Decor paper is applied for wood based panels lamination. It use raw base paper to printed colors/designs, and impregnated with melamine resin, then laminated onto surfaced of wood based panels under high temperature and high pressure. Decor paper is the top layer of panels, acting as decorative and protective surface, mainly used for furniture, laminate flooring and high pressure laminates and other fields. Decor paper printing is a very professional field with very high technology and standards. The quality of decorative paper mainly depends on raw materials, printing technology, quality control and other factors.
1.Raw base paper and printing ink are main materials used for decor paper printing.
They play a decisive role on the quality of decor paper, and have great influence on the subsequent melamine impregnation and lamination.
Raw base paper for decor paper printing is a kind of high grade specialty paper, with grammage of 70-85GSM of titanium white paper. It must adapt to the high-speed gravure printing and high-speed resin impregnation.
Printing ink is water-based non-toxic ink, must comply with the requirements of environmental protection. Ink color should be bright, and printing affection should be fine and clear, full and smooth. The ink is resistant to high temperature, hot pressing, has excellent light resistance. Anti UV level and thermal stability is the most important indicators of ink used for decor paper printing, which is determined by the unique requirements of decorative paper products.
Finest high quality raw base paper and ink, is the key of decor paper printing. It not only can reflect the textures on decor paper, but also can ensure following impregnation and lamination stability.
2. Decorative paper demands high printing subtle. Normal flexo and offset printing can not meet the big printing width and ink content, So the gravure printing becomes the best choice for decor paper print.
With improvements in cylinders engraving technology, using high frequency scanner drawn from nature, color matching by computer, laser engraving, greatly improving the version and the accuracy, they provide a prerequisite for quality decor paper printing. The development of water based printing cylinders specially for decor printing upgrade the procession details to the quite high level, and brings better quality print on textures and colors. Based on the market, drawn from nature, continuous development of new and personalized designs, provide more choices to customers.
Gravure print for decor paper can obtain good amount of ink and high precision, which will bring the best printing effect. In addition, gravure printing can achieve 0.1mm print precision, high repeatability, and can better meet the requirements of decor print. Decor paper printing machine has characteristics of high speed, good stability and reliability. Printing line is also equipped with auxiliary equipment such as automatic control system, the shaftless driving system and online quality detection system, tension automatic control system. They greatly improve the quality of decorative paper and reduce the defect.
3. The printing quality of decorative paper is mainly reflected in the selection of raw materials, the control of the printing process, as well as the detection of finished decors. Quality of decor paper has great impact on melamine impregnation, lamination, furniture panels and other finished products. Besides of raw materials and printing, the color variation control is key during decor paper production.
The color variation means, under the same impregnation and lamination process,from the distance 250cm, 10°field of view (FOV) to distinguish color differences between finished laminated board and standard samples.In the strict sense, it is not realistic to achieve 100% color same. We usually say no color variation means no obvious color distinction. The main factors that cause color variation are the raw materials, the skills of the personnel, the process control and other factors.
Raw material is one of the main factors that determine the color consistency of the decorative paper. Color variation,opacity, absorption of raw base paper will affect the color consistency of decor paper. If the the color variation is too big in base paper, and can not be corrected by printing, color variation may occur. If opacity of base paper is not good, color variation may come when they are laminated onto different kinds of panels. Without good smoothness, the absorption of ink and melamine resin will not uniform, which will cause color difference after lamination. Different batches of ink, or ink stability will affect the color variation.
The quality of the technical personnel is also very important for decor paper printing. Familiarity with raw materials,the level of ink mixing,operation of machine,control of standard samples and test, any one will cause color variation.
Hangzhou Fimo Decorative Material Co., Ltd. has strict quality control management on decor paper printing, especially on color consistence control. All technical workers are excellent experts with least 5 years experience.We launched high speed auto gravure printing lines, equipped with automatic overprint, automatic color matching and other auxiliary equipment, ensure the printing stability. All raw materials will be tested first, then retest the quality during printing, and 3rd time test after print, and all data will be recorded. Finest raw materials, most advanced printing lines, and perfect quality management system ensure the stable quality printed decor paper.