Top seven problems causes of wood grain effect sublimation
Top seven problems causes of wood grain effect sublimation
The wood grain effect sublimation process makes aluminum profiles like wood, with all aluminum benefits and wood decoration effect.
Some customers are doubting that the wood grain effect sublimation process will change the original mechanical and chemical properties of aluminum profiles?
Our reply is absolutely not.
Will the wood grain effect sublimation process change the original characteristics of aluminum profiles?
100% not.
First, Products with decorative texture are processed by wood grain effect sublimation,
And the original gloss, abrasion resistance, weather resistance, acid and alkali resistance and other characteristics of the product will not be changed due to the sublimation process, which only serves the surface decorative effect.
Second, the surface treatment of aluminum profiles is very important, such as smoothness, gloss, color, etc., will directly affect the pattern effect after the sublimation process.
If the surface of the aluminum profile is a high-gloss surface, the product after the sublimation process is also high-gloss.
Here are the top seven problems causes in wood grain effect sublimation production
1. What is the reason for the paper or film bad removal after the sublimation?
The wood grain paper and PET heat transfer film produced have taken into account the user’s removal convenience in the production.
If the phenomenon of paper or film removal is still not good, the possible reasons are:
1.1 The surface of aluminum profile has quality problems, such as not being resistant to high temperature, paper sticking or film sticking problems, etc;
1.2 After powder coating, the powder coating layer on the surface of aluminum profile is not completely cured, causing it to be cured again during the sublimation;
1.3 If heat transfer glue is used, factors such as the quality of the heat transfer glue, the ratio of concentration and the amount of brushing will directly affect the removal;
1.4 If heat transfer glue is used, it is recommended to add a release agent (also known as silicone oil) to the heat transfer glue to solve the problem of poor removal.
2. After wood grain effect sublimation, why is the heat transfer paper or film fragile or brittle?
Usually, the temperature of the transfer baking is too high or the time is too long, which causes the heat transfer paper or film to age too quickly.
3. Why produce the color shading with the same kind of heat transfer paper or film?
3.1 In color comparison, the color comparison conditions of “select the contrast samples with the same texture and the same position, use the same transfer conditions, transfer on the same base color substrate, and compare under the same light source” were not observed;
3.2 The transferred substrate has chromatic aberration；
3.3 The performance of the wood grain effect sublimation machine is unstable；
3.4 During the wood grain effect sublimation process, the temperature and time during transfer are not well controlled.
Usually, when the transfer temperature is between 120°C and 190°C, the transfer temperature and time are in direct proportion to the color depth of the transferred texture, otherwise, it is lower than 120°C, the sublimation cannot be performed;
When the transfer temperature is higher than 190°C, the color of the texture that has been transferred to the substrate will gradually become lighter with time.
4. After the sublimation, what is the reason for the uneven color or dark or light on the surface of the product?
4.1 The heat transfer paper or film is not in close contact with the surface of the substrate or is insufficient.
For example, the transfer paper may lift up during baking, or the covering bag may leak air when it is vacuumed;
4.2 The temperature at different positions in the oven is not the same or uneven;
4.3 When aluminum profile goes into the oven, different parts are not entered at the same time, so some parts of the substrate take a long time to transfer compared to other parts;
4.4 Some wood grain paper or film will be deliberately produced textures with dark and lighter styles.
5. After the sublimation, what is the reason for spots or foggy blocks on the product?
5.1 There are spots or foggy blocks on the surface of the transferred substrate;
5.2 The surface of the substrate to be transferred is not resistant to high temperature, and there is a phenomenon of paper sticking or film sticking;
5.3 The powder coating layer on the surface of the transferred substrate is not completely cured;
5.4 If heat transfer glue is used, factors such as the quality of the thermal transfer glue, the ratio of concentration, and the amount of brushing will cause this phenomenon.
Normal heat transfer glue will volatilize automatically after high temperature;
5.5 If you use heat transfer glue and paper sticking to cause this phenomenon, it should be based on the actual situation.
It is recommended to wipe the transferred substrate with clean water or send it to the oven for short-term baking to remedy it;
5.6 If heat transfer film is used to cause this phenomenon, our suggestion is to choose low-density acetone or other organic solvents to wash the workpiece.
6. Are heat transfer products easy to fade or discolor?
6.1 The quality of powder coating of the substrate will directly affect the wood grain effect and weather resistance of aluminum profiles after the sublimation.
When powder coating, choose a powder with better weather resistance, usually polyester, and then it is polyurethane, and the thickness of the coating is 20μm or more;
6.2 Choose high-quality wood grain paper or film, usually, after heat transfer under normal conditions, the ink on the transfer paper or transfer film will penetrate into the surface of the substrate about 20μm deep, which is not easy discoloration.
7. How to improve the production efficiency of wood grain effect sublimation?
Wood grain heat transfer paper and PET heat transfer film are different in operation technology.
The production efficiency of using heat transfer film transfer will be higher, and it can be used for irregular or complex shapes.
The texture can be transferred on each transfer surface of the material.
The above is the top seven problems causes in wood grain effect sublimation
What are the advantages of the heat transfer method over other transfer methods?
Heat transfer has high production efficiency and low cost. Compared with water transfer printing, this advantage is more obvious.
Less investment in equipment and fewer operators.
At present, the three common wood grain effect sublimation rework methods in the aluminum industry are:
1. After polishing the surface color and texture of the wood grain effect aluminum profile, send to the powder coating workshop to coat the primer powder, and then return to the wood grain effect sublimation process for heat transfer.
2. The wood grain effect aluminum profile is baked in the oven to volatilize the ink in the coating, and then send to the powder coating workshop to coat the primer powder again, and then return to the wood grain effect sublimation process for heat transfer.
3. Completely remove the wood grain ink together with the primer powder with paint remover, and then pre-treatment for powder coating and primer powder, then return to the wood grain effect sublimation process for heat transfer.
Brightstar Aluminum Machinery offers wood grain effect sublimation machine, wood grain film slitter, aluminum profile automatic bagging and welding machine for our customers, not only the machine, but also the solution.
Contact us now to obtain a reliable no-obligation quote on your wood grain effect sublimation project for aluminum profiles and plates.
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February 22, 2023