Decorating & finishing.A pad transfer printer with a sealed ink cup and digital controls was among the new decorating, printing, and finishing products introduced at NPE NPE NullPointerException (Java) NPE Network Processing Engine NPE National Policy on Education NPE National Plastics Exposition NPE Natural Penis Enlargement NPE Nutrition Program for the Elderly '94. A high-resistivity ESD (1) (Electronic Software Distribution) Distributing new software and upgrades via the network rather than individual installations on each machine. See ESL. coating for films and in-mold film labels for blow-molded bottles also made news. PAD-PRINTING NEWS United Silicone, Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., introduced its newest sealed-ink-cup pad printer, Model UP 505 (see PT, May '94, p. 141), which has a high-performance DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive controller specially designed for pad-printing applications. The DSP controls all machine functions and features independent digital measurement and control of pad-to-cliche and pad-to-part stroke length. UP 505 performs 1200 cycles/hr and handles a wide range of part sizes. New TPX-100 automatic pad-cleaning device from Teca-Print USA Corp., Billerica, Mass., is particularly suited for use in harsh production environments where a lot of particulate is generated. It is available as an option for new Teca-Print pad printers or for retrofit on existing equipment; price is $3500. CONDUCTIVE COATING A conductive coating for film and sheet was introduced by Americhem Inc., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2003 census, the city population was 50,375. It is currently the second largest city in Summit County. It is considered a suburb of both Akron and Cleveland, but is actually older than Akron. . The product is polyaniline dispersed in a film-forming matrix that becomes conductive when coated on a variety of film and sheet substrates via rotogravure rotogravure: see printing. or other standard coating techniques. It is initially targeted for PETG PETG Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol PETG Performance Evaluation Task Group , PET, polycarbonate A category of plastic materials used to make a myriad of products, including CDs and CD-ROMs. , and PVC PVC: see polyvinyl chloride. PVC in full polyvinyl chloride Synthetic resin, an organic polymer made by treating vinyl chloride monomers with a peroxide. in electrical/electronic component packaging. V.G. Kulkarni, Americhem's marketing manager for conductive polymers, says the new coating features very low resistivity resistivity Electrical resistance of a conductor of unit cross-sectional area and unit length. The resistivity of a conductor depends on its composition and its temperature. , which makes it a better conductor: ESD is in the [10.sup.6] to [10.sup.9] Ohms/sq range and can be customized even lower. Other ESD materials are in the [10.sup.10]-[10.sup.12] Ohms/sq range, Kulkarni says. This coating is transparent with a green "sunglass" tint. Silicone Products & Technology Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., featured a new line of high-release silicone elastomers for film laminating and label dispensing. Marketing manager Michelle Manuel says that in some instances the release provided by the new coatings is superior to that of PTFE PTFE polytetrafluoroethylene. . They can be used with a variety of adhesives, including hot melts (EVAs) and pressure-sensitive types (PSAs). LABELS & DECALS Avery Dennison's Decorating Technologies Div., Framingham, Mass., introduced its new generation of in-mold film labels for blow-molded bottles and containers. These clear or opaque polyolefin film materials provide a direct-print "no-label" look and contain a coextruded heat-activated adhesive and scratch-resistant protective varnishes. The film labels can be printed via screen, letterpress, or gravure methods. Advantages include minimal label curl and low static, which make it easier to pick and place the labels during molding. They can be applied with the company's zero-delay cycle inserters or other commercially available equipment. Si-Cal Inc., Natick, Mass., featured new 125-line, four-color silk-screen process decals and new thermochromatic inks at its NPE '94 exhibit. HOT-STAMPING DIES Schwerdtle Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., introduced silicone rubber-face dies for hot-stamping blow-molded containers. The rubber dies are said to reproduce artwork without distortion, unlike metal dies, which can cause indentation in·den·ta·tion n. A notch, a pit, or a depression. . Schwerdtle, which has been selling both metal- and rubber-face dies for several years, says the new technology employs a higher-heat, thermally conductive rubber that is available in a lower durometer range (70-80) than most other rubber-face dies (85-100), which imitate metal and aren't as "forgiving" as the new dies. The softer rubber-face dies are well suited for bottles made of PET, PVC, and other resins that require lower hot-stamping temperatures. HOT-STAMP FOILS CFC CFC See: Controlled foreign corporation International, Chicago Heights, Ill., came out with a new line of weather-resistant, wood-grain hot-stamp foils designed for exterior applications such as siding and doors. These foils utilize a ceramic-pigmented Kynar resin system known for its durability and uv resistance. In extensive field tests, door panels composed of the Kynar system reportedly withstood 1540 mega-joules per square meter (MJ/m2) of accelerated exterior uv exposure. The results showed no visible change in color, no adhesion loss, and no signs of chalk or cracking. Moreover, gloss levels tended to rise rather than fall under prolonged exposure. |
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