Everything You Need To Know About In-Mold Decoration

In a bid to remain relevant, brands never stop releasing new products. All these new products need designs to attract prospective buyers.

Also, many people judge the quality of products from new brands based on the quality and appeal of their design. This is because such people have no prior experience in using such products. They thus make their buying decisions based on the attractiveness of a product. This makes a product’s design or decoration crucial to the success of all brands.

This is why in-mold decoration is crucial for modern plastic products. In-mold decoration offers the best design solutions for brands across different industries. It offers high quality, attractive and precise decorations that position plastic products for success.

In order to let more people know well about this technology, so I had written this complete guide, let’s go.

What is In-Mold Decoration?

The in-mold decoration is a modern technique for decorating plastic molded parts with unique designs or colors.

In in-mold decoration, a film with a unique design or decoration is guided into a mold cavity through a polymer carrier. The printed film is held in place by vacuum ports in the mold cavity. Heated plastic is injected into the mold cavity for molding.

The molded plastic part binds with the printed film to create a permanent design on the plastic part.

In-mold decoration is cost-effective and gives massive design flexibility. It offers the opportunity to use multiple colors and textures at once. It provides long-lasting decoration solutions and increases productivity.

Because decoration of the plastic mold is done during the molding cycle, post-mold decoration and other secondary processes are eliminated.

The Principles of In-Mold Decoration

The in-mold decoration process is guided by some principles that ensure its success.

You need to first print your desired image or design on a plastic film. The plastic film is composed of a hard coat layer, a graphics layer, and an adhesive. The hard coat layer of the in-mold film eliminates the need for a clear-cutting process.

The next step is to guide the film into an opened mold cavity by passing it on a polyester carrier or foil feeding system which is mounted onto an injection molding press.

In the mold, the film runs closely along the mold cavity surface. In-built sensors in the mold read printed marks around each image on the plastic film. This makes the film to align accurately with the molded part.

The printed film is clamped into place. The film is then positioned properly into the mold cavity by a vacuum system. The mold is then closed.

Liquid plastic is injected into the mold cavity through the core side of the mold. The adhesive layer printed on the film is activated by the heat of the melted plastic. This releases the decorative image on the film and transfers it to the molded plastic surface. This decorative image binds with the plastic surface resulting in a fully decorated plastic part.

Advantages of In-Mold Decoration

In-mold decoration provides invaluable benefits over other methods of decorations. The following are some of its advantages:

• In-mold decoration does not need any secondary operations or processes like the traditional post-molding decoration. The complete decoration is achieved in the in-mold decoration cycle. This helps to save time and increases productivity.
• The in-mold decoration process is cost-effective because no time and valuable resources are spent on secondary processes.
• It provides a lot of flexibility since many colors, effects, and texture can be used at once.
• It offers variations in design and graphics.
• In-mold decoration produces high quality and super attractive graphics on plastic parts.
• It results in long-lasting finished molded plastic parts. The decorations done on molded plastic parts remains throughout the life span of the parts.
• Flat, curved, or 3D images can be used.
• It is resistant to chemicals and results in high abrasion.

Disadvantages of In-Mold Decoration

• High Tooling Cost: For in-mold decoration to be efficient, it requires a well-designed and properly constructed mold. This can be very challenging and complicated. A lot of investment is required to design and construct accurate molds for in-mold decoration.
• Expensive Machinery: The machines used for in-mold decoration are expensive. Sometimes, robots and highly automotive processes are used in order to achieve the desired plastic decoration.
• Complicated Process: The in-mold decoration process is a complex and specialized process. A lot of challenges can be faced from the development stage to product release. They are often challenges with tool design, molds, vendor sourcing, and logistics supply. This can slow down the production process.
• Design Restriction: Plastic injection molding comes with few design restrictions.

Common Application Examples

The massive benefits in-molding decoration presents have made it the most preferred choice for a wide of range industries for diverse applications.

Below are some of the industries that make use of in-mold decorations:

• Componenti per autoveicoli
• Computer components
• Dispositivi medici
• Personal telecommunication devices
• Large parts and components
• Lawn and garden equipment
• Food packaging cups, trays, containers, tubs
• Consumer products
• Consumer handheld devices
• Plastic housings
• Storage containers
• Instrument panel

Mold Construction of In-mold Decoration

Mold construction is critical to the success of in-mold decoration.

