Pad Printing Pricing in Birmingham, Alabama
Custom pad printing for promotional products, industrial parts, automotive components, medical devices, and branded merchandise. Crisp, durable imprints on flat, curved, concave, and convex surfaces. Trusted by dealers, manufacturers, and brands across the United States.
Precision on Any Surface
Print on flat, curved, concave, or convex surfaces with sharp, consistent results every time.
PMS Color Matching
Exact Pantone® color matching available to keep your brand identity consistent across all products.
Fast Turnaround
Standard 7–10 business days after art approval. Rush production available. Call for pricing.
Run on the Inkcups ICN-150-4. Four-color automated pad printer with PMS-matched inks.
Equipment & Capabilities
We run pad printing on the Inkcups ICN-150-4, a four-color automated production press, plus pretreatment and ink systems for nearly any substrate. The specs below are what we hold to on every job.
How We Run a Job
Every job follows the same four-step path from your art file to a finished part. Predictable, repeatable, no guessing.
Artwork & Proof
Send vector art (.ai, .cdr, .eps). We confirm sizing, color count, and PMS targets. Digital proof returned for sign-off before any plate is etched.
Plate Etching
Approved art is etched onto a steel or polymer plate (cliché). One plate per color, per location.
Ink Mix & Match
Inks are mixed to PMS targets. Pretreatment applied to polypropylene or low-energy substrates. First piece pulled for color match.
Production & QC
Run on the Inkcups ICN-150-4 with registration to plus or minus 0.005 inches. Visual QC every batch. Pack and ship.
Price Per Piece: By Quantity & Number of Colors
| Colors / Location | 50 pcs | 100 pcs | 250 pcs | 500 pcs | 1,000 pcs | 2,500+ pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Color | $1.45 | $1.20 | $0.95 | $0.75 | $0.65 | Quote |
| 2 Colors | $1.85 | $1.60 | $1.35 | $1.10 | $0.95 | Quote |
| 3 Colors | $2.25 | $1.95 | $1.65 | $1.40 | $1.25 | Quote |
| 4 Colors | $2.65 | $2.30 | $1.95 | $1.70 | $1.55 | Quote |
Setup & One-Time Charges
| Item | New Order | Repeat Order |
|---|---|---|
| Plate / Cliché Setup | $75–$120 | $50 |
| Color Change (mid-run) | $60 | $60 |
| Artwork Prep | $100/hr | N/C if unchanged |
| PMS Color Match | $100 | N/C |
| Custom Holding Fixture | Quoted | N/A |
Add-On Charges: Per Piece
Minimum Orders, Artwork & Terms
Materials We Print On
If you have wondered what materials pad printing can print on, the short answer is most rigid and flexible substrates. As a Birmingham, Alabama pad printing shop serving dealers, OEMs, medical device companies, and brands across the United States, we run jobs daily across plastics, metals, glass, ceramics, coated finishes, soft-touch substrates, leather, paper, and 3D-printed parts. The categories below cover the pad printing substrates we work with day to day and what each one needs to print clean and durable.
Easy-Print Plastics
ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, polystyrene, rigid PVC, polyester, and polyurethane print directly with standard solvent-based pad inks. No pretreatment needed. This covers consumer electronics housings, automotive interior trim, toys, medical device casings, and rigid promotional products.
Polyolefins (PE, PP)
Polyethylene and polypropylene have low surface energy and need flame, corona, or atmospheric plasma pretreatment, targeting roughly 38 to 42 dynes per centimeter. We pretreat in-house. Inkcups PN Series ink can also bond directly to untreated polypropylene when pretreatment is not an option.
Engineering Plastics and Soft-Touch
Nylon, TPE, TPR, and overmolded soft-touch grips need pretreatment plus a flexible ink chemistry such as two-component epoxy or UV-curable. The print stretches with the substrate without cracking. Common parts include tool grips, medical wearables, and automotive shifters.
Metals
Aluminum, brass, anodized, painted, and powder-coated metals print well with two-component epoxy inks. Stainless and bare carbon steel may need cleaning or a primer pass. Properly cured metal pad prints regularly hold up ten years or more in service.
