Troubleshooting Guide to
Hot Stamp/Heat Transfer Decorating
Trust the experts at United Silicone to guide you through your hot stamp and heat transfer applications. With over 35 years of experience, United Silicone is the industry leader you can count on for successful stamping projects.
A simplified troubleshooting guide below on hot stamp and heat transfer decorating can help your project run smoothly
Troubleshooting Hot Stamp/Heat Transfer Decoration
| Symptom |
Cause |
Remedy |
| Incomplete Image |
- Uneven Die-to-Part Contact
- Part Contamination
- Foreign Particles on Part Surface
- Insufficient fixture support permits part to flex under pressure
- Air entrapment between foil & part
|
- Reposition fixture so decorating surface is parallel to a flat die or conforms to a cont’d die
- Discontinue use of flow agents, anti-stat solutions and/or silicone-based mold releases
- Clean surface with white cotton cloth or glove
- Redesign fixture to provide rigid support under stamping surface and/or ensure that mandrel-type designs do not deflect
- Redesign die face to include convex crown
|
| Rollover in Image |
- Uneven Die-to-Part Contact
- Excessive Pressure
- Lengthy Dwell Time
- Sinks in Part
- Variations in wall thickness from part-to-part
|
- Reposition fixture so decorating surface is parallel to a flat die or conforms to a contoured die
- Decrease stroke length and/or reduce machine output
- Reduce dwell time setting
- Introduce make-ready beneath part in the areas that are hitting light then reduce force as indicated above
- Switch to dual durometer silicone rubber die
|
| Edges of Decoration are not Sharp |
- Insufficient Pressure
- Part Contamination
- Die face temperature not hot enough
- Short Dwell Time
- Foil Stripping Conditions
- Foil coatings are effected by lengthy heat exposure prior to the cycle
|
- Provide adequate stroke length and/or increase machine output
- Discontinue use of flow agents and/or silicone-based mold releases
- Increase thermostat setting on machine
- Increase dwell time setting
- Slow head retraction and/or introduce head-up delay
- Use before/after foil selector to advance foil just prior to head descending
|
| Poor Foil-to-Part Adhesion |
- Insufficient Heat at Die Face
- Short Dwell Time
- Part Contamination
- Foreign particles on part surface
- Foil-to-Part Incompatibility
|
- Increase thermostat setting on machine and/or move the thermocouple closer to die face
- Increase dwell time setting
- Discontinue use of flow agents, anti-stat solutions and/or silicone based mold releases
- Clean surface with white cotton cloth or glove
- Switch to different foil formulation
|