Acrylic is a very common item in our daily life. It combines the high transparency of glass with the impact resistance of plastic. It is one of the most widely used transparent materials at present and is extensively applied in advertising, decoration, home furnishing and other fields. You might be curious about how these acrylic products are manufactured. In this blog, we’ll delve into the details of acrylic printing to give you a comprehensive understanding.
Table of Contents:
1. Screen Printing
2. UV Printing
3. Face Mounting
What is an Acrylic Print
Acrylic is a transparent plastic material, also known as plexiglass or PMMA(Polymethyl Methacrylate). Acrylic printing essentially involves processing acrylic. Specifically, acrylic printing can be categorized into two methods: direct printing and indirect printing.
Direct Printing: Direct printing encompasses various techniques, commonly including UV printing and screen printing. The core of this method is to print the design directly onto the acrylic sheet.
Indirect Printing: Indirect printing refers to printing the design on an intermediate carrier. Then, through a series of operations, the design is transferred or adhered to the acrylic sheet. The most common indirect method is face mounting.
Pros and Cons of Acrylic Printing
Acrylic printing has both advantages and disadvantages. You need to decide whether to use acrylic printing based on your own needs.
Pros:
1. High-definition Images: Acrylic printing achieves high-definition visuals, making designs more vivid and striking.
2. Vibrant Colors: Acrylic sheets offer high transparency, enhancing printed designs with brighter, more vivid hues for superior visual impact.
3. Strong Three-dimensional Effect: Printing diverse patterns onto acrylic surfaces enhances products’ depth perception, creating more dynamic and engaging appearances.
4. Strong Durability: Acrylic prints possess the impact resistance characteristic of plastic, enabling designs to withstand greater friction.
5. Wide Range of Applications: Acrylic printing can be applied to indoor and outdoor signage, display cases, and other fields, achieving excellent promotional results.
Cons:
1. High Cost: Acrylic sheets are relatively expensive materials, especially compared to common alternatives like KT board or paper-based materials. Additionally, producing acrylic products using UV printing technology requires specialized equipment such as UV flatbed printers and UV inks. The costs for these devices and consumables are significantly higher than traditional printing methods.
2. Low Tolerance for Errors: Once a design is cured onto acrylic sheets via UV printing, it becomes virtually permanent. Design mistakes can result in significant losses.
3. Heavy weight: While lighter than glass, large acrylic sheets still possess considerable weight. This demands secure installation and adequate wall load-bearing capacity. It also increases transportation and installation complexity and costs.
4. Low Heat Tolerance: Acrylic has a relatively low melting point and cannot withstand high temperatures. When temperatures exceed 80°C (176°F), acrylic products are prone to warping, melting, or fading.
5. Prone to Static Electricity: Acrylic surfaces easily accumulate static electricity, attracting dust and other contaminants. Therefore, regular cleaning is essential.
How to Print on Acrylic
After covering the fundamentals of acrylic printing, we will introduce three commonly used methods for printing on acrylic: screen printing, UV printing, and face mounting.
1. Screen Printing
Screen printing on acrylic is a traditional and efficient method. This approach is well-suited for printing monochrome or spot-color acrylic products. For large-scale production, manufacturers typically purchase custom screens directly from other suppliers. Therefore, the preparation of screens has been omitted from the following explanation.
If you'd like to learn more, you can watch this video:
- You need to prepare the screens in advance and decide on the design to be printed.
- If you require multicolor printing, create a separate screen on individual transparent films for each color you intend to use.
- Use a lint-free cloth and specialized cleaning solution to ensure the acrylic sheet's surface is clean and flat.
- Secure the acrylic sheet to a flat surface like a table with tape to prevent movement during printing.
- Position the screen atop the acrylic sheet and tape it down for stability during printing.
- Apply a level coat of ink across the top of the screen. Using a roller or squeegee, slowly spread the ink onto the design at a 45° angle.
- Lift the screen and carefully remove the acrylic sheet.
- Leave the acrylic sheet undisturbed for several hours to dry completely.
