SCREEN PRODUCT DECORATION
Image is everything
In a consumer society, maintaining brand prominence is key. Product decoration is the key to visibility and there are a host of processes to choose from when it comes to making the right impression By Peter Kiddell
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s with all things, product decoration has evolved over the last thirty years and there are a host of options when it comes to identifying and embellishing products. Digital technology is still focussed mainly on coding and numbering applications. This technology hasn’t yet developed the speed, flexibility or range of inks to cope with high volumes, although systems using XAAR head technologies are starting to break into the lower volume branding sector.
Laser power
Where ink is not used, lasers are ideal, particularly when the surface has to be permanently marked. A precisely controlled laser beam either discolours the surface of a component or vaporises the material. The laser's parameters and position can be precisely controlled to provide high contrast marks in the form of barcodes, logos and graphics. If a surface is painted, then the laser will precisely remove paint.
By choosing a translucent substrate with a contrasting colour, it is possible to create a backlit graphic for night and day readability. Such components are often deployed in cars, where switches are backlit.
In fact, all metals, most plastics and many ceramics can be marked or etched. It is possible to create complex and delicate designs that could not be achieved by any other automatic technique and it is possible to produce very small batch quantities or thousands.
Foiled again Hot foils adhere to a range of materials and are protected by a tough lacquer 8 SCREEN PROCESS AND DIGITAL IMAGING l March/April 2011 Hot stamping or hot foiling is also regularly used Visit us at
www.spdi-online.com
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