For customized products, some choose screen printing, pad printing, or transfer printing which including heat transfer printing and water transfer printing. At present, transfer printing is widely used in plastic, hardware, rubber, silicone rubber, PVC, ceramics, solid wood, and other industries, so for soft silicone rubber products. Heat transfer printing and water transfer printing are similar, but what is the difference between heat transfer print and water transfer print?
Heat transfer printing
The heat transfer printing process is one-time heating of heat transfer printing film, transfer the decorative pattern onto the surface of the product to form a high-quality decorative mask. In the process of heat transfer, heat and pressure are applied to separate the maintenance layer and pattern layer from the polyester substrate, hot-melt adhesive bonds the decorative layer and product surface.
Water transfer printing
Water transfer printing with a special chemical treatment of the film, after printing the required color lines, flat on the surface of the water, the use of water pressure, the color line pattern evenly transfer to the surface of the product, when the coated film is automatically dissolved in water, after cleaning and drying, and then a layer of transparent maintenance coating, this product has shown a completely different visual effect!
The main difference is:
The heat transfer printing process is complex. step 1, needs a professional operator to Create a high-resolution image. Step 2, According to the picture size made dot-type gravure engraving plate. Step 3, The gravure plate is installed on the printing machine and printed on the PET polyester film, which is printed into thermal transfer printing film. Thousands of meters of finished patterns can be printed in one hour. Step 4, The heat transfer printing film installed on the heat transfer printing hot stamping machine for printing, simple operation, the one-time formation of the pattern, without color register. A heat transfer printing hot stamping machine 8 working hours a day can print out thousands of products.
Water transfer printing greatest technical advantage is no needed for special equipment, not limited by the medium, do not need special supplies, no high-temperature heating is required as long as you have a scanner, computer, inkjet printer plus water transfer ink, water transfer paper, you can print any solid object, any surface at will, the image bright color, absolute photo-quality. Small investment, quick to use, easy to operate, applicable to all areas. But the defect is that its processing efficiency is low, high cost, its effect is not good as the heat transfer printing!
For the above two processes, if you still do not know how to choose, Ukong suggests you choose the heat transfer printing when you do a large number of silica gel products transfer printing. While water transfer printing process for a small number of silicone products. The heat transfer printing process is complex but printing has bright colors, ever-changing, small color differences, good reproducibility. Water transfer printing operation is the simple but slightly lower printing quality.