Memorable Merchandise's Handy Technical Guide

Marking processes explained!

SCREEN & TAMPO PRINTING

A variety of semi-automatic screen printing and tampo printing machines are used for marking vinyl, plastics and metals using inks specifically developed to mark the chosen material. Best suited for solid line colour designs to give stronger colours and depth. Each colour is printed as a separate solid line colour and it is an extremely efficient and cost effective method of marking, with low origination costs.

FOUR COLOUR PROCESS LABEL PRINTING

Label printing is suitable for reproducing four colour process designs or designs with fine shades, tints and detail.

EPOXY DOMING

Epoxy doming is the addition of a high-gloss crystal-clear shell to a decorated item.  Most commonly used to create a hard wearing cover to enrich the design on a keyring, corporate badge or lapel pin.  The doming process relies upon surface tension to form a bubble of epoxy resin on the item, without spilling over the edges.  During exposure to low-intensity ultra-violet light, a chemical reaction cures and hardens the dome.

DIE STAMPING

High power stamping presses, producing between 15 and 30 tons per square inch, are used for marking stainless steel items. The image or design is created using a hand-made hardened steel die in a reversed image to the finished design. If the image is not to be stamped blind, the impression made can be colour filled using a catalytic ink specially developed for metal items at an additional cost to blind-die stamping.

LASER ENGRAVING

The latest high-resolution laser engraving equipment is used for marking metal items.  The non-contact method involves a highly focused beam burning an image or design into the surface of the metal, producing an indelible and abrasion resistant design.  It is an extremely accurate process capable of producing fine detail.  The finished colour of the image depends on the material used.   Multi-tone laser engraving is a process which reproduces multi-colour designs using shades of grey ("greyscale") to represent the different colours.  This process is only effective on satin chrome or brushed polish finishes, rather than high polish finishes.

FOIL BLOCKING

Semi-automatic foil blocking machines are used to blind emboss or foil block designs, primarily onto leather, using a heated magnesium blocking die which leaves a permanent indentation.  Foiled designs are then treated to a gold or silver finish as standard.  Other colour foils are available on selected products at an additional cost to standard foils.

PANTONE MATCHING

Pantone colour references should be provided wherever possible for colour matching purposes or alternatively a colour swatch should be supplied.  Every effort is made to match the colour required accurately, however it may not be possible to obtain an exact colour match due to the type of material to be printed as this can sometimes vary the result slightly.  Selected products can be manufactured according to a specific Pantone reference.