Printing onto plastics is a niche market requiring specialised machinery. In comparison to printing products on paper, there are a number of benefits to printing on to plastic which we will discuss below.
Printing on Plastics
Printing on to plastics is not an easy thing to do! We print using UV inks; this ink is cured (dried) by UV lights. Conventional printing inks are cured by heat; this process does not work on plastics. An example of this would be writing on to something plastic; without special pens, the ink would wipe off easily.
There can be problems using UV ink to cure the ink. The heat from the lamps causes the material to distort and warp making it difficult to print accurately. For this reason, you need a lot of experience in the field of UV plastic printing.
Benefits of Plastic Printing
Plastics are so much more versatile than printing onto paper. If you wanted a menu printed onto Polyprop, a type of plastic material that can be printed on, it will last far longer if it gets wet or needs to be wiped clean rather than a paper produced equivalent. Even if the paper versions are laminated, hotel door hangers will be much more durable if they get knocked or pulled from a door. If it was produced on paper it would tear far more easily and have to be replaced, costing the customer in the long run more money to replace.
Other advantages of plastic printing are the sheer number of different materials we can print on. Clear window stickers with white ink printed can be produced. These cannot be produced in any other way. Document wallets printed on recyclable Polyprop resist PVC, which is used to produce mouse mats and coasters. These are printed in reverse; so the material protects the image, on to clear mark resistant PVC then white ink applied to that. A foam back is then applied so all the ink is protected. Just the feel and look of a product printed directly to plastic gives a very professional and polished look.
Another misconception is the environmental side of things. We recycle a large percentage of all of our waste material. This gets separated accordingly and sold back to companies to be used as car parts, pots, trays and many more things. We use a lot of polypropylene, which is a by-product of oil refineries. We also buy a large amount of recycled material.
Bearing in mind the facts, there is a lot more to plastic printing than you originally thought. Making for stronger and longer lasting products, the industry also combats the environmental side of things as well by recycling. What are your thoughts and opinions on plastic printing?
Get in touch for High-Quality Plastic Printers
If you are looking for plastic printers, Reflex Printstore provide durable products that enhance your brand and reinforce your company messages. For more information, call us on 01892 752 885 or email us at printstore@reflex-print.co.uk and we will be in touch as soon as we can!
