fm group - functional materials left side.pdffm group inc. 100 wells, congers, ny, 10920 (845)...

FM Group Incorporated

100 Wells Avenue Congers, N.Y. 10920

Phone: Fax:

(845) 753-6000

(845) 753-6222

Sales information via E-mail: [email protected]

FM GROUP INC. 100 Wells, Congers, NY, 10920 (845) 753-6000 FAX: (845)753-6222 E-mail: [email protected] 08115 Co Background 2006 B.doc 10/7/2009

Company Background Functional Materials Inc. is devoted to developing and marketing specialty color effects and materials for use in merchandising consumer products. Functional Materials Inc. is associated with FM Group Inc., which is responsible for the manufacture of the products. Since 1985, Functional Materials' proprietary colorant technology has been used to help develop brand identity for the consumer credit card industry, including the Gold and Platinum programs for Visa, MasterCard / Europay, American Express, Citibank and other major national and international card issuers. Colors based on Lustre pigments are a major focal point for the company. In the mid 90's, a line of printing inks was developed: Slink Solvent-based Inks, Rink Radiation Curable Inks and Wink Water-based Inks. These inks were specifically designed for printing on plastic substrates requiring special functional properties. Further developments in the field of water-based adhesives and lamination technology helped establish the company as a technology leader in materials for credit card. WINK| Waterbased Inks for Printing PVC and Polystyrene Regulations regarding emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) to the atmosphere, and concerns about workplace exposure to flammable and hazardous solvents have created the need for water-based screen printing ink. The WINK| product line contains neither n-methyl pyrollidone (NMP) nor any alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APE). WINK| water-based inks have the following characteristics: Consistent Metallic Colors Without Gassing - Good Shelf Life - Full Bleed Colors Without Coated Overlay - Fast Drying Without Clogging Screens - Low VOC - Superior Adhesion Under Lamination - Excellent Print Ability. SLINK| Solventbased Inks These press ready solvent-based inks have good shelf stability and excellent run-ability that allows printing straight out of the can. These materials now have been reformulated using the latest

|friendly solvents with reduced hazardous air pollutants (HAP), low toxicity, and reduced VOC. RINK| Radiation Curable Inks and Coatings These UV curable inks and coatings are for the graphic arts industry, particular for printing on plastics such as PVC, Styrenics, Polyesters, Polycarbonate etc. These coatings give superior protection to the printed surface without negatively affecting the physical properties of the substrate. Special grades are available for the various application methods (Screen, Gravure, Flexo or Lithography). These materials contain no vinyl pyrollidone and have low toxicity levels. FLASHLAM Bonding Process Lamination of plastic materials often requires adhesives/primers to improve adhesion to printing inks. This is particularly true for UV cured inks and full bleed offset colors. An alternate to coated overlay is our WINK| 850 Series Laminating Adhesives which are applied to the printed stock.

FM GROUP INC. 100 Wells, Congers, NY, 10920 (845) 753-6000 FAX: (845)753-6222 E-mail: [email protected] 08016_TDS_SilkscreenLustre.doc 10/7/2009

COLOR AND LUSTRE EFFECT In general the type of lustre achieved is a function of particle size. The smaller particle sizes will impart a sheen or satin appearance. The larger particle sizes will impart glitter. Effects ranging between the extremes are achievable by combining particle sizes to achieve the desired optics. Since each particle operates as a prism (refractive) and some particles are transparent, in addition to the product selection, substrate color can be used to achieve startling visual appearances. FORMULATIONS Any item which interferes with the passage of light thru the ink film to the pigment particle will be detrimental to the desired lustre. Accordingly the ink vehicle should be water white. Opacifying agents such as TiO2 and non-transparent pigments should be avoided. Transparent dyes and pigments have been used successfully. Other additives should be minimized if possible. Pigment loading has successfully been run at a maximum 25% based on the binder. Since the particles impart color based on the principle of light refraction as opposed to absorption, they are ideally suited to UV cure and E-beam cure. Materials are compatible with both water- and solvent-based systems. INK PREPARATION Care must be taken not to break the pigment particles, during ink preparation. Accordingly, Ball Mills, three roll mills, shot mills and bead mills should not be used. Mild agitation using a low shear (impeller) mixer should be used. To insure good wet out of the pigment by this ink vehicle, sufficient time should be allotted between ink preparation and press use to allow for proper binder wetting. Eight hours is considered sufficient. Unlike inks containing conventional metallic pigments, press run inks may be securely closed and reused for an indefinite period of time with no detrimental affect on color or lustre. SCREEN SIZE Consult your screen supplier and our pigment Data Sheets to determine actual screen opening size for various nominal mesh sizes. These figures will vary depending on thickness and type of filament used to construct your screen. Consult your pigment technical data sheet to determine the maximum sized particle. The minimum screen size opening should be at least 1-1/2 times the size of the largest particle, to avoid clogging of the screens.

