BAYNEWS: New polycarbonate film for digital color laser printing

Tuesday - June 22, 2010

Cost-effective short runs right down to one-offs

New polycarbonate film for digital color laser printing

Considerable scope for labels and one-off molded parts

Makrofol� Laserprint enables customized printing right down to one-off designs. The film can be printed quickly and flexibly in photographic quality on basic standard commercial color laser printers that use dry toner.

Leverkusen, June 2010 – Thanks to Makrofol� Laserprint, polycarbonate films can now also be produced cost-effectively for extremely short high-quality color print runs. The transparent polycarbonate film from Bayer MaterialScience can be printed quickly and flexibly in photographic quality on standard commercial color laser printers that use dry toner. Because the design is produced digitally and transferred directly onto the film, it can be modified again and again, which enables customized printing right down to one-off designs. “We therefore see considerable scope for our new product in the manufacture of labels and tickets, such as admission tickets that are normally one-offs with individual barcodes or consecutive numbering,” explains Georgios Tziovaras, a film expert in Bayer MaterialScience’s Functional Films section.

This innovation also has numerous applications in the IT, consumer goods, electrical/electronics and automotive industries. For example, the film enables customized printing of casings and housings for phones (including cell phones), iPads and game consoles, and of components for vehicle interiors, such as gearshift knobs, facings and central console panels.

Makrofol� Laserprint is a monolayer film and therefore does not require a separate functional layer for printing. Instead, the print image is applied directly to the polycarbonate surface. No primer is needed. “Film processors benefit from all the advantages of digital printing,” says Tziovaras. Unlike in screen printing, for example, no setup time is required. Nor are any printing screens or films needed. The investment for appropriate color laser printers is normally much lower than for analog printing systems. The high print speed of color laser printers also enables medium-length runs to be produced cost-effectively with the new film – and even long runs in the case of small components.

Like all products in the Makrofol� range, the new film can be formed, trimmed and back-injected with a thermoplast after printing using the film insert molding (FIM) process. The use of an intermediate film is recommended for back-injection.

Makrofol� Laserprint is available in a standard thickness of 200 micrometers and other thicknesses on request. There are two versions – one with a high-gloss front and finely matt-finished back, and the other with a finely textured front and a very finely matt-finished back.

About Bayer MaterialScience:
With 2009 sales of EUR 7.5 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2009, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,300 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

Find more information at www.bayermaterialscience.com.