The Pad Printing Principle: Six Steps from Plate to Product

Pad printing transfers a two-dimensional image onto a flat, curved or irregular component with a flexible silicone pad. The image is picked up from a plate etched by acid or laser and deposited on the product surface.

Pad printing in six steps

1. The doctor blade removes excess ink from the plate surface while the etched image fills with ink.
2. The silicone pad moves towards the plate surface.
3. The pad compresses in a controlled manner, expelling trapped air and picking up the image.
4. The pad moves towards the component. During this movement, part of the solvent evaporates.
5. The pad makes contact with the product surface.
6. Controlled compression transfers the ink to the product; the pad then rises and completes the cycle.

Factors affecting print quality

Plate depth, pad shape and hardness, ink viscosity, solvent speed, printing force and ambient conditions must be evaluated together.