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History
of Pad Printing
 Pad printing is a
method of transferring an image on to a three dimensional item. MK
Promotions uses a three-stage gravure transfer process that
involves:
- The
image on a flat gravure plate is inked.
- A
silicone rubber pad picks up the inked image.
- The pad
places the image on to the substrate.
The principal of the process dates back over 100 years. The
earliest machines were hand operated in much the same way as a rubber
stamp pad, although the pads were originally made of gelatin.
 One of the first
applications using today’s technology, which is around 70 years old,
was printing watch faces in Switzerland.
Since this time, the major advances have been improvements
in pad technology and being able to make plates very quickly and cost
effectively.
Although current plate technology is still around 40  years old, plates can be made
extremely accurately and to a very high quality.
As most people in the printing industry will assert, pad
printing is the most difficult of all printing processes to master.
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