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  • Pad Printing Techniques and Tips
Pad Printing Basics
Making Plates
Making a Product Jig
Mixing Ink
Ink Tackiness
Installing a Pad on the SPC-100
Printing with the SPC-100
Making a print with the spc-100
Pad Break-In Procedure
Pad Print Troubleshooting
Clean Up Procedure
Transfer/Pad Print Theory
Understanding the Pad

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Our Pad Printer line is second to none. Effortlessly print 2-D images on 3-D objects. This versatile technology is always adapting to new market demands. With two hundred models to choose from we have a machine to exactly match your needs.
What is Pad Printing? You could think of it as a more versatile version of screen printing. Pad printing is a printing process that can transfer a 2-D image onto a 3-D object. This is accomplished by transferring an image from the printing plate (cliché) via a silicone pad onto a substrate (surface to be printed) by means of a careful mixture of solvents and inks which become tacky when exposed to air. The unique properties of the silicone pad enable it to pick the image up from a flat plane and transfer it to a variety of surfaces (e.g., flat, cylindrical, spherical, compound angles, textures, concave, and convex surfaces). Today, pad printing has reached a technically advanced state and the range of applications is quite diversified.
Practical Applications of Pad Printing: Pad printing is used for printing on otherwise impossible products in many industries including medical, automotive, promotional, apparel, electronics, appliances, sports equipment and toys. It can also be used to deposit functional materials such as conductive inks, adhesives, dyes, and lubricants. Every day we discover new applications for this technology. The market potential is huge and always growing. The recent trend of tag-less t-shirts was made possible by pad printing – a technique we at All American pioneered through experimentation. Ingenuity is rewarded in this process as we’ve heard some printers making a solvent home brew from vodka and chocolate. If you see a market need, experiment and let your imagination be your guide!
History of Pad Printing: The roots of pad printing originated in the watch industry of Switzerland nearly one hundred years ago where watch faces were decorated with minute details using gelatin bags. Plates were mechanically engraved and cleaned by hand held blades. This was a crude and time consuming method. Although the early machines were quite simple compared to the machines that we have today, the motion and principle has remained basically the same. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s with the advancement of the silicon pad and solvent containing inks that the industry took off. In time, as the process became more widely practiced, the hand machines were gradually improved and eventually replaced with more complex and sophisticated equipment. In the latter 20th century these machines developed electric motors and various configurations of chain drive systems. With further improvements came the installments of hydraulics, pneumatics, and with the recent installations of advanced electronics, we have arrived at the present pad printers of today. Further advancements with inks/solvents/mixtures/and the closed ink cup system have made pad printing easier than ever. This formerly temperamental procedure has now become easy enough to use for things like water wash plates and other short run items
Pad Printing Advantages: * Versatility of printable materials. * Can accommodate both small and large scale runs. Customize per order in a way that is impractical for screen printing. * Can effortlessly print around 3-D items. * About 90% of what you find can be printed on. Every day people figure out how to print on the remaining 10% of materials. * Cheaper initial investment than with any other printing method. * Easy to learn - Someone can pick up this process without any background and successfully run a lucrative business in no time. * Huge, ever expanding, market potential. Every day we discover new applications for this technology. * Pad printing excels at minute details (remember its origin decorating watch faces)

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