Printing on Polymers

• Preface
• 1. Printing on Polymers: Theory and Practice
  • 1.1. Introduction—The Impact of Printing
  • 1.2. Printing Techniques
  • 1.3. Printing Bases
  • 1.4. Printability
  • 1.5. Surface Wettability
  • 1.6. Print Quality
  • 1.7. Plastic Printing Industry
• 2. Polymeric Materials—Structure, Properties, and Applications
  • 2.1. Introduction
  • 2.2. Structure of a Polymer
  • 2.3. Properties of Polymers
  • 2.4. Application of Polymers
  • 2.5. Conclusion
• 3. Printing Ink Formulations
  • 3.1. Introduction
  • 3.2. Individual Ink Components
  • 3.3. Inks Manufacture
  • 3.4. Selected Inks for Individual Printing Processes
  • 3.5. Functional Inks
  • 3.6. Summary
• 4. Additives for Ink Manufacture
  • 4.1. Definition of an Additive
  • 4.2. Surfactants: Wetting and Dispersing Agents
  • 4.3. Adhesion Promoters
  • 4.4. Waxes
  • 4.5. Driers
  • 4.6. Rheology Modifier
  • 4.7. Other Additives
  • 4.8. Additives for Radiation-Curing Inks
  • 4.9. Performance Additives
• 5. Advanced Nanoscale Materials for Ink Manufacture
  • 5.1. Introduction
  • 5.2. Nanoscale Materials for Ink Manufacture
  • 5.3. Conclusions and Outlook
• 6. Rheology of Printing Inks
  • 6.1. Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluids
• 7. Low-Pressure Plasma-Assisted Polymer Surface Modifications
  • 7.1. Low-Pressure Oxygen Plasma
  • 7.2. Reactive Plasma Species and their Interaction with Polymers for Printing
  • 7.3. Flowing Afterglow
  • 7.4. Peculiarities of Particular Polymers
  • 7.5. Etching, Nanostructuring, and Wettability
  • 7.6. Concluding Remarks
• 8. Corona Treatment
  • 8.1. Corona Discharge Treatment: Introduction
  • 8.2. Surface Changes, Film Wettability, and Printability
  • 8.3. Peculiarities of Particular Polymers
  • 8.4. Aging Process of Corona-Treated Films
  • 8.5. Concluding Remarks
• 9. Polymer Surface Modifications by Coating
  • 9.1. Organic Modifications of Polymer Surface
  • 9.2. Inorganic Coating
  • 9.3. Metallurgical Coating
• 10. Other Methods of Polymer Surface Modifications
  • 10.1. Introduction
  • 10.2. Laser Beam Processing for Polymer Surface Modifications
  • 10.3. Micromachining
  • 10.4. Other Energy Beam Processing Techniques
• 11. Flexographic Printing
  • 11.1. Fundamentals of Flexographic Printing
  • 11.2. Production Materials
  • 11.3. Flexographic Printing Benefits
  • 11.4. Flexographic Market and its Future
• 12. Gravure Printing
  • 12.1. Market of Gravure Printing
  • 12.2. Printing Process
  • 12.3. Gravure Printing Inks
  • 12.4. Gravure Cylinder Manufacturing
  • 12.5. Structure of Gravure Printing Presses
  • 12.6. Applications and Further Developments
• 13. Offset Printing
  • 13.1. Fundamentals of Offset Printing
  • 13.2. Offset Inks
  • 13.3. Construction of Printing Presses for Offset Printing
  • 13.4. Print Quality Control in Waterless Offset on Polymer Materials
• 14. Inkjet Printing
  • 14.1. Fundamentals of Inkjet Printing Technology
  • 14.2. Physical and Chemical Properties of Inkjet Printing Inks
  • 14.3. Droplet Ink Behavior on the Substrate
  • 14.4. Polymer in Inkjet Ink Formulation
  • 14.5. Polymers as Inkjet Printing Substrate
  • 14.6. Future in Inkjet Printing
• 15. Screen Printing
  • 15.1. Fundamentals of Screen Printing
  • 15.2. Stencil/Plate Making
  • 15.3. Imaging, Hand-Cut Stencils, Photostencils, Computer to Screen Systems
  • 15.4. Printing Process
  • 15.5. Screen Printing Industry
• 16. Pad Printing
  • 16.1. History
  • 16.2. Basics of Pad Printing
  • 16.3. Basic Elements of Pad Printing
  • 16.4. Application of the Pad Printing
• 17. Embossing Process
  • 17.1. Fundamentals of Embossing
  • 17.2. Hot Embossing Modes
  • 17.3. Influence of Polymer Performance on Embossing Features
  • 17.4. Application Example: R2R Hot Embossing Holographic Images on BOPP Shrink Film
  • 17.5. Outlook
• 18. 3-D Printing
  • 18.1. Introduction
  • 18.2. Fundamentals of 3-D Printing
  • 18.3. Applications
  • 18.4. 3-D-Printing Process
  • 18.5. 3-D Printable Materials
  • 18.5. Electrically Conductive Polymers
  • 18.6. 3-D Bioprinting
  • 18.7. Conclusions
• 19. Theory, Modeling, and Simulation of Printing
  • 19.1. Introduction
  • 19.2. Measuring and Modeling Reflection Properties for Color Prediction
  • 19.3. Light Scattering and Absorption
  • 19.4. Spectral Reflectance Prediction Models for Colored Halftones
  • 19.5. Multilayer Constructions
  • 19.6. Surface and Interface Reflections
  • 19.7. Transparent and Translucent Substrates
  • 19.8. Conclusions
• 20. Characterization of Print Quality in Terms of Colorimetric Aspects
  • 20.1. Colorimetric Aspects
  • 20.2. Characterization of Print Quality
• 21. Characterization of Mechanical Properties of Prints
  • 21.1. Introduction
  • 21.2. Ink Abrasion Resistance of Polymer Substrates
  • 21.3. Scratch Resistance of Polymer Substrates
  • 21.4. Summary
• 22. Aging and Degradation of Printed Materials
  • 22.1. Aging and Degradation: Definitions
  • 22.2. Models of Artificial Aging
  • 22.3. Degradation of Polymer Materials
  • 22.4. Methods of Testing the Aging Process and Degradation
  • 22.5. Polymeric Substrate Degradation
  • 22.6. Impact of Radiation Artificial Aging on Print
  • 22.7. Summary
• 23. Applications of Printed Materials
  • 23.1. Introduction
  • 23.2. Packaging
  • 23.3. Labels
  • 23.4. Printed Electronics
  • 23.5. Household Equipment
  • 23.6. Promotional Gifts and Materials
  • 23.7. Others
• 24. Microcapsules in Printing
  • 24.1. Introduction
  • 24.2. Microcapsules and Microspheres
  • 24.3. Types of Release Mechanism
  • 24.4. Microencapsulation
  • 24.5. Application of Microcapsules in Graphic and Paper Industry
• 25. Environmental and Safety Issues of Polymers and Polymeric Material in the Printing Industry
  • 25.1. Introduction
  • 25.2. Sustainable Development
  • 25.3. Life-Cycle Assessment
  • 25.4. LCA and Toxic Risk Assessment
  • 25.5. Printing Industry and Sustainability
  • 25.6. Assessment of Polymers and Polymeric Materials
  • 25.7. Summary
• Index

