Beautifying Surlyn components with a golden or metalized effect is now made possible thanks to the partnership between DuPont Performance Materials and Leonhard Kurz, the world leader in hot stamping and cold transfer technology.

It took several months of research and development to meet this technological challenge. “We are constantly working on new material developments and decorative effects for Surlyn," explains Maria Carcolé, EMEA Marketing Leader Perfumes & Cosmetics at DuPont. "It takes a careful screening of the market trends and needs coupled with active collaboration along the value chain to develop innovative solutions that help leading brands create imaginative and unique packaging. In this project, hot stamping allows us to obtain a coloured or metallic high-gloss decoration, which gives the cap a truly luxurious feel with outstanding tactile and surface qualities.”

This technically complex project required expertise and energy from all partners. The challenge was in the development of a foil specifically suited for efficient heat marking, even at low temperatures. The technical team at DuPont Performance Materials worked with the best specialists in hot stamping technology and first carried out in-depth testing on materials with the expert support of C. Bracco EIRL.

The Leonhard Kurz group took on the challenge of further developing the foil. "For us, the challenge was twofold: to obtain a good adhesion of the film at low temperatures, while retaining the high gloss of the material. After comprehensive testing under various conditions, and with precious help from DuPont, we developed a solution specifically dedicated to hot stamping of Surlyn, ensuring a perfect rendering on the material, producing excellent smoothness and surface finish. It is a small revolution that opens up unprecedented design and decoration opportunities for cosmetic brands," explains Stéphane Royère, Head of Business Area Industrial Products at Kurz.

The team has worked further on developing a second version of the foil, ensuring an identical level of brilliance between the hot-stamped and un-stamped areas. "The experience and knowledge that we gained from this development are already being applied to new projects using metallised or pigmented marking films," Stéphane Royère adds.

DuPont and the Kurz group will present these developments on their respective booths at the Luxe Pack Monaco exhibition - from 2 to 4 October 2017.