Hot Stamp Printing: Time to Transform Your Brand

Hot stamp printing is a process whereby an engraved image, hot stamping die or type, is heated and then forced down fronting a part with a marking foil sandwiched in between. It is a dry printing technique of lithography in which pre-dried ink or foils are fronted to a surface at high temperatures.The surface where the die meets the part is where the ink from the foil makes its mark. Though this may be a simplified description of hot stamp printing, it is the basis of the mechanism, and where you need to start.

How Does it Work?

The press-hardenable material heats to over 900 degrees, to an austenite temperature in an oven, during the initial stage of the press line. The material is then transferred quickly to a press, and the part forms while the material is heated. The part then gets a cooling - put in a water-cooled die basin - for some few estimated seconds at the bottom of the stroke. During this process of cooling, the material's grain structure converts from an austenitic state to a martensitic condition.

Why Choosing Hot Stamping?

• Hot stamping can be applied to mark a multitude of different materials, the most common substrate being plastic.

• The most positive part about hot stamping is that it is a dry process. You don't need to have a bunch of degrees in chemistry to operate a hot stamp printing machine as you don't need to bother with mixing inks.

• Hot stamp printing is a long-lasting process. When a component gets printed with a fitly formulated film, it can withstand some very harsh situations. When applying a metal die against a plastic part, you can brand the part at the same time. So, if it happens that the color fades or wears off, the labelled image will remain there.

Advantages of the hot stamping technique

High Tensile Strength.

Some relatively complex parts are produced in a single-step die when applying modern hot stamp printing process. The outcome is a complex, near-net-shape part possessing yield strengths, many times stronger than a mild steel part.

Complex Components

Multi-component assemblies can be re-designed and formed as one element. Hot stamping permits the forming of complex parts in one stroke thereby eliminating some downstream joining processes such as welding.

No Springback

Most probably hot stamping's most significant merit, apart from its strengthening capacity, is its stress-relieving capability that resolves shortcomings with springback and warping. These two present a common problem when forming advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and high-strength steel (HSS).

Hot Stamp Printing: Utility to Businesses  

Producing business cards, promotional stuff, compelling product packaging, and so on, are essential for the effective promotion of any company. While it may seem plausible to accomplish that by using regular printing methods, there are still other attractive surface techniques that are ideal for producing more compelling surface treatments as well.  The hot stamp printing machine employs foil and fuses the foil material into the surface, ideally on paper to produce a brilliant surface shine that looks professional and stylish.

Conclusion

Hot stamp printing is a permanent process. When you mark a part with a fitly formulated foil, it can withstand some very rough conditions. When applying a metal die on a plastic substrate, you can effectively brand the part at the same time. So, if the color should fade in the course of time, or wear off, the labelled image will remain. Is your business using this printing technique? Share your comments and experiences with foil printing or any alternatives you may be using.

Recycling of Shrink Sleeves Labels: A Positive Future Outlook

Shrink sleeves offer a lot of benefits to brand owners such as label landscape for product promotion, placement of information and scope for creation of decorative packaging. The shortcoming for shrink sleeve labels is, however, recycling. The issue of sustainability and recycling that still continues to muddle the label and packaging industry. This kind of label mandates removal before recycling the pet bottles.

Findings on Sleeve Label Material

Recyclers, nonetheless, have witnessed progress on shrink sleeves. They are working hard to find feasible solutions to difficulties encountered in recycling containers that use shrink sleeve labels. Things are getting much better for the future recyclability of shrink labels. According to the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), a trade group, new label technologies are commercially available from many suppliers.

The challenge that exists now is to drive these technologies into actual commercial use. APR is hopeful about the future of shrink sleeves’ recycling. More and more companies today are creating sleeve label film that is easily separable from the PET bottle at the time of recycling. Historically, sleeve label material has been made from glycol-modified PET or PVC. Both PET and PVC plastics sink in water and mix with PET flake. The development of new polyolefin label by a few of the label manufacturers, however, offers an option for label pieces to float in a separation tank.

Recommendations of the APR

Companies using shrink labels need to follow the recommendations put forth by the APR. It recommends companies to use sleeve labels that remain afloat in water and isolate them from PET flakes in a sink or float material separation step. They also recommend using printed label inks that do not stain PET flakes while washing or rinsing during the recycling process. It is necessary for companies to use an APR guidance document to examine the effect of a label on PET bottle recycling. Moreover, they need to utilize shrink sleeves labels that leave minimum 20 percent of PET bottle surface area open.

Research of the APR in 2013 showed recyclers spending about two to four cents per pound of reprocessed plastic to remove shrink sleeves. The use of these labels registered seven to nine times growth from 2007 to 2013.

The Road Ahead

Brand owners of consumer goods are mindful of sustainability and recycling issues when it comes to shrink labels. They are all set to adopt easily recyclable shrink-sleeve label film. Renowned companies such as Coca Cola shifted to recyclable shrink sleeve material for its holiday orb bottle. The big challenge, however, is the pace at which the companies can push the use of recyclable shrink sleeves label.