Pad Printing: Controlling the Variables

Controlling the Variables in Pad Printing

We've looked at how ambient conditions can affect your print quality, but these aren't the only variablesin the pad-printing process. The key to successful pad printing is to control all of the variabtes. If you can dothis, you can treat pad printing as an engineering process instead of black magic.

Figure 2: Production control card

Here are two more tips to finish with. First, a production-control card like the one in Figure 2 will go a long way to minimizing these variables, whatever the ambient conditions are in your plant. Second, whenever you are troubleshooting a quality problem, never make more than one change at a time and always keep notes on what adjustments you have made. Keep samples and number them in co-ordination with your notes so you can refer back to see which changes improved print quality and which ones caused it to deteriorate.

Introduction .. Upgrades in inks and pads have helped make the process more controllable. Better machine design has enabled better consistency in setting and (more importantly) easily adjusting each phase of the print cycle..
Adding & Using Pad Printing Solvents In most cases, pad printing requires you to add solvents to your ink regularly.
Controlling Ink Delivery Many of the problems printers experience can be traced back to solvent evaporation in the ink well.
Controlling Temperature & Airflow The more stable the environment, the more effectively you can control the process.
Controlling Humidity and Static Another troubleshooting step that some printers overlook is how fast the press operates.
Controlling the Variables We've looked at how ambient conditions can affect your print quality, but these aren't the only variablesin the pad-printing process.
How to Handle Temperature Swings In a warm atmosphere, solvents in the ink will evaporate very quickly.