Glass and Ceramics
Two-component epoxy glass and ceramic inks bond chemically to fired surfaces, then heat cure at roughly 200 degrees Celsius for full chemical, alcohol, and dishwasher resistance. We print drinkware, lab glassware, mugs, awards, and decorative tiles.
Rubber and Silicone
Silicone is a unique case. Only silicone-based ink (Inkcups SI Series, Boston Industrial SE Series) bonds to silicone substrates. Standard rubber, EPDM, and synthetic rubber compounds use specialty soft-substrate inks. Common parts include wristbands, gaskets, grips, and buttons.
Painted, Coated, and Lacquered Surfaces
Powder-coated metal, automotive paint systems, urethane and polyester topcoats, and clear-coated plastics all accept pad print with epoxy or specialty inks. Anodized aluminum prints especially well because the porous oxide layer accepts ink readily. We test every coated substrate before production.
Wood
Sealed, varnished, lacquered, and painted wood print cleanly with standard pad inks. Raw wood absorbs unevenly and is usually sealed with a clear coat first. Awards, plaques, painted toys, and decorative panels are typical applications.
Paper, Cardboard, and Specialty Packaging
Pad printing handles shaped, recessed, or partially assembled paper and board parts where flexo and offset cannot reach. All-purpose pad inks bond well to coated and uncoated stock. Luxury packaging, gift box closures, and paperboard tubes are common.
Leather and Synthetic Leather
Genuine leather, bonded leather, PU leather, and PVC synthetic leathers accept pad print with soft-substrate ink series engineered to flex with the substrate. Branded leather goods, automotive interior trim, gun cases, and watch straps print cleanly.
3D-Printed Parts
SLA and DLP resin parts print after solvent washing and UV post-cure. FDM parts typically need light sanding or a primer pass to handle layer lines. Once smooth and clean, the underlying polymer (resin, PLA, PETG, nylon) determines ink choice. Growing category for prototype branding and low-volume production.
Don't see your material? Reach out, odds are we can print on it.
Applications & Common Parts We Print
Pad printing was designed for the parts that other printing processes cannot handle. Curved, recessed, irregular, three-dimensional. The categories below cover the parts and applications we run day to day. If your part fits any of these surface types, it is a candidate.
Flat Surfaces
Dealer drive-out tags, license plate frame inserts, control panels, push-button overlays, instrument bezels, nameplates, ID plates, signage faces, clipboard backs, document folder covers, kiosk panels, equipment placards.
Curved Surfaces
Water bottles, drinkware, tumblers, mugs, sport bottles, hard hats, safety helmets, motorcycle helmets, bicycle frames, pen barrels, marker bodies, flashlight bodies, golf balls, tennis balls.
Concave & Recessed Surfaces
Watch dials, recessed nameplates, recessed control panel surfaces, instrument cluster recesses, badge cavities, stamped logo recesses, bezels recessed into housings.
Convex & Irregular Surfaces
Sunglasses lenses, eyewear frames, safety goggles, protective face shield frames, computer mice, ergonomic grips, tool handles, ergonomic remote controls, automotive shifter knobs.
Soft & Flexible Surfaces
Rubber wristbands, silicone keychains, soft-grip overmolds, leather goods, watch straps, branded clothing tags, hangtags, wallets, gun cases, holsters.
Industrial & OEM Components
Medical device housings, syringe barrels, pipettes, lab consumables, automotive interior trim, dashboard buttons, HVAC vent components, appliance face panels, electronics enclosures, sensor housings.
Promotional & Branded Merchandise
Branded water bottles, dealer giveaways, conference swag, custom keychains, branded pens, magnets, golf accessories, stress balls, koozies.
Specialty & Unusual
3D-printed prototype branding, anodized aluminum awards, glass awards, ceramic tiles, cosmetic compact cases, jewelry components, branded glassware.
Industries We Serve
Real production runs across six core verticals from our Birmingham, Alabama shop. Same equipment, same quality, scaled for whichever industry the part lives in.
Auto Dealerships
Drive-out tags, custom license plate frame inserts, dealership-branded keychains, sales-floor signage, branded promotional gear. Fast turnaround for dealer groups across the Southeast.
