The power of personalisation lies in its ability to make a memorable gift unforgettable. Almost every piece we create or curate can be made unique with hot stamping, engraving, or UV printing; all done by hand, in-house. Below, we show you the printing techniques for merchandising methods we work with the most: Screen printing, digital printing, laser engraving, pad printing and heat transfer.
Silkscreen
Silkscreen printing is one of the most popular printing techniques for printing designs on products of different sizes and materials.
In the commercial and artistic sector it has been used for more than 100 years and is mainly used to print images and designs on T-shirts, cloth bags, wood and other materials.
How does it work?
For silkscreen printing, different materials are used. To begin with, the printing pattern is created, that is, reproducing the design on a plate so that the ink passes through.
The frame is placed on the shirt and with the help of a spatula the colors are filtered (one layer for each color, up to a maximum of four colors).
This system allows repeating the process accurately and quickly, in fact, by creating a plate model, the printing can be repeated hundreds of times without losing quality and printing definition.
Despite its craftsmanship in recent years, screen printing has been modernized, machinery and inks available today allow you to obtain results in superfine quality.
What are the advantages of silkscreen printing?
- Excellent quality / price ratio for large print runs
- Perfect color reproduction
- Durability of the articles
- Prints resistant to many washes
Examples of printing techniques for merchandising using silkscreen printing:
https://mingproductions.com/en/peto/
Digital printing
Digital printing allows you to print designs and creatives with many colours.
Therefore, we recommend it for those designs with images full of details or with colours that are irreplaceable in your brand image. It is a printing technique that we recommend for small quantities.
What are the advantages of digital printing printing?
- Flexibility and low volume: by not using plates such as offset printing, it allows you to print few units. A very interesting advantage for companies that do not need large runs and seek to manufacture promotional material at a low cost.
- Personalization: the trend in recent years is to offer increasingly personalized and unique products. Thanks to digital printing we can vary the pattern, material and design with great ease.
- No stock (Just in Time): As we have commented in previous advantages, the agility of the production allows to adjust the volume according to the orders.
- Variety of supports: One of the differences with offset printing and at the same time advantage of digital. The variety is infinite: textiles, vinyls, PVC, rigid supports, packaging…
Examples of printing techniques for merchandising using digital printing:
https://mingproductions.com/en/coleccion-lluvia-poncho/
Laser Engraving
Laser engraving can be done in two ways, through bitmap images or through vector files. Each laser marking mode involves a movement of the axes and different parameters used.
- Raster engraving: this is a process similar to that used by inkjet printers, where a bitmap image (made up of pixels) such as JPG or PNG is printed line by line and point by point but in this case instead After applying ink, the laser removes the material. The laser machine software will control the PPI (pulses per inch) parameter which will adjust the density of the laser points. The more points, the more definition.
- Vector engraving: the marking is produced using vector files (lines and geometric curves), identifying the contour, drawing vector vector and then engraving it through the laser. The process itself is the same as in laser cutting, the difference is the power setting selected. If a low power setting is chosen, the line is “scored” as engraving, whereas higher power produces a vector cut.
Examples of printing techniques for merchandising using engraving:
https://mingproductions.com/en/fluo-coaster/
Heat transfer printing
Heat transfer printing is a printing technique often used when screen printing is technically complex. With thermal transfer printing, you can reproduce your logo, messages or designs with precision. Thanks to the mixture of heat and pressure, the printing results are long-lasting. Use heat transfer printing, for example, to personalize textiles and highlight your brand or photos in vibrant colours.
Examples of printing techniques for merchandising using heat transfer printing:
https://mingproductions.com/en/cork-cap/
Pad Printing
Used for small objects such as personalized pens, personalized keychains, mugs, glasses, lighters, etc. Although it is also possible to do in larger objects. One of the peculiarities is that in addition to being a very economical print, the definition of the details is very large, achieving that logos with very small details are stamped in a spectacular way.
How does pad printing work?
It is really a simple plate, usually metallic, although it can also be made of PVC, coated with a photosensitive emulsion on which the logo to be reproduced is engraved.
This engraved hole in the plate, which represents our logo, is covered with ink, just enough and necessary, since there is a blade system that passes over it and sweeps away the excess ink.
The magic appears with the Silicone Stamp, which by pressure collects that ink (in the shape of our logo) and transfers it to the article to be printed where, by means of a new pressure, it adheres it very precisely.
Examples of printing techniques for merchandising using pad printing:
https://mingproductions.com/en/magic-eraser/
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