MIST LIKE VARIABLE DENSITY PATTERN SHEET MATERIAL AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING THE SAME

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a mist like variable density pattern having a shading feeling by successively forming a ground color part constituted of a base coating material and a variable density pattern part and forming the variable density pattern part by sprinkling a powder comprising a mixture of color aggregates of one color or two or more colors over the ground color part so as to form the mist like variable density pattern. SOLUTION: A base sheet 3 wound around a feed roll 2 is fed through an intermediate roll 4 and, at first, a base coating material 6 of a single color is applied to the surface of the base sheet 3 by a nozzle 5 and leveled by a knife coater 7 to form a ground color part. Subsequently, a powder is sprinkled over the leveled ground color part by a pattern forming means to form a mist like variable density pattern. The pattern forming means consists of hopper heads 9a-9c, rotary cylinders 10a-10c and vibration screens 11a, 11b. Thereafter, the vibration screens are excited by a vibrator 12 to fix the powder to the ground color part and the formed variable density pattern sheet is subjected to solidification treatment and drying treatment in a heating furnace 13 and cooled in a cooling zone 14 to be taken up by a taking-up roll 17 through an intermediate roll 15 and a tension adjusting device 16.