CASE STUDIES
Discover how Only Imaging provides professional TTR solutions to global partners.
Case Study: Barcode Labels Surviving Tire Vulcanization (200°C)
In the automotive tire manufacturing industry, traceability starts long before the tire is finished. A barcode label must be applied to the “green” (uncured) rubber tire to track it through the entire production process.
The biggest hurdle? That label has to survive Vulcanization.
The Problem: The Curing Press
The Client: A global Tier-1 tire manufacturer. The Issue: After the barcode label is applied, the green tire is placed into a curing press. The press applies immense physical pressure and blasts the tire with steam at temperatures exceeding 200°C (392°F) for up to 20 minutes to harden the rubber.
The client was struggling with a massive failure rate. The generic resin ribbon they were using couldn’t handle the combination of heat, steam, and pressure.
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Ink Transfer (Ghosting): The ink was melting and transferring onto the expensive metal molds of the curing press, requiring the factory to halt production and painstakingly clean the molds.
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Unreadable Codes: By the time the tire emerged, the barcode was smeared into the rubber, making automated sorting impossible.
The Diagnosis: Poor Heat-Set Properties
A standard resin is designed to resist scratching, but it isn’t designed to be squeezed under tons of pressure at 200°C. To survive vulcanization, the ink must have extraordinary “heat-set” properties—meaning once it is printed onto the specialized tire label (usually a high-temp PET), it must permanently cure and never return to a liquid state.
The Solution: Only Imaging SP-Tire Vulcanization Resin
We partnered with their label converter to supply our highly specialized SP-Tire Resin Ribbon.
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Mold-Safe Technology: The SP-Tire formulation is engineered to withstand 220°C without re-melting. It absolutely will not transfer or “ghost” onto the metal curing molds, saving the client thousands in maintenance downtime.
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Chemical Resistance: It easily resists the sulfur and harsh release agents used during the rubber curing process.
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Deep Penetration: The resin bonds aggressively with the label coating, ensuring the barcode remains crisp and scannable even as the tire expands and stretches during inflation testing.
The Result
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Outcome: The factory achieved a 99.9% first-pass scan rate post-vulcanization and completely eliminated mold-cleaning downtime caused by ink transfer.
Conclusion: Traceability That Can Take the Pressure
Tire manufacturing is a brutal process. Don’t let cheap ink ruin your molds or your traceability data.
ONLY IMAGING is a leading supplier of labels, printing equipment and associate consumables, including TTR products in various widths and lengths. Please take the opportunity to learn more about our range of high-quality thermal transfer ribbons and explore our other products for any further questions you may have click Here.