Screen Mesh/in. Particle Size (Microns) Effect

300 15 Very Fine Lustre 250 30 Fine Lustre 200 50 Lustrous 158 65 Bright 140 80 Sparkle 125 100 Bright Sparkle 110 120 Glimmer

SILKSCREEN PRINTING

LUSTRE PIGMENTS

FM Group Incorporated

100 Wells Ave Congers, N.Y. 10920

Telephone: (845)753-6000 Telefax: (845)753-6222

Toll Free: (800)366-2837 e-mail: [email protected]

FM GROUP INC. 100 Wells, Congers, NY, 10920 (845) 753-6000 FAX: (845)753-6222 E-mail: [email protected] 08088_MixingScreen.doc 10/7/2009

MIXING SCREEN PRINTING INKS MIXER MOTOR AN AIR MOTOR (4-6 hp) ON A STAND WHICH ALLOWS THE MIXER TO BE LIFTED AND LOWERED. A GAST AIR MOTOR MODEL 6AM-FRV-5A OR EQUIVALENT HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE.

MIXER BLADE A COWLES TYPE SERRATED BLADE IS RECOMMENDED. ONE WITH COARSE SERRATION FOR GOOD PUMPING ACTION IS BEST. THE BLADE SHOULD BE 2/3 THE DIAMETER OF THE MIXING VESSEL WE HAVE RUN SOME EXPERIMENTS ON VARIOUS BLADE DESIGNS AND RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE A SINGLE CONN #5 ITT BLADE SS STEEL (USE WITH 0.5” SHAFT (16” LONG). IF THIS BLADE IS NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE 5 GALLON PAIL AND IS RUN AT LOW -MEDIUM SPEED YOU WILL GET GOOD MIXING AND LITTLE AIR INCLUSION VIA A VORTEX. BLADES CAN BE OBTAINED FROM: CONN AND COMPANY 11 SOUTH MARION ST, WARREN, PA 16365 TEL: 814-723-7980, FAX: 814-723-8502 RICHARD C. FREEMAN www.connblade.com

FM GROUP INC. 100 Wells, Congers, NY, 10920 (845) 753-6000 FAX: (845)753-6222 E-mail: [email protected] 08108 Switching From Solvent to Waterbased.doc 10/7/2009

CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SWITCHING FROM SOLVENT BASED TO WATER BASED INKS Converting from solvent-base ink to Wink 8500 series water-base ink is not difficult if the following four issues are considered and understood before starting. 1) Stencil Emulsion – Emulsion suitable for water-based ink needs to be used. 2) Stencil Preparation – Proper drying of the emulsion is critical for screen durability 3) Ink Drying – The drying speed of water-based ink is similar to solvent-based ink. Water-based inks are more influenced by air-flow in the oven than by the temperature. The installation of an air-knife will speed up drying. 4) Clean Up – What to do when the press stops is the biggest change. As dried water-based ink cannot be resolublized after drying, the screen and press need to be cleaned whenever the press stops. Ammoniated water is used to clean the screen. Short stops can be handled by misting the image area with the ammoniated water. Stencil Emulsions: There are several good emulsions designed for water-based inks in the market place. For printers new to water-based inks, a universal emulsion is often a good choice. Universal emulsions are suitable for solvent, water-based and UV ink. Autotype Plus 7000 from Autotype is a universal emulsion, as are some from Saati. Extra hardener can be added to increase screen life. Stencil Preparation: When preparing the stencil, the only change that must be made is to ensure that the screen is fully dried before exposure. Partially dried screens will break down rapidly in use. Fans blowing across the screen and dedicated screen driers are two methods to fully dry screens. Printing: The only major change when printing a waterbased ink is that the ink, when dry, cannot be easily resolublized. For this reason whenever there is a print stoppage, the screen, ink and squeegee should be sprayed with a misting of ammoniated water. If the stoppage will be longer than a few minutes; the ink should be removed, and the press cleaned. Ink Drying: Wink 8500 series inks will dry in a few seconds in a forced air oven at 170-200oF. Drying times are similar to conventional solvent base inks. The key requirement is higher air flow in the dryer. The addition of an air knife located at the inlet of the oven, blowing parallel to and away from the press will speed the drying rate. Additionally, IR lamps will help to pre-heat the ink, increasing the drying rate, as well as allowing the ink to “level” to an even film thickness. Clean-Up: Whenever there is a stoppage, screens should be cleaned with a mixture of 10-15% of our PM400 Cleaner in water. For ink that has dried hard, use 100% PM400 Cleaner to remove the dried ink. Ink removed from the press should not be reused, if it has started to dry. NOTICE: To the best of our knowledge, our technical information is accurate, but we cannot assume any liability thereof. No warranty is implied in relation to existing patent rights, if any, of third parties. All laws and regulations in effect must be observed. Information and recommendations are offered without obligation and our customers are not thereby relieved of their responsibility to test Our preparations for suitability for the intended use.