Printing on Polymers: Fundamentals and Applications is the first authoritative reference covering the most important developments in the field of printing on polymers, their composites, nanocomposites, and gels.

The book examines the current state-of-the-art and new challenges in the formulation of inks, surface activation of polymer surfaces, and various methods of printing. The book equips engineers and materials scientists with the tools required to select the correct method, assess the quality of the result, reduce costs, and keep up-to-date with regulations and environmental concerns.

Choosing the correct way of decorating a particular polymer is an important part of the production process. Although printing on polymeric substrates can have desired positive effects, there can be problems associated with various decorating techniques. Physical, chemical, and thermal interactions can cause problems, such as cracking, peeling, or dulling. Safety, environmental sustainability, and cost are also significant factors which need to be considered.

With contributions from leading researchers from industry, academia, and private research institutions, this book serves as a one-stop reference for this field—from print ink manufacture to polymer surface modification and characterization; and from printing methods to applications and end-of-life issues.

• Enables engineers to select the correct decoration method for each material and application, assess print quality, and reduce costs
• Increases familiarity with the terminology, tests, processes, techniques, and regulations of printing on plastic, which reduces the risk of adverse reactions, such as cracking, peeling, or dulling of the print
• Addresses the issues of environmental impact and cost when printing on polymeric substrates
• Features contributions from leading researchers from industry, academia, and private research institutions

Plastics engineers and manufacturers, ink manufacturers, resin manufacturers, and packaging, automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods companies. Materials scientists, professors and specialized grad students in polymeric materials and printing.