There Pad printing is a printing technique suitable for almost all types of backgrounds and shapes. The design is applied on a metal cliché through a photographic process and is then transferred / printed on the article using a pad (a rubber support).
You can print different figures with shaped pads, for most of the items you can make prints in one or more colors. Almost all the items in the catalog are in synthetic material and are printed using the pad printing method, while the low temperature pad printed ceramic products are not guaranteed for dishwashing, but for a safer result it is possible customize the product with the Transfer on ceramic technique.
General informations
Pad printing or pad printing is a type of printing suitable for almost all surfaces, even rounded ones. Films are created from the image file, as many as there are colors to be reproduced, each film will allow you to engrave, through a photoengraving process, as many plates (cliché) as the colors to be printed. The plates are placed on a special printing machine then filled with the desired ink, then a silicone rubber mold (the pad) is pressed onto these inked cavities, which "picks up" the color from the engraved parts; at this point the pad is pressed onto the object to be printed and transfers the ink to it. This process is repeated for each individual print color, finally all of the individual prints will form the desired image.
- Maximum number of colors possible: Up to 4 distinct colors can be printed (not photographic images and shades). Small color gradations (screens) can be obtained. The register of individual colors is not always perfect. The definition is very good even for very thin text and images.
- Implants and support materials : metal clichés (one for each single color)
- What determines the cost of printing : in addition to the printing cost, pad printing has a fixed cost for the realization of the clichés (one for each single color), for small productions it may be less convenient than direct digital printing or laser engraving.
- For which products is this printing used : pad printing is a printing technique suitable for almost all surfaces, such as metal, plastic (except silicones), ceramics, glass, wood, leather. Printing on ceramic products, as previously mentioned, is not resistant to washing in the dishwasher, but for a safer result it is possible to customize the product in Transfer on ceramic or if on white ceramic in Sublimation .
Warnings: printed colors may be different due to the background color of the product. Ink adhesion may not be optimal on some metal products. For metal items, it takes at least three days for the ink to dry and at least eight days for it to be scratch resistant. Pad-printed ceramic products are not guaranteed to be washed in the dishwasher
