Choosing a Material to Resist High Heat

It’s important to always choose a printing substrate that fits your application, not the other way around.  Is the end result going to stay in high heat or cold?  Is it going to be hit repeatedly or just need to stand the test of time?  These are all great questions to ask.

When dealing with high heat, one needs to look at the advantages and disadvantages of popular materials, such as styrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, rigid vinyl, PET, and polycarbonate.

Polycarbonate and PET are our recommendations for high heat uses.  Polycarbonate requires high heat processing temperatures so it can stand up to a high heat environment, and PET has thermal set varieties that can handle higher heat.  They’re both up to the task of lasting for a long time exposed to heat, such as being outdoors.

Styrene, polyethylene, and rigid PVC have poor thermal stability and polypropylene suffers from high heat expansion and shrinkage.  It’s important that your application maintains the intended shape and use without any warping or misshaping.

Always keep the material you are using in mind when creating your application so it is always a masterpiece!

To speak with one of our digital material experts please call 636.349.6401 or email us.