XEIKON / Graphic Arts 2020
Plastic buckets and containers with heat-transfer decoration
An example of a paint container and image transfer to a plastic container using heat and pressure.
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Application and process
Heat-transfer decoration can be applied to plastic containers after injection moulding or blow moulding. Finishing can be moved to a later production stage while preserving the look and feel of decoration as part of the container; the guide describes solutions for containers of different sizes.
Application guide Graphic Arts 2020-ENG, p. 11
Printing and brand protection
In the example, the bucket artwork includes variable QR codes and text, microtext, guilloches, variable line widths, fluorescent UV toner and other visible and hidden authentication and traceability features.
Application guide Graphic Arts 2020-ENG, p. 11
Technical details of the example
The guide specifies roll-fed dry-toner printing at 1200 dpi, print width up to 500 mm, consistent output regardless of the number of colours, and a fifth station for special colours or opaque white. The stated output for 5-gallon buckets is 1080 units per hour on a TRONICS system.
Application guide Graphic Arts 2020-ENG, p. 11
Where digital printing helps
The guide describes dry toner as a way to achieve consistent image behaviour during decoration, avoid the setup costs of traditional gravure, offset or flexographic processes, and speed up job changes. It links these benefits to short runs of varying sizes.
Application guide Graphic Arts 2020-ENG, p. 11