Pad printing samples

Pad printing process

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1. Coating:
Coating ink onto the pad plate by an ink roller or sealed cup

Opened-inktray pad printer stores ink in the end of the tray, when the roller slide into the ink and out will bring ink to the pad plate; sealed cup pad printer stores ink in the sealed cup. Sealed cup moves from back to forth and brings ink into the cave of pad plate.

2.Removing ink:
Removing ink on the pad plate with steel blade or sealed cup

The ink in the cave of pad plate will remain. Removing the ink on the surface of pad plate completely is very important. when the ink remain on the surface of pad plate, pad will pick up them with the ink in the cave of pad plate, printing picture will be not same as standard document. Removing ink with steel blade on inktray pad printer and Removing ink with Sealed cup on Sealed cup pad printer.

3.Picking up ink

Pad above the pad plate press down and pick up the ink from the cave on the pad plate, then rise up. The ink will be transfered onto the pad surface because of pressure. Please make sure the size of rubber pad is matched with logo.

4.Moving

Pad move to the position above the working table and substrate. There are two kinds of moving way: one is parallel moving, the other is turning moving. Most of KC brand pad printer drived with pneumatic -controlling.

5.Printing

Pad press down to contact the substrate and print inks onto substrate. Substrate is installed on the fixture and the fixture is installed on the working table of pad printer.

1. What is a pad printer?

Pad printing machine is the machine, which uses an indirect printing process, it is very suitable for printing irregular surface of small products, make up for the lack of screen printing process, known as the screen printing twin sisters .

2 . The difference between the closed cup pad printer and open inkwell pad printer

The open ink-tray pad printer uses the ink-tray as the ink supply way, the ink is exposed to the air, the VOC is easy to volatilize to cause the air pollution, the ink-tray pad printers sells mainly to China, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe and so on the environmental pollution request is not Too high a country;

The closed cup pad printer uses the closed cup as the ink supply way, the ink is enclosed in the cup, the VOC can not volatilize to the air, does not have the pollution to the environment basically, the closed cup pad printers sells mainly to Western Europe, On the environment demanding countries and regions.

3. Shuttle pad printer and Turntable pad printer

Shuttle pad printer is installed shuttle table printing machine, printing back and forth between the colors in the printing, shuttle printing machine can only print one product at a time, more accurate overprint, slower; and Turntable pad printer is installed Rotary table of the printing machine, a 10-station, 16-station, 22-station in various forms. Turntable pad printing machine stations are required to install the same product for printing, faster, no printing shuttle printing machine accurate.

4. Pad printing machine operating system

The ordinary printing machine adopts the microcomputer control system to carry on the control, the high-end pad printing machine uses the PLC to carry on the control, specially the servo control system pad printing machine or the automatic pad printing machine, uses the PLC control system quite commonly.

5. Pad printing machine movement characteristics

Most of the pad printing machine pneumatic control, slower, low cost. With the printing quality and printing speed of the user's high demand in recent years, the use of mechanical control of the pad printing machine more and more common. Pad printing machine automation is the most distinctive trend, the use of automatic feeding system, prepress processing device, servo drive system, automatic printing, drying machine as one of the mechanical and pneumatic motion perfect combination, greatly improving the productivity.

6. How to evaluate the quality of the pad printer

Pad Printing machine technology content is low, more and more enterprises began to produce and sell pad printing machines, pad printing machines of uneven quality, how to evaluate the quality of pad printing machine is essential. As the majority of brand-name pad printing machine is not sold through the network, so, through Alibaba sales of pad printing machines are low-end pad printing machine.

1) Design of the factory means: a special design department of the enterprise quality is more reliable. China has 70% of the pad printing machine manufacturing enterprises and no special design department, the development of new products on-site assembly by the basic, which is extremely adverse to the standardization of production machinery;

2) Processing means: CNC processing costs are higher, but the parts manufactured high precision; visit the factory must inspect whether the factory has CNC machining capacity;

3) Materials Selection: Material selection is very important. Now fierce competition, the vast majority of domestic factories in the selection of the above efforts, only the brand enterprises are willing to insist on the selection criteria above.

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Pad Printer type

Used to print small area and complex surface of industrial products. Pad Printer is consist of working table, pad combination, ink supply system, operation controlling system and machine body as well.

Structure

(1) Working Table

Install fixture and substrates. There are Four kinds of working table: base, shuttle, cylinder and conveyer. Base working table is one simple working table to install conveyer and shuttle. Shuttle working table and conveyer working table installed on multicolor pad printer. One product to be installed and printed on shuttle pad printer and more products to be installed and printed on conveyer pad printer, but shuttle pad printer printing precision is higher the conveyer pad printer, cylinder working table is suitable for printing round objects.

