PAD PRINTING TECHNOLOGY
Pad printing is an indirect method of printing, a combination of offset & gravure printing process. Plate system is like gravure & printing system is like offset. In gravure printing, design is etched on a roller whereas in pad printing, flat plate carries an image. A rubber blanket, in offset process, picks up image from the plate & transfers it on the substrate. Similarly a solid mass of rubber called pad, picks up ink from the etched plate & prints on the substrate hence the process is known as pad printing.
Theory of pad printing: The ink is spread over the plate to fill up the image on it. Doctor blade or ink cup cleans the plate leaving ink in the etched portion only. The upper surface of the ink film is exposed to air. The silicone rubber pad comes down & presses on the image area on the plate & goes up with the ink film on it. The pad now moves over to the object to be printed & again moves down onto the object to transfer the print image onto the object.
Because the pads are very soft, they are able to take the shape of the product & so pad printing is possible on irregular surfaces, uneven surfaces & flat surfaces with the same ease & clarity.
Today, pad printing is used successfully both in the field of high quality decoration and in the field of labeling and marking. Due to the versatile use and the development of this technology, it has gained great importance and developed into a universally recognized printing process. |
