Recently here at Inkcups Now we received a phone call from a customer in distress. When the customer placed ink in their ink cup, it would spill out of a small hole on the bottom of the ring. The customer had chipped one of their ceramic rings on his ink cup. The customer did not know what to do next. They didn’t have a replacement ring or a ring removal tool and they had a high production demand. The customer could not wait two or three days for a new ring and ring removal tool.

Our technicians had a fast and easy solution for the customer. Place the ink cup in the freezer. Yes, the freezer. Now this seems a little odd, however it certainly does work. When metal gets cold it shrinks, the colder it gets the more it shrinks. The ring is ceramic, thus the cold will have no effect on it and it will remain the same size. Once the metal shrinks enough (usually after about 2-3 hours), the ring can be removed. BE CAUTIOUS the edges of the ring are extremely sharp and can cut if not handled properly.

Now you must be asking yourself, what about the replacement ring? If the customer didn’t have one on hand how is he supposed to replace the damaged ring? The answer is simple. Flip the ring over. All Inkcups Now ceramic rings are double-sided. Just flip it over and it works as good as new!

Remember, keep the ink cup cold while removing and installing the ring, do not let it warm in between. If the ink cup gets warm it will expand again and the ring will not fit. Also, once you change the ring, let the ink cup sit out at room temperature for about an hour or two in order to allow the metal expand to its original form. Just place the ink cup back into the pad printer and continue printing!

Contact us for more information and other helpful hints.

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Technorati tags: Ink Cup, Ceramic Rings, Pad Printer

Over the years we here at Inkcups now have gotten many phone calls and emails pertaining to polymer plate making, also known as photopolymer plates. Customers often don’t understand the technical aspect of creating a film positive or they get stuck at a step in the process. We have decided the pain and anguish has gone on long enough! Creating photopolymer plates for pad printing machines should be fun, not difficult! Inkcups Now has created a two part instructional video to show each step (in detail) in the polymer plate making process using alcohol wash plates. The first video showcases how to create the film positive on your computer using the Adobe Illustrator software. We created a step by step instructional guide to assist the user through the process because this is often where the user has the most difficulty. The second video shows the entire polymer plate making process. We captured the whole process on video so the user can visually see exactly what to do. Photopolymer plates are great to use as a pad printing plate. The image can be created with great detail for clear/sharp looking prints. Polymer plate making is much more time consuming than laser engraving by about 20-30 minutes, however it is a much more cost effective process.

Questions or Comments? Click Here. Plate used in this project: Type: Alcohol Wash Brand: Photopolymer Plate Color: Green For use with: ICN-B100, ICN-2200, ICN-150, ICN-2500, ICN-2506 More info: Photopolymer Printing Plates page Technorati tags: Photopolymer Plates, Pad Printing Plates, Pad Printing Machines

Are you struggling with keeping opened pad or screen printing ink and hardener fresh?
We have a convenient solution: the VersaCover! Don’t miss our commercial to air at the Super Bowl. Here is a sneak preview, just for you:

The VersaCover hermetically seals nearly all ink and hardener cans available on the market.
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Everyone in the pad printing and screen printing industry could do with some useful ink tips now and then to freshen up the memory and maybe learn something new! That’s why we want to bring up some common ink issues and how to go about solving them.

• Add a touch of blue to make your white ink brighter

We happen to get calls from customers sometimes asking about how to brighten white screen printing or pad printing ink. To do so you can actually just add a touch of blue color to it. More specifically, #32 from any of our ink series would be the best option.

• How to handle misprints

Removing misprints from plastics is also a issue for some people. The best way to handle it is to use our Ink-Away Remover to clean the substrate and then overprint the shadow before removing the object from the nesting fixture. However, if the ink attacks the plastic it may be impossible to re-claim the item.

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To continue on our subject of tips and guidelines like the posts about printing pads and ceramic rings, we now want to raise awareness about pad and screen printing inks and ink mixing!

There are basically two ways to go about ink mixing; you can either pour the ink by hand or use our Harmony Ink Dispenser. The difference is that with the Dispenser, you have fine control over the amount of ink/thinners you mix (because of calibrated pumps) and ink does not get spilled around (even if your hands are shaking a little after yesterday ). Also the unmixed portions are preserved in Dispenser’s canisters instead of drying out all over the open cans. The ICN 1501 Digital Scale gives you (+/-) 0.01 gram accuracy, needed for precise measurement.

Follow these steps to achieve best possible ink mix:

• • Make sure you use unlined mixing cups (no wax) and wooden or metal mixing sticks! If you use plastic, your ink may get contaminated with plasticizers.
• • Zero the scale out and make sure its on a leveled surface. Read more
  

Are you using a single-sided or double-sided ceramic ring? If you are using a single-sided ring you should look into the benefits of using a double sided instead. The most obvious reason has to do with the fact that rings can get damaged… yes, sooner or later it will happen, but if you have a double-sided ring you can simply flip the ring over and continue pad printing. If you need to re-assemble an ink cup or flip a double sided ceramic ring but not quite sure of how to do it, we have a video with easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions. Go ahead, check out our Ink Cup Assembly - Ceramic Ring Changeover video

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Have you ever experienced problems while pad printing such as repeated misprints or voided prints? If so, your initial reaction was most likely that it was caused by the ink. However, many times it is due to the fact that the printing pad needs replacing. If your pad looks anything like those on the picture, it’s about time you get a new one!

By the way, for a limited time, we have a Buy 5 Pads Get 1 Free offer for you. Search our pad selection and call in for more details at 978-646-8981.

Common Issues Caused by Old Pad

• • All silicone pads have oil in them to pick up and transfer ink properly. If the pad dries out you may experience voids in the prints.
• • If the image is burnt into the pad that means it has dried out. This can be caused by using a high ratio of hardeners or thinners in your ink - hardeners and some thinners are aggressive to the silicone surface. This is normal and doesn’t necessarily mean that there is something wrong with your ink mix - but you will have to change your pad more often. (The life of the pad also depends on what substrates you print on, for instance, softer plastic materials is gentler to print on then hard metal objects.)
• • Pads can also get saturated with thinners, leading to poor ink pick-up. If the saturation happens, the pad will dry out quicker than it should.
• • When the pad durometer changes (due to dryness) softer pads get softer and harder pads get harder, which will also affect the outcome of the artwork.

We’ve seen a lot pads and done a lot of pad printing here at Inkcups. Our conclusion is: if you are continuing to use a deteriorated pad instead of getting a new one, you are wasting much more than you are saving because of all the misprints and aggravation.

How to Take Care of Your Printing Pad

Even the best pads won’t last forever. However, you can prolong their life by regular maintenance.
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