Flint Group Launches Cast and Cure Coatings

Flint Group continually strives to bring to market the most innovative technology while providing cost and environmental benefits. In alignment with this goal, Flint Group launches various Cast & Cure coatings to support the Cast & Cure decorative process.

Cast & Cure is a decorative coating process that integrates “casting” and “curing” techniques to create holographic, ultra high gloss, or matte finishes on select areas of a printed piece and is suitable for a wide variety of substrates. Cast & Cure is an ideal application for the decorative print market and can be incorporated with anti-counterfeiting features for brand security applications.

Flint Group initially announces three coatings to support this process:

• Standard C&C Coating, for use in UV flexo applications.
• Low Odor C&C Coating, for use in UV flexo application.
• UV Offset C&C Coating, for use in UV letterpress and offset applications.

The Cast & Cure process eliminates the need for costly, heated rotary dies, holographic substrates or changes in press configurations – this technology uses the UV print process in combination with Cast & Cure Film and Cast & Cure Coatings to create the desired effect on specific areas of the substrate with UV curing of the coating and delamination of the film.

The Cast & Cure coatings have been specially designed to guarantee the best release properties, image stability after casting, and excellent curing properties combined with ultra clear appearance.

Printers can see multiple benefits in the Cast & Cure process:

• Flexibility in design – The effect is only applied where the UV coating is printed – choose a matte, high gloss, or holographic finish wherever specifically desired on your print design. Options in design are endless and the process can support a myriad of end use markets including cosmetics, wine labeling, health & beauty packaging, among many others.

• Brand security – Because of the ability to apply Cast & Cure Coatings and Films to very specific areas on a print, this process can be used for anti-counterfeiting applications. Cast & Cure films can be easily configured with custom patterns as another security enhancement.

• Cost Benefit – Cast & Cure film is reusable. The same film can be used for multiple press runs – printers can see reuse of up to 10 to 15 press runs, if the print runs are managed properly and the web is controlled.

• Environmentally Friendly – The reusability of the film is an obvious plus. Also, as the Cast & Cure process uses UV coatings the undesirable and harmful VOC’s caused by other processes are eliminated. And, by eliminating the lamination process, packages are more easily recyclable.

Films for the Cast & Cure process can be purchased from Breit Technologies, LLC.