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What is the difference between Vinyl Cut Out & Pad Printing?

14 April 2022
Brendan Clayton

What is the difference between Vinyl Cut Out & Pad Printing?

We often get asked what is the difference between vinyl cut out logo hard hats and pad printed logo's on hard hats?  

Well lets start with what is pad printing?

Pad printing (also called tampography) is a printing process that can transfer a 2-D image onto a 3-D object. This is accomplished using an indirect offset (gravure) printing process that involves an image being transferred from the cliché via a silicone pad onto a substrate. Pad printing is used for printing on otherwise difficult to print on products in many industries including medical, automotive, promotional, apparel, and electronic objects, as well as appliances, sports equipment, toys and obviously printed logo hard hats.

Physical changes within the ink film both on the cliché and on the pad allow it to leave the etched image area in favor of adhering to the pad, and to subsequently release from the pad in favor of adhering to the substrate.

The unique properties of the silicone pad enable it to pick the image up from a flat plane and transfer it to a variety of surfaces, such as flat, cylindrical, spherical, compound angles, textures, concave, or convex surfaces.

As the pad print process involves conplex set up, films, pads etc there is a minimum print run.

What are Vinyl Cut Out Logo's?

Vinyl Cut Out Logo's are a digitally printed logo onto high tack, high quality self adhesive vinyl film, it is then contour cut using a digital contour cutting machine.

The Vinyl Cut Outs are attached to a masking tape type material and the paper backing is removed and using the masking tape the vinyl contour cut logo is applicated onto the hard hat manually by our trained application staff this is basically the same process that is used to install logo's onto company vehicles etc.

So by now you are probably asking which option is best for my next printed logo hard hat job, and this all depends on how many hard hats you are needing and how often the hard hats will be used.

If you are using your hard hats in the construction or mining industry day in day out we'd recommend ordering pad printed logo hard hats simply because the pad printing process actually prints directly to the hard hat so is more durable.

However if you just visit sites occasionally, you might be a sales person who visits construction sites or you may be a contractor who visits sites but is only required to wear a printed logo hard hat occasionally or you need to attend an opening cerenomy or a first sod turn of a new project and will never use 20 pad printed hard hats, vinyl cut out logo hard hats are a good option as they have no minimum print run, in actual fact some people worry whether vinyl cut out logo hard hats will look as professional, in actual fact these vinyl cut logo's are very vibrant often standing out far better than pad print.

For more information or a quotation on custom printed logo hard hats call us now on 1300554192

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