Development and Research of Technologies and Methods of Electro-flocking in the Decoration of Packaging Products

The aim of this work is to analyze the modern electroflocking technology and to develop a new method for printing a color image on white flocked material. For packaging material, High Density Fiberboard (HDF) with a 3 mm thick white painted coating was chosen. Printing was carried out using DTI InkTec sublimation inks on an Epson L132 inkjet printer, followed by image transfer in an Amazon MAX 400C heat press. The image was applied to a 0.5 mm thick SEF FiberPlus thermal transfer sublimation flock film, which contains exclusive polyester microfibers and 100% polyurethane resins. Cutting of the packaging components was performed using a TS1390 CO2 laser cutting machine with a wavelength of 10.6 µm. Image quality was evaluated using operational control scales. Microscopic photographs were taken at 60x magnification. Image fixation in the heat press was done using the following parameters: transfer temperature 170°C, transfer time 40 seconds, and pressure 3.0 bar. As shown by microscopic studies, the reason for the reduced optical density of the printed image with sublimation inks on flocked film is its high porosity. Therefore, to enhance the decorative effect and give the packaging an attractive velvety appearance, it is advisable to use a combination of printing on flocked material with cutting out several differently shaped and colored images from the flocked material.