Iscent Oy a new Finnish enterprise, is commercialising the technology suitable for mass production andthat can be integrated into existing printing presses, jointly with VTT. It is headed by Jaakko Raukola (right)  who has also founded KeepLoop Oy, a microscopy device for mobile phones, and was until seven month ago, was vice president of process industries at VTT.


Applications of the technology include:

• Label genuine brand products with a technical solution that is difficult to counterfeit.

• Printers can reduce ink use  with this method.

• Advertising agencies create striking, environmentally friendly packages.

• Transparent films and gift wrappings, made more decorative without compromising transparency.

The technology is also suitable for injection-moulded plastic products such as mobile phone shells, CD jewel cases and laptops, and for laminate solutions such as interior design elements and sports equipment.



In the printing industry commercial holograms are almost without exception printed on narrow-web lines. Iscent is investing in the capacity to produce end product up to 1,200mm wide, opening up a completely new range of business opportunities, and enabling large-volume product lines, thanks to minimised raw material costs.



Where commercial holographic technologies are based on metal foiling or coatings, laminated structures and UV curable varnishes, this new light scattering method needs none of these or any other extra material.

The rainbow colours are generated simply by altering the topography of the plastic or paper surface being treated.

The new method is based on a hot embossing technology, ,where a pair of rollers similar to a calendar, exerts the nip pressure on the plastic or paper web run through them. The lattice design on the main roller is copied to the web by combined heat and pressure.

 

Left: bright plastic hot-pressed logo. Courtesy: VTT