[COEDS]

I'm considering purchaseing a pad printer. I have seen them at several trade shows, but know very little about them. i was hoping, I could get some information on the Pros and Cons. I would also like to know what substrates can be used with them( pens,cups,mugs,etc.)? I look forward to hearing from as many people as possible. .... Thanks ... JB

 

[sunnydayz]

JB I know one of our members here does pad printing, If you ask XYlisa she should be able to answer some of your questions as I know her and her husband Terry do this. She is the only one I can think of that does it here.

 

[ino]

You could do lighters,key chains,expresso cups, licence holders,ashtrays, golf balls,whiskey glasses etc.

Should you need more help you could go to the Screen prtinters.net forum where they have a section all about pad printing.

cheers.

 

[martinwoods]

Hi Jerry, you can print on just about anything. We have done walnuts,coffee mugs, wine glasses, candy jars, mirrors,etc.

The only thing I do not like is the fumes, the smell is terrible, just make sure you have lots of venting.
other than that you do not need to use special coffee mugs or glasses, you can buy them at the local walmart or dollar store.

Hope that helps a little

 

[XYLisa]

Hey JB I'll get you a quick note this morning (I need to get to work)! We have a printer from Pad Print of Vermont, they are great machines we have a 4 color, wouldn't suggest one so big if you want to stick with small one or 2 color jobs. The fumes from our ink are minimal however, I am use to screen printing signs which the fumes are quite strong so pad printing really has no smell to me. You can print lots of items but I find at times guessing which ink for what product can be a pain. I'll try to get you more info if you need or you can pm me anytime. Lisa

 

[COEDS]

I thank you all for the help. I 'm looking for suggestions on he orinter itself. I have no idea of the best one look at. .... JB

 

[XYLisa]

I'll give you a don't and that's don't buy an "Imprintor" they are cheap and a piece of junk!

 

[lben]

I bought mine from All American Supply in Philadelphia, PA. They offer courses on it once a month, but so far I haven't been able to attend one, so mine just sits there. Mine is a very solid manual machine and well built and from what I understand you can imprint up to 8 different things on the platen because it is so versatile as far as movablity is concerned. I still have problems finding blanks for it, which is why I haven't really done anything with it. There's even a place that sells a pneumatic device for turning it into an automatic press.

 

[amy_schutt]

I went to the class in Philly last Thursday. So well worth the money. I am so inspired now. I met a guy who spends all day printing golf balls. How awesome is that....I, too, am now on the lookout for inexpensive blanks.

 

[lben]

I'll have to go. I keep putting it off, but I really need to do this. I know they also sell blanks (a sister company does), but I don't know how much they cost. I got a booklet from them on all the blanks when I got my printer and there were a lot of things in there that could sell, but I'm sure they have minimum purchases. Let me know if you find some cheap blanks. In the meantime I'll have to sign up for that class.

 

[ino]

I went to the class in Philly last Thursday. So well worth the money. I am so inspired now. I met a guy who spends all day printing golf balls. How awesome is that....I, too, am now on the lookout for inexpensive blanks.

Thanks for the information,thinking about it, all though as with everything there must be a learning curve, this could be a good line of business for any handicapped person.
BTW What is the max width and length these printers can print.
Thanks.

 

[amy_schutt]

The one I have can print as wide or as tall as the cup that holds the ink is.

 

[lben]

BTW What is the max width and length these printers can print.
Thanks.

It all depends on what make you buy. They can print on things as small as electronic parts like transistors, or to pen size, or to coffee mugs, or to much larger images. It all depends on what you buy and who you buy it from. There are hundreds of pad printer manufacturers out there. Some print on large industrial things, some can print more than one color, some print on products on a conveyor belt, some are manual and some are automatic.

Google pad printer manufacturers and you will get a better idea. The larger ones are huge though and even the smaller manual presses/printers are very expensive. Even the smaller ones will cost you at least $900. The print plates are only good for one image and cannot be reused, but they can print up to 5,000 images. The ink is smelly and expensive and has to be mixed with thinners and thickeners. And the inks are specific for specific kinds of products, like cloth, glass, wood, leather, plastic, metal, and any other surface you might want to print on.

 

[selanac]

Wow, this is a great post. I just bought a pad printer from All American in Philly two days ago. Spoke with them today, it should go out tomorrow or the next day. We live about 50 or 60 miles from their site.

Didn't know about the smelly ink issues, but saw a guy selling pens on ebay too. If you search pad printing, you'll find the guys products. They're usually 28 to 30 cents per, and you can buy small quantities. If you go to a promotional advertising show, you can get a list of pen suppliers. Usually they sell them printed, but you can request blanks too. Also, Coastal has blanks I believe.

Didn't know you can't reuse the plates. Anyone know of a low cost wholesale supplier for the plates? Anyone want to co-op purchase supplies?

 

[doskalata]

anyone got any leads on online info, or tutorials? im in ca and cant make it out to philly

 

[selanac]

Justin, That's funny, cause my post is just above yours. Anyways, you can look it up on YouTube. I've seen many tutorials there.

You can also contact local Pad Printers, and ask if they let you come by and look. Maybe they're give some free classes.

 

[lben]

Wow, this is a great post. I just bought a pad printer from All American in Philly two days ago. Spoke with them today, it should go out tomorrow or the next day. We live about 50 or 60 miles from their site.

Didn't know about the smelly ink issues, but saw a guy selling pens on ebay too. If you search pad printing, you'll find the guys products. They're usually 28 to 30 cents per, and you can buy small quantities. If you go to a promotional advertising show, you can get a list of pen suppliers. Usually they sell them printed, but you can request blanks too. Also, Coastal has blanks I believe.

Didn't know you can't reuse the plates. Anyone know of a low cost wholesale supplier for the plates? Anyone want to co-op purchase supplies?

What's nice about the pad printer from AA is that you can put 8 different images on one plate and just move the pad or the blank around to meet the plates images. Granted they have to be small images, but still. At least you get 8 uses out of one plate. Of course you have to put them all on at the same time.

 

[selanac]

Loretta, Why do you have to put them all on at the same time? Does the plate expirer? Do you tape off the other images like you do in screen printing?

 

[brice]

You have to burn them all at the same time. It's like emulsion on a screen. Burn once only. The same plate is reusable for the same design. I never throw plates away. Customer comes back, you are good to go with little to no rework.

The inks are smelly. The cleanup is messy. If you can get the work it's enormously profitable.

 

[selanac]

I can get the work. My problem is the Blanks. We get tons of emails from promtional companies that want to sell pre-printed items and not blanks. They normally want to give you the end of the line discount for blanks. Meaning, the same as buying the highest amount of products.