Inkjet printing on bottles, cups and tumblers is growing fast. The prints look great on day one. The problem shows up later. UV inkjet ink chips off glass, metal and coated surfaces after a few trips through the dishwasher. This post explains why that happens and how to stop it.
Why inkjet ink chips on bottles and drinkware
Conventional screen printing uses solvent or thermal inks that bond into the surface and bake in an oven. UV inkjet inks are different. They sit on top of the surface and cure in seconds under an LED lamp. On a smooth surface like glass or anodized aluminum there is very little for the ink to grip. Heat, water and detergent get under the edge of the print and the ink lifts.
Flame treatment alone helps on plastic, but it is not enough for glass and metal with inkjet inks. The surface needs a bonding layer that both the substrate and the ink can hold on to.
Silica pretreatment for inkjet printing
The fix is a thin silica layer applied to the part just before printing. A controlled flame carries a silica compound onto the surface. It bonds to the glass, metal or plastic and leaves a surface the UV inkjet ink can lock into. The print then survives repeated dishwashing without chipping or fading.
Our FieroSil inkjet pretreatment system does this in line. The part passes under the treater, gets printed, then cures under a UV LED curing system. It works on round and curved parts as well as flat ones, so bottles, tumblers, candle jars and cosmetic containers all run the same way.
See FieroSil in action
Watch the system treat glass and drinkware before printing, and hear from a customer who solved ink chipping with it.
In these videos
- A customer on ink adhesion for drinkware
- Treating glass to raise dyne levels
- FieroSil running with The Flame 360
- The one up system for drinkware
What makes FieroSil different
FieroSil is designed and built in Farmington, Connecticut. The silica solution and the parts are sourced in the United States. That means quick technical help, fast parts and a steady supply of solution. It also means the price. FieroSil costs a fraction of the European silica pretreatment systems that most inkjet printers are quoted today.
The system can be supplied as a one up unit with a vacuum platen to hold the part, or built onto your conveyor or rotary printer. We also private label the system for equipment makers who want to offer pretreatment under their own name.
Who uses it
- Inkjet shops printing on glass bottles, growlers and stemware
- Decorators printing on stainless steel tumblers and metal cans
- Candle and cosmetic companies printing on jars
- Promotional products shops that need prints to last
- Any operation that has had inkjet prints come back chipped
Getting started
If you are printing with UV inkjet on glass, metal or coated plastic and the ink is not holding, pretreatment is the answer. Tell us about your parts and your printer and our engineers will spec a FieroSil setup that fits your line.
CONTACT US or call 860-677-6400
Related post. UV inkjet printing on tumblers and bottles. How to stop the ink chipping