The Basics of Promotional Product Printing

Sure, we’ve all seen the branding on promotional products: printed mugs and pens, concert t-shirts, and so on…but do you know the difference when it comes to printing? Imprinting an item transforms it from a commodity into a custom made-to-order branding tool. Knowing which decorating method works for which materials and imprints are vital to ensuring your brand looks its best on the finished product. Here are just a few decoration methods that we utilize:

 Offset Printing – used mostly for paper products or printing marketing material, etc.

In this process, ink is transferred from a plate to a blanket and then to the product surface. In four-color process offset printing, the ink colors CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are used to print the artwork. The colors are set on top of one another to create blended colors and tones, such as C+M (cyan + magenta) make a purplish color. In spot color offset, Pantone colors are used to print an exact color match and the colors are not blended.

Silk-screen Printing – used on vinyl, poly and cloth material

Silk-screen printing uses a mesh screen to transfer the ink onto the material. A negative design is burned into the screen and then a squeegee moves across the screen to force the ink through the mesh onto the material. One screen is used per color, and printers must ensure they line up perfectly to avoid any registration errors in the final design.

Digital Printing – used on paper, vinyl, and poly products

Digital printing involves artwork being processed by a computer and then directly printing onto the surface. This eliminates the need for plates, screens, or stamping dies.

Pad Printing – used on plastics and poly products

Pad printing (also called tampography) is a printing process that uses a silicone pad to stamp the image onto the product. It is also known as an indirect offset print.

So, now you know a little bit more about how your products are imprinted. Some processes, like pad printing, have difficulty printing in more than one imprint color because you cannot precisely line up the different stamp hits perfectly every time they stamp the objects. For this reason, logos with multiple colors and tight registration are not recommended for processes that are pad printed (and sometimes screen printed as well – depending on the decorator’s skill).

Cajun Country Promos prides itself on being industry professionals. We learn about the imprinting techniques, how artwork is transferred from concept to imprint, and what products are trending or new so we can give our clients the best service and the most impact for their marketing budget. 

985.266.3420

cajuncountrypromos@gmail.com