FilmFXHydrographics.com

FilmFX Hydrographics Studio

Located in the beautiful Northwest nestled within foothills Of the Blue Mountains in Southeastern Washington State, Our Company FilmFx Hydrographic Studios offers custom HYDROGRAPHIC PRINTING services, or also known as WATER IMMERSION OR WATER TRANSFER PRINTING for just about any item. We specialize in Europeon Mount Skulls, Sporting goods, such as guns and bows, ATV's, automotive interiors, and computers.

We are one of the most experienced shops in the nation. We started in the Hydrographics field over 10 years ago and have extensive experience decorating utility vehicles, quads and ATV's. We where one of the first to decorate skulls to make them more attractive to be displayed more like artwork. Gaining acceptance from the other half, making it more desirable to display your trophy in the modern living room for all to see!! We have over 25 years in the finish industry, which ties right in with the hydrographics, guaranteeing a quality finish.

For Skull decorating we do have access to beetle cleaning services. So we can take care of the whole package for you. There are some restrictions please contact us for details.

Because we have a very high quality control, you can assure that your products will exceed your expectations. We are willing to work with our clients to provide custom colors and designs for their products. We have 100's of different designs available. Please let us know if we can help you in any way. Please call or email us anytime.

What is Hydrographics?

Hydrographics (which is also called Immersion or Water transfer printing is a process of applying decorative finishes to rigid and semi-rigid products including, but not limited to, plastic and metal substrates without wrinkles, air bubbles, or blemishes. The process requires three steps in most cases (treat plastic, base coat and hydrographics film coat), however, molded substrates made of Polystyrene and ABS may only involve two steps depending on the specific material.

There are over 300 patterns available as well as opportunities for companies to create and apply their own custom patterns that can be trademarked. Hydrographics provides complete 360 degree coverage over corners, in crevasses, and intricate draft angles. Extremely durable, hydrographics has been used extensively in the automotive sector since it meets specifications for hardness, UV resistance, salt spray corrosion resistance, and adhesion. Most important, it is not necessary to retool a product line to implement hydrographics. The process can be utilized on existing programs with minimal tooling expense on the finishing end. All products with hydrographics application are sealed with automotive grade clear coat or UV curable hard coating. If the goal is to create unique and visually appealing products through applied graphics, hydrographics is the finish method of choice.

How does the process work?

Designed from a process used in production line manufacturing and 3D products, water transfer printing is cutting-edge decorating technology.Water transfer printing is essentially a process that transfers selected ink patterns onto 3D surfaces.These ink patterns, standard or custom designed, sit on a thin base of water-soluble film. As this film is placed on water and the high-molecular base begins to dissolve, a patented chemical activator is sprayed over it causing the ink to remain floating in an oil-like state on top of the water. The item has been prepared (sand, prime and base coat) to receive the ink decoration is then immersed into the water and the upward pressure of the water causes the ink to wrap around and adhere to the item. After the entire item has been immersed, it is removed from the water, washed, cleaned then coated with a clear acrylic paint.