Pad printing, also known as tampography, is a printing process that uses a silicone pad to transfer a 2D image from an etched plate onto a 3D part. It is an indirect offset (gravure) printing process where a silicon pad picks up ink (image) from an etched plate (also known as cliche) and transfers it onto a 3D object. This printing process prints odd-shaped parts such as curved (convex), hollow (concave), cylindrical, spherical, compound angles, textures, etc., which are not possible with traditional printing methods like inkjet and screen printing. This printing process requires a pad printing equipment. The style of printing machines varies based on the number of colors and the size of the image. Typical applications for this printing method include industrial, automotive, medical, promotional, textiles, etc.
Examples of popular pad printing applications include pens, garment tags, flash drives, cell phone covers, silicone wristbands, watch faces, lighters, etc.
Around July 1814, the first off-set type of hand transfer printing began in Switzerland, using a bag of soft gelatin material to transfer the image to delicate watch dials. Despite its usefulness, decorators didn’t make many advancements in the process until after World War II, when they recognized the potential of printing uneven surfaces.
In the early 1960’s, Wilfried Philipp founder of Tampoprint developed the first silicone pad (tampon) for industrial pad printing. Additionally, in 1968, he developed the first prototype to effectively print watch dials. With further advancements in inks, plates, and inking mechanisms in the 1980s, this printing process caught the imaginations of engineers and designers, and as a result, pad printing exploded into the mass production adaptation.
The pad printing process has five main components, which are critical for delivering a successful print. These components include a plate, an ink cup, a silicone pad, printing ink, and a part fixture (tooling). The plate houses the image for printing. The ink cup with ceramic ring floods and removes the excess ink from the image etched on the plate—the process is known as doctoring. The printing pad transfers the image from the etch and moves it over the substrate. Part fixtures on the other hand holds and positions a part during printing
Lastly, the pad printing ink gives color to the image. There are different inks for printing on different materials; learn more about ink for pad printing.
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A silicone printing pad (tampon), which transfers an image from a plate to an object, is one of the most important parts of the pad printing process.
These printing tampons are made in different shapes, sizes, and hardnesses with silicone rubber material. A durometer measures the varying hardness of the pads. The type of part and size of the image to print determines the pad’s shape, size, and hardness. For example, when printing on fragile glass, a hollow pad is required. For rough and textured surfaces, consider using a hard pad.
Additionally, pads vary in shape and size. At Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc., we carry a wide range of pads—rectangle, round, and even custom-shaped pads.
For more information, visit our silicone pad printing pads section.
Articles to read:
Learn about our pad printing pads
An ink cup is a reservoir for the ink during the pad printing process. Equipped with an ink cup ring, this pad printing component slides over the image, depositing a small amount of ink on the etch. The pad picks up the ink and transfers it to the part.
The image of ink flooding and cleaning is known as doctoring.
The cup consists of several components: the cup body, the ink cup ring, the o-ring, and vent plugs. The cup ring scrapes the ink on and off the image. We use the vent plug to de-gas the ink. The o-ring helps the cup to smoothly glide over the plate. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. uses zirconia, a scratch- and chemical-resistant material, to make their rings. Since this material is smooth, it doesn’t scratch the plate during printing.
Additional Resources:
Pad Printer Ceramic Ring profiles
Learn more about our ink cups and rings
A pad printing plate (cliché) is a flat piece of metal, polymer with a metal backing, or ceramic that is used to engrave an image for pad printing. There are two types of plate etching processes: laser engraving and chemical etching processes.
Laser plate making
Laser platemaking uses a laser to engrave an image on a cliché. Commonly known as computer-to-plate technology, this engraving method transfers a digital image from directly onto the plate without the use of chemicals. Laser plate making has many advantages over chemical etching processes. Some of the advantages include repeatability, depth variation, dot pattern support, and high-quality image reproduction. Additionally, this process is quick and saves a tremendous amount of time. It takes about 3–7 minutes from artwork to print.
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Can I etch laser plates with a CO2 Laser? //article and link//
Image sizing template for pad printing ink cup //article and link//
Chemical plate making is the traditional way of engraving plates for the pad printing process. This process requires polymer plates or thick steel plates. Thick steel plate etching is also known as acid etching. We will not focus on this process.
