What is Hydrographics
Metro East Hydrographic Dipping is a specialist in the Water Transfer Printing industry. Water transfer printing is an innovative graphics printing technique used for decorating or coating hard surfaced materials like glass, wood, metal and plastics.
Water Transfer Printing is the process of using special film that is printed with graphic art work. The design is transferred to the item using water displacement technology by submerging it in water through the ink. The ink is then printed onto the item as it passes through the ink into the water.
Which Design?
There are a multitude of designs available to decorate your items today. Everything from burly maple, walnut or marble to raindrops and full blow digital camouflage. Flames and other popular items for motorcycles and even snakeskin if that is what you would prefer. There are many, many other hydrographic designs available today and zebra, skulls, hundred dollar bills are not the least of them.
What Can I Dip?
Just about any item can be dipped. The rule of thumb is, "If it can be painted, we can dip it". We can dip plastic, wood, metal, aluminum, steel and various other items. Complex 3D shapes can also be dipped and that is what makes this entire hydrographics process unique.
Hydro Imaging can be applied to just about any hunting, sporting, firearm, deer skull, valve cover or even wheels. We also offer full service OEM services for manufacturers too.
Visit our gallery to pick the pattern you would like on your next project and email or call us today
Hydrographics printing is the dipping process of transferring camoflauge, and other patterns to mulitple surface (3d) objects using water displacement (pressure). Any material that can be painted can be hydrographically printed with a pattern.
There are hundreds of hydrographic film patterns available today indcluding: wood grain, camouflage, carbon fiber, snake skin, metal, stone, skulls, cartoons, flames one hundred dollar bills and a multitude of other patterns.
You can see the avaiable patterns by visiting the Design Patterns Page.
As with any other decorating or painting process there are certain steps that must be taken to ensure a good product is created. Skipping, or rushing any of these steps can often lead to a low quality product, or a comlete re-do in order to preserve the value of the item being dipped.
Prep is the first, and most important step fo the entire process. The parts will need to be thorougly cleaned, sanded, primed and sanded again to prepare for the next stage of the hydrographics processing. A base coat of paint (the choosen base color) is sprayed on the part prior to dipping. This is what creates the different under tones, or colors beneath the pattern on the part.
After the part is sprayed with the custom base coat paint, it is ready to be dipped in the hydrographic film. The pattern that you want comes printed on a water-soluble vinyl film. The film is cut according to the size of the part to be dipped. Then it is laid on top of clean water in a specialized stainless steel or polyethylene tank made for water transfer printing. A chemical activator is sprayed which dissolves the film, leaving the printed pattern floating evenly on the water. Finally the part is ready to be dipped. The water being displaced by the object causes the pattern to efficiently wrap around the part and bonds the print to it no matter how complex the shape, creating a continuous finish.