In Mould Label is a brand new form of label packaging that is different from traditional label packaging. Its appearance has a very significant impact on label packaging. In fact, in-mold labels have been popular in some countries in Europe and America for many years, and in-mold labels have finally begun to receive large-scale applications after they have waited for two or three years in the domestic market, attracting more and more insiders and end-users. attention.
Process principle
The in-mold label is to embed the printed label into the container during the blow molding or injection molding process so that the label and the container are integrated. Illustrate the basic process of in-mold labeling in the blow-molding process: stack pre-printed in-mold labels (pre-labels and back labels) into individual sheets and place them on the two labels of the in-mold labeler Inside the box. With the opening of the bottle mold, the robot picks up the front label and the back label, the label printing surface faces inwards, the solid adhesive surface faces outwards and is placed on both sides of the mold. The vacuum hole on the mold firmly holds the label. In the mold. When the raw material of the plastic bottle is heated and hangs down in a hose-like form, the labelled mold quickly closes and the air is blown into the hose so that it closely contacts the mold wall. This is the blow molding process. At this time, the temperature in the entire mold is still relatively high, and the label-shaped solid adhesive close to the preform of the bottle body starts to melt and is combined with the plastic bottle body. When the mold is opened again, the plastic bottle body is molded and the label is integrated with the bottle body.
Basic Features
1. Comparison with Traditional Labels There are three main forms of traditional label packaging: heat shrink label packaging and direct screen printing label packaging and adhesive label packaging (mainly self-adhesive label packaging) printing tools. The direct screen printing label packaging method is to print the pattern and text on the container packaging by screen printing, the overall effect is good, the pattern and text have texture, but the quality of direct screen printing is not very ideal, more difficult to reflect Fine patterns and small text, at the same time if the color is more, the price of direct screen printing is more expensive; the use of heat shrink film (mainly PVC film) as the label packaging, as opposed to self-adhesive labels and direct screen printing labels The cost is low, but the heat-shrinkable label is easily damaged, the overall image is not very good, and it is not conducive to environmental protection; adhesive labels (mainly self-adhesive labels) can perfectly reflect the requirements of exquisite labels, but its cost is relatively hot Shrink film labels are more expensive. The emergence of in-mold labels harmonizes the advantages and disadvantages of the above three traditional main label packaging methods to a certain extent. In-mold labels can not only achieve the printing quality of self-adhesive labels, but also have the overall effect of direct screen printing. .
(1) From the viewpoint of the cost of the label, it is generally considered that the label with direct screen printing has the most expensive of the three conventional label packaging methods if the color exceeds four colors. From the point of view of the cost of the label material, the in-mold label of the same type of surface material is compared with the self-adhesive label, and the label material in the mold does not require the backing paper, so the cost of the label material has a certain decrease in the space of the printing tool. At the same time, if in-mold labels are used, it is no longer necessary to add labeling equipment or labelling workers like heat-shrinkable labels and adhesive labels (adhesive labels), which can save the cost. However, due to the need for special die-cutting equipment in the process of in-mold label printing, and the complicated printing process, the cost of printing the in-mold labels may be higher than that of conventional labels.
(2) From an aesthetic point of view First of all, in-mold labeling is a new form of packaging. The use of in-mold labeling is undoubtedly very novel, especially for daily chemical products with label as the main external packaging; secondly, in-mold The close integration of the label with the bottle body has the overall effect of direct screen printing, and it can perfectly reflect the delicate pattern and fine text like a sticker; again, the in-mold label is combined with the bottle body, as opposed to Self-adhesive labels and heat-shrink labels are less likely to be damaged, fall off, etc., and can maintain the integrity and appearance of the labels for a longer period of time.
(3) Anti-counterfeiting considerations Enhancing the product's anti-counterfeiting capability is now a major starting point for many manufacturers to use in-mold labels. Using in-mold labels has greatly increased the difficulty of counterfeiting: In-mold label printing and printing processes are more difficult than traditional labels. . In addition, manufacturers that can provide in-mold labeling are not a lot of printing tools.
(4) From the perspective of environmental protection, the common plastic containers are the same as the YUPO in-mold label materials, and because the labels are combined with the containers, the bottle recycling rate is higher and more convenient.
2. Some Limitations of In-Mold Labels Containers made using blow molding processes If you need to use in-mold labels, you must consider the curvature of the container. If the curvature of the container is too large, such as bumps, during the in-mold labeling process, there is difficulty in venting, and in-mold labels should not be used. Moreover, since the production cost of a blow molding machine for in-mold labeling is higher than that of a conventional blow molding machine, the user should use an in-mold label on a mature product having a considerable scale, and the bottle body curvature of the product must be small. Such a product has good stability and a large quantity. If an in-mold label is used, it can fully reflect the other advantages of the in-mold label while saving a great deal of cost. Applications and market outlook The range of applications for in-mold labels is very broad and can be applied to a variety of plastic containers, whether it be blow molding, injection molding or even stamping. In Europe and the United States, the percentage of in-mold labels used on containers is about 12% to 15%, which is mainly used for daily-use products, lubricant products, foods, especially ice cream and other refrigerated foods. The use of liquid detergents in the industry is more common.
The domestic in-mold label is still a starting stage. Some well-known multinational corporations have been using in-mold labels on their foreign products for some time. However, there are few manufacturers and equipment that have high-quality in-mold labeling equipment in the past. The labeling process is not very mature, so the in-mold label printing processing market has been in the country for a while. After Xinyi Company introduced the YUPO in-mold label into China, it has been committed to cooperating with related printing manufacturers, blow molding manufacturers and in-mold label blow molding equipment suppliers. With the significant reduction in the cost of blow molding machines and the increase in the printing process of printing manufacturers, the in-mold labeling process has been greatly developed in the past year or two.