Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of silicone thermal transfer?

Advantages of silicone heat transfer
Good pattern effect
Strong three-dimensional sense: Silicone heat transfer can produce patterns with obvious three-dimensional sense, and the visual effect is more prominent than ordinary flat printing. For example, on the logos of some sportswear, the three-dimensional logo of silicone thermal transfer can make the brand logo more eye-catching and enhance the recognition of the product.
Bright colors: Rich and bright colors can be mixed, and the colors of the design patterns can be accurately restored to meet various personalized and diversified design needs. For example, the clothing of some fashion brands can achieve colorful and detailed pattern effects through silicone thermal transfer.
Excellent performance
Wear-resistant and washable: The silicone material itself has good wear resistance and water resistance. The pattern after thermal transfer can withstand multiple washing and friction, and is not easy to fade, fall off or damage. For example, school uniforms printed with silicone patterns are still as clear as before after long-term wearing and washing.
Soft and comfortable: The silicone material is soft. When combined with substrates such as clothing, it will not affect the wearing comfort of clothing, but will increase a certain tactile experience. For example, the silicone thermal transfer patterns on some baby products are beautiful and will not irritate the baby's delicate skin.
Good weather resistance: It has good adaptability to environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, and is not prone to deformation and aging due to environmental changes. It is suitable for various usage scenarios.
Environmentally friendly and safe
Non-toxic and odorless: Silicone is an environmentally friendly material that does not release harmful substances during normal use, is harmless to the human body and the environment, and meets the requirements of modern consumers for environmental protection and health.
Comply with standards: Many silicone thermal transfer products can pass relevant environmental testing standards, such as the EU's REACH standards, which provides guarantees for the export and sales of products.
Widely used
Many applicable materials: It can be applied to substrates of various materials, such as textiles (cotton, linen, chemical fiber, etc.), leather, plastic, metal, etc., providing a variety of decorative options for products in different industries. For example, silicone thermal transfer on the outer shell of electronic products can increase the beauty and anti-slip performance of the product.
Wide industry coverage: It is widely used in many industries such as clothing, luggage, shoes and hats, toys, gifts, advertising, etc., and can meet the brand promotion and product beautification needs of different industries.
Disadvantages of silicone heat transfer
High cost
Material cost: The price of silicone raw materials and supporting transfer glue, hot melt adhesive and other materials is relatively high, resulting in an increase in the overall material cost.
Equipment cost: Silicone thermal transfer requires professional equipment, such as dispensing machines, ovens, heat press machines, etc., and the purchase and maintenance costs of equipment are high.
Labor cost: Due to the relatively complex process, the technical requirements for operators are high, and professional training is required to operate proficiently, which also increases labor costs.
Low production efficiency
Complex process: Silicone thermal transfer requires multiple processes such as pattern printing, film baking, and thermal transfer. Each process requires a certain amount of time and operation requirements, resulting in a long production cycle.
Speed limit: Compared with some large-scale printing processes, silicone thermal transfer has a slower production speed and is difficult to meet large-scale and fast production needs. For example, when producing clothing in large quantities, silicone thermal transfer may become a bottleneck in production efficiency.
Limited pattern accuracy
Screen printing accuracy: Although silicone thermal transfer can achieve certain pattern effects, for some very fine and complex patterns, the screen printing process may have certain limitations and it is difficult to achieve high-precision printing effects.
Color registration difficulty: When performing multi-color overprinting, color registration errors are prone to occur, affecting the overall quality of the pattern.
Requirements for substrates
Surface flatness: The surface of the substrate needs to be relatively flat, otherwise it will affect the adhesion effect of the silicone and the flatness of the pattern. For example, some substrates with concave and convex textures or rough surfaces may not be suitable for silicone thermal transfer.
Heat resistance: A certain temperature is required during the thermal transfer process, and the substrate needs to be able to withstand the corresponding temperature without deformation, damage, and other problems. For some materials that are not resistant to high temperatures, such as some plastic products, special treatment may be required for silicone heat transfer.