Yes. There are four main types of plate materials used for creating cliché plates; thick steel , carbon steel, aluminum and photo polymer.

There are also subcategories of these materials, each having benefits for customer needs. Aluminum plate and photo polymer is great for low volume print projects or when changing art frequently. Steel is used for long duration projects with consistent artwork. For more information on plate types, please see our cliché plates page.

Actually , the printing life time is determined by many elements, for example, the pad printing machine condition, the design of the artwork, the maintenance of the plate etc, so, no one can give confirmed answer for it’s lasting time, but we have some data for reference:

Thick plate last the longest : some of the good D2 material can print around 200,000 times

Carbon steel print longer than Aluminum plate and the photo polymer plates,

Carbon steel can last around 50,000-20,000 impressions or more depending on how well you clean the etching after each run, the cleanliness of your environment and quality requirements.

While for aluminum plate and the photo polymer plates, The image will slightly fade further into cycles due to the impact from the ring blade or straight blade scraping the top of the etch during the process.

Thick steel plate and carbon steel plates are made through an exposure process. A film-positive is created with a desired screened image or font and adhered to the plate, then expose the image to UV light for a specific time. Each material has a special coating that is UV light sensitive and therefore cures everywhere except the area of your screened image.

The plates then go through an etching process to remove the sensitive material to a desired depth.

Photo polymer is washed out with a solvent

Aluminum plate can be engraved by fiber laser machine.

For further information, please contact with us to get a plate-making video.

The type of material is depend on the required volume of printing.

Steel plate should be used if you have a high volume of prints and if your image or font is going to be consistent.

Aluminum plate and photo polymer should be used if your volume is under 50,000 or if you plan on changing artwork. We also offer different categories of each material to benefit from cost depending on your requirements.

For all different material of plate, we can use the same thinner which you have added to your ink to clean your plate. The thinner is best for removing ink from the etch while also leaving an oily finish which for steel plates prevents rust. Using a fiber cloth can also be helpful to remove ink that is deep in the etch.