What are the different printing techniques?

What is printing and why should you do it?

What is printing?

It seems like a very simple question, but it can still be quite challenging: what exactly is printing? In simple terms, printing is applying a logo to an object. Glassware or tableware can be printed in many different ways. In this blog, we will explain exactly how each printing method works.

 

Why print?

Why would you get your logo printed on mugs, for example? In a previous blog we explained why printing your logo on crockery or glassware is the best form of surreptitious advertising.

 

First of all, printing on glasses or mugs, among other things, makes your branding/branding more complete. For example, when guests in your business or job applicants at your company see that you have nicely printed tableware, they take you more seriously and you pamper them. This is because you serve people with beautiful products.

 

In addition, you can use your guests/visitors as marketers. When they post a picture on social media that shows your logo, they advertise you for free. This is ideal for your (catering) business!

 

Furthermore, printing your logo will ensure that you build brand awareness. If you see or hear a name seven times, you will remember it. This is also known as 'The Rule of 7'. So when people notice your company's logo, they remember it. Ideal!

 

What printing techniques are there?

There are many different ways to print your logo on mugs, plates, glasses and many other products. Transfer printing, screen printing, engraving, printing with an engraving look, digital printing and sublimation printing: all kinds of printing techniques to brand products with your logo. We briefly explain all printing techniques so that you can decide which printing technique best suits your expectations/wishes!

 

Transfer printing

How does transfer printing work?

Transfer printing is the most commonly used printing technique. Once you have decided which logo or text you would like to have printed on, for example, a mug, the printing process starts. First, the decals are printed. These are similar to stickers: your logo is printed in ink so that it can later be baked onto the product.

Once the decals are printed, they are checked: does the printed design resemble your desired result? Then we get to work. The decals are stuck on the product and then it's time for the oven. The products are baked: when printing glassware, the oven reaches a temperature of 600 degrees and when printing tableware even 800 degrees Celsius.

In the oven, the protective layer that was on top of the ink melts and only the logo remains. The logo is baked into the product so that it stays in place. After the printed mugs, glasses or other products are removed from the oven, they are cooled and checked. After the complete production process, the products are packed and shipped!

Advantages and disadvantages of transfer printing

The advantages are numerous:

• Transfer printing is ideal for logos with multiple colours. It is possible to print up to 7 colours!
• Printing your logo using transfer printing is 100% scratch-proof and dishwasher-safe.
• If your logo contains many (or few) details, transfer printing is a good printing technique. As long as you provide a vector file before we make a digital proof, anything is possible!
• Transfer printing is already possible for small print runs. This is due to the low start-up costs.

There is one disadvantage:

• Because transfer printing is such fine craft, sometimes a mistake can be made when pasting. The logo can then end up a little crooked on the product. However, this rarely happens.

Screen print

How does screen printing work?

First of all, the design is determined. Do you know which logo you want to have printed and have you approved the digital proof we sent you? Great! Then we start the printing process. The first step in this printing process is preparing the template.

 

How is the stencil prepared? An emulsion is applied over the entire screen. Next, your desired design is placed on the screen using a transparent sheet and exposed using UV light. This ensures that the part of your design is washed away, so that the ink can only come out of the part of the screen where your design is.

 

The stencil is placed on the screen printing machine, after which the ink is applied on top of the screen. A rubber squeegee is used to spread the ink across the screen. This allows the ink to pass through the open parts of the stencil onto the product. For designs with multiple colours, a separate screen is used for each colour. This ensures a colourful and detailed result. Want to know more about screen printing? Read the blog!

Advantages and disadvantages of screen printing

Screen printing has a number of advantages, namely:

• Having your glassware or crockery printed by screen printing is very durable. The logo will last for more than 500 washes!
• Screen printing is possible in many colours.
• The printing process is done by a lap printing machine, making it more precise than by human hands.

There are also some disadvantages:

• The start-up costs are relatively high due to making the screen frame, among other things.
• Small-run printing is only possible in one colour.

Engraving

How does engraving work?

Engraving is possible on glass. Once you have approved the design and the digital proof, we start engraving the glasses. The print file is digitally uploaded to the engraving machine. Now the machine can get to work!

 

How does an engraving machine work? First, the glass has to be placed in the machine. Then, a layer of the outer edge of the glass is engraved out. This is done by laser engraving, which ensures that the logo ends up in the glass. This results in a nice luxurious look: the logo has a slightly rough feel and a grey-white colour.

 

After all products have been engraved, they are properly packed and ready to be shipped. Within 1-2 working days, you can enjoy your beautifully engraved products!

Advantages and disadvantages of engraving

What are the advantages of engraving?

• The glasses are very durable and dishwasher-safe: an engraving lasts forever and cannot disappear.
• Engraving creates an elegant and luxurious look.
• The delivery time with engraving is very short: 5-10 working days.

And the disadvantages of engraving?

• Engraving is always in one colour, namely light grey. So it is not possible to have several colours engraved.
• Engraving is not possible on crockery, with the exception of some mugs.

