Color, graphics and design are keys to making

a quality rotomolded product

 

Sixth in a Six-part Series on Decorating

and Labeling Rotomolded Products, RotoWorld Magazine, 2008

Using color, permanent graphics and design on your polyolefin products is a great way to stand out from your competitors’ products. Time after time, I receive terrific news from satisfied customers who produce stellar polyolefin products. They tell me that using permanent graphics in the mold has yielded outstanding results. They also recommend using permanent MIGS™ Colors.

Rotomolders and their customers are not limited to the single color of the resin charge. In fact, MIGS™ offers Colors which turn an ordinary-looking product into something special, and they last as long as a rotomolded product. Adding Colors to a product is the easy and effective way to differentiate a quality product from the competition.

For example, a major theme park began using MIGS™ permanent graphics and Colors on their rotomolded attractions. They are so happy with the vivid results that they plan to expand that effort in the future.

Also, a talented artist airbrushed a tiger design into the mold so that his kayaks would not only be works of art, but also used for recreation. The result was spectacular.

Colorful products get people talking! And happy customers add to your bottom line.

Sealite® emergency polyethylene buoys are better than steel

Sealite®, a leading manufacturer and supplier of marine navigation aids based in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a unique range of colorful, rotomolded marine buoys. These polyethylene buoys offer distinct advantages over steel -- a fact which increasingly is being recognized by worldwide port authorities. They are tough and relatively lightweight, making deployment and maintenance easier than ever!

One of Sealite®’s largest polyethylene ocean buoys is their Poseidon-1750 model which is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) high, with a diameter of 1.75 meters (5.74 feet). By using MIGS™ Color In Systems™, Sealite® is able to custom color with pinpoint accuracy the Poseidon for specific high-visibility applications. For example, their Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy is a high-visibility buoy used to warn shipping of the immediate danger, while arrangements are made for the wreck to be permanently recorded on shipping charts.

Why an Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy is needed: On December 14, 2002 a car carrier, the Tricolor, collided with another vessel in the English Channel and sank. Two days later, an approaching vessel was unaware of the wreck and it struck the submerged vessel. Further, on January 1, 2003, a Turkish vessel carrying 77,000 tons of oil struck the wreck.

This maritime disaster brought into sharp focus the effective responses required to adequately and quickly mark new dangers and prevent further collisions. As a result, the Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy was specified by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). IALA specifies that these buoys will have between four and eight vertical blue and yellow stripes. These buoys are placed around the wreck as quickly as possible until the wreck has been properly surveyed and its position and depth has been charted and promulgated in nautical publications. A permanent form of marking can then replace the Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy. 

Chris Procter, Executive Director of Sealite®, says, “MIGS™ Color In Systems™ enable us to custom color our standard Poseidon-1750 Ocean Buoy according to IALA Wreck Marking specifications. The Poseidon buoy was designed to withstand the harsh marine environment. Color In Systems™ also give us the flexibility to mold permanent colored stripes into the buoys during the normal rotational molding process which would have been impossible using traditional paint techniques. The final product is low- maintenance, environmentally friendly, and eliminates the need for the toxic anti-fouling paints traditionally used on steel buoys.”

Color In Systems™ is also used in Sealite’s® attractive red-and-white Safe Water Mark Buoys.

These brightly colored, rotomolded buoys contribute to saving lives and valuable cargo. Further information on Sealite® can be found on www.sealite.com.au .

Spin Products, Inc. make Horseplay fun

Spin Products, Inc. uses Color In Systems™ on its rotomolded Horseplay™ line of toys for horses, making their toys fun for horses and their owners alike. One ball is colored red, blue and yellow, while another features black colors to look like a soccer ball. The Horseplay toys’ selling points are: fun exercise, non-toxic, never needs air, withstands biting and puncturing, and is fun for all ages.

In addition, Spin manufactures Jumps and Décor for horse dressage events, including rotomolded poles, gates, solid fences and walls. The result is creative, safe course design. Colored with MIGS™ Color In Systems™, the walls look like actual stone, wood and brick. Materials come in a variety of colors, stay vivid and bright over time, and require no maintenance. Their company website happily informs customers, “There is no need to ever paint jumps again.”

Spin manufactures its jumps from durable polyethylene that won’t shatter or splinter like wood or PVC, making them safer for horses and handlers.