Excerpts from our literature may be quoted only with our written permission and with an indication of the source.

1 of 7 08080_PRES_Flashlam.doc 10/7/2009

6000

FLASH LAMINATION OF CARDS


Josef Feldman

FM GROUP INC 100 Wells Ave

Congers, NY 10920 U.S.A.

Abstract

The FLASHLAM Bonding Process is a technique for reducing the time/temperature profile

necessary to achieve the physical properties associated with laminated card structures. The

FLASHLAM Bonding Process will contribute to a lower degree of color shift, better image

fidelity, higher heat stability, and more uniform card processability. PVC cards printed via

conventional and UV lithography, silkscreen, and on-demand reprography indicated reduction of

processing time by 40% or of processing temperature by 25°C are easily achievable.

Lamination – A Proven Method

PVC continues to dominate as the card material of choice because of its excellent physical

properties and long history of usage. The long history has allowed the development of

specialized inks, and foils (magnetic, holographic, etc) that work well together. Protection of the

printed surface with a laminated high-gloss overlay continues to be the aesthetic choice by

consumers. Indeed, it is still the technical choice as well, when one considers the issues of card

integrity over a long life span. The issues of impact strength, delamination, and cold

embossability are well known. Currently, the laminated PVC card structure continues to be the

most viable for the industry.


The Problem – Heat

If one analyzes the areas of deficiency in the current method of manufacturing cards, one

encounters the following problems related to lamination:

• Color shift of substrate and ink

• Dimensional shift of substrate

• Delamination

Color shift in the substrate is well known, particularly in homopolymer PVC and high HDT

substrates. The shift to lower heat deflection copolymer formulations was driven by the desire to

reduce the longer heat cycles necessary for lamination. The drop in copolymer heat deflection

negatively affected the utility of these cards in applications requiring higher heat stability (e.g.

GSM cards).

Color shift in inks due to lamination is also well known. Most practitioners of the art are

satisfied with a consistent color shift having given up hope of totally eliminating color shift. UV

lithographic inks seem to have performed better in stabilizing the color shift than oxidative-cure

inks, but at the expense of increased problems with card integrity due to delamination. Full-

bleed colors; with heavy UV ink coverage at the edge of the card (particularly if the color is a

dark color) continue to give difficulties.


The shift in the dimension of the graphics, as well as the card body itself, is a direct result of the

heat flux generated through the lamination process. The heat, which fuses the PVC card together

giving the structure its excellent properties, is also the direct cause of many of the problems.

Single Card Lamination –Vs- Stack Lamination

One approach to reduce the heat effects has been to go to single card lamination. When

processing one card structure at a time, heating and cooling can be optimized to minimize the

overheating of the card. This luxury is not available when one processes a stack of 10 or 12

PVC cards. There is a tendency to overheat the outer cards in the stack closer to the platen in

order to get the inner cards to reach full lamination conditions more quickly.

Figure 1 gives a profile of our typical lamination conditions for a single book and a 10-book

stack lamination. For reference, we show typical single book conditions form Melzer. Note the

very cold cooling block.

MELZER (10 BOOK) (SINGLE BOOK) (SINGLE BOOK) TIME TEMP. TIME TEMP. TIME TEMP.

HEATING BLOCKS 15 min 150°C 2min 150°C 28sec 160°C 26sec 170°C 22sec 180°C

COOLING BLOCKS 15min 25°C 2min 25°C --------- 11-13°C

Figure 1


As the platens get larger allowing higher throughput, the dimensional movement of the cards

near the outside of the platen may be different than those near the center of the platen. All of

these effects are directly related to the heat flux: or the Time /Temperature profile. If this heat

flux could be reduced without negatively affecting the other properties of the card structure,

major improvements in card quality and yield could be achieved.

