Patent Application
20140227063
This invention pertains to the field of producing photo books and more particularly to a system for affixing a printed image onto a book cover.
In recent years, the proliferation of digital photography has provided consumers with a variety of options to store and use captured images. These options include various “soft copy” methods involving memory cards, memory sticks, CD's, DVD's, hard drives, on-line storage etc. These “soft-copy” options, while providing the environmental benefit of eliminating the paper, ink or dye, and other chemicals required for “hard-copy” output, are potentially less secure for long term storage due to media format obsolescence, storage media physical or chemical breakdown, and on-line storage companies disappearing. A variety of options exist for customers to print digital images, including conventional silver halide processing, ink-jet, thermal dye transfer, and electrophotographic methods. These “hard-copy” methods are capable of providing printed output which can last for many decades. Although customers can make such “hard-copy” prints at home, modem retail outlets provide kiosks and order-terminals where both prints and additional services can be requested and provided. Similar services are also available from on-line companies such as Shutterfly.
An increasingly popular service provides photo albums or photo books with collections of images associated with a specific event, such as a vacation, family gathering, school function etc. The photo books are composed of printed images produced by any one of a wide variety of printing methodologies that are bound together in book form. The photo books can be custom made at retail stores or at centralized facilities.
In order to provide personalization, it is often desirable to provide an image on the cover of the photo book that can be viewed without opening the book. In this way, the cover image can provide an indication of the contents of the photo book.
The cover image can be provided in a variety of different ways, many of which are impractical for use in a home or retail environment. Some photo books are provided with printable front surfaces. However, this require specialized printing equipment capable of printing on a thick inflexible surface. This also limits options for the color of the photo book cover since a white background is required for a printable surface.
Some photo books include prefabricated covers that are provided with a window cut into the front cover that enables the first image in the book to be viewed while the book is closed. This approach has the disadvantage of not protecting the first print while the book is closed. Additionally, the window is typically much smaller than the size of the cover, thereby limiting the view of the first print. Furthermore, this approach constrains the cover image to correspond to the first image in the photo book which can sometimes distract from the context of the story being told through the sequential page sequence of the photo book.
Another technique for providing a cover image for a photo book involves heat laminating a printed image to the front surface of the book cover using heat activated adhesive activated using a lamination press. This approach requires expensive equipment and highly trained operators. Similarly, printed images can also be attached to photo book covers with pressure sensitive adhesives. A disadvantage of these approaches is that if the image is misaligned during the heat lamination process the photo book will be rendered useless and cannot be sold. Additionally, they are susceptible to entrapping air during the lamination process producing unsightly bubbles from the entrapped air. Furthermore, the surface and edges of the laminated image are exposed so that the cover image will be susceptible to physical damage and stains.
An additional technique utilizes a custom printed dust jack. This approach has the disadvantage that the dust jacket is subject to misalignment and damage, and can be easily separated from the book cover. It also requires printing on a large piece of media to encompass both the front and back cover, and performing a series of precise folds. Also dust jackets lack the pleasing aesthetic appearance of a custom produced and finished photo book.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,960 to Holson, “Photo album cover with framed insert,” discloses a padded type photo album incorporating a metallic frame disposed in an opening in the album cover for displaying a photographic print.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,085 to Steeb et al., entitled “Album having picture receiving frame assembly in cover,” discloses a keepsake album having a frame assembly embed in its padded front cover for displaying a personalized photograph.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,022 to French, entitled “Pouch for paper notebooks,” discloses a transparent, flexible plastic pouch that attaches to the front cover of a notebook such as a spiral wire bound notebook and is used for containing personal items such as pencils, erasers and rulers. The pouch includes a flap or other type of closure for closing an interior pocket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,739 to Olson, entitled “Window display photo album,” describes a three-piece folder for holding a photograph that includes an aperture for viewing the photograph. The folder includes holes at one edge for mounting into a loose leaf binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,901 to Takemura, entitled “Combined photo album and picture frame and an easel therefor,” discloses a combined photo album and picture frame including a front cover configured as a frame for holding a photograph. It also provides a plurality of pages for holding photographs and an easel for the structure. A pocket is provided in the back cover for storing the easel. This approach does not have the appearance and utility of a custom made photo album.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,714 to Rossetto et al., entitled “Folder with framed windows and method of manufacturing thereof,” discloses a folder having a pocket panel and framed windows. A sheet containing content information is insertable within the pocket to be viewable through the framed windows.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,582 to Ho, entitled “Photo-frame style photo album,” incorporates a conventional picture frame with internal pages of “loose-bags”designed to accept standard sized photo prints. It does not have the appearance and utility of a custom made photo album.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0284002 to Miranti, entitled “Board book photo album,” describes a sturdy photo album with a plurality of stiff pages, each having die cutout opening and having a slot with an opening along an edge of the upper portion. Pieces of clear plastic are used to cover the die cutout openings in the pages. The album is designed for inserting two photographs, back to back, through the opening into the slot in the upper portion of each page and arranging the photographs for viewing through the die cutout openings in each page. This approach places a limit on the size of the photo book and the number of images that can be included. It also subjects the installed photographs to potential damage since there are no seals provided on the photograph insertion slots. Also each page has an aperture for accommodating two back to back photographs which could subject the photographs to physical damage.
