Rahanikplast

The largest IML container factory in Iran

What are IML containers and what are their advantages?

As you know, advertising is an essential part of today’s world for factories, producers, companies, and businesses, as it has a significant impact on attracting customers. Marketing includes all occupations, including food industry companies, dairy products, colors and chemicals, oil and grease, gardening supplies, cosmetics and hygiene products, chocolates and sweets, tobacco and pharmaceuticals. There are various methods for marketing, including printing labels on the packaging of the mentioned industries above. For this purpose, İML (In-Mold Labeling) plastic containers are used.

The production of these containers is done in such a way that first, the produced label is transferred into the mold with polymer materials similar to the container material, and then in the next stage, the injection process of plastic materials takes place. Stay tuned with Rahanik Plastic to learn more about this topic.

What are IML containers?

In old advertising methods, labels or tags were used on containers. But nowadays, companies inject their company name and brand onto containers through beautiful designs and various colors. This process is called İML (In-Mold Labeling). In İML containers, the logo and brand are completely attached to the containers and cannot be separated.

In addition to the quality that initially attracts customers’ attention, the appearance of the products also matters. Therefore, companies that use İML containers in their productions have attracted the attention of many customers with the beauty and attractiveness of their packaging, ultimately leading to brand recognition. Rahanik Plast can help you with this matter.

History of IML

IML stands for In Mold Labeling. This method was invented in the year 1980 and quickly gained popularity. Nowadays, this method has a strong position among industries and manufacturers, including food and hygiene products, with more than 80% of containers being packaged using the IML method.

The first country to use this method for packaging products was North America, where the technology of IML was employed for producing detergent bottles. After a while, when printing using the IML method became known, it was also used in the packaging of food products.

IML plastic containers and offset printing machine

In IML containers, they use an offset printing machine to print labels. iml is a ready-made label made of polypropylene, which is injected during the production of plastic containers and at the same time as the injection of the material. The result is that the label is completely attached to the body of the container and is a part of it, as a result, the body of the container and the label are not separated.

Advantages of printing on IML containers

This method of advertising and printing on iml plastic containers has countless advantages, including :

• Reduce costs
  Since the labeling process is done by automatic devices and does not require human labor, as a result, it is cheaper and more economical compared to other labels.
• High print quality
  Offset printing is the best and highest quality type of printing for IML containers. Offset printing also provides the possibility of high density production.
• Temperature resistance
  One of the advantages of IML printing is its resistance to temperature changes. For this reason, it is the best choice for plastic containers that should be kept at a low temperature and in the refrigerator. Also, iml containers are highly resistant to wrinkles or lines and cracks.
• Eco-friendly
  The material of the label and the packaging containers are of the same type of material. They can be recycled together, so IML containers are more environmentally friendly.
• Increase printing speed
  In this method, since offset printing has a high speed and the printing process takes place simultaneously with the production operation. Finally, the time spent on production is much less than other methods.
• Change plan
  One of the good advantages of offset printing in iml containers is the possibility of changing the design in the shortest possible time. Compared to plastic printing, this method has many advantages…

Types of manufacturing methods for IML containers

IML containers are used for various categories such as paint buckets, yogurt buckets, oil buckets, etc.

Three methods are used to prepare iml containers, which are :

1- Preparation of containers by plastic injection

For the preparation of IML containers, the use of plastic injection method is more useful and it has taken almost 68% of the share of the process.

Injection molding means injecting materials into the mold. This method is done with hot polymer. In this method, hot liquid is injected into the mold with very high pressure. After cooling, the material takes the shape of the desired mold.

IML plastic injection is done in such a way that the label printed by the IML method is inserted into the mold. Then the liquid and hot polymer material is inserted into the mold. After the material cools down, the plastic containers decorated with beautiful labels are ready.

2- Air injection

This method is used to make hollow plastic such as powder container, shampoo container, 5 liter oil container, and it is used approximately 31%.

In the method of injection and making the IML air mold, they put the IML inside the mold which is made of steel. Next, the molten plastic material is poured into the mold and the other part of the mold is placed on it. Then hot air is introduced into it and the plastic is pulled up with pressure and the mold is formed.

3- Thermofrying or thermal forming of TIML (TIML)

This method, which uses 1%, is used for packing hard and rigid plastics.

Thermoforming means that the product is formed during the heating process. In this way, the cut TIML is placed in the mold. They heat the plastic sheet before inserting it into the mold and then slowly pour it into the mold and close the mold. Next, plastic and TIML become one. After the plastic is cooled, the mold is opened and the product is ready with a decorated label.

Advantages of IML containers

The advantages of IML containers compared to other packaging methods are :

• The beautiful and eye-catching shape of the packaging, as a result of attracting more customers
• Increase sales and add more value to the product
• Hygiene and cleanliness of containers during production
• Preventing premature spoilage of products
• Printing lasting labels and increasing advertising and marketing
• Reuse in home use
• Variety of design and printing on labels
• Reasonable and cheap price compared to other packages