(2)Pad Combination

Install pad to pick up ink from pad plate and transfer onto the substrates. The pression of pad adjusted by the slide switching beside pad printer. When starting pad printer, pad combination will move from plate above to substrate above. Most of pad combination press down controlled by one cylinder jar, in order to print small area on big dimension objects, Independent press by diffrent cylinder jar will reach the result, this is independent-press muti-colour pad printer

(3)Ink Supply System

There are two kinds of ink supply: one is opened ink tray, the other is sealed cup. Ink and thinner covered in sealed cup to provide and avoid harmful solvent volatilization to protect environment clean, meantime ink saved because of small volatilization. In order to improve printing quality, installing Pad-cleaning tape device with ink supply system. when the rubber pad move back after printing and print on the adhering tape, The printing Quality will be improved obviously.

(4)Operation Controlling System

Most of pad printer controlled by micro-computer built in to make machine stability and easy to operate. When testing, only press simple action key and when starting automatic key to begin printing will be helpful to operate pad printer.

Main Factors

(1)Pad Plate

Three kinds of pad plate used by pad printer: thick steel plate ( Open inktray pad printer and closed cup pad printer), thin steel plate( Sealed cup pad printer), nylon resin plate(Open inktray pad printer and closed cup pad printer).

(2) Pad Ink

Choosing solvent screen ink, UV pad ink and solvent pad ink according to products substrates and having a test before printing. KC Printing machine limited can provide Marabu , LOGO, ALPHA, KC pad printing ink.

(3)Rubber Pad

Ink picked up from plate and printed by soft rubber pad. Choosing pad according to substrates and printing precision, more harder pad to get more precision printing quality.

(4)Fixture

It is important to make fixture according to products. Regular products need the fixture made by lathe or CNC. Complex products need the fixture made by polyester resin-Putty.

Types

1. Manual controlling(404M) , Electron controlling, Compression air controlling pad printer (P2-408C) to be sorted according to action supply. Most of pad printer in china market is controlled by compression air.

2. Sealed cup pad printer( SP2-41010C), opened ink tray pad printer (SP4-40616) to be sorted according to different ink supply system. Sealed cup pad printer have more excellence than opened ink tray pad printer such as ink viscidity, ink dosage and clean environment.

3. One colour( P1-408), two colours(P2-606) , four colours(SP4-408), six colours pad printer (SP6-40618) to be sorted according to max printing colour numbers. One colour pad printer print one colour one time; two colours pad printer print two colours in one products one time.in order to improve multicolor pad printer purpose, one colour to be printed one time is ok too.

4. Shuttle working table pad printer (SP4-406) and conveyer working table pad printer (SP4-40616)to be sorted according to different working table installed. Shuttle working table pad printer install one product to print and get multicolor. Printing more precision than conveyer pad printer. Conveyer pad printer install 10-20 products to print and get more higher production than shuttle pad printer.

5. Flat pad printer and cylinder pad printer (P1-604S) to be sorted according to products can be printed. Cylinder pad printer updated on one colour pad printer. When its pad press down on the product and keep contact state for some time, shuttle working installed move and make cylinder product move round. Cylinder pad printer can print some simple round products such as handle, golf.

Pad plate and film output

How to output film?

Brefie	Most of pad printing and screen printing use Film to make plate; When this film enter into laser output machine, Laser will exposure to words and drawing. the sensitive layer will be solid and other area keep its un-exposured state; Exposured layer will be not remove and un-exposured layer will be remove with developing liquid; Cover the film onto pad plate or screen plate. There are two areas to be made, one is open area, the other is closed.
Usage	Used by PM-3266FL and PM-3766FL Laser output film machine. Operating in dark room. It is formed that coating Photosensitive coating layer; Widely used to output films of pad printing process and screen printing process.
Package	Package size: 160160380mm; Weight: 3.5kg; CBM: 0.009
Store	Sahde, cooling and wentilate place; Expiration date: 2 Years
Parameter	Max Density : 4.5; Width: 305mm; Length: 60m; Thickness of PET base: 0.1mm; Sensitization wavelength: 630-670NM
Advantage	Roller shape, easily to cut to correct size; Operating in dark room; Nice planeness to set up even Drawing layer; Very finess of Sensitive layer to set up halftone design; High photosensibility and high Exposure latitude; Rapid developing , well edge quality of words; High contrast and red light, suitable for the image record of He Ne laser source Base expansion and high stability.
Usage	Putting it on the enter of output machine; Start the computer to let it enter. Cutting it to fit size;
Reminding	Please process it in dark room with safe light, only have red and yellow safe light.Storage︰ Store in the shady ,Obturation and ventilation place

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Film after the formation of latent image after exposure to water after developing and fixing of water freeze treatment. Ultimately form the image area and non-image area.
In the modern printing industry, copy of film making is all the printing program when one of the first, it is directly related to the printing quality. Therefore, gravure printing, offset printing, letterpress printing all of this as an important part of pre-press technology to treat.
Although the CTP technology are advancing rapidly, but in the plate-making technology, especially printing, silk screen, hot stamping field, still holds an important position.

