How to print on hard hats and plastics
Hard hats and sports bottles are high-value, repeat-order products, and most decorating methods struggle on their curved polypropylene surface. Chemical transfer with a PPX topcoat fuses a full-colour, white-backed image onto them.
Step by step
The workflow.
- 1
Print onto Marine A Paper
Print your artwork plus white onto Marine A Paper, the paper built for cylindrical, curved and dimpled surfaces.
- 2
Heat-gun to fuse
Heat-gun the printed page to fuse the toner before spraying. This is the opposite of the flat-surface workflow.
- 3
Spray Every X
Apply two coats of Every X (one horizontal, one vertical) with no drying between, then heat-gun for about 5 seconds until tacky.
- 4
Activate and transfer
Apply Activator to the hard hat, lay the prepared paper down, conform it to the curve and transfer the image.
- 5
PPX topcoat
Seal with PPX, oven-cure at 160°C for 7 minutes, then leave to cure for 24 hours. PPX is the topcoat for polypropylene, hard hats and sports bottles.
Pro tips
- →For ABS plastics like pens, lighters and keyrings, use Nitro X instead of PPX.
- →Conform the paper fully to the curve before transferring to avoid gaps.
Keep learning
How to print on stainless steel
Read →How to print on 3D-printed plastic
Read →How to print on mugs
Read →Want to see it live?
Book a demo and we will print your logo or any design you want on your product, free. Or have a real sample mailed to you.