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Applications, Inkjet Printing, Pad PrintingApril 18, 2019

What Type of Printing Do You Need for Your Sporting Goods?

Applications, Inkjet Printing, Pad Printing
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printing on sporting goods

Whether you are trying to capitalize on a marketing opportunity at a sporting event or plan to give out personalized sporting goods for the company Christmas gift, you will find that printed sporting goods are a great way to keep your name and brand in front of your customers. Not only is imprinting these items a powerful promotional and branding tool, but they also make a useful, durable gift that your customer is likely to keep for a long time. So now that you know you want to take advantage of the benefits of printed sporting goods, the next question is what type of printing will give you your desired results?

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a process that pushes wet ink through an image that has been burned onto a screen. This type of printing can be used for flat pieces such as wood, cloth, metal, glass, and plastic, but also can be used for cylindrical objects. Each ink color is applied per pass. While multicolor images can be created, they will require more than one pass. Screen printing is a popular choice for team sports jerseys and is known for its durability, vibrant colors, and the ability to print opaque images on darker substrates.

Inkjet Printing

UV printers are a popular choice for larger volumes of sporting goods such as golf balls and hockey pucks. When printing on an inkjet machine, a jig will hold the items to be printed, and the items will pass by the print heads where the ink will be sprayed from nozzles into the pattern. For the most efficient printing, a multi-up jig will be used to run multiple pieces at once. Inkjet printing is ideal for almost any type of substrate used in sporting goods printing including acrylic, glass, wood, and rubber. Inkjet printing is durable and can be used with UV inks to allow your sporting good items to better stand up against the elements. Other benefits to inkjet printing including the ability to print at a higher rate of speed and the high print quality that can be produced for any four-color images.

Pad Printing

Pad printing equipment allows for transferring a 2-dimensional image onto a 3-dimensional piece. During the process, etched plates will receive ink transfer from a print pad which will then roll onto the substrate, creating the desired image. Though this technology has been around for decades, through recent innovations in plate making and printing technology, pad presses are now an efficient and productive way to transfer decorative images onto a wide range of items.  A pad printing machine can print on flat surfaces, cylinders, spheres, compound angles, textured surfaces, and concave and convex surfaces. This makes it an ideal print solution for an item that may have a more unusual shape, which is particularly the case with sporting goods. While a pad printing machine can be used for any length of run, most models are more cost effective for small to moderate size runs. Pad printing can be a great option for transferring your image onto sporting goods due to its durability and ability to work on any surface.

Want to Learn More about pad printing? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Pad Printing Machines

Types of Sporting Good Items You Can Print On

With the printing options listed above, you can print on any number of sporting goods items. Some of the more popular sporting goods items that consumers seek to add their branding are:

  • Golf balls
  • Baseball bats
  • Baseballs
  • Footballs
  • Soccer balls
  • Basketballs
  • Helmets
  • Frisbees and discs
  • Hockey pucks
  • Jerseys
  • Drink cups
  • Sport bottles
  • Water bottles
  • Cup holders
  • Keyholders
  • Bag tags
  • Noisemakers

Choose the perfect printing technique to create sporting goods to boost your company’s marketing efforts or just to jazz up a fun sporting event. With the ability to print on both flat and 3-dimensional materials, the sky is the limit when it comes to personalizing your sporting goods. Contact Inkcups today to learn more at (978) 646-8980.

Want more information about UV inkjet printers? Check out our Ultimate Guide to UV Inkjet Printers
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