FLASHLAM BONDING PROCESS

For full lamination of PVC core to PVC core, as well as for bonding of overlay to ink layers, a

certain amount of heat flux is necessary. This heat flux is a combination of time and

temperature. Figure 2 shows an experiment to quantify the critical time/temperature required for

our lamination of a 10-book stack. Normal lamination is 150°C/15 minutes of heat followed by

a 15 minute cooling cycle. This achieves a good bond of >14N/cm.

Figure 2

L a m in a tio n : 1 5 m in u te s (1 0 B o o k S ta c k )

0

2

4

6

8

1 0

1 2

1 4

1 6

1 8

B o tto m 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T o pB o o k P la c e m e nt

Peel

Str

engt

h in

N/c

m

1 4 5 C N o rm a lL a m in a tio n1 2 0 C F L A S H L A M

1 5 0 C N o rm a l


Once over this limit we usually get strong destructive bonding. If we reduce this temperature

5°C to 145°C we see the outer books have enough time and temperature, while the inner books

show a drop in lamination strength. By comparison, the Flashlam Bonding Process shows good

lamination strength even at 120°C. That is 30°C lower then the normal temperature.

Figure 3 shows a comparison for our machine of the normal and the FLASHLAM Bonding

process for a single book. This clearly shows that you can reduce time or temperature or both

and still get good lamination results. For reference we include the normal Melzer data, which if

combined with the FLASHLAM Bonding Process would result in very high production speeds.

Time and Temperature Required for Full Lamination (Single Book)

90110130150170190

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Time (minutes)

Tem

pera

ture

(cel

sius

)

FLASHLAM

Regular Lamination

Melzer Lamination

Figure 3


Conclusion

We are pleased to report that good FLASHLAM bonding results are now achievable on a

production basis. The presented data indicates that strong lamination bonds with a large variety

of inks can readily be achieved. Processing time improvements of 40% or reduction in

lamination temperature of 25°C are now routinely possible. This will allow faster processing of

cards particularly for single card lamination. Stack lamination of cards with minimal

dimensional shift will allow accurate mechanical die cutting without the need for slow optical

registration thereby increasing throughput and reducing card production costs.

References

1. Communication Andreas Sasinski Melzer Machineuban Gmbh, Schwelin, Germany 1999 PRESENTED AT ICMA EXPO ’99, OCTOBER 17-20, 1999, GRANADA , SPAIN

of 9 08079_PRES_HighImpactGraphics.doc 10/7/2009

HIGH IMPACT GRAPHICS AND CUSTOMIZATION TREND OR FAD?

Josef Feldman FM Group Inc. 100 Wells Ave

Congers, NY 10920 USA INTRODUCTION Driven by growing international demand, card-based products continue to proliferate in a variety

of forms. The demand for more advertising impact in graphics, on-demand printing, and security

features combine to put very stringent technical demands on both the printing substrate and the

inks or toners that decorate the surface. Today there are no stock solutions for printing cards.

PVC is still the substrate of choice but polyolefin, polyester, and biodegradable cards have found

their place. Lithography and silkscreen as ink application methods continue to dominate card

production. But on-demand printing based on xerography, ink jet, and transfer printing made

strong inroads, particularly in the area of customization. In this paper we will highlight some of

the impact of current trends as they relate to inks, coatings, and printing methods.

INTERFACE RECEPTORS

In last year’s ICMA paper1 (Figure 1) we discussed the importance of the interface between ink

and substrate, as well as between ink layers. This concept has now become fully integrated into

the industry. PVC overlay has been supplied with an adhesive coating for a number of years.

Now, we find it increasingly common for a base receptor coating to be supplied with the core

substrate. Current commercial products include customized coatings to receive thermal transfer

printing, for example, for customized transfer printing of ID photos or bar codes, and specialized

coated stock that improve adhesion to xerographic toner and inks. Coated core stock is now also


being supplied by both PVC and polyester producers. These coatings allow printers to stay with

their current ink and foil formulations and adapt the substrate surface properties to compensate

for deficiencies in the substrate or ink properties. The other approach to solving the problem of

ink/toner on variable substrate is to customize the ink formulation for the particular substrate;

increasingly, this is also happening.

IMPACT GRAPHICS

Ten years ago, printing a Gold Card was considered a difficult print job. Printers would not

(could not) guarantee the shade of gold or that the color wouldn't change on storage. With the

mass-market introduction by Visa and MasterCard of the Gold Card with its myriad of marketing

features came the demand for a viable method of printing these cards. The development of Gold

Eagle® Pigment enabled the use of silkscreen printing of a reproducible shade of gold that would

not change color upon lamination or exposure to human use. The marketing success of the Gold

Card is now history. It was a card with only five colors that consumers visually perceived as

having added value, and the card issuers backed up with added value, but could be produced at a

reasonable cost.

