[justing30]

Ive been searching the internet for info on this, and couldnt really find any, so figured id give a shot here to see if anyone can help me.

I myself play in an adult hockey league and baseball league. I am also very active in the kids programs. I would love to be able to do custom photos, or names and numbers on hockey pucks, "mini" hockey sticks, baseballs, etc.

Does anyone know how you go about doing this? What equipment is needed. I would love to start doing this for the kids and parents since as much time as i spend at the rink and fields, i never seen these.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[tfalk]

You could probably do it with vinyl using an economical vinyl cutter. I think most of the already decorated items you see were done with what is called a PAD printer.

 

[leadergrafx]

Pad printing is the way to go for this kind of product. Pad printing using laser engravers have come a long way even producing halftones and shading. with a 4 color printer you can pad print a photo type image in about 4 seconds. they are expensive however and a pretty specialized industry.

We print for a minor league ball club on softee baseballs and they are very appealing.

Rick

 

[Weird i Tees]

I just recently got the task of printing hockey pucks myself. I was able to screen print them with an enamal based ink. I had to play with my off contact and make a holding rig but i was able to do it. But that said, I didn't enjoy doing it. It was messy and time consuming. I think pad printing would be the way to go!

 

[martinwoods]

it is called a logojet

 

[Ceejay]

Here is link that will explain pad printing to you [media]http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=w1gFAkj6OqY[/media]
which is the way to go I think.

 

[martinwoods]

The problem with pad printing is if wanting to do individual names and numbers, is burning the plates.

 

[justing30]

Thanks for the responses! So if i want to print photos on a hockey puck or baseball, pad printing would be the way to go? Any got suggestions on a good economical pad printer, or if there is another way to do it.

Thanks

 

[jmj]

You may also want to look at Ballstars.

 

[martinwoods]

Thanks for the responses! So if i want to print photos on a hockey puck or baseball, pad printing would be the way to go? Any got suggestions on a good economical pad printer, or if there is another way to do it.

Thanks

No pad printing would not be the way to go for photos unless you are doing a one color
look at logojet, it prints many many things full color.
I have a pad printer and you can do a photo but not full color

JMO

 

[jmlampert23]

they use a pad printer with special inks made for those types of materials

 

[leadergrafx]

I looked into ballstars and found that the image does not stay on the product well so it would be good for trophy case. I pad print and it is not an easy process to learn but when you do it is endless. We have 3 now. 1,2 and four color. why not for hockey pucks just print on a high adhesive vinyl and cut contour or simply cut out with a exacto or something. Seems easy enough.

going back to ballstars I understand also that you have to buy a entire system through them to be a distributor, including their computer, laser printer, specially coated products, etc.

Rick

 

[PrintIt]

Stay away from the Logojet. The only thing I got from that machine was an empty wallet. The machine is terrible and the customer service is even worse.

 

[Artsplace-CBR]

Do you have any problem with the odor of the pad printer? I purchased one a while back & had to return it, I have a small home & you could smell the odor all over the house.

 

[leadergrafx]

Pad Printing uses strong solvent inks and requires a good ventilation system. Half the battle of a good print is controlling room temperatures and humidity levels. it's a messy business but very profitable if you can find a manufacturer who needs continuous parts stamped with logos, part numbers, etc. We use a laser to make our plates and it really cuts down on alot of the setup issues.

 

[mstrait]

A good company to start up with a pad printor is Imprintor. They have a pretty reasonably priced manual machine and you don't have to buy only their stuff like you have to do with Print A Press or Pressa Print.

 

[binki]

ballstars. not a bad system. you just have to have the volume

 

[Permanent Print]

We print full color directly on hockey pucks in full color. Equipment is quite expensive, so probably wouldn't work for home applications. But we can easy print full color hockey pucks and personalize them with unique names if necessary. NO MINIMUM ORDER. You can see samples on Permanent Print web site.

 

[moosevalley]

do not get a logojet, they are nothing but trouble!

 

[sdfinenj]

Does anyone know what kind of ink is used on NHL pucks?