The jumps require very little assembly because they are rotomolded, not fabricated, which also makes them sturdier and lighter than wood and easier for riders of all ages to handle.

Finally, all the jump heights on these rotomolded, polyethylene products are marked on every standard. That means all jumps meet industry specifications and are perfect for both schooling and show use.

Colorizing your products makes your company top-of-mind

Using permanent Colors in the mold or after molding will highlight, accent, decorate, add customers’ interest, and add value – before or after molding polyolefin parts. MIGS™ Color In Systems™ are available in standard or custom colors specific to rotomolders’ needs. These rich pigments can be integrated into the mold with pinpoint accuracy.

Colors embed directly into the resin surface, making the new custom design permanent. They are resistant to attack by chemicals, solvents or extreme weather conditions.

MIGS™ also offers the two-part spray Color On Systems™ for coloring rotomolded products after molding. This spray system combines high-quality, UV-resistant polymer pigments with a durable Clear Coat top coat.

Able to handle the constant expansion and contraction of plastic products, Mold In Graphic Systems® Colors last for the life of polyolefin products.

Keeping an eye on the target audience

The companies mentioned in my column produce and/or distribute terrific rotomolded products. They keep their eye on their target audience. They ask questions like, “What do my customers want and need? How can I differentiate my product from my competitors’ products?”

It simply makes good business sense to produce the best quality products your company can. Products which are personalized to meet customers’ desires and needs will be successful in any market.

As rotomolders, if we remain cognizant of this fact and use good designs, colors and graphics, we will create and manufacture better products.

Rotomolders process several parts and colors at once

Mark Shortt, Editor, Job Shop Technology Magazine, says, “Rotational molding can be used to simultaneously process several different parts and colors. Other advantages of the process include its ability to produce double-walled parts for added rigidity; increased thickness on outside corners for added strength; production of minimal scrap; and the capacity for integrally molding in graphics that do not scratch off or peel away.

“One of the more popular applications of advanced technology has been the use of in-mold graphics, a process that integrates printing with rotational molding to permanently embed graphics and lettering into the wall of a rotomolded part. Mold In Graphics®, a patented process of Mold In Graphic Systems®, Clarkdale, Arizona, grew out of a rotational molder's unsuccessful attempts to apply graphics onto naturally resistant, oily polyethylene products.

"The process is widely used by rotomolders for applications where graphics need to withstand tough, everyday abuse from exposure to UV rays, extreme heat or cold, water, chemicals, or abrasion. These include refuse containers, water and chemical storage tanks, real estate signs, kayaks, and surfboards. Because they do not scratch or wear off, molded-in graphics are being used increasingly for corporate logos, instructional messages, warnings, and identification purposes.

“Unlike print-on graphics, which can fade away, Mold In Graphics® are embedded into the resin during molding. According to the company, the process works on virtually all types of molds, ranging from cast aluminum to fabricated steel or aluminum molds.”

By using permanent graphics and MIGS™ Colors, you’ll show your customers and prospects that your business is the clear choice for quality rotomolded products.  Now that the economy is turning for the better, the investment in your business and product designs during the tough stretch will be acknowledged as a great investment that allows you to thrive and prosper today and in the future.

 

 October - November 2005

Mold In Graphic Systems® is the international polyolefin decorating specialist

Mold In Graphic Systems® is the international manufacturer of permanent Mold In Graphics®, colors and products designed for the rotational molding industry’s use on polyolefin plastic products. Mold-in products include: Regular, High Temp and Ultra High-Temp clear-film Graphics and Mold In Graphics® Adhesive.

Mold On Graphics® are the decorating solution used after molding a product. These permanent graphics may be used by injection molders, thermoformers, blow molders, vacuum formers, pressure formers, compression formers, and rotational molders.

All graphics from Mold In Graphic Systems® are resistant to attack by chemicals, solvents and exposure to extreme weather conditions. Messages and designs are permanently absorbed into the polyolefin product wall.

New products include Nylon and Vinyl graphics and adhesives.

Mold In Graphic Systems® makes Surface Enhancer® (removes pinholes and improves threads), Microface1™ Antimicrobial with AgION™, MIGS Colors, RMC3® , Patch ‘N Go®, PL-S® Parting Line Sealer™, Mold Release Remover, Abrasion Coating, AntiSkid Coating and specialized MIGS™ Adhesives.

For more information, please call 928-634-8838.