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A collaborative R&D effort between DuPont Performance Polymers, Wilmington, Del. and the Kurz Group (U.S. office in Charlotte, N.C.), a renowned innovator in hot stamping and cold transfer technology, has led to the “beautifying” of products made of the former’s Surlyn ionomer (well-recognized by the cosmetic packaging arena for its broad freedom of design) with a golden or metallized effect. It took several months of R&D to meet this technological challenge, according to Maria Carcole, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) marketing leader perfumes & materials developments and decorative effects for Surlyn. “In this project, hot stamping allowed us to obtain a colored or metallic high-gloss decoration, which gives the cap a truly luxurious feel with outstanding tactile and surface qualities.”

The twofold challenge in the development of a foil was to obtain good adhesion to Surlyn film at low temperatures, while retaining the high gloss of the material, according to Stephane Royere, head of ����ý area industrial products at Kurz. The new foil offers very high bond strength and successfully passed all abrasion-resistance tests. Moreover, the team developed a second version of the foil, ensuring an identical level of brilliance between the hot-stamped and un-stamped areas. According to Royere, the experience obtained is already being applied to new projects using metallized or pigmented marking films.