Rubber Flooring

Q: I just purchased a 4×6 of the recycled rubber tire flooring. What temperature can this flooring withstand before melting? I would like to “print” on it with a UV flatbed printer, but the printer heats up quite a bit and I don’t want it to melt.
Thanks.
Teresa K
A: The rubber flooring made by RB Rubber is great stuff for gyms and various other applications. According to iFLOOR’s rep over at RB Rubber, the tiles are heated up to 280 degrees Fahrenheit during the manufacturing process without melting, so you should be ok to use this as a printable surface. Also our RB Rubber rep mentioned:

We have used several printers who successfully print on our rolled rubber. I know at least 2 of them use UV dryers and one printer air dries

For those not accustomed to this type of flooring, the great part about it is that its made from recycled rubber, so it gets a big thumbs up on being a product made with the environment in mind. The other big benefit here is that most of the rubber tile is made similar to a puzzle piece, so they lock into place very easily. I have seen these floors used rather well in gyms and martial arts studios and similar applications, which seem like a perfect fit. These also can work rather well in a kitchen as they give a bit of cushion underfoot while still being relatively dense, much like cork.