Pretreatment units

Depending on the type of material which is to be printed, the surface must be pre-treated so that it can take on the colour. For good results the print material must have a surface tension of at least 38 mN/m; otherwise the ink might smudge. We offer system-integrated pre-treatment units, as well as customer-specific individual solutions. In addition to treating with corona, flames or plasma for increased surface tension, we also offer ionisation units which reduce electrostatic charging.

Ionisation unit
Electrostatic charging occurs in many plastics due to contact or friction, often generated during the actual manufacturing process. This charge can affect the print negatively depending on weather and humidity. The ionisation unit is made up of an ionisation electrode and an air jet unit. The ionised air jet is electrically conductive and removes the static charge. The ion generator operates with compressed air which, at the same time, removes dust.
Flame
Flame pre-treatment units are used to increase surface tension. The flame is generated through gas and requires a surplus of oxygen for the necessary chemical reaction. Polar groups are formed by breaking up the molecular connectons and adding ions from the flames. This process increases surface tension and allows the ink to adhere.
Plasma
A plasma treatment unit is used to increase surface tension. Plasma is considered the most effective pre-treatment in pad printing due to its combined chemical and physical effects. The treatment reaches over 10nm in depth, while other pre-treatment methods range typically between 5 to 10 nm. The plasma generator produces a potential-free plasma beam. The print good is not subjected to high voltage and therefore potential-free. For this reason, plasma units are usually used on very difficult surfaces and where absolute process stability is required.

Customer-specific pre-treatment

In additon to our integrated pre-treatment units, we also offer individual customer-tailored applications.

Flame Treater
Flame Treater