Photodecoration

U.S. Patent 3,847,608 Photodecorating Sheet Material with Matched Colored Designs Dessauer Rolf, Greenville, DE and Ellefson John R., West Chester, PA,... 

For the photodecoration program, where coatings were applied from solvent systems, the TCNE-derived dyes were totally acceptable. Hence, the only question was whether the leucodyes could be readily oxidized by HABIs. The answer was yes. 

We soon realized that the photodecoration of leather was a big challenge. The tanning process introduced a large number of chemicals into hides, which already contained many reactive species, including phenolic substances that could interact with our chemistry. We thus had to learn to put blocking layers onto the hides and, subsequently, embed our chemistry in polyurethane binders, which would provide the required flexibility to these coatings. After imaging, a fix layer, which would contain phenolic radical traps and UV absorbers, was applied. 

I could not figure out what had happened, and received no response to faxes, phone calls, and letters. It seems that the principal had been involved in a motoring accident on the way home from the Savoy, and struck a bicyclist. In time, he was to spend a year in jail. This ruined him financially, and regrettably, also killed photodecoration in Europe. Somehow, photodecoration seemed to be star-crossed. 

What was needed was a flexible filter that would act to absorb visible and pass ultraviolet light. Botsolas asked whether we could not develop a film that would perform as desired. Per chance, a dye related to the leuco orange dye developed for the furniture photodecoration program possessed the desired properties. It was not commercial at that time, but in a few months we were able to scale up the preparation. 

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