Photopolymer plates have a light-sensitive material. This light-sensitive material hardens when exposed to UV light. Therefore, to etch a photopolymer plate, you need an exposure unit, a film positive, and a washing solution (water or plate developer). While the equipment for making plates is cheap compared to laser plate making, the duration of making one plate is significantly longer, which adds time. The typical time to make one plate using this plate-making process is 30 minutes to an hour. Additionally, this printing process requires well-trained personnel and is prone to many errors. It is more of an art than a science. Each plate will be different from one person to the next.
How to make polymer plates for pad printing machines.
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Other important components for the pad printing process include pad print part holding, nesting fixtures, or printing tooling. These printing fixtures hold and position a part during the pad printing process. Part fixtures not only help with registration, loading, and unloading of the part, but they also help provide support to the printed area. Fixtures ensure accurate print repeatability on identical parts.
For instance, when printing 1000 identical pens, the fixtures guarantee consistent print placement from one pen to the next.
The pad printing process uses machines that require consumables (supplies). These pad printing supplies include ink, solvent, hardener, and primers (adhesion promoters). To print, simply mix the ink, hardener, and solvents at predetermined ratios. On the other hand, use adhesion promoters (primers) to help ink stick to hard-to-print materials.
No Minimum Order Quantities for Inkjet, Screen, and Pad Printing Supplies
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Pad printing uses a special type of “paint,” known as pad printing ink. Without ink, you cannot print. For this reason, pad printing ink is one of the most critical components of the tampo printing process. There are different types of inks for printing on different materials. For example, there are inks for printing on glass, metal, silicone, plastic, paper, leather, and many other materials.
These printing inks come in a wide variety of colors, in addition to different types designed for specific materials. It is possible to intermix the colors within each ink series to create new color shades. Therefore, there is no limitation to available colors. At Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc., we custom color match ink using pantone, RAL, HEX, and Federal Standard 595C (FED-STD-595) color matching systems.
Additional Resources:
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Pad printing solvent is a chemical solution that adjusts the viscosity of the pad printing ink, facilitating proper ink transfer and drying during the printing process.
Additionally, the solvent helps ink stick to the part. It is important to note that different inks use different solvents.
The chemical composition and evaporation speed of printing solvents vary from one solvent to another. There are speeds ranging from retarder, slow, medium slow, medium, and fast. Therefore, when printing, it is important to consider the printer’s environment and the ink when choosing a solvent.
The right solvent helps the ink transfer easily from the silicone pad to the part.
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A hardener serves as a crosslinker between the ink film and the material in pad printing. Most of the time, people confuse hardeners with catalysts. Hardeners harden the ink, while catalysts vulcanize it. However, both hardeners and catalysts play the same role in crosslinking the ink; hence the name “crosslinkers.”
Using hardeners in inks helps the prints withstand abrasion, chemical, dishwasher, and weather elements. Please note that 1-component inks do not require hardeners, while 2-component inks require hardeners. It is therefore important to use a hardener to increase the overall durability of the pad printing ink.
On the other hand, silicone inks require the use of a catalyst; without it, they would not bond to silicone rubber material. Therefore, it is important to catalyze silicone inks prior to printing.
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Auxiliary items make the pad printing processes easy. Use the additives to clean parts during printing rather than adding them to the ink. These additives help the ink bond with the material.
Ink off, pad cleaner and conditioner, and ink modifiers are common auxiliary items for pad printing.
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Additional Read and Resources
How to Load Plates and Ink Cups into a Pad Printing Machine
Custom Pad Printing Part Fixture
Pad printing machines can print on many different types of materials and parts, ranging from simple applications such as paper to odd-shaped 3-dimensional parts. These machines can print images ranging from 30mm to 170mm.
Tampo printing equipment uses different types of inks to print on different materials. For example, use plastic ink to print on plastic materials. It is important to note that different inks exhibit different characteristics, such as abrasion, resistance, and opacity. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right ink for your printing application.
Speed is one of the major advantages of pad printing machines. A printing cycle takes only a few seconds—depending on the number of colors. However, to print each color from start to finish, it takes a few seconds. It is possible to print over 1000 parts per hour with a pad printer—that is fast!
There are one, two, three, four, and six color pad printing equipment configurations. Additionally, these machines are fitted with different accessories for automation purposes. It is possible to fit these machines with robotic loading and unloading capabilities. Additionally, there are liner conveyor systems and over and under conveyor systems available.
The major limitation of pad printing equipment is the number of colors and the size of an image a machine can print. Generally, pad printing machines cannot deliver a full color print even with CMYK process colors. Furthermore, the machine can only print images up to 150mm in size.
Another limitation of this printing equipment is the ability to change artwork depending on the printing method used.
