The pad printing plate functions as the image carrier for the pad printing process. There are several types of pad printing plates. These are laser-engravable plates and photo-sensitive plates.

In the case of the photopolymer plates, the exposure machine engraves artwork into the plate material. However, a computer-aided plate-making machine engraves laser plates.

Generally, photopolymer plates take more time to make—30–40 minutes. On the other hand, it takes about 5–7 minutes to etch a plate with a laser. Lasers have extreme precision, and they are easy to use.