Introduction to plastic thermal transfer

Introduction to plastic thermal transfer

1 Plastic thermal transfer process
The thermal transfer process is suitable for hot stamping on the flat, curved, special-shaped, cylindrical and conical surfaces of plastics (ABS, AS, PS, PVC, EVA, PP, PE, PET, TPR, PU, acrylic), metals, leather, wood, and other products. Among them, the most common is plastic thermal transfer.

Plastic thermal transfer is widely used in products in industries such as daily necessities, cosmetics, stationery, toys, electrical appliances, building materials, decorative materials, gifts, food packaging, signs, and packaging printing and decoration.

So, for different materials, is the selection of thermal transfer film and the control of transfer temperature and pressure the same for plastic thermal transfer?

The answer is definitely different.

2 Plastic thermal transfer of different materials
Because plastic thermal transfer of different materials is different in rigidity, shrinkage, heat resistance, chemical stability, etc.

1. PVC and EVA plastic heat transfer
In terms of heat resistance, PVC and EVA materials are the worst, so when doing heat transfer, you should choose a heat transfer film that can be hot-stamped at low temperature, and the temperature should be controlled at 140°C-160°C for the best.

2. ABS/PS/acrylic plastic heat transfer
ABS/PS/acrylic materials have relatively stable chemical properties, can have a good combination with the ink on the transfer film, and have a relatively good shrinkage rate, so you also need to pay attention to the pressure of the heat transfer machine when hot-stamping. 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.

3. PP plastic heat transfer
PP has a higher surface strength, so when we do heat transfer, compared with ABS, the pressure should be greater and the temperature should be higher. The temperature is generally controlled at 210-220 degrees for the best.

4. PE plastic thermal transfer
PE material is softer, has lower density, poor surface adhesion, but good toughness, so among all plastic thermal transfers, the hot stamping temperature is the highest, generally controlled at 240-260 degrees, and the glue layer of the transfer film must be thick.

In summary, when doing plastic thermal transfer, the thermal transfer film, transfer temperature, pressure control, etc. used are different for plastics of different materials.