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(February 2006) posted on Tue Jan 31, 2006

Most materials can be transformed from an ordinary 2-D surface to an eye-catching, 3-D product.

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By Jim Hingst

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Lately, our customer-service and sales representatives have been fielding numerous questions about doming. "What is doming?" "What materials can be domed?" "Can you dome printed vinyl?" "What type of doming resin should you buy?" And, finally, "How do you do it?"

This two-part article will provide answers to such questions, so you can decide whether doming is suitable for your business, and, if it is, should you attempt doming in-house or subcontract?

Doming is the process of adding a glass-like, plastic-resin bubble to a 2-D surface, which transforms it into an eye-catching, 3-D product. For a small, additional price, you can simulate the appearance of a vacuum-formed or molded part, without having to purchase expensive tooling and production equipment.

Vinyl isn't the only material you can dome. Just about anything that isn't porous -- metalized polyester, metals, and such plastics as acrylic and polycarbonate -- will work. (Note: Anything that's porous can absorb moisture from the air and cause bubbles to form in the doming liquid. I'll discuss bubbles later.)

Recently, one of our United Kingdom-based customers showed me some samples of his work -- an award plaque and some prototype signs. In each example, doming resin had been applied over metalized-vinyl films. The resin bubble acts as a lens and magnifies the film's brilliant, light-diffracting effects, creating a very elegant appearance. Even with standard opaque vinyl, doming makes something ordinary appear extraordinary.

Because it's so cool looking, doming has inspired numerous, creative signmakers. The most important question, though, is what doming can do for your business, not what you can do with doming. Doming is simply another way you can differentiate your company from the competition. By converting standard vinyl graphics into rich-looking signs, you can command higher selling prices and add to your profit margins -- that's the meaning of value-added.

Resins

Resins typically fall into one of three classes of materials: epoxy, UV-curable resin and polyurethane. Within each classification, several products are available. For outdoor applications, most signmakers, and companies that specialize in doming, choose polyurethane. After comparing each material's performance characteristics, you'll see why polyurethane is the best choice.