In the past, Inkcups Now had printed on guitar picks with the PromoJET solvent inkjet printer. The results were great, however there was room for improvement. The solvent ink worked well on most plastics, on delrin (a common guitar pick plastic) however, the solvent ink would bead up and did not adhere well. On all other plastics the image quality was great.

We have printed these guitar picks with UV curable ink instead of solvent ink. The major difference is the adhesion to all plastic materials (including delrin.) This UV inkjet ink also has a white ink. White ink creates a base for the colored ink, allowing the colors to really stand out. The ink is a UV LED ink, meaning the ink is cured by low temperature light. The low temperature ensures no heat damage to the product.

Printer used in this project:
Type: UV LED Inkjet Printer
Brand: Mimaki
Model: UJF-3042
Standard applications: Promotional products, Pens, etc…
More info: Mimaki UJF-3042 Inkjet Printer page

“Can I Etch Laser Plates with my CO2 Laser?” – This is a very common question we get from pad printing companies. Indeed, if a company already has a robust laser engraver, it may be able to enjoy the benefits of fully digitized pad printing plate-making – simply by purchasing the laser plate material and getting some instruction.

The short answer is as follows: you are likely to get the best results with laser plates if the wattage of your CO2 laser engraver is between 10Watt and 20Watt, and no more than 30Watt.

The longer answer is this:

1. If your laser has more than 30Watt, you may still get excellent results with the Acculaze plate material, which is designed to handle fine-line graphics only (does not work for bold fonts or open etch areas). To etch Acculaze with a 30+Watt laser engraver, use the lowest power setting and make 2 passes.
2. For the Imperial and Laser Orange plate material (both of which can handle any type of graphics) you do need the laser wattage to be no more than 30Watts; 10Watt – 20Watt is usually best. With a more powerful laser, the beam diameter (spot size) of the laser is too large to achieve fine etch and sharp prints.
3. The other major factor that comes into play is your CO2 laser’s software: it will determine how well you can manipulate your graphic files.
4. Test your laser! We offer laser plate samples and etching guides.
5. Consult with Inkcups Now specialist to determine if investing in one of our specialized laser engravers and plate-makers is the right solution for you.

Printing on dominoes is a great application for the Mimaki UJF-3042 inkjet printer. The smooth surface texture would normally present a challenge to other inkjet printers because of adhesion quality, however for the superior Mimaki inkjet printer this task is not a problem.

With a little pretreatment, the Mimaki UJF-3042 was able to print these high resolution images on these dominoes. To really make these images pop, try adding a layer of white behind the color.

Printer used in this project:
Type: UV LED Inkjet Printer
Brand: Mimaki
Model: UJF-3042
Standard applications: Promotional products, Pens, etc…
More info: Mimaki UJF-3042 Inkjet Printer page