Decoration processes compared: which finish, on which material, at what cost

Thirteen processes on one table.

Use this as the shortlist. The two columns that matter most commercially are tooling (whether the process itself has a set-up cost that drives your minimum order quantity) and limits (what it cannot do on your shape or material). RMB figures are converted at 7.2 and marked approx.

Partner factories for these processes operate to ISO 22716 / GMP. Adhesion is checked to the same tape tests on every process — 3M 600 over print and hot-stamp, 3M 810 over cross-hatched spray and plating — described on our QC standards page.

Vacuum metallising, anodising, electroplating and powder coat.

Vacuum metallising (evaporation). The chamber is pulled to 1.3 × 10⁻² to 1.3 × 10⁻³ Pa; 99.99% aluminium wire is melted and evaporated at 1,200–1,400°C and condenses on the part. The line runs pre-treatment → loading → base coat → metallising → optional tint coat or pad print → top coat → 100% inspection → packing. Plastic parts are base-coated first to seal surface bubbles, then top-coated for gloss and protection. No tooling charge; about 6 hours per cycle including lacquer. Imitates gold, silver, copper and gunmetal on lipstick cases, pump collars, glass bottles and caps.

Anodising (aluminium). The base aluminium is about HV100; a standard anodic film is about HV300 and a hard-anodised film reaches HV500, against a natural oxide of only 5 nm. Pores of 0.01–0.03 μm accept dye molecules of 0.0015–0.0030 μm, then are sealed in boiling water. Sequence: mechanical finishing → degrease → chemical polish → anodise → (de-smut) → dye → seal → dry. Aluminium density is 2.7 g/cm³. Used on lipstick metal parts, tool components and cap outers.

Electroplating (water plating). More than 30 metals can be deposited; zinc, cadmium, copper, nickel, chrome, silver, tin, gold and rhodium are common, rhodium being the most expensive and the brightest. ABS is the usual plastic because it tolerates the 60°C (140°F) bath and bonds strongly. The 12-step line is: polish → pre-clean → rinse → electrolytic degrease → rinse → acid pickle and activation → neutralise → strike plate → top plate → deionised rinse → dewater → dry. Two rules: nickel must not be used where it touches skin, and plated parts never contact the formula — they are exterior components only.

Powder coating. Electrostatic powder cured at 185°C for 15 minutes. Solvent-free, near-100% material use, strong at hiding surface defects, and can imitate wood grain. Mainly for aluminium and steel — lipstick and cushion-compact exteriors — after degrease → de-rust → phosphate → passivate.

Spray coating: seven pre-treatment steps and three coats.

Sixteen coating defects a partner factory's line is set up to catch: pinholes, blistering, blushing (whitening), lifting of the undercoat, cissing (fish-eyes), slow or non-drying, loss of gloss, sagging, brush marks, orange peel, cracking, film detachment, peeling, bubbling, flaking and rough film. If your inspection report does not name the defect class, ask for the one that does.

Pad, screen, hot stamp, heat and water transfer.

Pad printing. An etched steel plate and a silicone pad transfer the image to curved or irregular surfaces in four steps (preparation → pick-up → transfer → print). 1–5 seconds per piece, low plate cost, low unit cost; ink to thinner about 5:1. Used on glass, plastic bottles, pump heads and tubes.

Screen printing. On glass, choose between high-temperature ink (fired, hard to remove, softer and duller colour — purple is difficult) and low-temperature ink (brighter, demands a good ink and careful sterilisation or it lifts). Cost on glass around ¥0.1 per colour (approx. $0.014); cylindrical bottles count as one colour, shaped bottles as two or more. Print adhesion: 3M 600 tape, 10 passes, pulled at 45°, ink loss under 0.5 mm².

Hot stamping. The foil is a five-layer structure: 12–25 μm polyester carrier, 0.01 μm release, 1.00 μm colour, 0.02 μm aluminium and 1.50 μm adhesive. Plate quality runs copper > zinc > resin; plate relief ≥0.6 mm at about 70° shoulder. Around 1,000 pieces per hour, very low plate cost, no ink, and it works on plastic, glass and paper. Accept no visible double image (ghosting on 10–25% of the image) or serrated edges.

Heat transfer. Sublimation dyes at 150–230°C; hot-press transfer at about 200°C. Film carriers are PET, PVC or CP; wood-grain, metallised and plain films are stocked. Works on ABS, PP, PE, EVA, PVC, stainless steel, glass, painted surfaces and leather.

Water transfer. Two methods: water-slide decals and hydro-dipping (all-over coverage, activated with an aromatic-hydrocarbon activator). Decal paper is soaked about 20 seconds to release the image; drying at 65–100°C; unprotected decals are sealed with UV lacquer. 10–20 minutes per cycle, no tooling. Best on flat and gently curved parts — lipstick cases, pump heads, caps, compacts — and not suited to deep recesses, sharp corners or odd points.

Laser, in-mould labelling and flocking.

Laser marking. No ink, permanent, speed set in IPS with power adjustable 1–100%; standard 2.0-inch lens. Marks plastic, anodised aluminium, glass, wood, acrylic, leather and painted metal. Used for lipstick cases and compact shells, and for batch and date codes that must survive alcohol wipes.

In-mould labelling (IML). A three-layer film — PC, PET or PVC carrier + ink + hot-melt adhesive — is placed in the mould so the label becomes part of the PP, PE or PET body in one shot: abrasion-proof and hard to counterfeit. Grades include economy, high-definition (fine text, suits hot-stamp and special inks), transparent (no-label look), double-layer laminate (ink sealed between two films, no skin contact), oversize, peelable (promotion and anti-counterfeit) and PET-specific — PET's oxygen barrier is more than 15 times that of PP, and the label is engineered to survive squeeze-and-recover without wrinkling or lifting. Used on shampoo and body-wash bottles and skincare bottles.

Flocking. Cut fibres of 0.03–0.5 cm (viscose, nylon, polyester or leather flock — use cut fibre, not milled, for premium work) are driven vertically into an adhesive layer by 20–100 kV DC static across a 10–20 cm plate gap, then dried above 100°C, brushed and finished. Mainly for gift-box inserts and compact trays; occasionally on primary packs.

What actually drives MOQ, and other rules of thumb.

Forming and finishing are usually two different suppliers — a moulder or glassworks, then a decoration house for spray, plating, print and hot stamp. Part of what a sourcing partner does is hold both to one golden sample and one adhesion test, so the decorated piece is judged as a whole and not in two halves.

Frequently asked

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