Acrylic thermal transfer process

Acrylic thermal transfer process

1. What is acrylic

Acrylic, also known as plexiglass, has a chemical name of polymethyl methacrylate. It is an important thermoplastic that was developed earlier. It has good transparency, chemical stability and weather resistance, is easy to dye, easy to process, and has a beautiful appearance. It is widely used in the construction and decoration industries.

2. Acrylic thermal transfer

In the thermal transfer industry, some novices who have just started working in the thermal profession will ask: Can acrylic be thermally transferred? Is there such a machine?

The answer is yes, because the acrylic thermal transfer process is actually the same as the ordinary plastic thermal transfer process.

3. Acrylic thermal transfer process

First, entrust the plate-making factory to make the gravure electric engraving plate according to the drawings provided by the customer. After the gravure electric engraving plate is completed, it enters the stage of making the thermal transfer printing film. The production of thermal transfer printing film can be briefly divided into 6 processes:

1. First, apply the blank PET film (apply the release agent) according to the process of the thermal transfer printing film to be made;

2. Print the flower film pattern (printing process);

3. Apply the corresponding glue to the printed thermal transfer film (glue coating process). It should be noted that the glue of acrylic thermal transfer is different from the glue of other plastic materials, so it must be clearly distinguished;

4. Re-inspect the thermal transfer film coated with glue (re-inspection process) to ensure quality;

5. Divide the thermal transfer film into strips (stripping process);

6. Package the thermal transfer film that has been stripped (packaging process)

After the heat transfer film is made, it enters the transfer stage. When doing acrylic heat transfer, it is important to note that the surface of the acrylic product must be dust-proof. It is best to attach a protective film to the surface of the product after injection molding. When doing heat transfer, just tear off the protective film, because dust spots will cause the pattern of acrylic heat transfer to be incomplete, thus affecting the overall beauty of the product.

Another point to note is that when the acrylic heat transfer has poor transfer, when using solvent to wipe off the heat transfer pattern, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether solvent must be used. If other solvents are used, it will cause different degrees of cracking on the surface of the acrylic material.

In view of the relatively stable chemical properties of acrylic materials, it can have a good combination with the ink on the transfer film, and the shrinkage rate is also relatively good, so when doing acrylic heat transfer, it is also necessary to pay attention to the pressure of the heat transfer machine. For such products, the hot stamping temperature is generally 180°C -200°C for the best, and the pressure is controlled at 0.5Kpa/s.

According to statistics, the market share of acrylic furniture and decorative materials in some developed countries in the West is as high as 37%. If the use of thermal transfer technology in this field can be further improved and even popularized, I believe that this will be a new world for thermal transfer practitioners.