supple panel.
1 . A method for manufacturing a panel having a substrate, a decorative layer that includes a digital print, and a translucent or transparent wear layer, the method comprising:
providing the substrate with the digital print by jetting one or more inks from a set of inks using a digital inkjet printer;
wherein the ink includes a binding agent and/or wherein a primer or an adhesion layer is provided between the digital print and the translucent or transparent wear layer;
wherein the panel is a supple panel.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the digital print is performed directly with an intermediary or a preparative layer.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the intermediary or the preparative layer comprises plastisol coatings of a uniform color.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of inks comprise solvent based inks, UV based inks or water-based inks.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inks in the set of inks comprise pigments.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of inks is CMYK.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate substantially consists of synthetic material and/or filler material.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a PVC-containing substrate.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is composed of a thermoplastic material.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the digital print is performed directly on the substrate.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the panel is a wall-to-wall covering panel.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the translucent or transparent wear layer is provided above the decorative layer.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the translucent or transparent wear layer is made of a thermoplastic material.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the thermoplastic material is PVC.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the translucent or transparent wear layer has a thickness of 150 micrometers or more.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the primer or the adhesion layer is provided between the digital print and the translucent or transparent wear layer.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the primer or the adhesion layer comprises a binder or a binding agent.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the binding agent comprises VC-VAC copolymer or polymer latexes, either acrylates or urethane components.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the primer or the adhesion layer is applied using a roller coating or a printhead.