Pad printing

Pad printing – is a relatively new printing technology compared to screen printing or offset printing. It seems that in the beginning pad printing was used by master watchmakers in decorating dials or other watch accessories, and the development of this printing technology was directly influenced by the emergence of the petrochemical industry, more precisely it was closely related to the ability to produce tampons. high quality silicone.

Buffer printing – is the technology that allows printing on a variety of objects in terms of shape and size. Pad printing can be used for practical printing on any surface, for example:

• industrial applications: computer keyboard buttons, microchips, relays, panels, mobile phone keypad, switches;

• graduated scale of measuring devices, electrical separation;

• office supplies, toys, etc

• promotional products: pens , keychains, mugs , glass cups, plastic cups, ashtrays, lighters, badges, computers, glasses , toys, sporting goods ;

• other industrial applications

Pad printing is based on the process of taking the ink layer off the printing form (pad printing plate) and applying it to the printing surface using an elastic pad made of silicone.

The print form (cliché) has portions engraved in the area of the image to be printed, which will be filled with ink, and the mechanically or pneumatically operated pad will pick up the ink from the cliché and transfer it to the surface of the object to be printed.

The chemical properties and elasticity of silicone pads make it possible to print on objects with different shapes: cylindrical, spherical, conical, but also on flat surfaces.

Due to the chemical properties of the inks, different types of materials can be printed, such as:

Plastic : Polypropylene PP, PVC, PE, PET, silicone, rubber, acrylic, styrene, acrylic, polycarbonate, vinyl, butyrate, ABS, chipboard;
Wood , MDF, Pal
Metals : stainless steel, painted steel, aluminum, lacquered metal, etc.
Non- metals : Aluminum, brass, copper
Glass
Ceramics and porcelain
Cardboard and paper

A large part of the materials listed above can be pad printed with one-component ink, and for glass, metals and non-metals, rubber, we can use two-component ink and something more… the skill of our specialists. ⁇

Shape preparation plays an important role in making a quality pad printing. The image to be printed must be submitted in vector format – Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator

Forms for printing – clichés can be photopolymeric or metallic. Photopolymer plates are faster and more economical to prepare, but have a limited shelf life. Usually photopolymer plates are used for circulations of less than 10,000 pieces. Metal clichés are more expensive, but they are more resistant to use. Metal clichés are usually used for large runs or for industrial applications.

We at Tropeum have 4 pad printing machines:

1 multipurpose equipment that prints in 6 colors, 4 colors, 2 colors or 1 color;
2 printing equipment in 2 colors;
1 printing equipment in 1 color

Given the great experience of our specialists and the modern technological equipment we have, we can ensure the printing of large quantities of products, for example in a single work shift (8 hours) we print approximately 10,000-15,000 objects.
If we can help you, you can write to us at promotionale@tropeum.ro.