How to Load Photopolymer Plates and Ink Cups

Inkcups takes pride in offering the best technical support in the industry. If you own a pad printing machine, whether you use it for printing on promotional products or garment tag printing, proper loading of the plates and cups into the machine is key to getting a great print.

The 5 Step Process for Proper Plate and Cup Installation into Your Pad Printing Machine 

1. Thoroughly clean the magnetic sub-plate and back of the print plate

• Be sure to remove any foreign objects from these areas as they could cause raised spots under the plate, resulting in doctoring issues and/or plate damage

2. Lay the plate flat on top of the sub-plate

• While applying pressure to the center on the plate, finger-tighten the hold-down knobs on one end, then repeat on the other end. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN or you may distort the plate and cause doctoring problems

3. Put the cup and plate together

• Clean the ring edge before putting on the plate (every time)
•  Always place the ink cup gently on the plate at the end opposite to the image area
• OPEN THE VENT PLUG BY TURNING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE – let it sit for a minute, then re-tighten. This lets air out of the ink cup and enables the ring to set properly on the plate

4. Put the locking pin into the ink cup

• Slide the locking pin up and down several times and move the cup manually (rotate the cup, do not push) to make sure there is no interference between cup and pin
• Make sure the pin is not seated directly on the bottom of the hole

5. After the machine sits idle

• Before turning on the pad printing machine, manually break free the cup from its location on the plate. The ring may have settled into the plate material, resulting in damaged plates when the machine cycle is initiated

Contact Inkcups for additional information!

Printer used in this project:
Type: Pad Printer
Brand: ICN
Model: B100, B150, 2200-PS
Standard applications: Bottles, Garment Tag Labels, Cups, Mugs…
Check out our Ultimate Pad Printer Guide to learn more about the pad printing process.