Pad Printing

[Martin Boekers]

Anyone here do pad printing?

I'm working with a client that will be doing 4000+ items a year
this seems like a feasable way to do it, fits their budget and
time frames. One artwork for all the imprinting.

A few questions,

How durable are the inks? Dishwasher proof?

Air dry or UV?

Typical problems

Any recommendations for a printer set up.

Process your own plates or outsource platemaking.

Just looking for an overview to see if this is something
I want to delve into. First job would pay for the
set-up $1500-$2000 for equipment, plus profits, guaranteed
workflow for 2 years minimum.

Any advice would be appreciated. Client prefers project to be
produced in shop by myself and not through an Ad Specialties
company

Flatbed printer is also a possiblity, but I haven't seen one yet
that I am really sold on.

Any help would be appreciated!;)

Marty

[Charity Newland]

We bought a used press-a-print pad printer. So what I know is that equipment. the inks, depended on item. air dry(pen, golf ball,ect) and glass and such you bake. We never had any problem with the dishwasher. We print our own plates. its pretty easy. Our is a manual press which we haven't use in about 8mos....selling cheap

[Rick Irwin]

Inks are very durable but depends on substrate used. Glass or ceramic really needs to be fired for best results to hold up in dishwasher.
Air dry - the silcone pad lays down small amount of ink and drys quickly.
You can now use your laser to create pad print plates. No need to job those out.
Be sure to get closed ink cup system. Some plastics will require special pretreatment before you can print on them.

Check out inkcupsnow.com & padprintmachinery.com

[Bill Cunningham]

Also keep in mind, the fumes from many pad printing inks are very toxic. Make sure you have LOTS of fresh air circulation when using one.. A young lady I knew, suffered some pretty bad effects ending in a lawsuit against a pad printing company/demo in the booth next to hers at a trade show in Toronto.

[Martin Boekers]

Also keep in mind, the fumes from many pad printing inks are very toxic. Make sure you have LOTS of fresh air circulation when using one.. A young lady I knew, suffered some pretty bad effects ending in a lawsuit against a pad printing company/demo in the booth next to hers at a trade show in Toronto.

Thanks, that information will help in the decision process!

[Richard Rumancik]

Martin, I am by no means a pad printing expert but several years ago I did investigate it. The equipment is quite expensive for what it is; I find that the small manual machines are way overpriced when purchased new (if you buy a used one like Charity has, maybe you can get a deal) but they are not intended to be high-production machines. When you say $1500-2000 budget for equipment I assume you are looking at something used. If you want to make your own cliches there could be considerably more outlay for equipment.

I did order some pad print ink for another reason - I needed to flood coat some polycarbonate for a laser job. So I ordered ink and thinner. The inks are very expensive - $50-100 a litre and you need special solvents which are nasty and expensive. I used the pad print ink as a "paint" on the polycarb film but it had an awful smell which lingered for days as it dried. Of course, I had quite a bit of exposed ink drying. I agree with Bill's comment - if you decide to set up a small operation make sure you have proper ventilation. Perhaps you can use your laser exhaust system to operate a hood.

If you are doing a single job with one cliche and one ink then you might be okay. But if you intend to get into it deeper and market the service, be prepared to spend a lot of money on inks (different colors, for different substrates) plus numerous different solvents, thinners, hardeners. And you'll need a bunch of silicone pads. Don't forget the inks have a shelf life and you probably won't have the color in stock that the customer needs.

My take was that it was difficult to "dabble" in this business, and I disliked using the chemicals and inks. With the proper equipment and space, and a good business plan, you may be able to deal with the issues and make it successful.

[Martin Boekers]

Thanks for the input, I know from my brother's screen shop the problems with drying and ventilation.
He mostly uses a heat cure as opposed to an air dry, but the inks can be messy also.

Ventiltation will be the issue that will make me look elseware to provide the service.

I think I can get them to go with engraved pens, I can make it work and justify
what I pay for pens now but I am looking (hoping) to find a decent laser
engravable pen closer to $1ea that will give me a bit more "cushion"

I thought about outsourcing to an Ad Spec. Company but time frames and
budgets make that difficult. Plus I can do shorter runs 200-500 when needed.

They have the test I made this morning so time will tell.;)


Marty