Potential Problems in Printing – Description of Problems and Proposed Solutions

Problem Solution
Problem Solution
1. Motif not aligned with cliche. 1. Hold film over finished print and compare; correct and pro- duce new cliche as needed.
Problem Solution
1. Wrong pad shape (pad too small). 1. Test different pad shape.
2. Too soft or too hard. 2. Test other hard-nesses.
3. Stroke force too great. 3. Decrease the head stroke.
4. Stroke force on cliche and sub-strate not equal. 4. Correct the head stroke.
5. Touch down at wrong point. 5. Align pad to cor-rect contact area.
Problem Solution
1. Very soft/pliable. 1. Cool objects before printing to harden mate-rial; inflate hol-low body.
2. Material allows distortion. 2. Switch to differ-ent material.
3. Very deep recesses/depressions. 3. Use pad assemblies or jigs which compensate for depressed areas; produce special pad as needed.
4. Edges in proximity to motif. 4. Use pad assemblies or jigs which compensate for depressed areas; produce special pad as needed.
Problem Solution
1. Unsuitable jig. 1. Modify jig so that substrate is supported in all print/contact areas.
2. Work piece mounted at wrong angle. 2. Test correct angle using adjustable wedge.
3. Jig too unstable. 3. Produce new jig.

Distortion means that a printed rectangle, for example, does not show any right-angled corners, and has more the shape of a cushion. Distortion occurs primarily in very curved motifs or in motifs which are in proximity to an edge of the area to be printed or of the substrate. It is often impossible to achieve a 100 % correction. It is possible to make a wraparound print, but improvements with this method are also limited.