- Once dry, your acrylic piece is complete. Clean it again using a lint-free cloth and specialized cleaner.
2. UV Printing
UV printing is a technology that uses UV flatbed printers to rapidly cure ink on acrylic sheet surfaces. The specific process is as follows:
- Create high-resolution designs (CMYK format) using design software (e.g., Photoshop Illustrator).
- Send the design to the RIP software and make the corresponding printer settings.
- Select acrylic sheets with appropriate thickness and quality for your requirements.
- Thoroughly clean the sheet surface of dust, fingerprints, and grease using a lint-free cloth and specialized cleaner.
- Place the acrylic sheet on the UV flatbed printer platform and activate the vacuum suction function to secure it firmly.
- For printing color designs, select white ink printing. The printer will spray a layer of white ink as directed and instantly cure it with UV light. This enhances the vibrancy and vividness of your design.
- Color inks are precisely sprayed onto the white ink layer or the sheet as instructed, and the UV light instantly cures them again.
- Determine whether laser cutting is required based on your design (e.g., cutting square acrylic sheets into circles or custom shapes).
- The edges of the cut acrylic require polishing. This process makes them smooth, enhancing the premium appearance.
If you want to know more information, such as specific printer settings, etc., please watch this video:
3. Face Mounting
Face Mounting is the ideal method for displaying museum or art exhibition pieces, as it produces vivid, vibrant images. The specific operational procedures are as follows:
- Print the image onto high-quality pure white photo paper.
- Select the appropriate acrylic sheet. The acrylic sheet should be slightly larger than the photo paper piece to allow for subsequent processing.
- Carefully clean the back of the acrylic sheet (the side that will bond with the photo paper) using a specialized cleaner and lint-free cloth.
- Using professional application equipment, evenly spread the optical adhesive across the back of the acrylic sheet. Ensure the adhesive layer is perfectly uniform, free of bubbles or streaks.
- Place the printed photo paper face down and precisely align it with the adhesive-coated acrylic sheet.
- Place them together into a large vacuum laminator. The machine will extract all air, firmly bonding the photo paper and acrylic sheet.
- Under pressure, the adhesive fully cures, permanently integrating the photo paper and acrylic sheet into a seamless, unified whole.
- After removing the acrylic sheet from the laminator, use grinding tools to trim excess edges. This refines the acrylic product to perfection.
FAQs about Acrylic Printing
1. Do acrylic prints need to be framed?
One advantage of acrylic prints is that they maintain a high-quality appearance and durability even without framing. However, this doesn’t mean they can't be framed. In fact, whether to frame them depends entirely on personal taste. You can decide based on your own preferences.
2. How long do acrylic prints last?
Compared to other printing materials, acrylic boasts a longer lifespan, typically lasting between 10 to 20 years. While it possesses a certain degree of impact resistance, prolonged use may lead to scratches and deformation. Additionally, acrylic is susceptible to yellowing due to exposure to ultraviolet light.
3. Are acrylic prints waterproof?
Yes, acrylic prints are waterproof. Acrylic is a solid plastic material, so water cannot penetrate it. Even when using face mounting technology, the vacuum machine and adhesive bond the photo paper to the acrylic, creating a seamless, integrated piece that retains its waterproof properties. However, this does not mean acrylic products can be submerged in water indefinitely. Prolonged exposure to water may cause stubborn water stains or deposits to form on the surface, affecting the product’s appearance.
4. Can you use alcohol wipes on acrylic?
Acrylic, as a plastic material, exhibits poor resistance to most organic solvents. Therefore, alcohol should not be used to wipe acrylic surfaces. Alcohol-based solvents can cause micro-cracks and haze on the acrylic surface, compromising its integrity. For routine cleaning, rinsing with clean water is sufficient. If more thorough cleaning is required, you need to use a specialized cleaner.
Conclusion
Through the above introduction, you should now have a solid understanding of acrylic printing. You can submit your designs through online stores to obtain custom acrylic products. Alternatively, you can try acrylic printing at home. In this case, screen printing is the more suitable method. With a little patience and attention to detail, you can create unique acrylic items.
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