Bottle screen printer is also known as mug screen printing machine, round screen-printing machine, and bottle screen printing machine. It is not only suitable for bottle screen printing, but also surface printing of other rounds, oval, square, and shaped containers. No matter what material you want to print containers, such as plastic, glass, or metal, a well-designed round screen-printing machine can handle it. A cylindrical screen printer is widely used in daily chemical, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, personalized water bottle industry, cosmetic bottle manufacturing, and other industries.
Unlike labels, screen printing is a form of decoration in which ink is printed directly onto the container. The ink is forced through a screen and then printed onto the bottle via a squeegee. Once the ink is applied, it is cured under UV or LED lights to ensure that the ink sticks to the bottle and does not smudge or rub off.
Working principle of bottle screen printer
Screen printing consists of five major elements, namely squeegee, screen-printing plate, ink, printing table, and substrate. The basic principle of screen printing is the use of screen-printing plate graphics part of the mesh through the ink, the non-graphic part of the mesh impervious to the basic principles of printing. Printing one end of the screen-printing plate into the ink, with a squeegee on the screen-printing plate ink parts to apply a certain pressure, while moving toward the other end of the screen-printing plate. Ink in the movement of the squeegee from the graphic part of the screen hole extrusion to the substrate. Due to the viscous effect of the ink and making the print fixation within a certain range, the printing process, the squeegee is always in line contact with the screen-printing plate and substrate, contact line with the squeegee moves and moves, because the screen-printing plate and substrate to maintain a certain gap between the screen-printing plate through its tension and produce a reaction force on the squeegee, the reaction force is called rebound force. Due to the role of rebound force, the screen-printing plate and the substrate is only mobile line contact, while the other parts of the screen-printing plate and the substrate for the disengaged state. This breaks the movement of the ink and screen to ensure the accuracy of the print size and thus avoid scuffing of the substrate. When the squeegee is lifted after scraping the entire page, the screen-printing plate is lifted at the same time, so the ink is gently scraped back to its initial position. This is a printing stroke.
Selection of screen-printing inks of bottle screen printer
According to the different printing requirements and bottle materials, the choice of screen ink also has an impact on the choice of machine. Bottle printing ink includes water-based screen-printing ink, UV ink, high-temperature ink, etc. Semi-automatic screen-printing machines use solvent-based ink, and automatic screen-printing machines mostly use UV ink.
How to choose the screen-printing ink?
Ink is an aspect that every screen printer considers, and so is screen printing. Unlike other printing methods, screen printing has its special requirements for the use of ink. There are some common inks used for screen printing.
Screen printing on glass bottles and screen printing on plastic bottles are quite normal for printing objects. They are made of glass bottle presses and plastic bottle presses. Screen printing on glass bottles is preferred by the wine industry. Choosing the right screen-printing ink is very important for screen printing on glass and plastic bottles. Some common screen-printing inks can help you produce a more perfect print.
Water-based screen-printing ink
This ink is more suitable for fabric printing because it can penetrate the fibers of the printed fabric. Customers prefer water-based ink because it has a soft feel, while manufacturers should take into account that it takes longer to dry.
Heat-set inks
This ink is thicker and more durable than water-based screen-printing inks. It is versatile and provides crisp graphic detail. Plastic inks are widely used. It stays on for a long time while the color is being produced on the product. It is more suitable for screen printing methods, equipment and designs because it stays on the screen for a long time without drying out.
These three kinds of inks are the common screen-printing materials used by screen-printing companies.
Screen printing on glass bottles and screen printing on plastic bottles should use inks that are suitable for different materials. Glass bottle printing machine needs thicker and more vibrant ink due to its special surface.
Screen printing pre-treatment
Most bottles need surface treatment before screen printing, there are flame treatment and plasma treatment. It can make the bottles get better ink adhesion. PP, PE, HDPE, and LDPE plastic bottles usually need to do a flame treatment before printing.
Ink drying after printing
Depending on the type of ink, the drying method of the ink will be different. Like UV inks need UV curing, high-temperature inks need ovens, etc. The automatic machine comes with a UV curing device as standard for UV ink printing.