Lastly, each part must have its own unique registration tooling, e.g., pens will require their own fixtures, while glass will need different fixtures.
Let us review the Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. line of pad printing equipment. We provide a comprehensive range of machines, including 1-color, 2-color, 4-color, and 6-color closed cup pad printing machines. All these come standard with a 90mm ink cup. However, it is possible to retrofit them with small ink cup sizes, such as 50mm, 60mm, or 70mm ink cups.
We offer large ink cup printing models in addition to the standard 90mm ink cup machines, enabling printers to decorate larger items effectively. The larger machines have 110–170mm ink cups. For applications with larger printing needs, we have open ink well machines.
All our pad printing machines have a robust compression pneumatic system. These machines are available as either compact tabletop models or floor-standing units. Additionally, these machines are industrial-grade, suitable for both start-up and heavy printing applications.
Designed to print productional products like silicone wristbands, the M100 is a small, tabletop, 1-color pad printing machine. Additionally, this machine excels in tagless garment printing, napkins, and many other 3-dimensional parts.
We offer this machine in various configurations, including an automated pad cleaning system. //link//
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Why should you switch to printing garment tags? //Link//
The M150 1-color benchtop pad printing machine comes with a large 140mm ink cup for printing large images. Like the M100, this machine is perfect for printing on apparel.
However, it is compatible with both large and small ink cups, enabling decorators to print on a diverse range of products.
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Why should you switch to printing garment tags? //Link//
Introducing the M150 pad printing machine //Link//
Print 1- to 2-colors with the M2150 pad printer. This machine comes standard with a fixed registration table, which enables easy and precise fixturing for two color prints.
In addition to its high-speed capabilities, it is possible to retrofit this machine with liner conveyor or carousel options. This capability makes this machine perfect for automation applications.
The M4150 pad printing machine is an industrial-grade 4-color pad printer with an electro-pneumatic indexing shuttle table. The design of this automatic pad printer allows for quick setup and changeover of printing jobs. It is capable of printing 3.2 inches (82 mm) in size. This machine also has a carousel option.
The M6300 is an advanced automatic 6-color pad printer machine. This machine has independent print heads and a programmable precision servo-controlled indexing shuttle table that is ideal for printing complicated multi-color parts such as hard hats (helmets).
This is a long-image, one-color pad printer designed for printing on promotional items, sports goods, and long medical devices. Print on baseball bats, rulers, catheters, and more.
At Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc., we strive to load our equipment with as many convenient features as possible. These features make it simple for decorators to focus on printing and worry less about the capabilities of the machines. Below, you’ll find the common standard features of all our Volta® pad printers.
The pad printing equipment from Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. has numerous applications. Therefore, the printing applications range from promotional products such as silicone wristbands, pens, and calculators, to sporting goods such as golf balls and skateboard wheels, tagless garments, electronic devices, medical products, aerospace, automotive parts, power tools, injection molding, and more.
Label printing on textiles is a common application in the apparel industry. Many companies are using this printing process for shirts, t-shirts, and more. Pad printing is the fastest way to apply garment tags. Lastly, this printing method increases the labeling efficiency, reduces costs, and increases quality.
Silicone rubber pad printing is becoming a popular application. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc., has redefined this printing application by formulating the best silicone inks in the world. Worldwide, people use our inks not only to print on silicone wristbands but also on intricate medical and food packaging items.
Since only silicone-based inks can adhere to silicone, we make our silicone inks from silicone rubber. These inks for printing silicone rubber require heat to dry and cure. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. offers the SE Series, SE-F Series, DC Series, and CS Silicone inks, which are excellent options for decorating silicone products.
To complement these silicone printing inks, Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. has developed silicone printing machines that can print on electronic devices and many more silicone rubber products.
Learn more about our silicone printing machines
Additional articles that you might be interested in:
What Type of Printing Do you Need for your Sporting Goods? //link//
Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. supports pad printing training and installation. Our printing experts are available not only to train customers but also to troubleshoot, test, and help with pad and ink recommendations.
Learn more about technical support //page – link// /about-us/technical-support/
While there is too much information about pad printing machines, you can learn more by visiting our blog. In our blog, you will find articles with helpful tips, applications, and general information about all things pad printing.
Boston Industrial Solutions support hub is a knowledge center to help our current and future customers learn more about pad printing, inkjet printing, screen printing, and silicone printing. This portal has a full pad printing FAQs section and a community section where you can ask questions and find answers about pad printing. Some of the most popular questions are:
And many more….
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