The typical plastic tube manufacturing process is composed of the following steps : The first phase of the manufacturing process is extrusion. A mixture of resin and color concentrate is placed into an extruder hopper. The extruder is temperature controlled as the resin is fed through to ensure proper melt of the resin. The material is extruded through a set of sizing dies that are encapsulated within a right angle cross section attached to the extruder. At this point, the sleeve is water-cooled and ready for cutting. The sleeve is fed through a set of dies at which time it is sliced to a given length by a rotating knife. Then the sleeve is taken to the heading machine where molten resin is injected to form a head or shoulder to the sleeve. From here, the tube goes to the decorating operation where, with offset printing, it is decorated with up to eight different colors. The ink is transferred onto a plate by a series of rollers. The plate then comes in contact with a rubber blanket, picking up the ink and transferring it onto the circumference of the tube. The wet ink on the tube is cured by ultra-violet light or heat. A similar method is used to apply a protective coating to the tube. After decorating, we transfers the tube to the capping station where the cap is applied and torqued to the customer's specifications (capping is an optional). After going through a rigorous quality assurance, the tube is then packed into cartons that are sealed and ready for shipment. The typical laminate tube manufacturing process is composed of the following steps : The first phase of the manufacturing process is printing. A roll of PBL (plastic barrier laminate) or ABL (aluminium barrier laminate) web is fed to our 9 stations flexo printing machine. A variety of 'Nylo Plates' are prepared for each colour (as per the design), and mounted in the units. When the printing process is completed, different colors are merged together to give the desired design. Then the roll of printed web is taken to our side seaming/welding machine where the laminate is sealed to form sleeves using high frequency welding technique and cut to desired length. Then the sleeve is taken to the heading machine where molten resin is injected to form a head or shoulder to the sleeve. Then we transfer the tube to the capping station where the cap is applied and torqued to the customer's specifications (capping is optional). After going through a rigorous quality assurance, the tube is then packed into cartons that are sealed and ready for shipment.