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Coates Screen Germanyıs
laboratory starts the millennium with this new development...
What is Morpho Print
Morpho print is the term applied to a print which,
when viewed from various angles, demonstrates a change of colour shade.
Colour shifting effects., of course, are nothing new. Using special
pigments, similar effect are already produced in the automotive industry,
or for bank notes. Extreme colour shifting effects are produced using our
new Morpho Print inks. Morpho Print screen inks are free of solvents, are
UV curing, and correspond to EN71, the Safety of Toys regulations, part 3.
Ink Layers for Morpho Print
Firstly, an opaque ink layer is pre-printed with UVN
UV curing inks, using a dark shade. A second print is then made, using the
special Morpho Print ink. This is followed by a third print, designed to
act as a protective layer, using a UV varnish. The resulting prints have a
very long lifetime and are very attractive.
How Does the Morpho Print Ink Work
Morph print uses one of two basic ink components;
MOP 400 an ink system which, depending on viewing angle, strongly
changes from blue to green and MOP 630, which colour-shifts from red to
green. Mixtures of both inks allow further variations of this shifting
effect. Morpho Print inks are uniquely based on organic binding agent
systems which form a so-called 'helix structure'
when curing.
This means that within the ink layer, differently
oriented colour levels form depending on layer thickness. It is these
colour levels which allow multiple interference, depending on the viewing
angle. This sounds very scientific, but has long been seen in nature,
where several types of beetles and butterflies show this effect. One
butterfly of central and southern America, the Morpho Menaleus was our
inspiration in developing the product, so we are very happy to borrow its
name for the process and our inks.
Nice Effect or Useful Tool
The morpho print process could be of interest for
many applications, for printing
onto labels and packaging materials, for novelties, and for security
items. Much of the drive in print or promotional material is to achieve
something with a unique visual appeal. Often metallic inks are used for
label production or packaging in order to enhance the image and thus
increase the value of a product, and
plastic containers are frequently coloured using Iriodin or pearl gloss
pigments. A multi-colour label design, using morpho print is one more very
unique way of attracting the attention of customers.
1. Packaging Materials
Morpho print can be produced in combination with suitable offset
printing inks. The packaging designer can achieve previously unknown
effects.
2. Labels
Morpho print can be used to screen print labels, for immediate
shelf appeal.
3. Security printing
Often prints have to be produced which must be impossible to
photocopy or counterfeit. Using the morpho print technique, prints can be
produced which can quickly be recognised as original, so making digital or
other falsification almost impossible. Using morpho print is one more
element in the armoury of tools to protect the originality of a print.
So, some immediate application possibilities exist,
and there are surely many others. The limit, as usual, is only of
imagination, and, as we know from our customers, this is something they
are never short of! Further and more detailed information on Morpho Print
inks, and samples, can be had from Coates Screenıs German office;
phone or fax Mr Brunner on (49)911 64220/(49)911 6422 200.
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