Printing of Lego Products

Over the past 6 months we've received many requests to print Lego products. It all started when we printed some Lego bricks (pictured below) for a Lego Expo. The name got out into the Lego custom community and since then we have printed a lot of lego products and figurines (minifigs).

Printed Lego bricks for the brick-a-laide convention

A common question is “Are they pad printed or digitally printed?” The majority of the die-hard collectors/customizers are adamant that their Lego parts need to be pad printed - just like the Lego factory. This is all well and good, but there are some costs associated with pad printing which will sometimes not make it practical for short runs.

Pad Printing

Pad printing will certainly give the best effect, it will look cleaner, the images will be much sharper and the colours will be more accurate. We can actually mix the colour exactly to what you require (we use the Pantone standard).

The process for pad printing is as follows - developing art for the product, separating the colours for that art, making films and plates, setting up the machine and mixing the ink. It will also be possible for you to get the printing to “wrap” partially around surfaces (think arms, legs and heads). Be assured with all the above the  result will look as good as what is coming out of the Lego factory.

Inkjet Printing

Inkjet printing is a very cost effective method of printing, at Adelaide Industrial Printers we use 2 types of inkjet printers, depending on what base colour product we start with. We have one machine that is well suited to printing directly onto a white surface. In instances where we are printing onto a coloured product it is necessary for us to utilise our other machine that will lay a white coat down first.

With inkjet printing you have a choice of millions of colours, the down side will be they will not as rich as the pad printed component.

This type of printing is suited predominantly to flat products.

In general for large print runs our preference would be to utilise pad printing and for the short runs we would use inkjet.

That being said we look at each Lego print job individually as there are so many variables that need to be considered...

Custom Printed Star Wars Lego Figurine Heads

Custom Printed Lego Figurine

Printing onto Leather

Adelaide Industrial Printers now have the ability to print directly onto leather products.

In the past, the options for printed decoration of leather have been limited. Traditionally, screen printing has been used however this leads to expensive setup costs and can prohibit the printing of 1 off products. With recent advances in printing technology we now have the ability to digitally print directly onto the leather, making individual customised products a reality.

Leather printing is in demand right now for products such as garments, belts, purses, wallets and bags. Recently we have been printing leather guitar straps and have achieved some amazing results. Our machinery has the ability to print bold single colour designs, as well as full photographic images.

Custom Printed Leather Guitar Strap, available here

Our dedicated and reliable team will deliver a consistent, quality product both in design and print.

Should you have a product that requires printing, please don’t hesitate to contact the team at Adelaide Industrial Printers.

The Importance of Merchandise

Giving out promotional products is a great way to keep your name in front of past and potential customers. 

Promotional products are still a key part of a company's advertising strategy and they should be when done right. Here are some tips regarding choosing and using promotional products with your business.

Some of the more common items used for promotions are as follows:
• Pens and other writing instruments
• Apparel
• Water Bottles
• Shopping Bags
• Calendars

Always keep your clients in mind... Will they put your product to good use? Will it be seen by others and will they tell them where they got it from?

Avoid short shelf life products, you want your product to be used/noticed as long as possible. When you give a promotional item to a customer or prospect, you set up an expectation that often makes them want to do business with you. You don't have to say anything or make a big deal of it, but they will feel an obligation.

Giving out promotional products is a good way to 'break the ice' and start up a conversation. Sometimes that's all it takes and the next thing you know, the two of you are communicating. When done correctly, providing promotional products can be a very worthwhile investment.

New Machine

Grover Allman have been involved in the printing industry for over 25 years and have always kept at the forefront of technology.

With our latest machine installation the scope of our printing capabilities has enabled us to print on products we were not capable of in the past. We now have the capability of printing onto drink bottles, USB drives, cosmetic products, golf balls and pens to name but a few.

We now have machinery that will set us apart from our competitors and open a whole list of new opportunities.