Printing on self-adhesive sticker
Peculiarities of printing on self-adhesive film
Self-adhesive film, or as it is often called in Ukraine from the name of the most popular brand, “oracal”, is one of the most challenging print materials. This is because the surface of the film practically does not absorb liquid. Printing by the conventional offset inks does not provide sufficient adhesion of ink and material. Therefore, only the offset printing houses that know how to use special ink have been able to set the complex technological process with oracal.
Conventional toner digital machines cannot consistently print on the film, too, because to anchor the toner to the material, the sheets should go through a “stove”, where the material is heated to a temperature of 150C.
Under such heating, the glue in the film starts melting and flows on the rollers of the “stove”, resulting in hanging of oracal in the machine and the equipment breakdown.
Univest Advertising Production offers printing on self-adhesive sticker in Kiev using the most advanced printing technology, i.e. digital offset. Before printing, the film is processed by special primer – a colorless compound which prepares the surface of the film to adhere with the ink. When applying the image on the film in HP Indigo machine, the ink fixing process on oracal occurs so fast that the glue in the film does not have time to melt. Ultimately, we have the image of photo-quality on any circulations from 1 copy.
In addition, digital offset does not require expenditures for prepress preparation and production of forms, press preparation for printing and drying of sheets after printing, the images have a uniform gloss, they are easily varnished and laminated.
Printing of labels on transparent self-adhesive sticker is another unique plus of HP Indigo machine. It not has only 4 standard CMYK colors, but also the fifth film inking unit for white ink. This ink can be applied both before full-coloring, and over the image. In this case the outcome will be a “mirror” sticker to be applied on the inner side of the glass
How does the print go?
Preparation of the film for printing – priming
Preparation of the layout and sending it to the machine
File processing by raster image processor
Ink transfer on to the blanket cylinder with rubber
Application of HP ElectroInk ink on the plate cylinder
Formation of images using the charge on the plate cylinder
Ink transfer from the rubber to the film
Lamination of film after printing for additional protection
What materials can be used for print?
Self-adhesive films differ in several key parameters. They can be white, transparent, metallized. Glossy or matte. Depending on the type of glue – with permanent glue, easily removable, light-blocking. Self-destroying films allow to seal up any equipment.
What can be printed?
All kinds of stickers, labels, stickers, price labels. Items on a self-adhesive film are widely used in the design of retail space, P.O.S. products.
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