Research on thermal transfer technology
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Today, fashion handicrafts are increasingly popular, and various transfer technologies for craftsmanship have been developed, attracting many entrepreneurs and fashion lovers. Transfer printing technology is a kind of special printing. It is widely used in various irregular porcelain, containers, textiles, commodity label printing and other fields, and has a very good market prospect. Among them, the most well-known transfer technology is currently water transfer and thermal transfer. What is thermal transfer technology? What are its characteristics and uses? What is the transfer operation and market demand? Below we discuss these issues one by one.
1. Introduction to thermal transfer technology
Transfer refers to a printing method in which the image on the intermediate carrier film is transferred to the substrate by corresponding pressure, and the transfer can be divided into water transfer, thermal transfer, gas transfer, depending on the pressure used. Screen transfer, low temperature transfer, etc. Among them, thermal transfer is to print any image such as portraits and landscapes using thermal transfer ink (ie, sublimation ink) on color inkjet paper (or sublimation-specific inkjet printing paper), or ordinary ink is printed on the film heat. On the transfer paper, it is heated to a certain temperature in a few minutes by a thermal transfer heating device, and the pattern color on the paper is faithfully transferred to a special printing on the materials such as porcelain, glass, metal, plastic, cotton textile, etc. Process.
It can be seen that with the thermal transfer technology, even in the case of multiple color patterns, since the thermal transfer operation is only a process, the customer can shorten the work of the printed pattern and reduce the loss of materials (finished products) due to printing errors. In other words, by using thermal transfer film printing, multi-color patterns can be formed at one time, without the need for color registration, even if only a few simple devices can be used to print realistic patterns, thus greatly improving the scope of application and achieving transfer. Operated.
2. Classification of thermal transfer technology
Thermal transfer technology can be divided into sublimation transfer and hot press transfer. Sublimation transfer is also called vapor phase thermal transfer. It uses dye-based inks with sublimation conditions to mirror images, landscapes, texts, etc. that need to be printed by lithography, screen printing, gravure printing, etc. The transfer method is printed on the paper. Then, the printed paper is placed on the substrate, and the ink on the sublimation transfer paper is directly converted from the solid state to the gaseous state by heating (generally about 200 ° C) to transfer the image to the printing. On the object. In this process, the paper used for transfer is referred to as "sublimation transfer paper", and the sublimation transfer ink is mainly composed of a sublimation dye and a binder.
The hot stamping uses screen printing (also using gravure printing, etc.) to print the image on the thermal transfer paper or plastic, and then transfers the image to the substrate by heat and pressure. However, with the popularity of laser printers and inkjet printers, many small workshops use laser printers to print computer-generated graphics directly onto transfer paper, or use inkjet printers to print graphics on plain paper. Then, the photocopying machine is used to copy onto the transfer paper, and finally, the image on the transfer paper is transferred to the substrate by heat and pressure. This is the digital thermal transfer technology that is now widely mentioned.
3. Production tools and implementation processes
The thermal transfer technology can be widely applied to articles such as porcelain, glass, metal, plastic, cotton textile, etc. However, since thermal transfer is limited by the heat receiving area and the shape of the object, it is often required for objects of different sizes and shapes. Using specific manufacturing tools, the current common thermal transfer tools mainly include flatbed machines (hot stamping machines), baking machines, baking cups, etc., but after all, they are based on the principle of thermal transfer, so The production steps and processes are similar, except that the applied thermal transfer tools are different. In the following, the steps and flow of the thermal transfer production will be described by taking a tablet transfer image to the clothes as an example.
Step 1: Print the image through a color inkjet printer.
Step 2: The printed pattern is placed on one side first, and the transfer starts after about 15 to 20 minutes. When transferring the printed image on the clothes, the pattern should face down, then adjust the time according to the transfer of the thermal transfer device (usually 20 seconds), and close the heating plate of the device (Note) : Pure cotton T-shirt should be sprayed with a little deepening agent on the printing part before transfer, and then dried and then transferred to heat transfer. Its function is to change the color of the ink by hot pressure and improve the vivid effect of the ink on the clothes. .
