A digital heat transfer is a form of product decoration that uses heat and pressure to apply a pre-printed digital graphic to a part or product.
In the product decoration world, much is made of the ability to produce affordable short runs. It’s the Holy Grail of the decoration industry. However, long runs remain the bread and butter. Fortunately, digital heat transfers make both possible, allowing product decorators, ad specialty companies, and manufacturers to easily switch between short and long runs. It’s truly the best of both worlds.
What is a Digital Heat Transfer?
A digital heat transfer is a form of product decoration that uses heat and pressure to apply a pre-printed digital graphic to a part or product. But what does all of this have to do with short and long run product decoration? Simple! Because it is a digital process, these transfers offer several benefits that traditional decoration methods simply can’t touch.
Digitally Printed Graphics
These transfers are multi-color and photo quality, printed at 1200 dpi and 266 lines per inch using the CMYK printing process. A digital heat transfer is capable of hitting over 10,000,000 colors with fluid gradients. This process also allows for the incorporation of variable data – barcodes, numbers, etc. – into individual images in short and long runs.
It’s a Dry Process
There are no dies, solvents, or other messy chemicals to deal with. Digital heat transfers apply cleanly leaving no residue on the transfer equipment. This allows decorators to easily switch between transfers with little to no cleanup in between, greatly reducing run time.
“There are none of the traditional set-up requirements or costs,” explains Matt Regan, senior vice president for CDigital. “Screens, blankets, dies and print stations for each color aren’t needed, so turn times are measured in days (often one), rather than weeks.”
Ready to be Shipped!
Not only is this a dry process, but decorated parts are fully cured upon application, making any plastic, and most metal products, immediately ready for shipment.
Now, when you combine all of these benefits, you can draw one conclusion. The digital heat transfer process is quick, easy, and repeatable, making both short and long runs not only possible, but incredibly affordable.
Short Run and Long Run Product Decoration with CDigital
Since 2001, CDigital has been an innovator in developing new systems and processes for using digital print technology to produce full color digital heat transfers for the product decoration industry. Because we are both local and fully digital, we can turn jobs around faster and for less money than both overseas printers and local screen or pad printers.
Request a Quote
If you have any questions, please contact CDigital by calling 410-646-7800. For customers new to using heat transfers, Cdigital is happy to connect you with heat transfer equipment manufacturers whose machines will work best with our patented film.