To successfully construct a mold for efficient in-mold decoration, you need to have a detailed and accurate mold design.

Having a proper mold design helps you to eliminate errors during construction and increases the precision of the mold. It helps to construct the mold quickly, thus increasing productivity.

Most important, constructing accurate mold will help you to produce quality in-mold decorated parts.

During mold design, you need to have a holistic view of all the in-mold decoration process. The requirements of the plastic part you want to mold and decorate should be considered and factored into your design.

Depending on the specifications of your intended plastic part, you need to use the right dimensions for your mold design and construction. Specifications like tolerance, thickness, size, weight, etc. should be carefully outlined in your design. The position of all mold parts should be precisely illustrated in your mold design.

Most important, the position of the mold gate should be rightly incorporated in the design. This is because the position of the gate affects the flow of the molten plastic into the mold cavity. The gate position also affects the way the liquid plastic flows over the film and bonds to it. The right positioning of the gate also ensures structural stability.

During design, you also need to consider how the film will be fixed and held in place before and during the plastic resin injection.

There should be an efficient cooling system to cool the plastic part and plastic film. The cooling system should be designed to cover a large surface area in the mold in order to cool the plastic part effectively.

During mold construction, you need to make sure that the backside of the film carrier rests against a flat wall. In order to lower the risk of wrinkles, do not bend the plastic film too much. You can bend it slightly. The mold should be constructed to make the molded part stay on the side of the gate. Usually, the ejector tips are slightly bent to enable the parts to stick to them.

IMD VS Other Post Molding Decoration

Compared with other post molding decoration such as pad printing, direct printing, etc, what is special about IMD that makes this technology more and more popular? Next, I will show the advantages of IMD in comparison.

In-Mold Decorating Compared to Pad Printing

• In-mold decoration can be used for multi-colored decorations. It is economically viable for multiple colors or design decorations.
• It has better color opacity. This means you cannot easily see through the color or ink used in in-mold decoration.
• It provides several design options.
• It results in plastic parts with second surface graphics

In-Mold Decorating Compared to Pressure Sensitive Labels

• Adhesive related problems are completely avoided.
• There is no need for secondary processes since the complete decoration is done in the mold.
• It produces an integrated appearance since the plastic film is permanently bond to the molded part.
• It has a longer life span because of its durability and resistance to tampering.
• It offers one-step application of labels on plastic parts, container sides, and bottoms.

In-Mold Decorating Compared to Direct Printing

• It eliminates secondary processes since the complete decoration is done in the mold.
• It produces more durable, long-lasting and tamper-proof products.
• Visually impressive surface finishes and improved 3D effects.

The Evolution of In-Mold Decorating (IMD)

There has been a massive evolution and shift in product decorations processes over the years. Most of the post-mold decoration techniques have a lot of limitations. The secondary processes associated with post-molding decoration increases the cost of production. Most of the post-mold decoration methods slow down production.

Advancement in technology has made it possible to use IMD to mold plastic parts with high precision and virtually impressive designs without any secondary processes.

The availability of highly advanced computer programs and software has made it easy to develop accurate, high quality, and repeatable graphics. These graphics can be applied to highly complex structures.

The in-mold decoration processes have been greatly improved and simplified because of the incorporation of highly automated equipment, robots, and well-advanced systems. This helps to produce decorated parts more efficiently and faster with higher design flexibility.

The advance of technology has also made it possible to use IMD to produce lightweight and cost-effective products with improved aesthetics and higher customer satisfaction.

In-mold Decoration Markets

The market demand for in-mold decoration keeps on soaring. Recent research by plastic decoration magazine forecasts a 5-6% growth in injection in-mold decoration in 2020. Plastic decoration magazine spoke to many IMD manufacturers and in-mold decoration Association (IMDA) representatives during their research.

A lot of factors are responsible for the increased demand for the usage of IMD products. Below are some of the factors that are pushing the market demands of IMD products to higher heights.

For of all, brands are continuously releasing new products into the market. They do this to remain relevant and survive in their highly competitive industries. These new products also need new designs. This creates a lot of demand for IMD products.