Combining Decals and High Temperatures

Some graphics need to withstand high temperatures. Consider labels on an oven, under the hood of a vehicle, or even on a satellite. It’s vital that these labels are durable and able to withstand high-temp placement because they may share important safety product identification. Label material should always be carefully selected to ensure decals can handle the heat without distorting, becoming illegible, falling off, melting, or even disintegrating completely.

Building Decals for High Temperatures

The builds for high-temp graphics and labels are pretty standard across the print industry. The main substrates of choice include polyester, various flame retardant materials, and metal.

Polyester

Polyester is generally considered the best material for decals that need to withstand up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit because of its high dimensional stability and remarkable thermal stability at both high and low temperatures. It comes in both rigid and flexible varieties. While polyester works well as a base substrate, it can also be used as an over-laminate to slow the fading of colors from UV light.

Most labels that can withstand high temperatures are printed via thermal roll printing because the ink is also made to withstand higher temperatures.

Flame-Retardant Materials

Flame- or fire-retardant materials are intended to prevent fires and limit their spread. They’re designed to burn slowly, providing additional time to put out fires that do occur.

One example: flame-retardant polycarbonate. Though traditional polycarbonate is not a good choice for high-heat applications, the material offers both impact resistance and a variety of finishes and textures for graphic overlays. Because of those benefits, flame-retardant polycarbonate was created for high-temperature situations including the aerospace and hazardous environment control industries.

Products include flammability ratings to help customers select the right material for their high-temperature needs.

Metal

When exposing labels to high temps, sometimes, decals just won’t cut it. Metal nameplates are used in the aerospace and defense industries, and also often found on firepit rings and burn barrels. Metal nameplates can be fabricated in almost any shape and enhanced with etched, stamped, or printed graphics.

When exposed to extreme heat, adhesive can get messy and may not secure to heavy metals. As a result, most metal nameplates and badges exposed to high heat are manufactured with holes or other elements so users can attach the plates with rivets or screws. This creates a foolproof way to secure nameplates exactly where they belong.

There are a few common options for metal nameplates: Metalphoto®, aluminum, and stainless steel.

• Metalphoto® anodized aluminum labels and nameplates are ideal for applications with temperature requirements up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Metalphoto® graphic images, which can include serial numbers and barcodes, are photographic in quality and sealed beneath an impenetrable sapphire-hard anodic layer. This results in extremely durable and temperature-resistant metal labels with an expected outdoor life span of 20 years or more. Because of the high amount of production that goes into these, they are most cost-effective for small to medium volumes.

Breakdown of Metalphoto® nameplate layers

• Aluminum is versatile, lightweight, and durable. It is incredibly resistant to outside elements, heat, and chemicals.
• Steel is even sturdier than aluminum, but considerably heavier. It, too, is resistant to outside elements, heat, and chemicals.

Protecting Decals in High Temperatures

All decals, even those built for indoor, non-heat exposed applications, may sometimes be exposed to higher temps, such as a sweltering August day or a building with broken air conditioning. Most decals will hold up to small bouts of heat, but you can do a few things to minimize heat damage to your graphics.

Get them in the shade

Graphics applied to an object that can be relocated out of direct sunlight (like a car or trailer) should be moved to the shade, such as in a garage or covered carport or under a tree.

 Dirt and dust can bake into vinyl and stain decals permanently if not cleaned often enough.