Water Transfer Printing In A Variety Of Fields

Water transfer printing is the latest digital imaging technology that surpasses any printing method. It uses special paper made of nanostructured material and eco-friendly ink to achieve the printing of images on any solid media. Its biggest advantage is that water transfer printing doesn't rely on specialist equipment - as long as you have image input tools (scanner or digital camera), drawing tools (computer), image output tools (inkjet printer), plus ink and paper, you can print any image on any solid object or any surface you like. The printed image is vivid and brightly colored.

Water transfer printing can be used in a great number of materials for decoration, including plastic, metal, glass, ceramics, wooden flat and molded body. Print materials can be divided into the following two categories.

Materials which are easy to transfer

The printing properties of some materials in plastics, such as polystyrene (PS), ABS, plexiglass, polycarbonate (PC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials, can transfer printing principles and other similar principles without a coating.

Materials which need coating

Non-absorbent materials such as glass, metals and ceramics, as well as non-polar materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene, require a special coating for water transfer printing. The coating has good adhesion to the transferred material. It can be processed by screen printing, spraying and roller coating. In fact, coating solves the problem of surface decoration of many non-printing materials.

With the improvement of packaging and decoration requirements, the application of water transfer printing is more and more extensive.

Arts and crafts

Water transfer printing allows a new way of achieving decoration of specific substrate surfaces with new and high quality decorative patterns. It has brought many antiques from the 1970s into the 21st century, help them gaining great popularity among the young generation – wall clocks, table stands and roof chandeliers are all great examples.

Telecommunication products

Today, people are becoming increasingly interested in the personalized decoration of mobile phones. In addition to quality, its unique appearance is also the focus of competition. Phone case is generally made of plastic injection. A more traditional way is to add various pigments in the ingredient, which is more expensive but less easy to break. In an ever-changing society, it is very difficult to grasp people's aesthetic taste. Water transfer printing makes customized service available, meeting the trend for fashion.

Decoration industry

Water transfer is characterized by its easier personalization, so it is usually applied in the occasions which are preferred by young people, such as leisure teahouses, halls and indoor windows. Use water transfer printing to change the decorative pattern to obtain a fresh feeling. In the furniture industry, painting once occupied an important position. And the development of water transfer printing in recent years has reformed the current situation of furniture decorative pattern. It is not single, monotonous, and does not produce serious environmental pollution any more.

Tattoo creation

In the American TV series Prison Break, Michael's super cool tattoos are the envy of the world. However, physical tattoos are expensive, painful and can only be removed surgically. Many people would be willing to give it a go without all the hassle, and water transfer printing offers them the opportunity to do just that. With a special inkjet tattoo sticker, we can print out our favorite image and transfer it onto our skin, where it will stay for 3-7 days and then be unmarked. The transfer film for tattoos is made from nano-materials that are water permeable, breathable, and harmless to the human body - it does not cause discomfort to the skin. Water transfer printing allows people to enjoy the tattoo, making the market very promising.

Flower printing

Carrying out flower printing projects required a flower printing machine that cost thousands of dollars before. Now, with the help of water transfer printing, a shedload of money will be saved. Flower airbrush is to print the image directly onto the curved flower petals, and can only print onto the largest outer petal - it has high requirements for the type, size and color of flower petal, and the effect of the airbrush is barely satisfactory. Water transfer printing is totally different. On the one hand, the image is first printed on the transfer paper. On the other hand, the location of the transfer is also very flexible – it can even be transferred to the inner petals of the flowers.