Transfer printing is the process of transferring images and text from a steel intaglio (or photosensitive rubber intaglio) onto a substrate using a transfer head made of silicone rubber. It can be used for printing flat or various molded objects, such as glass products, plastic products, metal products, clocks, as well as electronic and optical products. Its main feature is that it can print on irregular irregular irregular concave convex surfaces. These prints are difficult or even impossible to complete using other printing methods, but they can be easily accomplished using transfer printing and achieve exquisite multi-color printing. This is an ideal printing method for the surface printing of instruments, equipment, and some small products.
Pad printing and screen printing have many similarities, such as wide adaptability to substrates; There are various types of ink, and transfer printing ink and screen printing ink can basically be used interchangeably; It is very convenient to complete printing of different products by replacing fixtures and printing plates. Therefore, in many printing occasions, pad printing and screen printing are like twin sisters, playing an important role in special printing technology. Because of this, many printing experts classify transfer printing as part of the field of screen printing, without dividing it into specialized transfer printing technologies and research institutions. However, there are still certain differences in the characteristics and usage techniques between transfer printing and screen printing. Firstly, from the perspective of ink transfer process, there are significant differences between transfer printing and screen printing; The structures of transfer printing machines and screen printing machines are also different; The types of products adapted to transfer printing technology and screen printing are also vastly different. Objectively speaking, the difference between transfer printing and screen printing is much greater than their similarities, and the reason why they are often tied together is that transfer printing and screen printing face a common market, in which screen printing cannot do without transfer printing. It is difficult and unnecessary to separate transfer printing from the screen printing industry, but to have a deeper understanding of transfer printing technology, we cannot only examine it from the perspective of the screen printing industry.

In summary, the characteristics of transfer printing mainly include:
(1) Suitable for curved printing, the elastic silicone rubber pad print head can print on substrates with complex shapes such as secondary and tertiary curved surfaces, concave and convex surfaces outside the plane;
(2) Capable of printing fine graphics and text, generally able to print fine lines of 0.05mm;
(3) The printing is stable and continuous, and even if it is printed for a long time, its printing accuracy will not change;
(4) Eliminating the drying process and allowing for continuous multi-color printing;
(5) The printing range is wide, and it can accurately print monochrome, two-color, and color images and text on any concave and convex surface of various materials such as plastic, metal, glass, ceramics, leather, and laminated wood. It can also perform soft contact printing and print on soft items (such as fruits, pastries, eggs, etc.) and fragile items (such as ceramics, glass products, etc.);
(6) The transfer printing process is easy to learn and operates reliably, without any particularly profound techniques.
The silk screen printing process involves ink passing through a portion of the mesh of the screen and leaking onto the substrate, causing the remaining mesh of the screen to become blocked and preventing ink from passing through. This part forms a blank on the substrate. When printing, ink is poured onto the screen, and under no external force, the ink will not leak onto the substrate through the mesh holes on its own. However, when the scraper scrapes the ink with a certain pressure and tilt angle, it transfers through the screen to the substrate below, thus achieving image replication.

Screen printing has the following characteristics:
1. Wide range of substrates: Due to the use of screen printing, the printing plate is soft and elastic, allowing for printing on substrates that are flat or curved, hard or soft, large or small. In addition, silk screen printing can also be applied to fragile and easily deformed substrates due to its low pressure.
2. Thick ink layer and strong coverage: Screen printing has a thick ink layer that is unparalleled by other printing methods. If white is used to cover the underlying color, ordinary printing methods require printing 3 to 4 times in the same area, while silk screen printing only needs one time to complete. The thickness of the silk screen ink layer is generally 20 microns, and for special thick film printing, it can reach up to 100 microns, with the thinnest being 6 microns. So the silk screen ink layer is thick and has a large adjustable range.
3. Strong sense of three dimensionality: Due to the thick ink layer, the effect is very realistic when replicating prints and oil paintings, and its colors greatly exceed those of offset printing; However, in the printing of fine patterns, the replication effect is limited to some extent.
4. Good light fastness: after light resistant pigment and fluorescent pigment are mixed into the ink, the printed image can permanently maintain its luster without being affected by temperature and sunlight, and even glow at night. Therefore, silk screen products are suitable for outdoor advertising, signage, etc.
5. The applicable inks are quite extensive, including water-based, oil-based, solvent based, etc., and can even be used as pastes, pastes, and powders. Therefore, screen printing inks are collectively referred to as printing materials.
6. Large format: In terms of printing area, general offset printing, embossing and other methods are far inferior to screen printing due to the limitations of mechanical equipment. The maximum size of silk screen printing can reach 3M * 4M or even larger.
7. The printing plate has a large elasticity: the characteristics of the screen material determine that the printing plate will have a large elasticity. When used for large-scale printing, easily stretched printing plates can affect the copying effect.