There remains a need for a convenient, low-cost method for affixing a printed image onto a book cover that is appropriate for fabricating photo books in a retail environment without the need for specialized equipment or highly-trained operators.
The present invention represents a system for affixing a printed image onto a book cover, comprising:
a sleeve having a front surface, a back surface and four edges including:
wherein the printed image is visible through the transparent window region and the edges of the printed image are covered by the opaque mask region when the printed image is inserted into the sleeve; and
wherein the adhesive strips are adapted to affix the sleeve onto the book cover.
This invention has the advantage that it provides a simple-to-use attachment that holds and protects a photographic print and permanently affixes it to the cover of a photo book to give the look and feel of being a fully integrated part of the photo book. The opaque border is preferably designed to match or complement the cover of photo book in terms of color, pattern, texture or material.
It has the additional advantage that the printed image can be affixed to the cover of the photo book by an unskilled operator without the need for any specialized equipment. This makes it appropriate for use in a retail or home environment.
It is to be understood that the attached drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the invention and may not be to scale.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.
In some embodiments, the photo book 100 is a photo album or a scrap album containing book pages 150 into which a user can arrange their own printed images and other content. For example, the book pages 150 can include sleeves for receiving the printed images, or they can be so-called “magnetic album pages” that include a thin, peelable film over a tacky surface, or they can be scrap book style pages onto which the printed images can be affixed using glue or photo corners.
In other embodiments, the photo book 100 can include book pages 150 that are custom printed using a customer-defined layout of the customer's images and are then bound together to form a custom photo book. Such custom photo books are offered for sale by many service providers such as Shutterfly. A barrier to creating high-quality custom photo books in a retail environment has been the ability to create a cover with a custom photograph without the need for specialized equipment (e.g., alignment fixtures, laminators, glue guns or staplers) or highly-trained operators. The present invention addresses this problem by providing an easy-to-use system for affixing a printed image onto a book cover 110 that is appropriate for use in a retail or home environment.
Together, the front layer 240 and the back layer 245 from a pocket into which a hardcopy print 300 can be inserted (see
The sleeve 200 also includes adhesive strips 250 (i.e., pressure sensitive tape) having peelable coverings 260 (i.e., release layers) affixed onto the back surface 235 along at least two of the edges. When the user has inserted the hardcopy print 300 into the sleeve 200 and is ready to attach it to the book cover 110, the peelable coverings 260 can be removed and the sleeve 200 can be permanently affixed by pressing it against the book cover. Preferably, adhesive strips 250 are provided along all four edges, and extend all the way to the edges, to firmly attach the sleeve to the book cover 110 around the entire perimeter.