Screen printing process
Silkscreen printing is a process of printing patterns on a screen made of polyester or wire mesh with a screen-printing film. After exposure and development to form the screen-printing pattern, the screen-printing ink penetrates through the screen plate under the pressure of the squeegee to form a pattern on the bottle with a three-dimensional sense of intaglio and convexity. The process is as follows
a. Tuning machine
b. Silkscreen
c. Baking
d. Full check
Main problems and solutions of silk screen bottle printing production
Burr
Conditions to be solved
a. Burr, hair pulling, and jaggedness appear next to the font.
b. Workshop temperature and humidity influence.
c. Excessive surface tension of glass.
d. Ink is too thick.
e. The squeegee printing speed is too fast.
Solution
a. Temperature control at 23-28 degrees, humidity around 50%-60%.
b. Flame treatment on the glass surface before screen printing.
c. Add an appropriate amount of 3%-5% filler to the ink.
d. Wipe the glass surface with alcohol or add thinner to the ink.
e. Control the temperature at 23-28 degrees and humidity at 50%-60%.
f. Slow down the squeegee printing speed appropriately.
Sticky oil
Conditions to be solved
a. Excess ink, oil, gloves, dirty hands, and oiled hands brought to the bottle when it appears around the front of the screen-printing pattern.
b. Ink sticking to the bottle when the bottle is placed too close and the ink is not yet dry.
c. Oil leakage or sticky oil at the bottom of the stencil; the jig is sticky with ink.
Solution
a. Pay attention to washing your hands and replacing dirty gloves.
b. Avoid touching the bottle with bare hands and dirty gloves.
c. Place the bottles a little sparser, and gently push the mat paper filled with glass bottles into the oven to reduce the collision.
d. Change the pad to one with compartments to avoid collision during bottle pushing to avoid ink getting on the bottle.
e. Repair the stencil (oil leakage) with blue sealing glue or transparent glue.
f. Replace the stencil that cannot be repaired (oil leakage).
g. Clean the bottom of the stencil with thinner.
h. Wipe the glass surface with alcohol.
What kind of bottles suitable for bottle screen printer?
Silk screen bottle printing
Screen printing on plastic bottles
Compared to other substrates, silkscreen printing is a secondary process for almost all plastic surfaces. Secondary processing may be required to compensate for these drawbacks and improve the appearance of plastic products. Today, screen printing on glass bottles is available with different surface textures, hardness, and shapes, and is widely used to decorate plastic packaging films and plastic containers.
Inks for plastic printing are different from inks for paper, and the two cannot be mixed. To make inks suitable for most plastic surfaces, plastic resins such as polyamides, synthetic solvents, organic solvents, and colorants are used to mix plastic printing inks.
All screen printing requires a substrate and a framed screen with a graphic process. The screen-printing mesh on the frame can be passed through the ink, but the non-graphic areas of the mesh cannot. Therefore, when printing on plastic, the ink is poured on one end of the screen-printing stencil and the squeegee presses the ink film onto the other end of the stencil. The ink is then scraped through the screen onto the plastic substrate to create the desired image and characters.
In addition to the correct ink, some plastic parts may require additional supplies. For example, large signs and large trays. Vacuum trays ensure that any flat substrates such as signs and posters stay where they should be when printed. Because items printed with air-drying inks must be placed for fuller curing, they require additional storage space while they dry. Drying racks ensure they don't take up too much storage space.
Screen printing on glass bottles
Glass, as a component of architectural decoration, is flat, transparent, and easy to clean. After screen printing, the patterns on the glass are exquisite. It is becoming more and more common in architectural decoration and greatly satisfies people's aesthetic needs.
Silkscreen printing is a technique for printing pictures directly onto the surface of the glass. Screen printing can also be used to apply preservatives or other materials to parts of the glass surface that would otherwise be damaged by etching or polishing. It is also possible to print specific inks directly onto the paper to give an etched or matte effect.
Screen printing on glass bottles is currently available on clear and colored glass. Bottle screen printer can also print on frosted glass, but requires an additional container to use this option. Bottles/containers must be cylindrical or flat; oval shapes may not be used. However, they can be tapered, with the top larger than the bottom, and vice versa. Bottles/containers must have a smooth, flat surface to print.
Screen printing on the aluminum bottle
Screen printing on zinc bottle
What type of plastic bottle can use bottle screen printer?
iBotRun offer automated manufacturing facilities help customer solve and reduce labor cost, increase work efficiency, create huge wealth. If you are interested in our bottle screen printer or have any questions, please write an e-mail to info@ibotrun.com, we will reply to you as soon as possible.
