This week we “pimped” a bag! Polypropylene bag to be exact, with a one color design on one side and a full color design on the other. In fact, we even used a hunter green colored bag!
Poly Pro bags are one of the latest trends in the promotional products market. They are lightweight, sturdy, and cost-effective. The best thing is that they are essentially composed of recycled plastic, like pop bottles. By choosing them, you can promote your business or cause cost effectively AND use an environmentally friendly recycled product. There are even several choices for decoration materials to make it very easy for you.
The first design we used was a simple recycle logo with some text. We chose to use our Spectra Eco Film and Roland GX-24 vinyl cutter. Eco Film is soft, thin and composed of polyurethane instead of PVC. It also passes the Ökeo-Tex 100 certification. The Ökeo-Tex Standard 100 is a certification for companies requiring among other things compliance with specified criteria for avoiding or limiting the use of harmful substances in production. It is perfect for one or two color decoration, and applies at a low 270 degree temperature.
Next, we applied a full color logo onto the back of the bag. This design was produced using a Roland Versacamm and our Spectra Solar Print Media. The nice thing about this media is that it is specifically designed for application onto heat sensitive materials. It applies at only 212 degrees! That makes it perfect for poly propylene bags and heat sensitive fabrics. Another great option is our Colorprint II, which can be applied at a low 270 degree temperature. This material, which is used with the Versacamm to produce full color graphics, is also PU based and safer for the environment. The ink we utilized is Roland’s Eco Sol Max, which has harmful chemicals taken out so you don’t need to worry about breathing fumes like you do with some machines and ink systems. It’s the perfect complement to our green efforts!
These days it is becoming very easy to go green with your decoration. There is an increasingly large offering of green products out there from organic t-shirts to poly pro bags and eco-friendly ink. To go along with them, reputable media suppliers also have offerings for one color and full color decoration to compliment. The more you can do….the greener the better.
Nice job. The colors on that digital transfer are so vibrant…it looks great!
I’ve been thinking about doing some polypro bags for promos. Thanks for inspiration!
Nice work guys!
Thanks for listing the materials used because I’ve had people come in and ask me about poly bags and I’ve always turned them away because I was affraid that the heat needed to apply the transfer or cut-only film would melt the bag or “shine” it where the element comes in contact with the bag.
Great work guys!
~mike
OK…I give. I tried to do this last summer, using Eco Film, and the bag (and/or handle) still melted even at 302 degrees F.
So how did you manage it without melting something?
apply the eco-film at no more than 280.
OK…cool! I didn’t know you could apply it at that low of a temp!
I’ve melted bags when we ran them through the dryer after screen printing them so, I’ve only done jobs that I could send to the manufacturer. Thanks for the info. That helps alot.
I have an older Roland Soljet SC-500 that is using eco-sol max inks and I cannot find a profile for heat transfer material. I was wondering if anyone could offer input as to a profile that would give good results. Thank you.
If this stuff works that well you have pretty well just solved a problem that has been plaguing me for months. That’s awesome!