The ETI Transfer Process is a simple way to place elegant, perfectly registered designs on vinyl and other thermoplastics. The process creates extremely sharp, lightfast and rub-resistant designs by transferring eight-color rotogravure patterns from rolls of coated release paper. It works well with plastics of many weights, stiffnesses and surface characteristics, such as hard, soft or expanded vinyls.
The ETI Transfer Process turns a nip roller into a printer. It continuously prints all colors in a design at once in perfect registration. The quality is far superior to results achieved with direct printing. What's more, because you only need to stock our transfer paper and white plastic, the process simplifies your inventory operation and makes it less costly, too. Design and color changes just involve switching a paper roll, which holds production waste to a minimum and drastically reduces downtime.
The Ability to Set Up Rapidly
Our transfer process sets up easily because it needs only a laminating, calendering or embossing machine teamed with unwinding and rewinding stations. ETI will work closely with you during trials and start up to optimize your equipment. Transfer usually involves a metal and a silicone roll. The latter provides traction and heat, and protects the substrate from excessive flattening. The nip rolls are controlled for pressure, temperature and speed:
- Roll temperature is generally 300° to 340°F, but can range from 275° to 360°F
- Pressure averages 5 PSI, but can range from 2.5 to 15 PSI
- Speed can range up to 150 fpm.
Quality to Count On Standard rolls of our continuous transfer paper measure 63 inches wide and can be slit as narrow as 1 in. Print runs can be as short as four 1640-ft.x 63-inch rolls. Our transfers, which have a registration precision of 0.003 in., are inspected for color and registration during printing, so finished product waste is minimal. We key all color matches to the initial production run. The pigments used are typically colorfast to light for more than 500 hours QUV.
Freedom from Environmental Concerns
Our process generates no air or water pollutants, and avoids the hazards and permitting issues related to having liquid inks on hand. There are no known restrictions for landfilling the spent paper, which often is reused as a backing or other purposes. Our release paper does not require a Material Safety Data Sheet. It contains no toxic substances, ozone depleting chemicals or dyestuffs. Any solvents present are well below reportable levels.
To learn more about what we can offer you, contact us at 908-913-9080. Or even better, call us to arrange to have one of our designs transferred to your plastic. If you desire, we can then meet with you to discuss the results.