OEM & Industrial
Control panel overlays, instrument bezels, nameplates, equipment placards, sensor housings, electronics enclosures. Tight registration, repeatable runs, batch consistency.
Medical Device
Device housings, syringe barrels, pipettes, lab consumables. Medical-grade ink systems available. Sample approval before every production run.
Promotional & Brand
Branded water bottles, swag, drinkware, conference giveaways, distributor product. PMS color matching to keep brand identity tight across batches.
Government & Municipal
Equipment placards, fleet tags, agency signage, ID plates, asset tags. Long-cycle durability with epoxy and UV-curable inks for outdoor and industrial environments.
Aerospace & Defense
Instrument markings, control labels, equipment ID plates, contractor parts. Repeatable detail and durable inks for high-vibration and high-temperature environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you pad print on polypropylene?
Yes. Polypropylene has low surface energy and needs flame, corona, or atmospheric plasma pretreatment, which we run in-house. We also stock specialty Inkcups PN Series ink that bonds directly to untreated polypropylene when pretreatment is not an option.
What is the minimum order for pad printing?
50 pieces per color, per location. We handle small runs as well as production volumes in the thousands.
How fast is your turnaround?
Standard turnaround is 7 to 10 business days after art approval. Rush production is available for time-sensitive jobs. Call for rush pricing.
Can you match a Pantone color exactly?
Yes. PMS Pantone color matching is a one-time $100 charge on new orders and free on repeat orders with the same color.
Do you print on curved or recessed surfaces?
Yes. Pad printing was specifically designed for three-dimensional surfaces including curved, recessed, concave, and convex parts.
Can you pad print on hard hats and helmets?
Yes. Hard hats, safety helmets, motorcycle helmets, and similar curved protective gear are routine jobs. Most run on the same setup as drinkware and bottles.
What file formats do you accept for artwork?
Adobe Illustrator (.ai), CorelDraw (.cdr), or EPS. Vector files sized to the print area work best. We can clean up other formats but it adds artwork prep time at $100 per hour.
What is the smallest part you can pad print?
Roughly a quarter inch wide is the practical floor for legible detail. Smaller is sometimes possible depending on the artwork and substrate. Send a sample and we will tell you.
Do you offer pre-production samples?
Yes. Pre-production samples are available on request for an additional charge. We recommend samples for any new substrate, complex geometry, or color-critical job.
Do you ship nationwide?
Yes. We are based in Birmingham, Alabama, and we ship pad printing jobs across the United States daily.
What is the difference between pad printing and screen printing?
Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil onto flat surfaces. Pad printing transfers ink from an etched plate onto three-dimensional or irregular surfaces using a silicone pad. If your part is curved, recessed, small, or irregular, pad printing is the answer. If it is flat and large, screen printing is usually faster.
Where are you located?
924 6th Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203. Local pickup and walk-in welcome. Most jobs ship.
Pad Printing vs Screen Printing
Both processes have a place. Pick by part shape, size, and how many colors you need. If you are not sure which fits your job, send a sample and we will tell you.
Pad Printing wins for
- Curved, recessed, concave, or irregular surfaces
- Small parts where the print area is under 4 inches
- Tight detail and registration
- Multi-color logos on three-dimensional parts
- Hard hats, water bottles, control panels, dealer tags, medical devices
Screen Printing wins for
- Flat or near-flat surfaces
- Large print areas (apparel, posters, signs)
- Higher ink deposit and bolder color
- Long runs on simple shapes
- T-shirts, banners, yard signs, vinyl decals
If your part is curved, recessed, small, or irregular, pad printing is the answer. If it is flat and large, screen printing is usually faster and cheaper. We run both in the same shop.
Service Area
Based at 924 6th Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203. Serving local customers across the metro and shipping pad printing jobs nationwide. The cities below are where we run regular work.
Other Services We Run
Pad printing is one of several decoration and signage processes we run from our Birmingham shop. If your job needs more than one technique, we handle the whole thing under one roof.
Ready to Get Started? Request a Custom Quote
Large quantities, specialty substrates, and rush orders are always welcome. Our team will help you find the best solution for your project.
Get a Free Quote →