In for a Treat

During extrusion, a material's instability makes it more receptive to surface treatment. By the time a material reaches the printer, treatment may have decayed, or additives may have migrated to the surface, making the material less receptive to treatment and necessitating higher power levels during treatment to achieve the required surface energy, Opad explains. Pretreated material, however, isn't completely out of the picture. Opad adds that bump treating is very common, in which printers buy a 38 dyne substrate and then bump it up to a 42 or 45 dyne for ink needs.