Step 3: In order to avoid the clothes being too yellow and yellow, you can put a lining on the clothes and then carry out thermal transfer. After the time of the thermal transfer device is alarmed, lift the heater chip, quickly uncover the pattern paper, take out the clothes, and turn off the power of the device.
The fourth step: Finally, when the temperature of the clothes is cool, stacking the bags, the entire thermal transfer production can be completed, and the finished product can be produced.
4. Advantages of thermal transfer technology
Typically, with the maturity and popularity of technology, the price of thermal transfer printers has dropped significantly to the level acceptable to the general public. Now BRADY's handheld thermal transfer label printer TLS2200 is also under 10,000 yuan. However, many people still don't know that with the reduction of printing consumables, direct printing is actually cheaper than printing.
Specifically, the advantages of heat transfer are mainly: a small amount of printing can be performed without causing waste, even if only one sheet can be used for printing. Take advantage of the bar code and use it with the scanner to reduce manual processing time and reduce costs. You can print a variety of graphics on your own, especially the company logo and the certification pass. The serial number can be printed to track the product. You can connect to the company database data for quick data extraction. It can be used in production lines to track product production and avoid residual materials. Can be used in warehouse management, keep abreast of the latest inventory. Tickets or tickets can be printed at a faster speed and with higher quality. Labels that are resistant to high temperatures, corrosion, or sticking can be selected as needed. It can print very quickly and can reach a length of 15cm per second. With the use of a cutter, it can be cut immediately, and the ticket is ideal. Computer editing, printing content and printing results are not inferior to printing. Using system integration solutions, the bar code label is used as a medium to comprehensively improve management systems such as procurement, production, warehousing, logistics, and sales.
5. Thermal transfer market demand analysis
Compared with the current fashion and mainstream water transfer printing, what are the advantages and disadvantages of thermal transfer technology? Specifically, the water transfer printing is more flexible and convenient, and is not limited by the area and shape of the object. Usually, no special tools and equipment are needed (as long as a water transfer paper can be used), so the scope of application is even more applicable. Widely, the production cost is lower than that of thermal transfer, which is very suitable for home users and small workshops and fashion jewelry stores.
Thermal transfer due to the relationship between the image and the heat of the image, the color of the finished image will be stronger than that of the water transfer, and it is not easy to fall off. It has corrosion resistance, impact resistance, aging resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, fire resistance and energy. Maintaining the characteristics of no discoloration for ten to several decades, the thermal transfer technology is especially suitable for articles such as electrical appliances, daily necessities, and building materials that have special requirements for image retention.
For example, a trademark, a barcode, a label, etc. can be printed on a commodity by a thermal transfer technique. Because thermal transfer technology has such advantages and disadvantages, this technology is generally favored and used by jewelry stores, printing companies, and building materials departments of a certain scale.
In terms of market demand, with the continuous development of the commodity economy, various manufacturers' departments have higher and higher requirements for the trademarks, labels and packaging of their own products. For the printing industry, the concept of printing is no longer the impression of people. Traditional paper is printed. From our daily necessities to office appliances, to telecommunications, decoration, crafts and other products from all walks of life, we need more and more practical external packaging, and most of these packagings must be realized by transfer. Therefore, the transfer industry has a very broad and deep market space.
Although water transfer printing is characterized by its convenient and flexible production and low cost, it will have a great advantage in the transfer industry, especially for small and fashionable products, but like electric appliances and metal aluminum, it has high temperature and image preservation time. On the higher requirements of the product, the effect that thermal transfer can achieve is that water transfer can not be compared, so the thermal transfer technology will win its corresponding advantages due to its low production cost, firm imaging and long storage time. The market share, its market prospects are still very broad, and even do not lose to water transfer. Of course, water transfer and thermal transfer have their own advantages, and they can even complement each other. Therefore, friends who are engaged in the transfer industry may wish to consider both.