The high visual impact of the Gold Card spurred the demand for other lustrous colors and special

effects. Today most 30 mil PVC phone cards and casino cards are printed with high-impact

silkscreen metallic and pearlescent effects. Each year there is greater demand for cards with

more pizzazz. This has resulted in a large increase in demand for metallic effects with large

particle sizes (high brilliance), particularly in the platinum shades. The Platinum card, formerly

a very exclusive look, has now become ubiquitous. Printing these larger particle sizes (Table 1)


is not without difficulty. Typically one has to use coarse screens (125-160 mesh) in order to

accommodate free passage of the large particles through the screens. The large screen hole

openings deposit large globs of ink, which must now uniformly flow together. The thicker ink

layer must also be able to dry quickly. New solvent-based ink formulations, with lower VOC

emissions to conform to a worldwide environmental movement, were developed to meet these

requirements.

These new formulations also allow higher loading of pigment in the inks, giving higher opacity

and brightness. These formulations also have very high cohesive strength, which in some cases

eliminates the need for coated overlay or base primer coats.

BRIGHT METALLICS VS. HIGH RESOLUTION

An open dilemma in recent years has been the trend toward bright metallic effects, which has

forced the use of coarse screens thereby limiting the resolution of the printing. Particularly

difficult were reverse-outs. Progress in this area has been made (Figure 2) using a combination

of a high-resolution dark base color with a light pearlescent color on top. The base color is

usually printed by lithography. The top pearlescent color, printed by silkscreen, has the property

that when it is over a dark background it turns from light bright pearlescent to a dark metallic

shade. Thus by printing Silver Fox® Pigment over a dark, high resolution pattern one gets a

metallic effect where the dark pattern is printed and a bright white over the unprinted areas.

Indeed, printing a baseprint in halftones of various dark colorations can have great graphical

impact.


PRESS READY VS. INK MIX ROOM

With the increasing volume of cards, there has been a strong movement toward press-ready inks.

Many printers are under time pressure in production. With the ISO9000 emphasis on quality, the

pressure is on the mix room to deliver consistent color-matched inks. An increase in demand for

press-ready inks has resulted. Solvent-based, press-ready inks in a variety of metallic and

pearlescent shades and particle sizes are now readily available.

Some printers still prefer to have the flexibility of mixing pigments with clear bases in-house.

New developments include treated grades of pigment that reduce dust and disperse more quickly

into the ink vehicle (Table 2).

WATER-BASED SYSTEMS

Water-based systems have come a long way, particularly in the areas of adhesive tie layers.

However, further developments on water-based materials as an ink carrier are still needed.

Speed of drying continues to be a factor. If drying speed is increased, one has to be concerned

with drying in the screen, particularly with the larger particle sizes discussed earlier. The

problem is that most water-based formulations do not resolublize once they have started to dry.

Thus in larger production runs a buildup on the screen begins to occur, eventually clogging the

screen (Figure 3).

There are still some stability problems with Aluminum-based pigments in water-based systems.

There is a danger of reaction of water with the aluminum. Although progress has been made in


stabilizing these materials in the can, contamination during printing can destabilize the system.

It is not recommended that inks be stored for long periods of time after they have been used.

Aluminum water-based inks are good candidates for 2-part systems where the residence time of

aluminum in the water environment is minimized.

LITHOGRAPHY AND TOPCOATING

UV lithographic inks continue to gain market share, and formulations having good adhesion to a

variety of substrates are available. Where this is not achievable, primer or treated substrates are

used. Full-bleed prints still require a coating or use of coated overlay for lamination.

UV topcoats and press-polishing of topcoats, which at one time showed promise of cutting into

the overlay market, have lost some appeal. There really is no good substitute, at present, for

lamination. With the desire for longer periods between reissue periods, lamination is here to

stay.

REFERENCES 1. Feldman, Josef, "Printing Problems: PVC vs. Non-PVC Substrate," ICMA 1997

Conference. Presented at ICMA Eighth Annual Card Manufacturing Expo '98, San Francisco, California Gold Eagle® Pigment, Silver Fox® Pigment, SlinkTM Solventbase Inks and WinkTM Waterbase Inks are trademarks of FM Group Inc.


