Simulated ceramic tile

Claim 1

A method of forming a simulated ceramic tile comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a non-metallic, porous substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a pattern composed of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil, (c) allowing said drying ink to dry, (d) applying to said printable base, over said printed pattern, a colouring pigment-containing liquid top coat composition of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, said top coat composition containing from 0.75% to 2.0% of colouring pigment based on the weight of top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the printed pattern, said printed pattern being clearly visible, and subsequently (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said liquid material as a hard, colouring pigment-containing, resinous top coat defining a contour of valleys, hills and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with the variation in the contour, said top coat remaining on the printed pattern in a thickness less than 1 mil such that the colour of the ink is not obscured; said colour in the top coat providing a contrast with the colour in the under-coat and with the colour in the printed pattern to simulate a ceramic appearance.

Claim 2

A method of forming a simulated ceramic tile comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a non-metallic, porous substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a pattern composed of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil, (c) allowing said drying ink to dry, (d) applying to said printable base, over said printed pattern, a colouring pigment-containing liquid top coat composition of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, said top coat composition containing from 0.75% to 2.0% of colouring pigment based on the weight of top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the printed pattern, said printed pattern being clearly visible, and subsequently (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said liquid material as a hard, colouring pigment-containing, resinous top coat defining a contour of valleys, hills and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with the variation in the contour, said top coat remaining on the printed pattern in a thickness less than 1 mil such that the colour of the ink is not obscured; said colour in the top coat providing a contrast with the colour in the under-coat and with the colour in the printed pattern to simulate a ceramic appearance.

Claim 13

A method of forming a panel defining a plurality of decorative simulated ceramic tiles comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a non-metallic, porous substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a layer of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil; said ink lines defining on said base a plurality of rectangular areas and defining a plurality of individually complete designs on said base, each of said designs being associated with one of said rectangular areas, (c) allowing said drying ink to dry, (d) applying to said printable base, over said layer of ink lines, a liquid top coat composition comprising 50% to 70% by weight of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, and containing from 0.75% to 2.0% of a pigment colouring based on the weight of the top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the ink lines, and leaving said ink lines clearly visible, (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said top coat as a hard, pigment-containing, resinous top coat defining a contour of valleys, hills, and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with a variation in the contour, said top coat remaining over the ink lines in a thickness less than 1 mil such that the colour of the ink is not obscured; said colour in the top coat providing a contrast with the colour in the under-coat and with the colour in the printed pattern to simulate a ceramic appearance; said top coat composition being applied in step (d) in a coating thickness such that said ridges of liquid form hills having a height thickness of at least 4 dry mil.

Claim 14

A method of forming a panel defining a plurality of decorative simulated ceramic tiles comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a non-metallic, porous substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a layer of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil; said ink lines defining on said base a plurality of rectangular areas and defining a plurality of individually complete designs on said base, each of said designs being associated with one of said rectangular areas, (c) allowing said drying ink to dry, (d) applying to said printable base, over said layer of ink lines, a liquid top coat composition comprising 50% to 70% by weight of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, and containing from 0.75% to 2.0% of a pigment colouring based on the weight of the top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the ink lines, and leaving said ink lines clearly visible, (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said top coat as a hard, pigment-containing, resinous top coat defining a contour of valleys, hills, and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with a variation in the contour, said top coat remaining over the ink lines in a thickness less than 1 mil such that the colour of the ink is not obscured; said colour in the top coat providing a contrast with the colour in the under-coat and with the colour in the printed pattern to simulate a ceramic appearance; said top coat composition being applied in step (d) in a coating thickness such that said ridges of liquid form hills having a height thickness of at least 4 dry mil.

Claim 24

A method of forming a panel defining a plurality of decorative simulated ceramic tiles comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a wood based sheet substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a layer of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil; said ink lines having a width of 1/16 to 3/16 inches, covering an area of 5 to 30% of the total area of printable base, and defining on said base a plurality of rectangular areas and defining a plurality of individually complete designs on said base, each of said designs being associated with one of said rectangular areas, (c) heating said substrate to a surface temperature of 90° F. to 130° F. (d) applying to the heated printable base, over said layer of ink lines, a liquid top coat composition in a thickness of about 4 to about 5 mils, said top coat composition comprising 50% to 70% by weight of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, and containing from about 0.2 to about 0.5% by volume, of a pigment colouring, based on the volume of the top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the ink lines, and leaving said ink lines clearly visible, (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said top coat as a hard, pigment-containing, resinous top coat, defining a contour of valleys, hills and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with a variation in the contour, and the colour of the ink is not obscured, to simulate a ceramic appearance, said top coat being transparent in said valleys, opaque in said hills and translucent in said plains such that the colour of the base is visible through the top coat in said plains.

Claim 25

A method of forming a panel defining a plurality of decorative simulated ceramic tiles comprising (a) applying to a flat surface of a wood based sheet substrate, an under-coat effective to seal the surface and provide a coloured, printable base, (b) printing on said printable base a layer of ink lines of a coloured drying ink containing 0.75 to 5% by weight of an organic silicone oil; said ink lines having a width of 1/16 to 3/16 inches, covering an area of 5 to 30% of the total area of printable base, and defining on said base a plurality of rectangular areas and defining a plurality of individually complete designs on said base, each of said designs being associated with one of said rectangular areas, (c) heating said substrate to a surface temperature of 90° F. to 130° F. (d) applying to the heated printable base, over said layer of ink lines, a liquid top coat composition in a thickness of about 4 to about 5 mils, said top coat composition comprising 50% to 70% by weight of a resinous, silicone-free, film-forming material in a volatile organic vehicle, and containing from about 0.2 to about 0.5% by volume, of a pigment colouring, based on the volume of the top coat composition, (e) allowing said silicone-containing ink to repel said liquid to form ridges of the liquid adjacent the ink lines, and leaving said ink lines clearly visible, (f) drying and baking the substrate to fix said top coat as a hard, pigment-containing, resinous top coat, defining a contour of valleys, hills and plains, wherein the intensity of colour in the top coat varies with a variation in the contour, and the colour of the ink is not obscured, to simulate a ceramic appearance, said top coat being transparent in said valleys, opaque in said hills and translucent in said plains such that the colour of the base is visible through the top coat in said plains.