Investigation of the use of hydrographic coating (water transfer printing) and ultraviolet (UV) printing process on furniture surfaces

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the usability of water transfer printing (WTP) and ultraviolet (UV) printing processes on the surfaces of furniture and decoration elements produced from wood-based composite panels. In line with this goal, 8 mm thick in bright white color; high gloss acrylic coated MDF, PVC coated MDF and MDF lam ready panels and panels with cellulosic, polyurethane, acrylic and water-based lacquer paint were preferred, and WTP and UV printing were applied to the panel surfaces. To simulate the effect of household chemicals on prepared sample panels, the "Image Processing Based Scrub Tester (IPBST)" was designed and manufactured with the support of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under project number 221O551. During the scrub process of IPBST, its operating accuracy was examined by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) according to the principles specified in TS EN ISO 11998 standards and a calibration certificate was obtained. The prepared samples were scrubbed with IPBST according to ASTM D1308-20 (2020) and TS EN ISO 11998 (2006) using various household chemicals. To detect the changes that occur on the sample surfaces after the scrubbing process, wear (ASTM E112-13), color (ASTM D2244-21), gloss (TS EN ISO 2813), adhesion (ASTM D3359-23), scratching (TS EN 15186), hardness (ASTM D4366-95) and roughness (TS 2495 EN ISO 3274) tests were performed. In addition, digital images of each sample were recorded with the "studio cabin" integrated into the device before and after the scrubbing process. Using the Matlab Graphical User Interface (GUI) image processing program, a software named "Surface Flaw Analysis Method (SFAM)" was developed, and with this software, the wear, color and brightness changes of the sample images were analyzed. As a result of the research, the scrubbed WTP samples were compared to the UV printed samples; an increase of 27.44% in wear values, 124.63% in color change values, 97.17% in brightness values, 5.59% in scratching values, 26.67% in hardness values, increase, and a decreased of 39.24% in adhesion values, 544.26% roughness values were determined. In general, successful results have been achieved on all wood-based panel surfaces coated with WTP and UV printing processes. Samples coated with UV printing showed better performance than WTP samples.