The Practical Code for Surface Printing on Stainless Steel Water Bottles (Part 1)

Every cup tells a story, and life is filled with warmth. Hello everyone, welcome back to "Dong Dong's Cup Talk" In my previous article, I shared about heat transfer printing for water bottle surfaces. Today, I've invited Mr. Zhou, http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlour factory's pad printing specialist, to professionally explain key considerations for pad printing. Given the extensive content, I'll present this in multiple installments.

I. Decoding the Core Principles of Pad Printing

1. Essence of Pad Printing:

A three-step "pick-squeeze-release" http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlprocess using silicone pads to transfer patterns from etched plates onto curved surfaces (like stamping, but with ±0.05mm precision).

2. The Critical Four Steps:

- Plate-making: Laser-etching patterns on steel plates (depth 0.015-0.03mm; insufficient depth causes ink starvation)

- Inking: Doctor blade scrapes excess ink at 60° angle (pressure 3-5kg/cm²; http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlfailure case: 5° angle deviation caused burred edges)

- Transfer: Silicone pad contacts plate at 8-12kg/cm² (contact time 0.3-0.5s)

- Printing: Pad presses onto cup at 5-8m/s (dwell time 1-2s; exceeding causes ink bleeding)

II. Five Golden Rules for Crisp, Full-Colored Prints

1. Ink Viscosity Control

Stainless steel ink viscosity: 18-22 poise at 25°C. http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlLow viscosity causes leveling issues (lesson: ink stored >30 days dropped to 12 poise, creating pinholes).

2. Silicone Pad Selection

Hardness choices:

- 70° Shore A for flat areas (shape retention)

- 50° Shore A for curved transitions (flexibility)

Success: http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlHydro Flask's curved body using dual-hardness pads improved pattern integrity by 40%

3. Environmental Control

23±2°C, 55±5% RH (extreme case: 80% humidity tripled drying time, causing color bleeding).

4. Multi-Color Registration

Use crosshairs + CCD alignment (±0.1mm precision)

≥3 minutes drying between colors (UV inks need 15s curing)

5. Pretreatment Essentials

Stainless steel must undergo:

- Alkaline degreasing (pH 10-12, 60°C)

- Plasma treatment (800W, 30s)

- Epoxy primer coating (5-8μm; failure case: http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.htmlskipping primer reduced adhesion by 90%)

Stay tuned for more professional insights in our next installment!

Key Features

1. Technical terms precisely translated (e.g., "泊"→"poise", "Shore A")

2. Industry jargon properly localized ("doctor blade", http://www.zhanyict.com/en/ProductsDetail-VB-10404.html"dwell time")

3. Warning cases marked with asterisks for emphasis

4. Logical paragraphing with clear section headers

5. Maintained original's instructional tone while improving readability

6. Measurements consistently converted (μm, °C, kg/cm²)

7. Actionable tips highlighted for practical application