There are five main methods of printing your promotional message on to each item, and the method used depends on the product:
- Screen printing - used for most plastic items including pens, and clothing.
- 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
- Litho printing - this is the process used for printing on paper. It also is used on many of the Mouse Mats that Gift Selection supply. It also is used on many of the Mouse Mats that Gift Selection supply.
- 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.
- Embroidery - predominantly used for clothing, this gives an excellent quality finish.
Before all this though, the artwork has to be done.
This is the process of getting your logo, company name, phone numbers and other information you want to tell people about, and shuffling them about to fit in the space that can be printed on the product. There is a maximum amount of space on any product that can be printed due to its shape, or limitations of the printing process (it may not be possible to 'get at' all the space that seems to be available).
At Gift Selection we usually start by fitting your details into the maximum print area. If you want the message more discreet, this can be done, however - you always get a proof before printing is started, and alterations cost you nothing - we would sooner you are happy with the finished result.
Usually the artwork process starts by scanning a letterhead into one of our Apple Macintosh computers so that we can copy your logo. Often this is where the work starts! If the logo is not sharp to start with, it needs to be 'cleaned up' in the Mac. Once this has been done, it is a matter of typing the information you want, putting it in the correct typeface to match your corporate identity on your stationery, and adjusting everything until it all fits in the space available. You then receive a proof in black and white, usually on the fax. Any alterations you want are then incorporated until you are happy with the final result. We then print out a very sharp copy of this artwork to send to the printer. If your logo or message is made up of more than one colour, the colours are 'separated' and we print off a black and white copy for each colour, all marked with 'register marks' so that they will line up correctly when printed. From this "camera-ready artwork" a film is produced - so the black image appears on a transparent background.
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.
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, though.
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.
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.
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). Gift Selection's 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.
In this process, a metal blocking die or plate is produced from the film (see artwork ).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.
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.
This method requires a jacquard, which can weave up to four colours at a time. The number of stitches required to produce the design, usually between 5,000 and 10,000 determines the cost. Ideal for clothing and caps.
Origination does not refer to artwork or the actual printing process. Origination is a general term referring to the make up of screens, dies, templates or jacquards used in the process of applying print details to a product. Except for a jacquard, a separate screen, template or die is required for each colour used and will be charged accordingly.
For exact repeat orders, the screens etc can be reused, although a set-up charge will be incurred for the set up of machinery.