In-mould labelling (IML) mould manufacturer
With in-mould labelling the label is laid into the cavity first and the melt goes in behind it. Where the label sits, what keeps it flat and whether the closing tool pushes it out of place are all settled when the mould is cut — not adjusted later at the press.
- ProcessInjection, in-mould labelling
- PP screw cap tool8 cavities, cold runner
- Triangular jar setFour tools, 12 cavities each, valve gate hot runner
- Lead time40–60 days
What in-mould labelling changes about the tool
In-mould labelling puts the printed label into the open cavity before the shot. The melt fills in behind it and fuses it into the wall of the part, so what comes off the tool is already decorated. There is no second labelling machine after the press, no adhesive, and no edge that can lift or be peeled off in a warehouse.
For the toolmaker that moves three decisions forward to the cutting stage. The cavity has to hold the label in exactly one position, shot after shot. It has to vent so the flow front does not shift the label or trap air behind it. And the gate has to feed where the melt will not wash across the print. Ejection follows the same logic: the decorated face is the face your buyer looks at, so the ejectors are laid out on the other side of the part.
None of that can be added to a tool afterwards, which is why it matters that you say at enquiry time whether the part is IML decorated. North American buyers write IML mold or in-mold label mold; it is the same tooling.
A PP screw cap tool: 8 cavities, cold runner
Tolerances off the part drawing. What is on the drawing is what the cavity is cut to.
Four tools for one triangular jar
The second job on this page: a triangular cream jar drawn as one set of four injection tools.
Outer cap, inner jacket, jar body and bottom cap — four separate tools, drawn together so the parts fit each other before any steel is cut. Each one is 12 cavities with a valve gate fully hot runner and its own temperature control box, each is built around a 200 T machine, and the quotation writes a moulding cycle against each: 18 ±2, 20 ±2, 19 ±2 and 18 ±2 seconds. Assembled, the jar is 66.36 × 68.09 × 32.70 mm and weighs 27.2 ±1 g.
The outer cap of that set is drawn for in-mould labelling later on. The drawing asks for a smooth top face because the customer decorates it in the mould, top entry, so the face is kept clear of gate and ejector marks and the part is gated on the inside instead. The other three tools are plain injection tools. What this set shows is the other half of the job: one container does not have to be split across four suppliers.
Seven questions about the tool itself
The seven that decide whether you send a drawing, answered for IML tooling. Where a figure is on a drawing or a quotation we print it; where it depends on your part we say which numbers we will ask you for.
Hot runner or cold runner?
Both are cut here. The PP screw cap on this page is 8 cavities on a cold runner; the four tools of the triangular jar are 12 cavities each on a valve gate fully hot runner with a temperature control box. Which one your part gets follows the part, the cavity count and the output you need, and the quotation says which it is.
Cycle time and output
The quotation for the jar set writes a cycle against each of the four tools: 18 ±2, 20 ±2, 19 ±2 and 18 ±2 seconds, on a 200 T machine. Those belong to those parts. Tell us the parts per hour you are planning around and the cavity count is worked back from that number rather than guessed.
How the part is ejected
On the jar set the outer cap, the inner jacket and the bottom cap come off by forced ejection and the jar body runs on a slide, each written on the drawing. A labelled part adds one rule on top: the decorated face is the one your customer looks at, so the ejectors go on the other side of the part.
Tryout report and acceptance
Every tool is run on a machine in our own workshop before it ships, and the moulded parts ship with it. The acceptance points are the ones you name — dimensions, weight, surface — and on a labelled part, whatever you want checked on the label itself. Say what you will measure and it goes into the order.
Spare parts
Cavities, cores and the wearing inserts are cut from the same drawings on the same machines as the tool. Spares follow the AMAN standard spare part list written into the quotation; say how many sets to pack and they go in the crate.
Warranty
Warranty terms are written into the quotation for that tool: what is covered, for how long, and how a replacement part is sent to you.
Will it fit your machine?
A mould is built to a machine. The four tools of the jar set were built around a 200 T machine. Send the make, model and tonnage of yours and the platen, tie bar spacing and ejector layout are checked against it before anything is cut. For a labelled part, tell us the label-handling robot you run as well — the tool has to be laid out around how it reaches in.
What we will ask you for: a drawing or a sample of the part, the label size and where it sits on the part, the material, the parts per hour you need, and the machine and label-handling robot you already have.
How many labelled parts an hour do you need?
That one number sets the cavity count, and the cavity count is most of the price of the tool. Tell us the output you are planning around and the quotation is built on it.
Tell us your output target
Frequently asked questions
More from the same workshop: all AMAN moulds · cap and closure moulds · cosmetic jar moulds · every injection mould we cut.
Send us your part drawing
The part and the label together: a drawing, a 3D file or clear photos, plus the label size and where it sits. One upload is enough — no email back and forth first.
- ✓A drawing, a 3D file or clear photos of the part
- ✓The label size and where it goes on the part
- ✓Material and part weight, if you have them
- ✓Parts per hour you need, or the cavity count you want
- ✓The machine and the label-handling robot you already run