Doming is a unique decoration process in the promotional products industry. It is not commonly used, and the select suppliers that offer it usually solely produce the domed decals, rather than using them to decorate products. We decorate several products with domed decals and the process is both complex and rewarding. The time and effort we put into doing our in-house doming results in an elegant, high-end product
Our Doming Room and Doming Machine
Holding Tanks for the Catalyst and Resin
The first step in creating a domed decal is to print the sheet(s) of logos. We print these on lay-flat marine grade adhesive vinyl paper using our CMYK 4-Color process. Once the full quantity of logos is printed on large sheets, we then cut the outline of the decals with our routing machine. Our cutter precisely incises the sticker material so as not to cut through it, but instead to create a removable sticker. The cut needs to be clean and slightly rounded to hold the epoxy resin used in the doming process. The large sheets are cut into smaller sheets to fit precisely onto the doming table. The sheets are weeded (i.e. the unused adhesive is removed, leaving only the imprinted image cut into the desired shape), before moving to the doming table.
Sheets of printed and cut logos prior to doming.
Once the logos are printed and cut, we move them to our doming room. Our doming machine has to be in a clean environment so that dust particles do not find their way into our doming resin or the drying domed decals. The doming machine is programmable and the settings determine the location that the resin comes out, the spacing between domes, and the amount of resin needed. Our doming operator, Scott, aligns the nozzles and programs the accompanying computer for a perfect sheet of domes. Sometimes unplanned issues arise such as the resin pouring off of vinyl from unclean cuts, or resin comes out too fast and spills over the edges, thus ruining the domes. Attention to detail is imperative at this step and even as we take the greatest care when doming, the drying time is also crucial.
This video shows Scott using a remote control to position the nozzles over the center of the logo. He then manually adjusts each one to prepare to dome. These locations are assigned numerical values that are entered into the computer programming of the machine to remember their position as the machine runs for the duration of each job.
You will notice that the resin does not reach the end of the logo immediately. This is because it takes time for the resin to disperse and spread. Our techs will watch and sometimes need to manually direct the resin so that it spreads evenly, as seen in the next photo.
We use small weights as the domes dry since the newly domed decals weigh down the paper. Even that slight curve of the paper will make the resin run off or pool incorrectly. The sheets must lie perfectly flat while they are drying.
Dome sheets dry on weighted racks so that we can dry multiple sheets at a time without disrupting the domes.
Domes take about 24 hours to dry completely. During this time dust can fall onto the domes or if they come into contact with anything, or are even put on an angle immediately after doming, the domes can get damaged and become unusable. Once the domes are completely dry, it’s finally time to decorate the products!
The doming machine must be disassembled in order to clean parts between jobs. If these parts are not removed and cleaned, the resin will dry in the hoses and will ruin the machine.
Disassembled pieces to be cleaned between doming jobs.
Our domed decals are marine-grade adhesive and therefore very durable. Once the decals are applied they are very difficult to remove. We have customers that use them to decorate kayaks during a company event and they are completely water and weather proof. Domed decals are used on a variety of our products, including our Magnetic Cup Caddy, Magnetic Parts Trays, Ceramic Magnets, and our Magnetic Wall Organizer.