In a preferred embodiment, one of the adhesive strips 250 is affixed to a portion of the front layer 240 that extends beyond the back layer 245 along the edge having the opening 270 as illustrated in
The transparent window region 210 can be fabricated using any appropriate transparent material through which the hardcopy print 300 can be viewed while providing protection against damage (e.g., from scratches, spills, fingerprints and general wear). Preferably, the transparent material is selected to be cleanable and to be resistant to damage. In some embodiments, the transparent window region 210 is made using a clear plastic such as polypropylene or vinyl. The transparent window region 210 can have a glossy surface or a non-glare matte surface in order to enhance or soften the appearance of the print as desired.
In some embodiments, the transparent window region 210 can also include text or graphics that will overlay the hardcopy print 300 to enhance the appearance. For example, the text can include thematic messages such as “Happy Birthday” or “Friends Forever.” Similarly, the graphics can include thematic content such as wedding bells, snowflakes, stars or confetti. The text and graphics can be translucent or opaque, and can be pre-printed onto the surface of the transparent window region 210, or can be affixed using an adhesive.
The opaque mask region 220 is adapted to cover the edges of the hardcopy print 300 when it is inserted into the sleeve 200. In addition to the aesthetic appeal of hiding the edges of the hardcopy print 300, it provides the additional advantage that it will be more forgiving to alignment errors of the hardcopy print 300.
The opaque mask region 220 can be provided in a variety of different ways and using a variety of different materials. In some cases, the opaque mask region 220 can be printed onto the surface of the transparent window region 210. In other cases the opaque mask region 220 can be fabricated as a separate component using an appropriate material and affixed to the transparent window region 210 using an adhesive. The opaque mask region 220 can be fabricated using any appropriate material known in the art. Examples of appropriate materials would include a cardboard “matte” material, a cloth, a plastic sheet, a metallic sheet, or combinations thereof. In general, it will be desirable that opaque mask region 220 has a color, pattern, texture or material that matches the book cover 110, or is complementary to the book cover 110, to provide a pleasing aesthetic appearance.
In some embodiments, the opaque mask region 220 extends to the edges of the sleeve and is fabricated to match the appearance and material of the book cover 110 so that it appears to be integral with the photo book 100. Alternatively, the opaque mask region 220 can be differentiated from the book cover 110, but can use materials and colors that are complementary to the book cover 110. For example, if the photo book 100 is a leather photo album with gold metallic trim pieces, the opaque mask region 220 can be fabricated to have a gold metallic appearance that ties in with the trim pieces.
In some embodiments, the depth of the recessed region 120 on the book cover 110 can be matched to the total thickness of the sleeve 200 (i.e., the total thickness of the transparent window region 210, the opaque mask region 220, the back layer 245, the adhesive strip 250 and the hardcopy print 300), the surface of the opaque mask region 220 in the inserted sleeve 200 can be substantially flush with the surface of the book cover 110. In other embodiments, a larger depth of the recessed region 120 can be used such that the inserted sleeve 200 is recessed below the surface of the book cover 110 to provide a matting effect.
In some embodiments, the transparent window region 210, the opaque mask region 220 and the back layer 245, as well as the adhesive strips 250 with the peelable coverings 260, can be assembled together in the factory and provided to the user as a complete package that is ready to receive a hardcopy print 300 and attach to a photo book 100. In other embodiments, the various components can be assembled minus the opaque mask region 220 to form an open sleeve assembly. A selection of different opaque mask regions 220 (e.g., with different colors, patterns, textures or materials) can be fabricated independently and provided for selection by the user. The user can then select a desired opaque mask region 220 (e.g., the one that best complements the look of a particular photo book 100), and attach it to the open sleeve to provide the completed sleeve 200. In some configurations, the back of the opaque mask region 220 can be provided with one or more adhesive strips 250 with peelable coverings 260 that can be used to conveniently attach the opaque mask region 220 to the open sleeve assembly.
In the previously described embodiments, the opaque mask region 220 is shown as having a rectangular opening through which the hardcopy print 300 is visible (e.g., see
In some embodiments, the opaque mask region 220 can have a plurality of openings to provide a plurality of transparent window regions 210. For example,
In the previously described embodiments, the book cover 110 of the photo book 100 includes a recessed region 120 into which the sleeve 200 can be inserted (e.g., see
Preferably, the sleeve 200 (
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.
