Plasmatreat
Higher-quality, longer-lasting, more environmentally friendly printing
At booth 2340 at InPrint in Munich, which will take place from 14-16 March, Plasmatreat GmbH will demonstrate how it is possible to print in high-quality in an efficient and environmentally friendly way on challenging substrates such as plastic, metal and glass – by using special pretreatment methods. Plasmatreat is the global market leader in atmospheric plasma technology, and at Europe’s leading industry get-together for print tech, the company will present innovative surface treatments that can be used for nearly any material.
Universal problem-solver
An ideal printed image should be brilliant, high-coverage, and durable, regardless of the substrate’s characteristics. However, many materials have characteristics that make printing difficult. Creating the required surface quality, it is often necessary to use chemical pretreatment which is harmful to the environment; many companies would like to avoid using conventional solvent-based inks and adhesion-enhancing primers. Plasma technology is rightly an alternative here. It is a universal problem-solver: Plasmatreat’s Openair-Plasma and PlasmaPlus technologies facilitate VOC-free pretreatment of a wide range of substrates, allowing companies to print on them using methods such as digital printing with UV-curing systems. Using UV inks increases the efficiency of the printing process: The inks cure extremely rapidly, without the need for a large number of energy-intensive ovens; this also means that the waiting times before the surfaces can be processed are minimal. At the same time, users also benefit from the well-known advantages of digital printing: efficient manufacturing of products in small batches, or personalised or customised individual items.
Plastic: Brilliant printed images, even on recycled materials
In printing, the cheaper standard plastics such as PP or PE pose particular challenges for the industry. Their low surface energy results in inadequate wettability, making them very difficult to print on. Openair-Plasma pretreatment increases the substrate’s surface energy, significantly improving wettability. The result is a considerable increase in adhesion, which allows printing ink to form a long-lasting, wear-resistant bond with the surface. This highly targeted pretreatment method can be used to create high-quality, long-lasting prints on a wide range of plastic products, from pens and toothbrushes to computer keyboards, parts in automotive like switches and displays and cups made of recycled materials. Additionally, plasma technology is particularly important when it comes to printing on recycled plastics, because the raw materials are not always sorted entirely correctly, and the inconsistent quality of the material makes it difficult to print on. Openair-Plasma also offers an effective solution here. Plasmatreat will demonstrate this solution at InPrint by showing a “crinkle cup” made of recycled PP. It was printed using UV digital printing and without an additional bonding agent – and the result is an impressively high-quality, durable print.
