There are several printing technologies for printing on plastic, these are pad printing, screen printing, and UV inkjet printing. In relation to this question, we will focus on pad printing on plastic and UV inkjet printing on plastic.

Pad printing on plastic:

Pad printing on plastic is accomplished by using a pad printing ink, pad printing machine, pad printing pad, ink cup with an ink cup ring, and pad printing plate (cliché). There are other pad printing supplies such as tape, an engraving machine that help the printer to get the job done.

A pad printing machine acts as the stamping system. Once the machine is set up, the ink cup—the ink reservoir floods the etch and removes the excess ink. Leaving enough ink which is picked up by the silicone pad printing pad and transferred to the part. We offer several inks for printing on plastic. Additionally, it is important to note that polypropylene plastic materials require pre-treatment such as the PP Primer.

 

UV inkjet printing on plastic

UV inkjet printing on plastic requires a UV printer. There are different types of UV printers depending on the application. For example, printing on drinkware, you will need a cylindrical inkjet printer—these machines are designed for printing on tapered and straight cylindrical objects.

When printing on flat objects, it is best to use a UV flatbed printer.

Both cylindrical inkjet printers and UV flatbed printers use UV/LED ink. These machines have a CMYKW+ (optional Lc/Lm/ Varnish/ UV jettable adhesion promoter) configuration which enables them to deliver full color prints.

Once an image is printed, a UV light dries the inks. The printed part is ready for packaging immediately after printing.

Like pad printers, UV inkjet printers also require UV adhesion promoters to aid UV ink to bond to hard to print substrates.

Learn more about printing on plastic, read the article: UV inkjet and pad printing on plastic.