Engraving mugs

Recently, it has also become possible to engrave a number of mugs. In fact, the printing process is the same as for engraving glasses. The mug should have a coloured (not white) outside. The lacquer of the mug is engraved out, leaving the logo visible in white on the coloured mug. Beautiful, isn't it?

 

Printing with an engraved look

How does printing with engraving look work?

It's actually quite simple. Printing with engraving look makes the glassware look like it has an engraving, but takes the benefits of printing with it! We print the logo sent by you onto the glasses. This is followed by the same steps as transfer printing. The only thing different is that the engraving look can also only be printed in grey.

This results in beautiful glasses. The logo is printed in grey on the glass. Thus, it looks like an engraving, but is in fact an ordinary transfer printing.

Advantages and disadvantages of printing with engraving look

There are a number of advantages over normal engraving:

• The logo is more visible when printing with engraving look than with 'normal' engraving. This is due to the condensation that can go over the normal engraving.
• When printing with engraving look, you have a number of options that you don't have with normal engraving. First of all, with engraving look, the logo can be printed larger. In addition, the logo can also be printed around the glass. This is not possible with engraving.

What are the disadvantages of engraving-look printing?

• Engraving look printing does not have the same luxury look as real engraving.
• The print is less durable and can wear off after a lot of use, whereas an engraving is permanently embedded in the glass.

Digital printing

How does digital printing work?

Digital printing is an innovative printing technique. How does it actually work? Everything starts with the design. Once you have approved the proof you receive by e-mail, we can get to work! The logo is uploaded to our digital printer. This ensures that the printer knows exactly what design to put on your product.

 

The biggest advantage of digital printing is that you can print all colours. The printing is thus 'Full Colour' and therefore ideal if you have a design consisting of many colours.

 

Now it is time for the printing process. The product is placed in the printer, and this is where the magic begins. The product rotates at lightning speed, while the ink is applied from top to bottom. This is done in several rounds.

 

In the first printing round, the white parts of the design are printed on the product. Then all the coloured parts are printed. Finally, a protective and scratch-resistant coating is printed on top of the print. This way, the print lasts longer!

Advantages and disadvantages of digital printing

First of all, the advantages. What is so great about digital printing?

• It has already been mentioned, but digital printing isfull colour. This means that all colours can be printed, so the possibilities are endless.
• Because the start-up costs are low, it is possible to buy small quantities when printing your products using digital printing.
• Little chance of mistakes. Because a machine is responsible for printing the products, there is little risk of errors. The digital printer prints with tremendous accuracy and therefore makes few mistakes.

What are the drawbacks?

• Digital printing can be time-consuming. Because each product is printed piece by piece, it takes a relatively long time to print large runs.
• Another disadvantage is dishwasher resistance. Digital printing is not 100% dishwasher-safe on products. With digital printing, the products are dishwasher safe for about 300 washes. Although many products retain their logo for a very long time even if they have been in the dishwasher, we cannot 100% guarantee that the logo is dishwasher safe.

Sublimation printing

How does sublimation printing work?

As soon as you send us a design or a logo, a digital proof is made for you. Do you like and approve it? Great! Then we get to work for you and start the printing process. Want to know what you can do to get a good design? Then read it in this blog.

 

First of all: what is sublimation printing? Sublimation printing is a printing technique where it is possible to have a photo printed all around a mug. Do you want to print mugs with a photo? Then this is ideal! The photo is printed on transfer paper. The next step is cutting out the decals and sticking them onto mugs.

 

Once the decals are on the mug, a silicone band goes around the mug and the paper. This is heat-resistant and ensures that the decal stays perfectly in place on the mug. Now it's time for baking in the oven. Large numbers of mugs can go into the oven. The oven reaches a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius and the mugs bake for 20-30 minutes, ensuring the image stays in the mug properly.

 

When the mugs come out of the oven, they need to cool for a while. Then the silicone band and paper will come off the mug. All that remains is a mug with a beautiful image!

Advantages and disadvantages of sublimation printing

There are a number of advantages of sublimation printing.

• With sublimation printing, it is possible to have entire images printed. The printing is very detailed and therefore beautiful!
• With sublimation printing, all colours are possible. Like digital printing, sublimation printing is also full colour. Everything is possible!

Disadvantages:

• Sublimation printing is not 100% dishwasher safe.
• Sublimation printing is not 100% scratch-proof.

So: which printing technique is for you?

So which printing technique is best for you? That depends, of course, on what your design looks like and what your requirements are. Do you have a logo with one to three colours? Then we recommend 'just' going for transfer or screen printing. Do you have an image you want to print? This can be done on many mugs and plates. Do you want beautiful glasses with a luxury look? Then engraving is ideal. Everything is possible! See in the infographic below what features the different printing options do or do not have.

Ask away

Do you have questions about which printing techniques we recommend? Feel free to ask your question! We are at your service. We will gladly make you an offer and a free digital proof. You can expect these within one working day. So feel free to ask for a quote. Already decided? Then order easily right away via our webshop. Together we will achieve a beautiful result.