Pad printing is an indirect printing process that combines gravure and offset printing. It involves transferring ink from an etched plate to a silicone pad and then printing the image onto a product surface. There are two main types of pad printing machines - open ink well machines and closed cup machines. Key components that influence print quality are the pads, etched plates, and inks used. Pads come in various shapes, sizes, hardness levels and are selected based on the product and print area. Etched plates can be made of thick steel, thin steel or photopolymer and their properties impact print lifespan. Inks require specific binders, pigments and additives to achieve the desired print characteristics. Multiple factors like machine settings, environmental conditions

1. Kinnari Printing Technologies Private Limited

2. Pad Printing Technology
• Pad Printing process
• Advantages of Pad printing technology
• Types of Machines
– Open ink well machines
– Closed cup machines
• Influencing components
– Pads
– Etched Plate
– Ink

3. Pad Printing Process
 Pad printing is indirect printing process .
 It is combination of Gravure and Off-set
printing process.
 The plate is like gravure cylinder. Image
transfer is done like off-set printing process.
 Solid silicon rubber called as pad picks up the
image from the plate and then transferred on
the product .

4. Pad Printing Advantages
• prints on any convex, concave & irregular
surfaces
• gives sharp print quality
• perfect registration – multicolor printing
• high processing speed
• low ink consumption
• small space required
• easy to operate

5. Pad Printing Process
Path of pad
0
Pad
Cup
Image area
Product Plate
Pad printing process - closed cup

6. Pad Printing Process
Path of pad
0
Pad
Image area
Product Plate
Pad printing process - Open inkwell

7. Pad Printing System
1. Open inking system
2. Closed cup

8. Open inking system

9. Open inking system

10. Open inking system
1
Pad
Spatula
Doctor Blade
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Starting position - ink roller floods the etched plate

11. Open inking system
2
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Doctor blade cleans the etched plate
Leaving ink in the etched portion

12. Open inking system
3
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Pad stroke on the plate

13. Open inking system
4
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Pad picks up the
Ink from the etched plate

14. Open inking system
5
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Pad carriage - pad moves forward

15. Open inking system
6
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Pad comes down on the product
And prints on it

16. Open inking system
7
Etched Plate
Product Ink Well
Pad deposits the ink on the product and moves upward

17. Closed cup

18. Closed cup

19. Closed cup
1
Etched Plate
Product
Starting position - flooding

20. Closed cup
2
Etched Plate
Product
Ink cup and pad moves backward

21. Closed cup
3
Etched Plate
Product
Pad stroke on the plate

22. Closed cup
4
Etched Plate
Product
Pad moves upward

23. Closed cup
5
Etched Plate
Product
Pad moves forward

24. Closed cup
6
Etched Plate
Product
Pad stroke on the product

25. Closed cup
7
Etched Plate
Product
Pad deposits the ink and moves upward

26. Closed cup
8
Etched Plate
Product
Pad returns to its original position

27. INFLUENTIAL COMPONENTS
• Plates
• Pads
• Inks

28. Pads
• Solid mass of silicon rubber
• Tapered and sloped
– Influences print quality
– Ink pickup & transfer
• Surface tension
• Usage
• Life

29. Pads
• Shapes
• Sizes
• Hardness
• Selection

30. Pad Shape

31. Pad - Sizes

32. PADS - HARDNESS
• Defined in Shore
• Influences
– Print quality
– life
• Surface considerations
• Hard pad produce very good print quality,
especially onto rough surface

33. PADS - SELECTION
• Product shape
• Substrate
• print area
• machine capacity
The thumb rule for achieving the top
quality printing is to
choose a hard pointed printing pad with
largest possible volume.

34. ETCHED PLATES
• Definition
• Process
• Types
– Thick steel plate
– Thin steel plate
– Photopolymer plate

35. THICK STEEL PLATE
• High quality alloy steel
• Hardened, ground and lapped surface
• hardness 58 – 65 HRC
• Plate thickness > 10 mm
• Etch depth > 18 – 40 µ
• Life > 5 – 10 lacs

36. THICK STEEL PLATE
• Advantages
– Contour accuracy
– Stepped etching
– application of screen possible
– High mechanical resistance
– very high stability (life)
– combination of screened and line motif is
possible

37. THICK STEEL PLATE
• Disadvantages
– can not be manufactured easily
– high cost

38. THIN STEEL PLATE
• 0.5 to 1 mm thin flexible plate
• Held by magnets
• Processing same like thick plate
• Hardness > 45 to 50 HRC
• Etched depth > 18 to 40 µ
• Life > Approx. 20,000 to 50,000 prints

39. THIN STEEL PLATE
• Advantages
– Low cost
– Light weight
– Easy to process
– Combination of screened & line motif is possible
• Disadvantages
– Low prints

40. PHOTOPOLYMER PLATE
• Thin presensitized plastic plate backed by tin sheet
• Easy & fast to process
• Small run production
• Less life
– dependent on machine adjustment
– Doctor blade which is harder than plate
• Two types > Water & alcohol washable
• Two types > Fix depth & variable depth

41. PHOTOPOLYMER PLATE
• FIX DEPTH
– Always 25 to 27 µ
– Suitable for fine & small motifs
– Screening not possible
– Life > 5,000 to 20,000 prints

42. PHOTOPOLYMER PLATE
• VARIABLE DEPTH
– Image depth variable
– All motifs
– Screening is necessary
– Life > 10,000 to 20,000 prints

43. PHOTOPOLYMER PLATE
• ADVANTAGES
– Easy & faster to process
– Low cost
– User can process in-house
– Coated plates available
– Combination of screened & line motif possible
• DISADVANTAGES
– Low prints

44. INKS
• Higher pigmentation
• Faster drying than screen printing
• Chemical structure comparable with basic
screen printing inks

45. INKS
• Binders
– Adhesion, gloss & chemical resistance
• Pigments
– Colour & opacity
• Additives
– Drying behavior, printability & adhesiveness
• Solvents
– Tuning the flow, viscosity & opacity

46. INKS
• Single component
• Double component
• Baking inks

47. Factors that
affect
Print Quality

48. PRINT QUALITY
• Speed of Pad stroke on plate
• Speed of Pad stroke product
• Evaporation of thinner from the ink in the
etched portion of plate and ink film on pad
• Type of inks used
• Type of design to be printed
• Pad shape, size, and hardness
• Pad in use - Quality of pad , pad - new or old
• Etching depth
• Drying of the inks on the parts

49. PRINT QUALITY
• Components cleanliness
• Air circulation / flow
• Room temperature
• Type of quality of thinner used
• Viscosity of inks
• Air humidity
• Speed of pad carriage - forward and backward
• Product rigidity, shape and size
• Operators skills
• Machine maintenance
• Print area

50. FOR ANY ASSISTANCE
RELATED TO PAD PRINTING
WELCOME TO
THE HOUSE OF KINNARIS