Usage︰

Using PM-3266FL film output machine film exposed film developing and fixing processing.
Photographic film output has been, you need water to develop water and fixing latent image freeze, the formation of the final film for the printing down the process of printing down.

Production Advantage ︰

Powder Package, easily for keeping;
Use Method︰

the developer of the preparation

Developer can prepare them by themselves can also buy ready-made packaging development powder. Developing powder is extremely easy to use package, usage is simple, become suitable for a small amount of flushing Gan Guangpian or print and images.
1) Prepare the developer of the water temperature is best maintained at 52 ℃. Temperature is too low, slow dissolving drugs, the temperature is too high, easy to make medicines chemical changes affect performance.
2) The developer of water must be clean, not to use water impurities. Contain too much iron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium in hard water should be boiled to soften; by polluted water, add alum to precipitate filtered.
3) The developer developing drugs affect the performance of dosage, so the dosage must be in accordance with the formula provided, it should not change.
4) deployment of liquid should be stirred properly to promote the dissolution of chemicals. Stirring time should not be too keen to avoid too much air dissolved in water, to promote oxidation not keep liquid.
5) The deployment of a good developer, and often there are a number of impurities, apply a clean gauze or filter paper, photographic material generated class to avoid points.

6) "Snapshot: that is to restore the silver film on the silver does not dissolve in order to prevent further exposure of this part of silver halide film image. Fixing time for hand-punching is no photographic film after partially transparent, plus double the time.
7) "washing: Fixing sticky film after the sodium thiosulfate and other chemicals, if not clean, the film will turn yellow failure. Hand punching usually running water 15 to 20 minutes is appropriate.
8)"dry: hand after punching the film should be dried and placed in a cool dry place for safekeeping.

Storage︰

Developer and fixation easy long-term exposure to air oxidation, should be installed in the brown bottle Gaiyan, placed in the shade, avoid sun exposure.

pad-plate03

How to pad plate ?

There are three kinds of pad plate: thick steel plate, thin steel plate, nylon resin plate. Making the pad plate is the first step to begin pad printing technology.

1. Output Film

According to the digital artworks provided by the customer,the films are output by an imagesetter (PM-3266FL) Laser output machine .Also,you can ask expert the prepress bureau to make films for you, and most of films for pad printing process is positive.

2.Coating Emulsion

Coating FUJI emulsion by PM-30TC turning coating machine,PM-40TC dipping coating machine or spraying coating machine.

3.Drying

Put the pad plate covered with emulsion into a drying closet PM-2030DC PM-4545DC .At the temperature 120℃ for 5-10 minutes.

4. Exposure

Put the pad plate coated emulsion covered with a film on the glass table of PM-2840UVE, PM-4050UVE, PM-5060UVE UV exposure machine, setting exposure time ,and start the UV exposure machine.

5. Developing

Dip the pad plate into the jar full of FUJI developer liquid for several minutes till hidden image on the surface of emulsion is developed. Then blow it and remove water by compress air gun.

6.Etching by Hand

Use one brush dipped with etching liquid and brush the hidden image 3-5 times so that hidden image is completely displayed. Some plants don't have a etching machine, please continuously take a brush to brush for 30-50 seconds. Because of etching operation only by hand, correct depth of pad plate mostly relis on the operator's experience.

7.Etching by a Machine

For the precision etching and half-tone images,must use a spraying etching machine. Pad plate is put into an etching machine and is fixed by the magnet installed on the frame within PVC etching box. Set etching time and start the etching machine till the machine stop automatically.

8.Blowing and Drying

Take a compress air gun to blow the pad plate and make sure withou etching liquid onto the pad plate.

9.Measure Depth

Standard depth is about 19-23 micron. Actual depth must be comply with the customer request. More etching time,more deep. Measure accurate depth with a depth measure meter.

10.Package

Remove emulsion on the pad plate by Banana solvent.Clean it by clothes,then spray anti- rustiness onto it and put it into PA plastics bag. Pad plate has been completed.

Note: Put pad plate into pad printer and you will begin to pilot run. With the development of market, nylon resin pad plate is already getting more and more recognition because of its capability to reproduce half-tone and shadow graphics. Nylon resin plate need one magnet installed on the pad printer.

How to make rubber pad?