Table 1

Recommended Screen Mesh

Screen Mesh Particle Size Effect 200 50 Lustrous 158 65 Bright 125 80 Sparkle

Table 2 Treated Pigments

Type Description Benefit WD Water Dispersible Non-Dusting

Faster Dispersion SD Solvent

Dispersible Non-Dusting

Faster Dispersion


Figure 1

Simplified Card StructureSimplified Card Structure

Transfer Print =

= Overlay /Receptor 4

= Hot Stamp/Cold Emboss

= Ink Group 3

= Ink Group 2= Receptor 2

= Ink Group 1

= Core 2 /Receptor 1= Core 1= Core 2

= Mag Stripe

Function

Stiffness/ Flex/ Impact

Adhesive/Smoothing Layer/Surface Tension Adjustment

Decorative

Decorative

DecorativeSecurity or OVD

Abrasion ResistanceTransfer Print Reactor

= Overlay


= Overlay Stiffness/ Flex/ Impact


FM GROUP INC.150 RT. 17SLOATSBURG, NY 10974

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Figure 2

BRIGHT METALLIC EFFECT WITH HIGH RESOLUTION

METALLIC PRINT

PEARLESCENTLAYERDARK PRINT



Figure 3

SCREEN BRIDGING

Single Opening


of 10 08078_PRES_PVCvsNonPVC.doc 10/7/2009

PRINTING PROBLEMS: PVC VS. NON-PVC SUBSTRATES The Same Old Song But With A Different Meaning To It.

Josef Feldman

FM GROUP INC. 100 Wells Ave

Congers, NY U.S.A. 10920 ABSTRACT 1.0 INTRODUCTION

Printing on paper as well as polymeric substrates is a well-developed art.

Engineering has intruded a little into the field (artists now draw or paint

with a mouse instead of a brush). Printing presses continue to get more

expensive (now if a press is set up, it will accurately replicate all the errors

the setup man programmed in). Of course, when things really go wrong,

it’s the fault of the raw materials. The raw material suppliers usually have

good technical service people, who in an effort to prove their material are

good, are more than happy to come and run the printing presses during

the night shift.

Why then, in the age of the Internet, when you can go online and find out

more about obscure subjects than you would ever care to know, are you

all sitting here listening to speakers like me? The answer is that we live in

an age of complexity. The expectation is that speakers will somehow


simplify and shed light on the issues. I am sorry to disappoint you. The

business of card production is complicated and getting more so. Just

when you thought you were learning to produce good PVC cards, the

markets changed, bringing the need for many new polymers and

constructions, and with them, a recycling of old problems. It is exactly the

complex requirements of the finished product that causes problems in the

printing and manufacturing. Perhaps we shall recycle some old solutions

(with a twist of course).

2.0 CHOOSING A SUBSTRATE

If it works, don’t fix it! If PVC works, use it. Table 1 cites some of the

currently used substrate materials, (ETCETERA is a new polymer and will

be the subject of next year’s presentation). If you are in the business of

printing only one type of card on a single substrate material, inks designed

for that specific substrate should be available, and your life stays simple.

On the other hand, if you printed PVC cards and are now entering new

markets such as chip cards or markets whose physical requirements need

multicore constructions or need to include: magnetic strips, holograms,

security features, ID photos, etc, your structure begins to look like the

simplified diagram in Figure 1.


Now there are real problems. They are the result of complexity.

Interactions between layers must be controlled for the structure to function

effectively.

3.0 Old Problems / Old Solutions Printability Problems

The inks must wetout and adhere to the substrate. Corona treatment

helps with some polymers. Dedicated ink systems help more, but testing

and inventorying optimized inks for each substrate can be difficult.

Printability Solutions

Use a Receptor layer, (you can call it primer, adhesive, etc., depending on

its function). The primary purpose of this layer is to fool the next layer into

thinking they are friends. Now you can use your well-established PVC

inks for non-PVC substrates. (Well, not always, keep reading). If your new

substrate is too glossy, an appropriate receptor will make it matte, allowing

it to receive the next layer. If your multicolor Ink group 1 has created hills

and valleys, or if you have over-pigmented your ink, a common problem

with metallic inks, a receptor layer can smooth it out as well as

encapsulate the lower ink layer. This also helps adhesion.


Core suppliers can sometimes supply core material with a receptor layer

coated or co-extruded onto it, and the overlay can also be similarly treated

on the top or bottom.

Transfer Print Problems Many of the ribbons used for bar codes and photo ID are based on dye

sublimation and transfer printing. They have been optimized for high

polish laminated PVC surfaces. However, even on PVC laminated cards,

the transfer print must be over-coated with an abrasion resistant coating

whose quality may vary.

