Thinner Type	Best For	Key Benefit
Fast	Cold weather (≤15°C / 59°F), high print speeds, non-porous surfaces.	Prevents smudging by speeding up drying.
Medium	Most standard conditions. Highly recommended for pad printing.	Balances flow for ink transfer.
Slow	Hot weather (≥30°C / 86°F), fine details, large solid areas, large screens.	Prevents clogging (drying in the screen).

Ink Type & Process	Recommended Ratio	Important Note
Standard Screen Printing	10% – 15%	Start at 10%, add more if needed.
Pad Printing	15% – 30%	Requires more thinner for proper flow from the pad.
2-Component (2K) Ink	10% – 20%	Add thinner after mixing ink + hardener.

Hardness Range	Properties	Best For
Soft (e.g., 10–25°)	High flexibility, good conformity	Irregular surfaces (balls, bottle caps, concavities/convexities), large solid areas, rough/matte surfaces
Medium (e.g., 25–40°)	Balanced flexibility and rebound	General use, most flat or slightly curved surfaces (e.g., plastic housings)
Hard (e.g., >40°)	Low deformation, high precision	Fine patterns (small text, thin lines), flat surfaces (nameplates, CDs), high-speed printing

Plate Type	Key Advantages	Key Disadvantages	Best Application
Thick Steel Plate	Extremely durable; ideal for very high volume, heavy-duty production. High rigidity.	Difficult to manufacture, requires high-precision machines; generally lower precision for fine details.	Long-term, stable, large-volume orders where extreme detail is not required.
Thin Steel Plate (10mm thickness）	Best value for money; flexible enough to ensure good doctoring performance; the most widely used type.	Less durable than thick plates; requires a very flat backing to prevent ink leakage.	Most general-purpose applications, regular production needs.
Resin/Photopolymer Plate	Highest print precision; excellent for fine dots and complex images. Eco-friendly processing (alcohol development).	Not durable; only suitable for small to medium volumes. Demands high precision from the pad printer.	High-quality, fine-detail jobs, short runs, prototyping, for companies with environmental requirements.
Laser-Engraved Plate	Very fast turnaround (15-30 minutes); no chemical waste; highly flexible digital workflow, easy revisions.	High equipment investment cost; etched groove edges have a natural slope, which can slightly affect the sharpness of ultra-fine lines.	Prototyping, short-run/multi-variety jobs, frequent design changes, areas with strict environmental regulations.

Step	Operation	Key Notes
1. Clean the Plate	Thoroughly clean the steel plate with a degreaser to remove oil and dust, then blow dry.	Critical: Ensure the surface is completely contaminant-free, or the photoresist won’t adhere properly.
2. Apply Photoresist	Coat the photoresist evenly onto the plate surface, then oven-dry (e.g., 15 min at 150°C) or air-dry in darkness.	Critical: The coating must be uniform—thickness directly affects exposure results.
3. Expose	Place the positive film with your pattern on top of the photoresist layer, then expose using a UV exposure unit.	Principle: UV light hardens the photoresist in areas not covered by the pattern.
4. Develop	After exposure, rinse the plate with developer solution. The unhardened photoresist (under the pattern area) washes away, exposing bare metal.	Result: The pattern area is now bare metal, ready for etching.
5. Etch	Submerge the developed plate in etchant solution (e.g., ferric chloride or hydrochloric acid) to corrode the exposed metal, forming recessed cavities.	Etching time and temperature determine depth. Typical depth is around 0.025mm.
6. Remove Resist	After etching, use a specialized resist remover (e.g., 5% NaOH solution) to strip away the remaining hardened photoresist layer.	At this point, you have a completed steel plate with recessed patterns.

Why choose DSTAR?

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