How do printing plates work?

How do printing plates work?

Pad printing plates are one of the critical components in the pad printing process. This pad printing consumable serves the purpose of holding the artwork.

Etch the artwork into the printing plate using a laser or an exposure unit. An ink cup, which acts as an ink reservoir, floods the image with ink. Additionally, the cup cleans up the excess ink, leaving the right amount of ink in the image. A pad printing pad picks up the ink from the ink cup and transfers it onto the object.

When purchasing a pad printing plate, it is important to note the plate dimensions and holes to hold the artwork, if any. Please note that all machines are not the same and vary greatly in size and holding mechanism.

Artwork

There are two ways of etching the artwork on a plate. These are chemical etching and laser etching. Photopolymer plates and an exposure unit are required for chemical etching. Generally, this traditional way of making plates takes longer than laser technology—about 20–40 minutes. Compared to laser technology, this plate-making method has a lower start-up cost.

Laser plate etching, on the other hand, uses a laser plate maker, such as a CO2 laser or fiber laser. With this plate-making process, a laser etches the image directly onto the plate. Laser plate making is precise, offers greater repeatability, and has high precision.

To print with an etched plate, place it into the pad printing machine. Pad printing cycle: an ink cup filled with ink is placed on the plate; the ink cup slides over the etched portion of the plate and slides back, leaving the right amount of ink in the artwork. The pad presses on the etch, picks up the ink, then slides over the part and releases the ink.

Visit our pad printing page to learn more.


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