Pad printing vs screen printing: the key differences

By Color Craft Prints. First published 22 August 2024, updated 15 October 2026.

If you’re getting your logo printed on a product, you’ll often hear both names. Both methods put your design on the product, but they suit very different surfaces, quantities and designs.

We’ve been printing in Mumbai since 1999 and run both methods in our workshop. This guide explains how each one works, compares them side by side, and ends with a simple way to choose.

What is pad printing?

Pad printing, also called tampo printing, transfers a flat design onto a three-dimensional product. Think of it as a very precise rubber stamp: a soft silicone pad picks up ink from an engraved plate and presses it onto the product.

Because the pad is soft, it wraps around curves, reaches into recesses and sits evenly on textured surfaces. That’s how a brand name ends up crisp on the curved arm of a pair of sunglasses, or a signature on a tennis ball.

It’s the most precise of the three methods we offer, and the usual choice for electronics, small parts and promotional items. See what we print on our pad printing services page.

How pad printing works

Every pad printing job follows the same five steps.

1. The plate is made. Your design is etched into a metal plate as a pattern of shallow grooves.
2. The plate is inked. Ink floods the plate, then a blade wipes the surface clean, leaving ink only in the grooves.
3. The pad picks up the design. The silicone pad presses down on the plate and lifts the ink out of the grooves.
4. The pad prints the product. It presses onto the product, flexes to its shape and leaves the design behind.
5. The ink cures. The print dries or is cured so it bonds to the surface and stands up to handling.

Each colour needs its own plate and its own pass, which is why pad printing is usually kept to one or two colours.

What is screen printing?

Screen printing pushes ink through a fine mesh screen onto the product. A stencil blocks most of the screen, so ink only passes through where your design is.

Screen printing lays down a thick, opaque layer of ink, so colours stay bold even on dark materials. It’s the quickest and most affordable of our methods for flat print areas. See our screen printing services.

How screen printing works

A screen printing job takes four steps.

1. The screen is made. The mesh is coated with a light-sensitive emulsion and exposed with your design. The emulsion hardens everywhere except the design, which washes out as open mesh.
2. The screen is lined up. It’s fixed above the product so the design lands in exactly the same place on every piece.
3. Ink is pulled across. A rubber blade called a squeegee drags ink over the screen with even pressure, pushing it through the open mesh onto the product.
4. The print dries. The ink is air dried, heat dried or UV cured, depending on the ink and the material.

A design in several colours gets one screen per colour, each printed in line with the one before.

Pad printing vs screen printing, side by side

The same ten questions, answered for both methods.

The differences in detail

Surface: usually the deciding factor

Start with where your design will go, because that often decides the method on its own.

A screen has to sit close to a flat print area. On a curve, the mesh can’t touch the whole design and the print breaks up. The silicone pad has no such limit: it changes shape as it presses down, so it prints evenly on convex and concave surfaces, edges, textures and recesses.

Detail and colour

Pad printing holds very fine lines and small text cleanly, which is why it’s used for switch labels, control panels and tiny logos on electronics. The ink layer is thin, so it works best in one or two colours.

Screen printing lays a thicker layer of ink. Colours look bold and opaque, even white on a dark bag, and several colours can be printed one after another. Hairlines and very small text are harder to hold with a mesh.

Setup and cost

Both methods have a fixed setup cost for each design: a screen for screen printing, an etched plate and costlier ink for pad printing. That cost is shared across the order, so bulk orders cost less per piece with either method.

The difference is the size of the setup. Screen printing is quicker and cheaper to set up, so it suits short runs. Pad printing’s higher setup makes it the better value on larger quantities. Price depends on quantity, colours and the product, so send your requirements and we’ll talk it through.

Speed on large orders

Once the screen is set up, screen printing moves quickly, which is why it’s used for large runs of bags and garments. Pad printing is slower on complex shapes because each colour is a separate pass, but on many curved products it’s the only one of the two that can do the job. Either way, we agree the deadline with you before we start.

How long the print lasts

Both give a lasting print when the ink is matched to the material. Pad printing ink bonds well to plastic, metal and glass, so it’s used on buttons, switches and tools that are handled every day. Screen printing’s thicker ink wears well on fabric, bags and flat products.

You see the result before you commit: we print your design on 2 or 3 of your own pieces, and you approve the sample before the full order.

Which should you choose?

Look at the spot where your design will go, then check it against these two lists.

What about mugs, bottles and other round products?

Neither is the usual choice for a mug, glass, bottle or flask. Round products go on round printing, a kind of screen printing where the product turns under the screen, so the design wraps evenly all the way around. Pad printing still helps when the logo is small or sits on a curved part like a lid or handle. See round printing services and bottle printing in Mumbai.