Pad Printing Equipment – Personalize and Brand Items – Pad Printers

Pad Printing Equipment

If you need to print on three dimensional objects, then you’re going to need pad printing equipment.

It’s well suited to printing on small spherical objects.

Here is just a small list of what it can be used for:

• Golf Balls
• Pens
• USB Flash Drives
• Coasters
• Stress Balls
• Spherical Objects

With a pad printing machine, you can personalize or brand almsot any object.

It’s better suited to small printing areas – if you need a large area of ink coverage, you’ll probably be better served by a screen printer.

The way pad printers work is by using a contact-based printing process with a silicone ball (pad)that lifts the color off the design plate and transfers it to the surface of the item you’re printing on.

Costs

Pad printers vary dramatically in price. For example, you can get a Padeasy Manual-Penumatic 90mm Closed Ink Cup Printer for $2195.00. 135 mm systems can be purchased for $6595.00. However, custom systems can easily run several hundred thousand dollars.

Where To Get Them

There are quite a few manufactuers of pad printers, and who to choose really depends on what your needs are going to be.

Here are some of the top resources and companies:

• Printex USA
• Reisch & Associates
• Imprintor
• Pad Print Machinery
• Innovative Marketing Systems
• Inkcups
• Trans Tech
• Service Tectonics
• Assembly & Automation Technology
• Marking Methods
• Accupad
• Quint Company
• CPS Resources
• ThomasNet (directory of more manufacturers)

Used Equipment

Two of the best sources for used pad printing equipment are eBay and Digismith. I did a quick look through eBay and was able to find some fairly high end, custom built equipment going for pennies on the dollar of their original cost.