Pad printing is the process of imprinting images on almost any medium, including glass, plastic, metal, and ceramic. It is a wet ink transfer that was originally invented by the Swiss for decorating watch faces. Today it is used for decorating a variety of items, including promotional pens, golf balls, key chains, perfume bottles, bottle caps, and stainless steel mugs.
Pad printing refers to the spot color process that is very similar to screen printing. (Sometimes pad printing is even referred to as screen printing or silk screening.) In this process, an image is transferred from ink filled etched images in a printing plate by way of a silicone pad. As with screen printing, the pad printing process begins with separating the colors of an image into PMS spot colors. These colors are then individual applied.
The process of pad printing is one of the most versatile of all printing transfer processes because of its ability to transfer images onto irregular surfaces and three dimensional objects. Additionally, pad printing can transfer extremely fine detail and tight multicolor images.
While pad printing achieves a high quality image transfer, the layer of decoration is very thin when compared to screen printing standards. Consequently, depending on the desired medium, pad printing is not always as durable as other imprinting methods and cannot withstand as much wear as screen printed images.
Most of the product in our website already include 1 color/1 location imprint. Additional color or location prices may vary depending on the product.