New Designs, New Problems, New Designs
Robert Andre recommended contacting a printing company he has used as they deal in thermochromics. He brought in a tester pack to experiment with and so an email was sent. The reply was very helpful but exposed a few problems with the underlying principle of the design.
The biggest problem is that it is not as simple to use permanent thermochromic inks with the design, the process of printing is just as simple but requires a higher temperature to activate. So simply touching the stamp with your finger won’t activate the transparency. Helpfully the printing company (Augustus Martin) attached a few documents detailing certain aspects of the printing technology and certain constraints that are in place. Such as colours limited by the technology, activation temperatures and pricing. Permanent thermochromic printing is called thermic printing.
The solution to the activation temperature is to provide a tool with the stamps, a few small stencils and some stamps that can be put in the microwave then attached to a heat resistant handle to enable imprinting of words on the material. A pointed implement will be included to enable more detailed customization in line with using your finger to create a design. These are still in the early design stage.
The stamps have changed to match the colours of the thermic ink process and new identifications have been defined for each. Allowing a small white strip to the right of the stamp means the pastel colours are able to show the Queen’s head and the price more effectively. There is stil debate about including the words on the stamp in it’s natural state.
you may find that Nick Ford the fashion print tech knows a load about thermochromic inks .. may even have some . you dont know ’til you ask.