Pad Printing - The Processes, and Its Advantages
Pad printing is an important part of any production process. It involves printing 2D images on different surfaces of your custom parts, sheet metalwork components, and rapid prototypes. You can use this process as a part of your branding and other purposes. In this guide, you will learn about pad printing process and what you should know about its process and advantages.
Pad Printing - What is It?
Pad printing is one of the most common printing processes in production and rapid manufacturing, which allows you to print 2D images onto the surface of plastic molding components, custom parts, and prototypes. You can use this process as a branding for your business, or you can use this process to create specific marks or identifications for each part or component you produce.
With pad printing, you can use it for various material types, and there are also various color options you can choose. This process is also easy to do and cost effective.
How Pad Printing Works
The pad printing process is quite simple, and it involves engraving the 2D image you want to print onto the metal plate before you can fill the engraved metal plate with inks and transfer the inks to the custom part’s surface. Here’s how pad printing works:
●Preparing the pad printing equipment.
First, you will need to prepare the pad printing equipment and make sure that it will work well during the pad printing process. It is also important for you to check various related components to the pad printing equipment, such as pad printing plate, pad print ink cup, inks, and printing pad.
●Preparing the inks.
You also need to prepare the special pad printing inks for this process to work well. The primary components of the pad printing inks are thinners, pigments, and resins. You can prepare various colors for the inks, so that you will have more varieties of the images you can print on your custom part’s surface.
●Default/standby position.
Now that the equipment and the ink are ready, you will need to set the pad printer to the default or standby position. You will need to turn on the power of the pad printing equipment to allow it to initialize all its components and inks.
●Etching process.
The etching process involves engraving the 2D image you are about to print on the metal plate of the pad printing equipment. The engraving process uses the repeated exposure of UV light, and this process can go for as long as 30 minutes per plate.
●Putting the ink into the engraving.
After the etching process is complete, the ink cups will cover the engraved metal plate, and then it will fill the engraved area with inks. At this position, the pad printing equipment is ready to put the 2D image into the target surface.
●Air exposure.
After filling the engraved metal plate with inks, the ink cups will move away from the plate to allow some air exposure for the inks. This will make it easier for the printing equipment to print the ink into the target surface later, as the inks will become more adhesive and easier to stick to the target surface.
●Printing process.
The printing process happens when the printing pad sucks some inks from the engraved metal plate and transfers it to the surface area of your custom parts or 3d print services prototypes. This process will leave a small trace of inks on the engraved metal plate.
●Repeating the cycle.
The process will repeat after the printing process is complete. The ink cups will once again cover the engraved metal plate to supply new inks to it, so you can use it for the next printing cycle.
Pad Printing Advantages
Pad printing has many advantages, which gives manufactures a flexible and reliable way to add identification mark or branding for their custom parts and prototypes. It is a fast and cost-effective process to print any 2D image on any surface made of any material. Here are some pad printing advantages:
●A wide range of surface compatibility.
The good thing about pad printing is that you can apply this process on almost any surface, whether it is a flat or non-flat surface. You can also apply the pad printing process on any surface size, meaning that it doesn’t matter how small or big the surface of your custom parts, or aluminum die casting and zinc die casting components; you can always print the 2D image on it with no problem.
●Crisp and sharp printing quality.
Pad printing can also provide you with high-quality printing, with crisp and sharp printing quality. It means that you can show the letters, numbers, and images without making them look blurry or unreadable. This applies to both small and large surface areas.
●Various color options are available.
With pad printing, you can also choose various colors for the 2D image you would like to print on the part’s surface. This is something that can be beneficial for you, as it can improve the visibility of the 2D image on the part’s surface, no matter the color or material of the custom part. It can also help strengthen your branding and make it easier for you to identify each custom part you produce.
●A wide range of material compatibility.
Pad printing is compatible with a wide range of materials, such as plastics, metals, glasses, woods, and many others. Aside from that, you can also apply the pad printing process on edible materials, such as cakes, sweets, candies, gums, and so on.
●Affordability.
The pad printing process is also affordable for manufacturers to use, which is something that can benefit their production cycle. With pad printing, you don’t need to invest big on the printing equipment and the inks you use for this process. So, this is a cost-effective finish option for manufacturers to add branding and identification marks to the custom parts they produce.
●A wide range of applications.
Pad printing is a flexible surface printing process for custom parts and prototypes, and it also has a wide range of applications in various industries, such as medical, automotive, food and beverages, electronics, cosmetics, and consumer electronics.
Conclusion
Pad printing can be a cost-effective solution for manufacturers to create marks or identifications for their custom parts, prototypes, and components. This process is compatible with various materials and surface conditions, and it also offers various color options. Pad printing works in a simple process, which involves creating engravings on metal plates before you fill them with inks and transfer the engraved image to the surface area.
Besides from the custom manufacturing services(CNC machining services, injection molding services, die casting services etc), TEAM Rapid also offers the post finish services such as pad printing, anodizing, electrophoresis coating, painting etc for your needs. Contact our team today to request a free quote now!
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