Pad printing uses a silicone pad to transfer an image to a product from a laser etched printing plate. It is one of the most popular and affordable ways of branding promotional products due to its ability to reproduce images on uneven or curved products and print multiple colours in a single pass.
Advantages of Pad Printing
- Ideal for printing on curved or uneven products.
- Prints sharp, clean images with detail as fine as 0.4mm, minimum text size is 5pt.
- Close PMS matches are possible on white or light-coloured products.
- Metallic gold and silver ink are available.
- Can offer a white under base for the darker products that require it.
- Many products can print up to 6 colours with tight multi-colour registration.
Limitations of Pad Printing
- Halftones cannot be consistently reproduced.
- Unable to print variable data such as individual naming.
- Close PMS matches are more difficult on darker products and will only be approximate. In these instances, a white base will create a better print.
- Some pad print inks require a curing period before the product can be shipped.
- Each colour requires its own setup charge.
- Neon/fluorescent colours are not available.
Pad Printing Artwork Requirements
We will set up the artwork for you and supply an electronic draft to help you visualise what the end result will look like. There are some restrictions we have to take into consideration when setting up your file:
- Artwork must be supplied in a vector editable format.
- Fonts are advised to be converted to outlines/objects to avoid font conflicts.
Examples of products we can pad print
Below are some of the products that we can deboss for you. The featured image may not be of an pad printed product (that's because many of our items can be branded in different ways).
Learn about the advantages and limitations of each branding option we offer, view the full range here.