Frequently asked questions

What materials can be printed using this technology?

Theoretically, all materials with a high melting point can be printed, including most polymers (plastics). Other materials such as glass, wood, metals, and ceramics can also be printed after a special pre-treatment.

What does the pre-treatment of materials involve?

Pre-treatments consist of a pre-coating to the product, the coating allows the fixation for the inks, the coating can come in transparent or white depending on the requirements. Wood needs to be dried-out before treating. 

Can you print all polymers? 

We can print all polymers which have a melting point (Tm) above 140⁰C, which is the majority of polymers, a special nest is used to prevent the object deforming in the oven.

Can you print onto all shapes and sizes?

Yes – the majority of products will fit into a standard machine; however, we are able to build custom made printers for larger or deeper items. We have printed all shapes and sizes of items ranging from shoes, to bottles, to fridge doors to guitars.

Is the process suitable for mass production? 

Perigon has a range of machines which cover all types of production from small personalised boutique services to high volume continuous print machines.

Are you able to provide sample prints? 

Perigon has experience centres in the UK, Germany and the USA which can print either one off sample or carry out initial trial runs for customers to validate the print process on their products.

How accurate is the print? 

We are able to print with a tolerance of up to 0.3 mm.

Can you print white using this process?

In order to achieve white, the same process is used as on any other CMYK inkjet printer which is that the background must start off white. Very often the original product is white, e.g. polyester, nylon, etc, in other cases a white lacquer can be applied to the product being printed.

Can you print metallic colours? 

Standard printers use a system of four colours known as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), these inks are translucent and hence allow a certain amount of light to pass through them. To create a metallic effect the product being printed must either be made of metal, e.g. stainless steel, or have a metallic coating through either a metallic spray or vacuum deposition. After coating the metallic surface can either be left exposed or can be printed over to create a coloured metallic effect.

Can you differentiate between gloss, satin, and matt prints? 

The gloss levels of the transfers depend primarily on the gloss level of the substrate being transferred. The gloss level can be modified by any coating that needs to be applied prior to printing.

How to manage joints when a object is completely printed? 

If the product has 360 degrees print, then it is likely that the product will have to be printed on 2 sides. A seamless image can be created by simple manipulation of the image in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

Is any special software required? 

Software for printer profiles are standard, however a special software can be used to edit the image data files to allow for thermoforming of deep objects to avoid or hinder any distortion in the image.

Is the technology approved for direct food contact applications?  

In general dye sublimation transfer is allowed for ceramics as the dyes sit in the polyester fibres of the coating, these only open (which would allow the inks to escape) at temperatures above 150⁰C, which is not plausible for a dishwasher.

Recycling: what about the recyclability of the printed objects? 

The inks are fixed in the top 20 microns of the printed product. All the inks used are waterbased and non-toxic.

Is the process environmentally friendly? 

The process uses waterbased inks which are non-toxic, and a PET monomer which has the highest grade of recyclability.