FAQ

Answer:

• Identification like Manufacturing date, Product code, & lot number are printed on ever sheet.
• On secondary box packing a Product code, Quantity and Size information labels are present.
• Same of primary bundle of 1000 sheets

Answer: Coated side or the matte side of the film is the printing side.

Answer: It is completely dependent on the user of the film.
Size Standard for Ultranex: With tolerance of +/- 2mm lengthwise & + 4mm to 8mm Widthwise.

Answer: Yes, we strongly recommend that blank pass is the process where film will resize with respect to the oven temperature setting used and will greatly benefit registration in screen printing process. We recommend blank pass temperature @ 165°C for 45 Seconds & Printing of colors @ 135°C ( +/- 5%)

If Single color printing + Powder Adhesive is been done blank pass is not required.

Answer:
We recommend following settings for Oven:

• Blank pass or passing sheets without printing from oven to make it dimensionally stable: Temperature 160°C to 170°C for oven time of 60 to 45 seconds respectively.
• Color printing temperature 135°C to 145°C for oven time of 45 to 35 seconds respectively.
• Printable adhesive or / & powder adhesive temperature 160°C to 180°C for oven time of 90 to 60 seconds respectively.
• For single color ink + powder adhesive printing Temperature 170°C to 180°C for oven time 90 to 60 Seconds.
• Racking of sheets is must if ink is sticky in nature. We recommend do not stack more than 200 sheets in 1 pack to prevent sticking of design on back of above kept sheet.

NOTES for oven drying process:

1. Oven time = Entry in oven tunnel, till exit from oven tunnel.
2. It is necessary that printer should know the heat received by the sheets in oven, there may be drastic difference in set temperature of oven as per indicator & Surface temperature of the printed ink or /and sheets. Please check the surface temperature of the sheets exactly at the exit from oven tunnel (With IR temperature sensor gun) to set a SOP of the oven.
3. Use non color sensitive type IR lamps with air circulation in your oven. For example, medium wave IR lamps (red or orange color light) which will heat all the colors evenly. If IR Lamps are short wave (with a Bright Light) black & dark colors will absorb more heat and sheets will lose their dimensional stability.
4. Thyristor-based temperature controller is very affective which will control the intensity of the lamp or heater to give consistent heat whereas ON/OFF type Temperature controls will give variations due to the continues ON/OFF cycle.
5. Brown color Belt is to be used for the conveyor oven because black color belts tend to absorb more heat from the IR lamps and deform the film due to the temperature variations.
6. At the end of conveyor oven a cooling fan is must be placed so that printed sheets will quickly cool down to room temperature i.e. <35°C. Or a sheet racking arrangement should be there to avoid printed ink sticking to other sheets.

Answer: Yes it can if oven setting are not compatible with the film. Please check above Answer 2.4.

Please check following if problem persists Contact Us.

Root Cause is Film / sheets are subjected to excessive temperature.

1. Make sure that the oven temperature should not be beyond 180°C.
2. Check Surface Temperature of the film at the exit of oven tunnel. May be set temperature of oven is right but internal oven chamber temperature is higher.
3. Check if the Belt used in oven is Black in Color? Use brown color belt. If black color belt it tends to absorb more heat and makes film dimensionally unstable.
4. It is a possibility that if IR Lamp used in oven are short wave (bright light) & if there is an On / Off function temperature controller in the oven this will give blast of temperature when ON and when OFF temperature is reduced quickly.
5. Is the Air Circulation on in the oven ON and is it effectively running? Air circulation necessary & helps in equalizing temperature in the oven.

Answer:Root Cause of low hold out is temporary bond between ink and film coating is not strong

1. If single color printing + Powder Adhesive:

• Check the compatibility of Ultranex Film with the ink type used for printing. Please refer product page. (Product Compatibility Matrix)
• If Powder Adhesive is PU, always check hold out after 24Hrs, it will increase substantially compared to immediately after printing and drying.
• Check if the Powder adhesive has melted properly in drying process. It will take 160°C to 180°C and oven time of 90 to 60 Seconds to melt the PU Powder and same or a little lower temp for Co-Polyester powder. (Hold out of final label should be checked after 24 Hours of printing.)

2. If Multicolor Printing + Adhesive + Powder Adhesive:

• In color printing oven temperature should be 120°C to 135°C for proper drying of ink.
• After sheet passes through oven a cooling tunnel or a cooling fan is necessary to bring temperature of the printed sheet down to room temperature so the ink crystallized back to solid.
• Some inks will need racking after passed from the oven, needs to be checked in your production trials. Comment: We have observed in our trials that grade F83SM1/LithoHP has better Anti Blocking properties or sticking back issue can be well controlled.
• Ink adhesion issue after final printing: Powder adhesive has melted properly in drying process. It will take 160°C to 180°C and oven time of 90 to 60 Seconds to melt the PU Powder and same or a little lower temp for Co-Polyester powder. (Hold out of final label should be checked after 24 Hours of printing.)

Answer: Root Cause is RE size of screen image or substrate (Sheets).

1. Check1 Check Positives used for exposing screens:
   Keep Positive 1 over other and check registration of positive with reference of print marks.
   ✓ If not remake Positives with exact match in each color.
2. Check2 Dimension of the screen image with its positive used for exposing:
   Keep positive on the exposed screen area and check if design of positive matches exposed screen image.
   ✓ If not Check screen tension and frame rigidity, it is necessary to have right cloth tension and rigid frame to hold the tension of the cloth in wet and dry condition.
3. Check3 Is the image / or registration marks printed in earlier color with reference of its positive. Normally Image will shrink against its reference positive due to shrinkage of sheets in drying process.
   ✓ For sheets shrinkage check if the blank pass of the film was done?
   ✓ If blank pass was done, check is printing pass temperature it should be less than blank pass temperature. Refer Question 2.5.
4. Check4 Check is machine.
   If all above are exact match to each other check stroke to stroke consistence of the machine, machine registration & its registration tolerance
5. Finally competency of the worker is your worker doing it as above or as required or just trying to doge his incompetency.

Answer: There are several reasons for powder sticking as following:

1. If any static charge is generated in the sheet / film used for printing. Ultranex Transfer Release film has inherent antistatic properties. This can be evaluated with a simple test as below or with a conductivity meter.
   Simple test: Rub uncoated side of film with a polyester cloth rapidly for 30 to 50 times and hold it over the bits of paper if it attracts these bits of paper static charge is generated and in case of Ultranex it will not generate any charge.
2. Static charge in the powder. This has to be addressed to adhesive powder supplier.
3. In thermo powder if there are fine particles less than 80µ they tend to stick and not flow very easily.
4. Is your Powder Adhesive sticky or out of shelve life?
5. It can be a possibility if there is a minor leakage from non print area of screen adhesive powder will stick there.
6. The powder can also stick due to the high moisture content in it.
7. If application is with a machine check suction pressure or bring suction head closer to sheet or increase suction pressure.