A press polished dye receptor coating with abrasion resistant properties

whether coated on the overlay or directly on the printed substrate could

help with this problem.

4.0 Temperature Related Problems Your customer has just informed you he needs cards that will withstand

the rigors of a volcano, or maybe just sitting in a hot car phone, or going

for a spin in your clothes dryer. You call your substrate supplier who is

glad to add to your vocabulary. “High Vicat” he says. But the chemistry is

a little different then before. No problem, let’s use a receptor layer you


say, (you were paying attention to the beginning of the paper). Let’s fool

your old inks into thinking they are printing onto PVC and you’re home

free. Unfortunately, your laminator supplier sends you his latest

recommendations for optimum laminating temperature for various

substrates. See Figure 2 (ref. 1) Now you try his new conditions and

behold, your ink colors are changing. Welcome to the Outer Limits. Some

pigments are not designed to bake. However, good news, there are new

ink materials out there, but like printing presses, they keep rising in price.

5.0 OTHER INDUSTRY PROBLEMS How to Laser Mark Non PVC cards?

Tipping Foil that doesn’t rub off?

Magnetic stripping that lasts and lasts (at least until the next design)?

6.0 CONCLUSION The Devil is in the detail. Card structures will continue to get more

complicated but through cooperation between vendors and users, the

problems can be solved or at least a patch made to allow product to be

shipped.

Come to the presentation, maybe you’ll hear an answer.

7.0 REFERENCES


1. Figure 2 - from Burkle Leiterplattentechnik, Freudenstadt, West Germany

Presented at ICMA Seventh Annual Card Manufacturing Expo '97, London, England

TABLE 1 SUBSTRATE MATERIALS


PVC

ABS

POLYCARBONATE

POLYESTER (PETE, PETG)

POLYOLEFIN

POLYSTYRENE

BIODEGRADABLE (STARCH, OTHER)

ALLOYS

ETCETERA


Figure 1 Simplified Card StructureFigure 1 Simplified Card Structure

Transfer Print =


= Hot Stamp/Cold Emboss

= Ink Group 3

= Ink Group 2

= Receptor 2

= Ink Group 1

= Core 2 /Receptor 1= Core 1= Core 2

= Mag Stripe

Function

Stiffness/ Flex/ Impact

Priming Layer/Roughing Layer/Surface Tension Adjustment


Decorative

Decorative

DecorativeSecurity or OVD

Abrasion ResistanceTransfer Print Reactor

= Overlay


= Overlay Stiffness/ Flex/ Impact



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PPrriinnttiinngg PPrroobblleemmss

Problem Possible Cause

1. Printing Uniformity - Ink / Substrate Wet Out 2. Laminating Uniformity - Air Release 3. Coarse / Rough Print Surface - Ink Load 4. Poor Adhesion - See 1 & 2 / Solvent Release 5. Poor Cohesion - Binder Problem - Pigment Loading

of 6 08077_PRES_PVCLaminates.doc 10/7/2009

Adhesion/Delamination of PVC Laminates

By: Josef Feldman FM Group Inc. 100 Wells Ave

Congers, NY 10920 Presented at the International Card Manufacture Association meeting. Sept. 22, 1992 Toronto, Canada Introduction: The fact that card manufactures have their own association illustrates there is something different about card manufacturing from other printing processes. I believe thermal lamination and its effect on card materials and processes account for a major part of this difference. The main purpose of this presentation is to provide a framework for discussion of the problems caused by the lamination process and some approaches for alleviating these problems. Adhesion / Delamination: As you may have noticed in the title of this presentation, the industry is presently concerned with not having a card delaminate under normal use. But let us think positively and discuss adhesion and how to measure it. Lamination conditions used in the industry, like religious practice, vary widely. For PVC, temperatures between 260° - 300°F are common as is variation of temperature within a stack or book of sheets. The lamination cycle, warm up, dwell, cool down (quench) is optimized for each job. Higher temperatures in general are better for bonding, but tend to cause distortion of the PVC with attendant problems with the graphics. Methods of Measurements: There are a number of methods of measurement, ranging from tapping the card on its edge with a calibrated force (your hand), to sophisticated instrumentation.


