Foil Stamping
Foil stamping uses a thin foil or ribbon consisting of a mylar carrier a pigment and a heat activated solvent. The solvent is bonded to the pigment and when struck with a hot die (250 -300 degrees F) it fuses to the substrate material. Foil stamping is the only process that produces shiny metallic imprints. Most common is Gold which for conveys a sense of richness. Silver is a second choice with other metal colors falling far behind in popularity.

With the advent of computers, there are now machines that precisely release foil onto substrates with a precision heat source following a vector file. These are particularly useful for samples or imprinting lists of individual names one at a time.

Lithography
Commonly known as offset printing, this is a process in which a lithographic stone or metal or paper plate is used to make an inked impression on a rubber blanket that transfers it to the paper being printed, instead of being made directly on the paper. This is the preferred process for large run prints on paper products. The benefits are full color reproduction with the possible addition of specific spot colors coatings.

Laser Printing

Like photocopiers, laser printers employ a xerographic printing process but differ from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of a laser beam across the printer's photoreceptor. Laser printing on paper and other substrates has become increasingly faster, cheaper and more accurate in terms of color rendition. It is the preferred method for short run color print jobs on promotional products. New toners are constantly being developed that allow laser printing to be done on various plastic substrates with good color rendition and durability. Typical products that use this process are calendars information pamphlets and the like.

Pad Printing
Pad Printing is the process of decorating objects and is especially well-suited for use when the objects have an irregular surface. For example, a country club wants golf balls decorated with their insignia. The golf balls present a dual printing challenge because of their dimpled surface and spherical shape.

With pad printing, there are three major components: pad, ink and cliché. The cliché is made of a hard polymer or steel material and is configured with the desired design etched into it to act as a reservoir for the ink. The pad, typically made from a silicone rubber, first presses against the ink reservoir in the cliché. The pad picks up the design and transfers it by pressing against the object. The properties of silicone allow the ink to stick temporarily to the pad yet be fully released when it comes in contact with the object.

In the golf ball example, the resiliency of the silicone pad allows it to not only print the dimples, but also follow the curve of the ball.

Pad printing is used for decorating many promotional products including drink ware, stress balls, plastic key tags, calculators and picture frames to name a few.

Debossing
Debossing has been the traditional method for imprinting leather products for many years. It utilizes a heated die with the image of the logo and text as a raised surface which contact the leather first. It then is pressed into the leather and compresses the fibers permanently. The same technique or die can be used to deboss simulated leather (vinyl) the only difference being that radio frequency is passed through the die which super-heats the vinyl to conform to the surface of the die. Debossing is used when a subtle effect is desired as on a personal accessory.

Color Filled Debossing
Color filled debossing has an intermediary step of applying silk screen ink or foil to the area to be pressed in. The effect is a clean colorful imprint recessed into the substrate. This process is used extensively on vinyl portfolios, bags with viyl imprint patches and other small vinyl pocket accessories.

Silk Screening
Silk screening is an ancient art that dates back thousands of years in Chinese culture. While the principal of passing ink through a finely woven screen has not changed, the method that we use to create the desired image has. Today, silk screens are made of Dacron fibers with extremely fine threads creating a fabric with as many as 350 lines per inch. Images can be reproduced with very fine detail, and colors can be registered one to another to reproduce complex and detailed logos in vivid color. There are many types of silk screen inks, each with different solvent bases that chemically bond the colored ink to a wide variety of substrates and products. Products range from pens to soft plastic products glassware and tee shirts. Today, many silk screen inks are “cured” using ultra violet light. This allows for extremely fine detail prints since the screen ink does not have solvents that evaporate and “clog” the silk screen fabric. It is also much more environmentally friendly.

Laser Engraving
Laser engraving is the practice of using lasers to engrave, etch, or mark an object. The technique can be very technical and complex, and often a computer system is used to drive the movements of the laser head. Despite this complexity, very precise and clean engravings can be achieved at a high rate. The technique does not involve tool bits which contact the engraving surface and wear out. Laser engraving is extremely precise and can reproduce the finest of details in a promotional logo. The engraving machine is set to penetrate the top layer or coating of the product producing a tone-on-tone effect on solid materials or a contrasting effect if the material below the top coating is of a different color. If the color combination is not desirable a technique called oxidation is used that turns the engraved area black to produce a rich looking imprint. Metal pens, rulers, and various awards and frames are products where this method is used.

Dye Sublimation
An effective and inexpensive full color printing process.

A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a computer printer which employs a printing process that uses heat to transfer dye to a medium such as a plastic card, printer paper or poster paper. The process is usually to lay one color at a time using a ribbon that has color panels. Most dye-sublimation printers use CMYO colors which differs from the more recognised CMYK colors in that the black dye is dispensed with in favour of a clear overcoating. This overcoating, (which has numerous names depending on the manufacturer), is effectively a thin laminate which protects the print from discoloration from UV light and the air while also rendering the print water resistant. Dye sublimation is used as an indirect printing process. Standard black and white laser printers are capable of printing on plain paper using a special "transfer toner" containing sublimation dyes which can then be permanently heat transferred to T-shirts, hats, mugs, metals, mouse pads, puzzles and other surfaces.

Transfers
Transfer printing is a mass-production method of applying an image to a curved or uneven surface. It is most commonly used for printing on porcelain and other hard surfaced pottery.

Transfer printing evolved in England in the 1750s. The image is first engraving on a copper plate. Pigment is then added - often mixed with oil and heated to allow the colour to run deeper in to the engravings. The image is then transferred to a piece of paper or fabric, sometimes with a layer of glue applied, that can easily be cut and shaped to fit around curved objects such as dishes and teapots. This is known as the 'bat' and gives the process its alternative name: 'bat printing'. This is then placed on the ceramic object in its unglazed state after its initial firing to transfer the image to the object; the object is then glazed and fired again to make the image permanent. Today, this process has evolved considerably and the following is a list of promotional applications for heat transfer.

Fiber apparel, game boards, mouse pads, beverage insulators, game boards, fabric bags, etc.

Epoxy Domes

A multi color image is printed on a high quality paper to get good color rendition. Epoxy is the poured over the paper resting at the bottom of the mold. The resulting image has great visual impact.
Applications: Bags, portfolios, pins, anywhere where a rich multicolor imprint is desired and can be affixed with an adhesive backing.

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