Printing technology continues to advance, printing materials are constantly updated, variable factors in post-printing processing conditions have an increasing impact on lamination, printing quality standards and market demand continue to improve, which requires the lamination industry Structural adjustments must be made in accordance with changes in objective conditions and new quality and technical standards. At the same time, we should also timely look for other processes that can replace lamination to reduce the pressure of lamination on the environment. In fact, in addition to the lamination process, UV glazing can also play a certain role in protecting and decorating the surface of printed matter. In many functions, the two are very similar. Since the cost of UV glazing is relatively low, development is relatively rapid, and the products are very attractive, it also occupies a certain market share in some post-press processing fields. Some people who are optimistic about UV glazing technology even believe that this technology can replace lamination technology and develop independently.
In fact, this is just a wish of people. According to some printing plants that have applied UV glazing technology, the most common application of UV glazing is local glazing. Local UV glazing can improve the quality of books, but in most cases, this local UV glazing process is also It is carried out after coating, and the previous coating process must be solvent-based coating.
In addition, UV glazing still has many shortcomings compared with lamination. For example, the protective effect, folding resistance, and wear resistance of UV glazing are not as good as those of lamination, and it will have limitations in many fields, such as packaging boxes; UV glazing also requires investment in printing equipment and UV curing equipment, while lamination has Ready-made equipment foundation and mature technology; in addition, some UV varnishes will evaporate odor during the coating process, which will affect the operators.
Today's printing plants and publishing houses attach great importance to this process, and believe that UV glazing can replace the lamination process in book and periodical printing. But generally speaking, UV glazing still has limitations in many aspects. There are still many problems in process processing, and it cannot completely replace the coating process. Pre-coating film refers to the process of pre-gluing and rewinding plastic film and then laminating it with paper printing. It is first applied by the pre-coating film processing factory on the film according to the different specifications and formats, and then rerolled for the user to choose, and then combined with the printed matter.
Pre-coating film began to be used around 1989, and has been widely used in European and American countries. It entered Asia around 1996. At the same time as entering Asia, Europe and the United States have announced a ban on the use of ready-to-coat films and replaced them with pre-coated films. Due to the late use, in Asia, except Japan, all pre-coated films are now used, and other countries (such as China, South Korea, etc.) are in a state of using both pre-coated films and ready-to-coat films. Our country has only started to use pre-coated films since 2000, and the market share of pre-coated films in our country is still very small.
Pre-coated films have many advantages over ready-coated films. If pollution is reduced, there will be no damage to the human body; the lamination quality will not be affected by different paper properties or ink colors; the pre-coating laminating machine is simpler to operate, and the processed graphics and text will be better; wrinkles are basically eliminated , bubbles, shedding and other phenomena. The most noteworthy thing is that this is an environmentally friendly process and the entire production process is harmless to the human body.
However, the promotion of pre-coated film in my country is still relatively slow. Among them, cost is a big influencing factor, which determines investors' enthusiasm for the pre-coated film process. A recent survey showed that more than half of the respondents believed that the price of pre-coated film products is on the high side, because pre-coated film products are printing consumables, and the price cost is an issue that cannot be ignored when printers choose consumables. . In addition, due to the lack of technology for separating paper and film in our country, pre-coating film cannot be completely called an environmentally friendly process in our country.
In response to this current situation, pre-coated film products should reduce costs through large-scale production, so that the market price becomes closer and closer to the needs of printing plants. At the same time, the research and development or introduction of paper membrane separation technology should also attract the attention of relevant departments to achieve environmentally friendly coating and rationally develop the coating process when the coating process cannot be abandoned. It is a brand-new transfer printing technology that can handle workpieces with complex shapes and is suitable for different materials. It also greatly increases the added value of products due to vivid patterns and colors. This technology is based on a specially chemically treated film that is printed with a certain color pattern and then placed flat on the surface of water. The pattern is evenly written on the surface of the product using water pressure, and the coating film automatically dissolves after cleaning and drying. After drying, a layer of transparent protective coating is applied, and the product has a completely different visual effect.
The laminating process can be divided into cold (cold pressed) laminating, hot (heat activated) laminating and liquid laminating methods according to hot and cold conditions, pressure conditions and materials. Thermal lamination technology refers to heating and activating the pre-coated adhesive on the film, and uses it to bond the film and the printed matter together; while cold lamination uses pressure to directly bond the film to the printed matter with the adhesive. together. Both methods can produce various types of special films such as UV protective films, waterproof or anti-friction films. Recently, a new technology has emerged called the "liquid coating" method. That is to use a brush, spray gun, roller or special laminating machine to apply a layer of transparent liquid directly on the surface of the product. Although the technical operation is simple and the price is low, it is not mature yet.
Small laminating machine laminating process
This type of small laminating machine was developed to meet the needs of low and medium-sized consumers.
This type of small laminating machine solves the fundamental problems of ordinary laminating machines. The price of the laminating machine is between 1,400-1,500 yuan. Because it uses an internally heated rubber roller to press the film and feeds the film up and down, the heating time of the pre-coated film is increased, and The heating is balanced, so the film produced is smooth and bright, and has the same effect as the film produced by a high-end laminating machine. However, this type of small laminating machine only has a heating power of 500W. Although the temperature is adjustable, the speed is fixed and can laminate 0.7-0.8 meters per minute. Suitable for business card lamination, recipe lamination, photo lamination and graphic print lamination, especially for some small printing plants, typing copy shops, business card production houses and photo studios. In order to reduce equipment investment and reduce costs, this type of lamination is chosen. There are more machines. At present, the market prospect of this type of small laminating machine is very good. Many customers who originally only used it for themselves have later started selling this type of laminating machine, and the sales volume is also good. It can be said that this small laminating machine is the most cost-effective. It is easy to use and has obvious effects. It solves the needs of some small end customers and has great promotion value.