Photopolymer Plate Making Techniques for Apparel Tag Printing
May 23rd, 2011 | Author: Stephen
Photopolymer plate making for apparel tag printing
Here at Inkcups Now we have many customers that make their own photopolymer plates for apparel tag printing. While there are many variations of exposure and baking times, we have tested many methods of photopolymer plate making with our water wash orange plates in order to determine the best method.
PLEASE NOTE: We are using our BPL1220 exposure unit. Exposure times may vary depending upon the power of your exposure unit.
Step 1 – 1 minute exposure with film positive (customer image)
Step 2 – 20 second exposure with 200 line screen
Step 3 – Washout with water for 1 minute
Step 4 – Blot dry with lint free towel
Step 5 – Bake plate in the oven at 170F for 10 minutes
Step 6 – Post cure in BPL 1220 for 20 minutes
This combination produced a deep plate that works well for apparel tag printing. The plate was hard, doctored well, and the cup rode smoothly across with no bowing. Water wash orange plates are the best photopolymer plates to use for apparel tag printing because the plate is harder than other photopolymer plates when fully cured. This reduces the risk of problems that may arise due to soft plates.
Contact Inkcups Now for additional information!
Plates used in this project:
Type: Water Wash Orange Photopolymer
Brand: Inkcups Now
More info: Photopolymer Plates page
Technorati tags: Photopolymer Plate Making, Pad Printing, Pad and screen printing ink, Apparel Tag Label
Tags: Apparel Tag Label, Pad and screen printing ink, Pad Printing, photopolymer plate making
June 17th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Hey stephen, just got a quick question. What happens if on step 6 if you post cure for longer than 20 minutes?
June 20th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
You are more than welcome to post cure the plate for longer than 20 minutes. Post curing will harden the plate. Be careful not to post cure the plate for too long because it will eventually crack from becoming too hard.
July 28th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
is there a video of the plate making process?
also would like to see a video of a plate change on the smaller Benchtop pad printer.
thanks in advance!
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:48 am
There are multiple videos of the plate making process and plate changing. You can view them on our website here: http://inkcups.com/equipment/pad-printers/pad-printing-videos/Default.aspx
August 28th, 2011 at 6:14 am
May I ask where you have purchased the machine?
September 1st, 2011 at 12:25 pm
We sell these machines! You can visit Inkcups.com and view our entire line of machines.
March 19th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Hi Stephen,
Is there any way of patching a photopolymer plate if for example you wanted to block out an unwanted dot or mark?