The most common method is the pull test. This consists of making a parallel score with a razor blade cutting through the overlay to the ink layer or core stock. A crosshatch cut and the razor edge will help start the delamination of the overlay. Afte rcutting one pulls apart the overlay and core in a calibrated manner Fig. 1 (using your hand or a tension tester). In general, the strip width is 0.5 inches so that pull measurements fall in the middle range of a 2 Kg capacity scale or tension tester. Use sharp blades to limit compression of the PVC at the edge where you cut. A 1.0-inch wide strip is even better, reducing the contribution of edge compression to the measurement. (But the,n most of us would have to buy a new 4 Kg capacity tester). The pull test itself is either 180° or 90°. We prefer the 180° test as more reproducible, keeping a constant pull angle. It is important to have a constant pull rate; a calibrated hand or motorized drive will do. The different methods do correlate but give different absolute values. Lamination Problems Fig. 2 shows a typical PVC laminated card construction. For those of you not immediately familiar with the industry, this is not a bread and butter sandwich, but a big hero with many layers. Our diagram shows only a few ink layers, in practice there are multiple ink layers each with their own chemical composition. Adhesive Failure: This is a failure to bond sufficiently between layers for the intended purpose. Typical problem areas\include interfaces to lithographic inks, both conventional and UV (Table 1). Conventional litho inks are particularly problematic as formulations include resins and oils that may vary in chemical composition. These inks are usually designed for surface printing on paper or plastic, and do not take into account the heat profile of lamination. This heat may cause migration of low molecular weight materials to an interface, weakening the interfacial bond. Full-bleed cards are particularly troublesome because ink covers the complete core stock. There is no chance for bonding PVC overlay to PVC core stock in between the ink dots. Adhesive failures may occur between ink layers, in particular between litho inks and screen inks. They may also occur at the interface to the core stock or the overlay interface.


Adhesive or tie layers are useful in chemically compatibilizing two incompatible layers. They also function as stress relief layers that are particularly important because many cards are cold-formed (embossed). Adhesive layers also act to level the print surface, for example, a heavy screen print ink image that is put down first to be followed by a relatively thin litho layer. The litho image might span across the screen printed portion, as well as the unprinted vinyl causing print problems. Designing a universally compatible adhesive, leveling, stress relieving, etc. layer is of course not possible. However, great progress in this area has been made by the ink companies. Because of raw material performance variations in inks, many companies find it more efficient to adhesive coat all cards prior to lamination to insure a constant quality production. For the specific set of problems related to adhesion of overlay to the top ink layer, one may apply the adhesive to the overlay and then use coated overlay. This approach is physically cleaner than using a wet adhesive. It relies on the thermal flux of lamination to liquefy the adhesive to make a good bond. This approach is effective in solving adhesion problems between the surface ink layer and overlay. A liquid adhesive applied to the printed surface has an advantage in that it seeps through the pores of the surface ink layer and helps form a bond with secondary ink layers below the surface. These adhesives are best applied by roll coating or screen printing. Cohesive Failure This is a failure within a layer, usually an ink layer. The most common cause of this failure is a high pigment-to-binder ratio in the ink. For example with metallic-colored inks if one tries to put too much pigment in a solvent-based screen ink, in order to get a stronger color, one may not have enough resin in the ink to hold the films together giving a cohesive failure. Use of high solids water-based ink vehicles has greatly alleviated these problems. Some ink vehicles similar to the adhesives previously mentioned have been developed and routinely allow printing of metallic colors without the need for coated overlay of adhesive coating.


Temperature Effects PVC on exposure to elevated temperatures will soften and when exposed to even higher temperatures will discolor and turn yellow. Depending on the degree of heat control in the laminating press there will be hot spots causing selective warping and yellowing. Use of a proper laminating adhesive will allow the laminating temperature to be significantly reduced, which would reduce or eliminate the heat distortion effect. These adhesives are also useful for shortening the cycle time when laminating split-core cards. Conclusion Laminating adhesives are a very useful component in reducing temperature/cycle times and improving adhesion and cohesion of cards printed with a variety of inks. Availability of adhesives, such as WINK water-based inks and adhesives, in environmentally friendly water-base form make them easy, safe and convenient to use.


METHOD OF MEASUREMENT

1. LAMINATION 2. PARALLEL SCORE 0.5" < 0.5” > 3. CROSS HATCH CUT ( X ) 4. PEEL 5. PULL TEST

18090° °

UNITS 2 ( gms/0.5 inch ) = gms/inch = 9.807 x 10-3 N/inch

TYPICAL LAMINATED PVC CARD


HOLOGRAM PVC OVERLAY ADHESIVE LAYER LITHO PRINTING (CONVENTIONAL OR UV) SCREEN PRINT CORE 1 CORE 2 (FOR SPLIT CORE) SCREEN PRINT LITHO PRINT ADHESIVE LAYER PVC OVERLAY MAG STRIPE

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fm group - functional materials left side.pdffm group inc. 100 wells, congers, ny, 10920 (845)...

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