Steel clichés are made of high quality chromium steel (with hardness of 63 Rc), which is resistant to corrosion. Special casting technique and high content of chromium in steel have enabled our steel clichés to win a substantial market share in the pad printing industry thanks to their high quality.
Our company produces steel clichés using direct laser engraving. For this purpose we use a single-mode diode-pumped YAG laser. This cutting-edge technology is somewhat of a novelty on the market and enables us to provide high-quality production.
Ceramic clichés are distinguished by unsurpassed operating characteristics, light-weight design, no risk of corrosion and resistance to acids. Such clichés are ideal for line motifs.
Steel cliché with a fine ceramic coating is the latest development of NII LASER TECHNOLOGY PJSC in production of cylindrical and flat clichés with greater runability: This cliché has a steel surface on which a special ceramic coating can be applied, with a thickness of 150 ÷ 200 microns using the technique of plasma spraying. This cliché is then polished and processed using “super finishing” with diamond tapes. We have a modern plasma machine at our sight and use an up to date ceramic coating technology. The coating is highly resistant to doctor blades. The hardness of the ceramic coating may reach up to 1,800 HV (Vickers).
The image on a cliché can be formed by means of the engraving technology using both fiber and YAG lasers. The cliché is designed for long pad printing runs. At the same time the stability of ink transfer on the printing surface is provided.
To monitor the quality of ceramic molds for tampon printing, optical methods are used, allowing the most accurate analysis of the surface and parameters of laser engraving.
When choosing a requested type of cliché, it is necessary to consider the following factors:
- Runability requirements;
- Type and series of the printing machine (Rapid, Hermetic, Sealed Ink Cup, etc.);
- Shape and material of the work-piece;
- Image features;
- Requirements for image quality.
The runability of pad prining cliches depends on the following conditions:
- Type of printing ink;
- Features of special printing inks (silver, gold, metallic);
- Type and condition of printing equipment;
- The pressure force of your doctor blade (in open systems);
- Your ink/doctoring cup pressure force (in closed-type "hermetic" systems).
NII LASER TECHNOLOGY PJSC uses a laser engraving station Alfalas WS produced by TAMPOPRINT. It is a manual workstation unit with rotary table and servo Z-axis, and is suitable for small and medium-sized runs. It is easily adjusted for various tasks. Its well-designed and ergonomic structure helps to ensure optimum working conditions.
Advantages of laser technology:
- Product durability and counterfeit protection;
- High accuracy and resolution capability;
- Cost effectiveness;
- Warranty against work-piece damages while applying laser marking;
- Possibility to apply any marking on almost any materials;
- Possibility of marking and engraving on hard-to-reach parts of the product;
- Simple programming with subsequent editing;
- Quick adjustment of operating parameters and multi-level user authorization;
- Environmentally-friendly production process;
- Suitable for small-sized runs;
- No mechanical wear of tools;
- Easy equipment maintenance.
