by Dave Schoofs, product development, Central Decal Company Over the past 30 years, in-mold decorating and labeling has become a common method of providing labeling, signage and user interface on many durable and consumable products. There are a few common benefits to IMD/IML and in-mold foils, including permanency of the graphic, reduced labor content, simplified supply … [Read more...] about IMD/IML: Common Performance Considerations and Test Methods
2018 Apr/May
A Look at the Powder Coatings Market
by Kerry Pianoforte, editor, Coatings World Powder coatings, unlike some traditional liquid coatings, do not require solvents in their formulation and are considered to be 100 percent solids. Powder coatings are typically applied electrostatically and then oven-cured. The end result is a hard finish that is often tougher than most conventional liquid coatings. Powder coatings … [Read more...] about A Look at the Powder Coatings Market
Association News
Letter from the Chair It is almost time for the National Plastics Exposition and the Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Technical Conference. Every three years there is a joint meeting of SPE ANTEC and the NPE. More than 65,000 professionals from over 128 countries will be in attendance. It is the best place to learn what is new, how things work and what is available for … [Read more...] about Association News
Be a Customer Service Contender
by Katie Zabriskie, president, Business Training Works, Inc. Too often, organizations recognize they have a service issue, yet their efforts to address shortcomings fail to solve the problem. In the worst cases, customer service initiatives backfire and motivate people to do less. So, what's going on? Usually, a few things are to blame. Typically, there's an organizational … [Read more...] about Be a Customer Service Contender
Plasma Surface Pretreatments of Polymers for Improved Adhesion Bonding
by Scott Sabreen, president, The Sabreen Group, Inc. Abstract Polymeric adhesion bonding problems are pervasive throughout the plastics industry. Two- and three-dimensional products often include joining plastic-to-plastic, plastic-to-metal and plastic-to-composite. Many plastics have a poor tendency to bond to other materials because of their inherent chemical structure … [Read more...] about Plasma Surface Pretreatments of Polymers for Improved Adhesion Bonding