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Very effective for charity fundraising, rubber or silicone wristbands are produced in huge quantities and are available all over the world. The silicone rubber is a very versatile material that has a massive range of domestic, industrial and commercial uses. It’s only in the last 10 years that this material has been effectively used as a fundraising tool for charities.
The widespread appeal of silicone wristbands is partly due to the available customisation options. A fairly straight forward injection moulding process can produce large quantities of customised rubber bracelets fairly quickly and at a low unit cost.
Silicone based products are commonly found in the recreational arena with the popularity of this versatile material continuing to grow. Accessories manufactured from silicone rubber are particularly popular along with wristbands and bracelets. The huge potential for custom variations allows the silicone to easily branded with charity messaging and colouring. The final promotional products have a low unit cost, are easy to market and distribute.
The production process of silicone wristbands.
Silicone rubber is a bonded polymer that has elastomeric qualities. It’s these qualities that give the material its flexibility, durability and water resistant qualities. It was developed as a material for insulation and also has some level of heat resistant properties. One downfall of the material is that it deteriorates more quickly when exposed to ultra violet light.
The silicone itself is usually bought in strips which are moulded into wristbands using machine compression. Usually a single ‘one size fits all’ bracelet is produced which is usually more than adequate for all wrist thicknesses.
Adding words and colours.
As previously mentioned, a lot of the affection for silicone wristbands lies in the ability for them to be custom branded with colours and messaging. There are various types of customisation options available during the production process.
- Screen Printing – this process prints the messaging directly onto the silicone wristbands with the messaging colour contrasting with that of the bracelet.
- Debossing – This method of customisation is used the most and results in the logo or messaging being ‘sunk’ into the silicone band. This can be done with an imprint mould or by laser cutting.
- Embossing – Doing this raises the logo or letters of the messaging so that they protrude a couple of millimetres from the surface.
- Debossing & colouring – The silicone has a debossed message that is then colour-filled to make the message more visible and longer lasting.
It is also possible to colour section the slap bands and add in patterns but these increase the unit cost and are therefore not as popular. Most silicone suppliers for wristband use provide a wide range of pre-moulded single colours or multi-coloured and segmented stock.