Pad Printing Silicone Selection Guide 4 Models Comparison Hon
Many customers new to the pad printing industry often ask: there are so many pad printing silicone models, 901, 902, 912, 916, what are the differences? Which model should I choose? Choosing an expensive model risks wasting money, while choosing a cheap one may not perform well. Today, Hongye Silicone's 25 years manufacturer technical team presents a comprehensive pad printing silicone selection guide, helping you choose the right pad head based on your products and production requirements without wasting money.
Step 1: Understand the Basic Parameters of 4 Models
Hongye Silicone currently offers 4 pad printing silicone models: HY-901, HY-902, HY-912 and HY-916. Each model has different hardness and performance characteristics, suitable for different application scenarios.
HY-901 is the economy grade with 23 Shore A hardness, tensile strength ≥3.0MPa, tear strength ≥12kN/m and elongation ≥300%. This is our most basic model with the most affordable price and highest cost performance, suitable for most general purpose pad printing applications.
HY-902 is the high wear grade with 28 Shore A hardness, tensile strength ≥4.0MPa, tear strength ≥18kN/m and elongation ≥320%. With higher hardness and the best wear resistance, it offers the longest pad head service life, suitable for high volume, high frequency production.
HY-912 is the multi color universal grade with 25 Shore A hardness, tensile strength ≥3.5MPa, tear strength ≥15kN/m and elongation ≥350%. With good resilience and excellent ink transfer performance, it provides high overprint accuracy, suitable for multi color overprinting and fine pattern printing.
HY-916 is the super soft grade with 16 Shore A hardness, tensile strength ≥2.5MPa, tear strength ≥10kN/m and elongation ≥400%. With the lowest hardness, best softness and strongest conformability, it is suitable for large curvature irregular curved surface printing.
Step 2: Select Model Based on Product Shape
The first key factor in model selection is your product shape. Product shape determines the required pad head hardness.
If your products are flat or have only slight curvature, such as flat signs, buttons, packaging boxes, flat gift items, regular stationery and similar products, HY-901 economy grade is fully sufficient. Flat products do not require high pad head conformability, and normal hardness achieves good printing results, so there is no need to spend more on high hardness or super soft models.
If your products require multi color overprinting, such as color logos, gradient patterns, complex decorations and similar applications, choose HY-912 multi color universal grade. Multi color overprinting requires high pad head resilience and consistent ink transfer, and HY-912 excels in these areas with high overprint accuracy and minimal misregistration issues.
If your products have irregular shapes, large curvatures or obvious concave convex surfaces, such as special shaped handicrafts, curved cosmetic bottles, 凹凸 toys, complex electronic housings and similar products, choose HY-916 super soft grade. Super soft pad heads have large deformation capability, perfectly conforming to complex curved surfaces and solving the incomplete printing problem that normal pad heads cannot address.
Step 3: Select Model Based on Production Volume
The second key factor in model selection is your production volume. Volume determines the importance of pad head service life.
If your production volume is not large, belonging to the small and medium batch, multi variety, frequent product change model, such as handicraft manufacturers, advertising gift companies, small batch contract manufacturers and similar businesses, HY-901 economy grade is sufficient. Small and medium batch production does not require extremely long pad head life, and HY-901's 50,000 to 80,000 print life is fully adequate, while the affordable price means low pad head remake costs when changing products.
If your production volume is large, belonging to the high volume, high frequency, automated production line model, such as large electronics factories, toy factories, daily necessities factories and similar operations, choose HY-902 high wear grade. In high volume production, pad head life directly affects production efficiency and comprehensive cost. HY-902 pad head life can reach 100,000 to 150,000 prints, and although the unit price is slightly higher, fewer pad head changes mean lower comprehensive usage costs in the long run.
Step 4: Select Model Based on Budget
The third key factor in model selection is your budget. Different budgets lead to different choices.
If your budget is limited, you are just starting out or are cost sensitive, choose HY-901 economy grade. HY-901 has the lowest price among the 4 models, more than 50% cheaper than imported brands, with the highest cost performance, fully meeting most general pad printing requirements, making it the first choice for entry level and budget conscious customers.
If your budget is sufficient and you pursue high quality and high efficiency, select the corresponding premium model based on product shape and volume. Choose HY-912 for multi color overprinting, HY-902 for high volume production, and HY-916 for complex curved surfaces. Although these models have slightly higher prices, they perform better in specific scenarios, improving printing quality and production efficiency, and are more cost effective in the long term.
Selection Summary
Finally, here is a simple selection mnemonic: use 901 for flat general purpose, 912 for multi color overprint, 902 for high volume production, and 916 for complex curved surfaces.
If you are still unsure which model to choose, no problem. Hongye Silicone offers free sample testing services. You can send us your product images and printing requirements, and our technical team will provide professional selection recommendations based on your specific situation. We can also send free samples for your testing, allowing you to place bulk orders after satisfactory testing with zero risk selection.
Hongye Silicone, 25 years focused on liquid silicone, Shenzhen factory direct, ready stock availability, guaranteed quality. Whether you are an industry newcomer or an experienced professional, you can find the right pad printing silicone product at Hongye Silicone.
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