Nine decoration processes look similar in a mood board and behave very differently on a tapered tube. This is what each one is good at, what it cannot do, and the tolerance that decides whether your artwork survives the transfer.
At a glance
- MaterialsAS · ABS · PE · PP
- PrintingScreen · hot stamping · 3D colour printing · water transfer · laser engraving
- FinishingSpray coating · metallization · UV coating · rubberised / soft-touch
- RegistrationTypically ±0.3–0.5 mm, method and geometry dependent
- Send usVector artwork, Pantone references, reference sample or photo
Choosing a process
| Process | What it looks like | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Screen printing | Flat, opaque colour; solid logos and text | One screen per colour; gradients and fine detail are not its strength |
| Hot stamping | Metallic or coloured foil with a crisp edge | A raised edge on curved faces; position depends on registration |
| 3D colour printing | Full-colour image with a slight relief | Set-up cost; best on flat or gently curved faces, not all-round |
| Water transfer | All-round pattern — wood, marble, carbon | Pattern alignment where it crosses a parting line |
| Laser engraving | Tone-on-tone mark, no ink, permanent | Contrast comes from the material itself, not every colour works |
| Spray coating | Even colour, matte, gloss or rubber feel | Colour drifts slightly between batches; agree a chip |
| Metallization | Mirror or brushed metal look | Areas that must not be coated need masking at the tooling stage |
| UV coating | Gloss protection over print | One more process step and one more place to scratch |
| Soft-touch | Velvet, rubberised feel | Shows fingerprints; keep a clear area for the batch code |
What ±0.3–0.5 mm means on a curved part
Registration is the distance a printed element can move from where the artwork puts it. On a flat label, half a millimetre is invisible. On a tapered tube it is not, because the circumference changes with height: an element placed near the taper has less material to travel across before it looks crooked, and a two-colour logo inherits the error twice.
What that means in practice:
- Thin strokes and small text lose more to registration than to print resolution. A hairline that reads on a flat proof can close up on a curved surface.
- Two-colour registration is the tightest case; if a design has a white underlay and a colour on top, the underlay is what buys you tolerance.
- Print-to-feature alignment — a logo that must sit square to a seam, a window or a cap thread — is a different requirement from print-to-print, and should be stated separately.
Artwork we can work from
- Vector artwork (AI, EPS, PDF) with fonts outlined. A photo is a reference, not artwork.
- Pantone references per colour, and which surface each colour sits on — sprayed body, raw material, metallized cap.
- The area that must stay clear: batch code, filling instructions, a regulatory panel.
- Any printed element whose position matters, called out rather than assumed.
Colour: what is realistic
- A chip, not a screen. The physical Pantone chip and the sprayed part are the reference; backlit screens shift hue and saturation.
- Same material, same process. A sprayed cap and a raw-material body will not match each other, even in the same colour code.
- Reorders. Keep the approved chip and the sample; matching across batches is a comparison against a physical standard, not against a memory.
- Metallics and soft-touch shift most with light and handling. Judge them in daylight, at arm’s length, not under a desk lamp.
The cheapest way to lose money on decoration is approving a rendering. Ask for a decorated sample on the real substrate before the print stage is committed. It costs USD 100–200 and a week; a re-run of a print stage costs the plate, the material and the schedule. See sampling.
Tolerances for your specific artwork are in the printing tolerance question. To test a design, send the artwork.