Europeans Aim to Decorate Plastics

Lambda Physik has teamed up with several partners for the European Brite/Euram III development program to design a system for laser decoration. The proposed system will create permanent multicolor patterns and photographic images directly on various polymer surfaces such as plastics and foils, replacing older techniques that rely on wet chemicals. It will use a wavelength-tunable laser to write on plastics containing special colorants or other additives, which selectively change color when exposed to laser light. Joining Lambda Physik are electronics manufacturer Philips, plastics manufacturer DSM, colorant producer Ciba Specialty Chemicals and decorative foil manufacturer Kurz.