Multi color printing with silicone ink
The Natron™ SE silicone inks are the most advanced silicone inks in the world. This silicone ink line has over 40 high density standard colors. Each color have very high opacity compared to any other ink. In addition, the colors can be mixed together to create new colors. This silicone ink line makes multi color printing possible. This is what we will discuss in this article.
Until now, most decorators print one-color images onto silicone. This makes multi color printing with silicone ink very cumbersome. Printers had to completely cure one color in the oven before printing another. Whats worse, the registration of the second color needs to be perfect. This adds another layer of complexity, especially with pad printing. To achieve this, the tooling fixtures need to be spot on. Screen printing is easier to achieve good registration. But all these challenges are historic, thanks to Natron™ SE Series silicone inks wet on wet printing capabilities.
Wet on wet printing with silicone inks
The Natron™ SE series is formulated to allow for wet on wet printing on silicone rubber products. Decorators can print up to four colors with this silicone ink. This ink allows for perfect release from the printing pad. This capability is further enhanced by using Type SF silicone inks solvent or the Type TR silicone inks solvent.
Mix the colors that you desire to print. Set up the plates and print. Blow warm air on the part as as you print one color to the next. This will aid the release of the ink from the pad and speed up adhesion.
To speed up production, increase curing temperature to 400F. This should allow you to cure most silicone products within 1.5 minutes.
To learn more about printing multi color with silicone inks, please call us for a step by step printing guide.
