There's More Than One Way to In-mold Decorate

posted on: Tuesday, October 04, 2011 by: EngageTeamCustSvc

Andy Spaeth, Account Manager

To understand in-mold decorating, it's helpful to familiarize yourself the variety of labels. There are a few types to choose from; Roll foil, flat film, and preformed decals.

Foil is a very thin gauge material (1-2 mils) with a pattern printed throughout an entire roll or could be custom printed with your graphics. The graphic is repeated throughout and can be molded in most directions with the same outcome. It forms around simple corners and over rounded surfaces as long as the geometry of the cavity is not too complex or deep. Foil is popular in automobile dashboards, cell phones, electronics and lenses. This process uses a heat transfer system. The carrier film is stretched through the mold which closes on the film and the molten plastic is injected into the mold.  This process is typically a turn key process where one vendor will supply the mold, the roll indexing system as well as the graphics roll.

Custom flat film decals are printed on flat film with personalized artwork provided by the customer. Warnings, logos, marketing, and barcode labels are just a few ways to customize them. This method incorporates the use of a base material that is typically matched with the plastic resin being molded.  Bright colors, glossy appearance, and personalized image are just a few advantages of these decals. Decal thicknesses range from 3 mils - 15 mils and are placed inside an injection mold with a robotic end-of-arm tool. It's held in place with static while hot resin is shot around it creating a permanent bond. The molding resin must cohere with the label material. Another advantage of this type of in mold labeling is that it can frequently be done without making modifications to the existing molding tool.

Preformed decals are a sophisticated and engineered decoration. The label is preformed to fit the geometry of the molding tool. The parts arrive at the plastics molder already formed to a shape (like a cell phone case, dashboard, keyboard, etc.) and placed in the mold to complete the finished part. Although the cost of the insert and label tooling is much more, this technique can accommodate a wider range of complex contouring than any of the other plastics decorating methods.

If you're not sure where your project fits - ask me. If Romo Durable Graphics can't help you, I'll point you in the right direction.

Everyone has to start somewhere!