Thermal gold foiling process for plastic wash and care packaging: within every square inch, illuminating packaging texture
Thermal gold foiling process for plastic wash and care packaging: within every square inch, illuminating packaging texture
On the shelves of wash and care products, packaging is the first language to speak with consumers. Plastic, with its light weight, weather resistance, and controllable, has become the mainstream choice for wash and care packaging materials. The thermal gold foiling process, however, is like a "touchstone", endowing plastic packaging with a in value from practical to exquisite, allowing products such as shampoo, shower gel, and hand cream to stand out among the plethora of options.
The hot stamping of plastic wash and care packaging materials is not a simple attachment of a metal coating, but a technology that integrates materials science and technological. For PET plastic bottle suppliers, precise control of this technology is key to enhancing the added value of PET packaging materials. Its core principle involves the precise transfer of the metal or pig layer on the hot stamping foil (composed of base film, release layer, color layer, plating layer, and adhesive layer) onto the plastic surface through a heated hoting plate, forming durable and glossy graphics and text.
The process has extremely high synergistic requirements for temperature, pressure, and speed — too low a temperature can result in unclear embossing and adhesion, while too high a temperature may deform the plastic packaging or scorch the hot stamping foil; an imbalance between pressure and speed can lead to jagged edges, embossing, and other issues. Therefore, each hot stamping process for plastic packaging needs a "customized solution" that has been repeatedly adjusted. This is particularly important for water bottle suppliers who focus on quality, as it can help them avoid affecting the appearance of the bottle and the reputation of the product due to process deviations.
In the of plastic wash and care packaging, the value of the thermal gold foiling process extends far beyond the word "aesthetic", and is more about conveying brand temperament product positioning through details. For high-end wash and care brands, thermal gold is often used in the form of matte gold and brushed gold with a low-key texture, paired a simple logo or line, printed on frosted PET bottles or PP tubes, creating an atmosphere of luxury and elegance, implying the natural ingredients and high-end formula of the product
And for wash and care products targeting young consumer groups, a more visually striking thermal gold effect will be used, such as bright gold and rainbow gold, combined with cartoon patterns fun slogans, to make the packaging full of vitality. In addition, thermal gold can also enhance the "durability" of the packaging - a high-quality thermal layer can resist the common humid environment and chemical residue erosion of wash and care products, avoiding the detachment of graphics and ensuring that the product maintains a delicate appearance from the time leaves the factory to the time it is used up.
However, the thermal gold foiling process for plastic wash and care packaging also faces realistic challenges. On the one hand the surface tension of different plastic materials varies greatly, and non-polar plastics such as PE and PP have smooth surfaces, which require pre-treatment such as corona and coating before gold foiling to enhance the adhesion of the thermal gold foil;
On the other hand, the trend towards environmental protection has put forward higher requirements for the process, in to meet the environmental standards such as EU REACH. The industry is turning to the use of water-based thermal gold adhesives and degradable thermal gold foils. At same time, consumer demand for "personalization" is also prompting the integration of thermal gold foiling technology with digital technology, to achieve small batch, multiple batches of customized thermal printing breaking the traditional thermal gold "high minimum order quantity" limit.
On the other hand, the green trend has put forward higher requirements for technology. In order to meet the environmental standards such as EU REACH, the has turned to the use of green materials such as water-based hot stamping glue and degradable hot stamping foil; at the same time, consumers' demand for "personal" has also promoted the combination of hot stamping technology with digital technology, to achieve small batch, multi-batch customized hot stamping, breaking the traditional hot stamping "high quantity" restrictions. Under these two major trends, supplier plastic packaging needs to timely upgrade material and technology reserves, in order to better meet the market's dual demand for environmental protection personality.
It is not only a decoration method, but also an important carrier for brands to convey their concepts and products to enhance the premium. With the innovation material technology and the iteration of technology, the hot stamping of plastic wash and care packaging in the future will surely find a better balance between "texture" and "environmental" "individuality", and continue to inject vitality into the packaging innovation of wash and care products.
