Why Digital Heat Transfer For the Promo and Industrial Spaces is Such a 'Game Changer'

Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with Mark Pomerantz, sales and marketing director of Xeikon North America, about Xeikon's upcoming presence at PRINTING United Expo, as well as digital embellishments and the rising demand for brand protection and security, and why paper-based flexible packaging is exciting. During that discussion, we also explore why digital heat transfer for the promotional and industrial segments is such a game changer.

Printing Impressions: Let's talk about digital heat transfer. Can you talk about that and why it's such a game changer for the promotional and industrial spaces?

Mark Pomerantz: It's an interesting segment and topic to talk about because it's kind of been around for a while, and you mentioned there's really two sides of it. There's the industrial side and the promotional side. So in promotional products, particularly in the case of pens and mugs, it's been done with digital print. We've had several customers doing it for years, but it seems like it's been relegated to a small segment of it. Most of those products traditionally, were manufactured using screen printing or dye-sublimation. What digital heat transfer does is that it combines all of what the required capabilities are — with durability being No. 1 — into a single-pass process and  a lot less labor. You don't have the need for ovens in almost all cases, so, it's a it's a space saver and it's a labor saver. A lot of things rebounded [during the pandemic], such as promotional products. We're seeing a bigger volumes. Now people are looking at 'What can I do versus the way I'm doing it today, which is costly and labor intensive.' That's a problem that digital solves.

Then on the industrial side — that's actually been the biggest growth area for us over the last couple of years. Anytime there's growth in any of these print segments, digital always just marches in behind it if it's been done conventional. So most of the pails and buckets have been printed with flexo technology, onto some type of transfer material, with the use of applicators. And with anything else that can be digital, it's just very efficient for our customers, and it's meeting the demand that their customers are providing to them. It's giving more personalization. It's allowing them to order differently. It's all the same kind of stories of the digital value proposition.

This is one of these segments where it's really catching on. Because of Xeikon's dry toner, we really have a unique capability to do it very easily.

I couldn't talk about heat transfer without saying that even within that capability, there's seems to be an emerging trend toward in-mold labeling or IML. What IML is in the simplest terms is that it allows people to print around the entire [object, such as a bucket] instead of just in one spot. So the process and the materials are a little bit different. But we see a trend going there, where we're a part of that as well, too. I don't see this ending, I see a lot of growth in these areas. And these are high value products, and our customers feel they can be very unique by offering them. 

Xeikon will be at Booth C1143 during the upcoming PRINTING United Expo.

To listen to the full discussion, check out our podcast here.

*This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.