Edited by Dianna Brodine, vice president, editorial, PostPress
Cast and CureTM from Breit Technologies, Overland Park, Kansas, is a sustainable, affordable decorative coating process that integrates “casting” and “curing” techniques to create holographic, ultra-high gloss and matte embellishments on a variety of substrates. The Carlson Print Group (CPG) has been a leader in Cast and Cure deployment for many years, producing a wide range of stunning products, including trading cards and other collectibles, consumer packaging and more.
CPG’s latest Cast and Cure creation featured the Breit Technologies LS-04 “Raindrops” pattern to add holographic sparkle to a promotional folding carton, entitled “The Beauty of Dazzling Print.” The Cast and Cure LS-04 pattern amplifies the stunning neon colors on the carton’s front panel and creates a three-dimensional sparkle that changes with every movement of the reader’s hand. This box is one of a set of five folding cartons that showcase a range of print embellishments by featuring the same art, but a different embellishment option. The carton sets are used as prospecting tools with potential clients and others interested in changing their brand identity.
Creating Dazzling Print
The Cast and Cure process embosses a UV varnish so that it bends light, creating a holographic effect. While Cast and Cure film is temporarily ‘laminated’ to the varnish, UV is cast through the film, curing the image into the UV varnish. The Cast and Cure film then is lifted off the substrate and rewound for reuse, leaving no film behind.
The Cast and Cure material can be embossed with a variety of standard patterns and can support customized designs. It is compatible with clear label, wet label, coated paper, paperboard, film, heat-sensitive material and shrink film.
Cast and Cure creates affordable, sustainable and stunning visual and tactile effects. Since Cast and Cure leaves no material on the substrate, it does not obscure the underlying design. It’s easy to enhance existing designs without creating new artwork. Cast and Cure’s reusability reduces the cost of embellishment and dramatically reduces waste compared to the 1:1 application of other embellishments. This reusability and waste reduction creates a dramatic sustainability benefit for printers.
Cast and Cure can be used either in spot or flood coat applications without obscuring designs. It typically is chosen in cases where dynamic brand differentiation is required, but cost efficiency and speed-to-shelf are key. It also can be advantageous for shorter-run projects.
In the case of CPG’s carton project, the Cast and Cure box was built with 14PT C1S board. The artwork was produced with a standard 4-color print with an aqueous coating. The Cast and Cure film (LS-04 “Raindrops”) then was temporarily laminated and cured.
CPG deployed the Cast and Cure process on its new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 41” eight-color press. The embossed film was laminated inline to a UV coating on CPG’s dedicated Eagle Systems’ Cast and Cure module, leaving the LS-04 pattern embedded in the coating. The coating then was cured with a UV LED curing station before the Cast and Cure film was delaminated and rewound for reuse.
UV LED for Print Embellishment
LED curing continues to grow in popularity due to its ease of implementation, CO2 reduction, reduced power consumption, elimination of mercury and ozone, among other benefits. The reduction in heat and energy transfer through the film also increases the lifespan of Cast and Cure film.
“One of the unrecognized benefits of the combination of Cast and Cure with UV LED curing is the oxygen-inert environment that the Cast and Cure process creates,” said Tim Cain, president of Breit Technologies. “By eliminating the oxygen through the temporary lamination of the casting film, the reduction of the oxygen scavenging that takes place in free radical curing allows for better cross-linking and a significant reduction in the UV(LED) energy needed to reach full cure.”
The reduction in energy expenditure further increases the energy savings and allows for higher press speeds, while also reducing migration and odor potential from the coating in food-packaging applications.
The stunning boxes will be introduced to CPG customers and prospects in the coming weeks.
Republished with permission from UV+EB Technology (www.uvebtech.com).