[Watchmaking] EP.10 Printing logos and text on the watch dial

Many people want to personalize their watch dials with their own logo or text. In fact, there are sellers on online sites like aliexpress who offer to make dials for custom orders.

I want to explain the different ways to print logos and text on the watch dials.


UV Printing

This is the first method I tried when I started making watch dials (see link for details).

You can easily find sterile dials without logos and lettering on aliexpress or ebay, and you can use UV printing to print logos and lettering on these dials. The quality should be good because it is done by professionals.

The disadvantage is that the result is too flat.



Silkscreening

This is a popular method for making watch dials.

I wanted to try silkscreen, so I contacted a shop that makes silkscreen screens, but they told me that my design had very thin lines and small letters, so it was not possible to print with ink and solvents which are usuable at home, but only possible with industrial ink and solvents.


Pad printing

This is the most common printing method used for watch dials.

A pad printing cliche is made by etching the print on a metal or resin plate. Then, you apply ink and use a rubber head to transfer the ink to the watch dial. Watch this video to learn more about the printing process.


This is the method which gave me the most satisfying result to me. The resolution is very high and I really like the thick demension.

On the downside, it's a bit pricey and the colors are limited. If you want to use multiple colors, you will need to create pad printing cliches for each color.

Pad printing works like this
- I make a negative film with the design I've designed.
- Etch a metal plate through the negative to create a pad printing cliche.
- Use the pad printing cliche to print on the watch dial.

I was also interested in the pad printing technology itself, so I contacted a local pad printing shop that produces promotional items and experienced on some of the processes. They didn't have a ink that is specialized for watch printing, so I used a general ink which works with smooth surfaces such as glass and vinyl, but the results were pretty great. (I sprayed a layer of clear coat after pad printing, as there could be durability issues later on).


Metal Stickers

This is a popular method often used on inexpensive fashion watches. There are some website that makes custom metallic stickers for watches.


Laser Engraver

You can also use a laser engraver to print logos and lettering on the metal surface of the watch dial. Watch the video below.


Water Slide Decals and Film Free Decals

Water slide decals are printed on very thin vinyl and are applied to a surface by soking the decal in water to separate it from the protective paper. This is a common method in modeling.

You can make custom water slide decals yourself using printable water slide decal paper. With a color printer, you can print photos, drawings, and different colors. If you want to print white logos and text, find local printing shops that have white toner printers. You can print white logos and text on the decal paper!


The downside to water slide decals is that the vinyl is applied to the dial surface, which changes the color and texture of the watch dial surface.

If this is not your preference, you may want to consider a film-free decal. Film-free decals peel off the vinyl and leaving only the print. This method is explained very well on YouTube below. There are several videos on the subject, so check them out if you're interested.



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