Eco-friendlier Process Introduced For Next-Generation Duratool® Eclipse™ Diazo Phototool Film.

MATTHEWS, NC – Exopack Advanced Coating’s new generation of Duratool® Eclipse™ Micro Matte films are the result of refined manufacturing and coating reformulations that incorporate more environmentally sensitive solvents.

In addition to greater sustainability, the company’s latest Micro Matte phototool films provide printed circuit board and microelectronics makers measurably better chemical and scratch resistance as well as a high level of emulsion adhesion.

According to Greg Williams, Vice President of Technology at Exopack Advanced Coatings, the recent move of the Micro Matte films line from Massachusetts to company facilities in this town outside Charlotte provided an opportunity to improve the film process and increase its “green” aspects.

The first generation of Micro Matte films required application of five different coatings using three pass-throughs on the coaters, Williams said. The process now used at the Matthews location – while leveraging this facility’s Class 1000 cleanrooms and Class 100 coating heads and dryers — has been streamlined significantly to ensure greater sustainability.

“In producing our new-generation Duratool Eclipse Micro Matte films, we are using just two reformulated coatings which significantly reduce the use of VOCS [volatile organic compounds] in the manufacture of these films while also completing the process with two coater pass-throughs instead of the previous three,” Williams said.

Features of the new films include 100 percent camera inspection coupled with automatic web marking, superior resolution of 1000 lines/mm for sharply defined images, excellent densitometry and coatings on a 0.007-inch polyester base that maximizes stability and durability.

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Updated on May 8th, 2008 by exopack-main