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There are eight main methods of printing your promotional message
on to each item, and the method used depends on the product |
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Screen printing
- used for most plastic items including pens, and clothing.
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Pad or tampo printing
- used for printing across relatively small areas on plastic items, and when
the area to be printed is difficult to get at
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Litho printing
- this is the process used for printing on paper.
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Hot foil blocking
- most often used with gold or silver foil, this gives a superb shiny imprint
and is used for diaries and leather items.
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Engraving
- used on glass and metal products for lasting effect
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Blocking
- used to mark leather goods
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Embroidery
- predominantly used for clothing, gives an excellent quality finish
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Die Stamping - usually used on
metal products like keyrings
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| Also known as silk screen printing, the screen is a fine mesh contained
within a frame. The screen is covered with a light-sensitive coating. Light is
then shone through the film (see artwork) on to the screen. Where the
light shines, the coating solidifies. Where the black image prevents light
reaching the screen, the coating remains unchanged and is washed off. The
product to be printed is put on a horizontal surface, the screen placed on top,
ink is placed in the screen frame and is then forced through the mesh by means
of a squeegee. The only place where the ink is able to penetrate is where the
coating was washed off, so the image of your artwork is printed on the
product.
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| This process can be taken further along. For example, T Shirts and other
clothing items are printed on a large machine with, perhaps, eight 'stations'
so more than one shirt can be printed at the same time. Pens are printed on a
machine where plain pens are fed in at one end. Each in turn is held by an arm,
which places the pen in contact with the screen. The pen is then rotated so
that your message is printed around the barrel. One drawback to screen printing
is the difficulty of reproducing tints of colours. The tint is made up of lots
of small dots of colour in a regular pattern. The more dots the stronger the
tint. The screen as we have seen, is a mesh, and the two patterns can conflict
resulting in a patchy print. For this reason, it is often not possible to
reproduce a tint except by printing a second, solid but lighter colour, at
extra cost. Tints can be usually be reproduced satisfactorily on larger items
such as T shirts and umbrellas. |
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| Also known as tampo printing, with this process, a metal plate is produced from
the artwork with a raised image the 'right' way round. The plate is fixed into
the pad printer and inked. The product is placed in a jig so that
successive products will be printed in the same position - vital in two colour
work. The 'pad' - a firm yet resilient synthetic material is then pressed
against the plate taking up the image, and this is then transferred to the
product. |
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| This process is used to print most things that are printed on paper. The image
is transferred photographically from the film (see artwork ) on to a flexible
flat printing plate with a light-sensitive coating. The image on the plate is
the 'right' way round, and the chemical coating attracts printing ink, but not
water. The coating on the part of the plate without the image attracts water
but not ink. The plate is assembled on to a roller in the printing machine, and
is first coated with water via another roller before coming into contact with
the ink roller. The oil based ink stays only on the image part of the plate
because of the coating, and the ink is smoothly distributed by means of other,
vibrating, rollers. The image (reversed) is then transferred (or 'offset') to a
rubber 'blanket' which is on another roller, and this makes contact with the
paper coming through the machine. The reversed image on the blanket is then
printed the right way round on to the paper. |
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| Promotional pads, and calendars are printed in this way, and one advantage of
the process is that tints can be reproduced. (Tints are difficult to reproduce
clearly by screen print). |
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| In this process, a metal blocking die or plate is produced from the
film. The block has been etched so that the image is raised and your message
appears the 'wrong' way round. It is placed in the blocking machine and is
heated. Your product is below, held in a jig. Between the two is a 'foil'
running from one reel to another. There are two parts to the foil, a carrier
film and the foil itself. When the hot block is put, under pressure, against
the product with the foil in between, the part of the block in contact with the
product is the raised part on which your image appears. The result of this
process is that the foil attaches itself to the product in the form of your
image, and the carrier film is moved on to bring new foil ready for the next
product. |
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| Foils can be of a selection of colours, but gold and silver are the most often
used. The result is a really shiny gold or silver image. However, because of
the pressure, and the fact that a solid foil is used, rather than a liquid
printing ink, with foil blocking a lot of small details can be lost - 'filling
in' as it is called. So it cannot be used if tints are wanted, or fine details
need to be shown. However with the gold blocking of a crest for example, the
overall appearance can be far better with the bright gold, than screen printing
where the gold effect is duller, but the details are clearer. |
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| Used most commonly on crystal, glass and metal products to achieve a quality,
lasting effect. Laser engraving is now widely regarded as the most accurate and
economical way of reproducing fine design work, although machine engraving
may still be used to excellent effect. |
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| Promotional pads, and calendars are printed in this way, and one advantage of
the process is that tints can be reproduced. (Tints are difficult to reproduce
clearly by screen print). Laminated Mouse Mats will be litho printed so if your
logo contains tints, you will get a faithful reproduction. Some of our
competitors use only screen printing, so it is worth checking with us if you
have anything complex such as a photograph to be reproduced. |
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| Used to mark leather goods in particular. A metal block ( die ) is
pressure stamped onto the product, usually with a gold or silver foil, to leave
a lasting impression of your design. Alternatively, the process can be
performed without foil, just leaving your design in plain relief. This is known
as Blind Embossing. |
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| This a great way to achieve quality personalisation on most clothing and
headwear. With modern machinery offering speed and multiple colour
possibilities, more customers are selecting this method of personalisation to
great effect. A typical design is based on a stitch count of around 5 to 10,000
stitches. |
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| Usually used on metal products like stainless steel keyrings or similar
products. Like blocking, a metal die is pressure stamped onto
your product leaving an impression of your design. This can be left plain or
filled with colour. |
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