Printed Fiberglass Bandages as Orthopaedic Fiberglass Casting Tapes (3)
In attempting to print on cast bandages made from orthopaedic fiberglass casting tapes substrate, there have been several problems identified. One of them is a poor physical bond between the printing ink and the fiberglass filaments. The nature of the fiberglass surface is not capable of absorbing most dyes or pigments preventing the good adhesion necessary to maintain the pigment in the presence of the curable resin. Many of the printing inks which can be used to print fiberglass substrates were solvated and bled after the polyurethane resin was applied. Sometimes the printing ink itself provided chemical instability to the system. That is, the chemical interaction between the printing inks and the polyurethane resin may cause premature gelling of the resin or a color change in the ink. As used herein, the term "gelling" has the same meaning as that used in U.S.
