EVA Foam Sheet - How best to affix a logo?

[Tom Burgess]

This isn't a Sign project, but I figured this is the best SC forum in which to post my question. Please redirect if I'm mistaken.


I need to affix a logo to a manufactured part made from EVA foam sheet. That's Ethylene Vinyl Acetate which is a soft, flexible closed-cell foam rubber similar to soft leather. The cell structure is very small and tight. EVA is available in a broad range of thickness and hardness. In my case, it's quite soft and only 1/8" thick. You may have seen "Craft Foam" sold for use in children's Arts & Crafts projects. That's it.


I'm considering the following methods of applying a logo (and will gladly consider others that you suggest):

a) Silkscreen printing
Looks very messy, fume-laden, lots of drying time involved - and I'm thus far unable to determine what kind of ink will hold up in this unusual application.

b) Hand stamping
Involves using a hand stamp and ink pad. Same drawbacks as Silkscreen seem to apply. I've heard rumor of a one-part epoxy ink that might work, but I think it'll ruin the hand stamp and/or the stamp pads quickly.

c) Having a custom label printed
I've contacted Stouse and Crown Label per comments in an earlier SC Sign forum thread. Waiting for reply. Not sure if any label can adhere properly.

d) Embossing or "Branding" with heat ( like a cowboy does a cow )
I would love to avoid inks and related problems. I would like to avoid buying large quantities of labels and applying them by hand.


I'd appreciate insights/suggestions on any method you guys think is simple, cheap and/or (relatively) trouble free.

Thanks,
Tom

[Larry Bratton]

I would recommend to sub it out to a screen printing shop. Those guys work really cheap on large quantity. Let them figure out the ink, they are the experts. You didn't say how many you have to do.

[Tom Burgess]

Thanks for the reply, Larry.

Not sure of quantity at this point. Still trying to figure out process. I'm attempting "grass-roots manufacturing" so I'm thinking in terms of at least a hundred at a time.

I did talk with a local T-shirt print shop last week. She had no idea.

She thought a screen ink would probably require drying at 350 degrees F. I think that's "a might toasty" for EVA... But then, she was shooting in the dark without any real idea of what ink would work (or if any screen printing ink would work).

That's how I've come to be here. 'Hoping for considerably less shootin' in the dark

[Scott Shepherd]

Just a guess here, but it seems like something that a pad printer would be good at doing.

Something like this : http://www.imprintor.com/

Maybe you can find someone with one of them and see if they can help?

[Joe Pelonio]

There are screenprint inks available for every kind of plastic, find a knowledgable screenprinting source. Much of the price is in the setup so the larger quantity the better price per item. If color is not needed, that material does engrave with laser, giving an embossed look, in fact I have used it for rubber stamps and molding for logos on manufactured items such as the bottom of running shoes.

[Tom Burgess]

Just a guess here, but it seems like something that a pad printer would be good at doing.
Something like this : http://www.imprintor.com/

Thanks for the suggestion and the link, Scott. Very interesting. I appreciate you giving me the term "pad printer". Half the battle is in figuring out what terms to Google.


I've been sketching a half-baked "press" of my own design (MDF and some bushings) that shares some aspects with the machine you mention. In my case, the bed of the press has to be much bigger (small logo on a fairly large piece of material). Or more accurately, there has to be a deeper swing.

I might be able to use my DRILL PRESS as the basis for this operation. Mount an MDF "press bed" on the DP table, and hold the inked plate in the drill chuck... But how to lock the DP chuck so the inked plate doesn't rotate in relation to the press bed? My drill press is belts-and-pulleys, so maybe I can jam the front pulley somehow to keep it from spinning...

All suggestions welcome.

[Tom Burgess]

There are screenprint inks available for every kind of plastic, find a knowledgable screenprinting source.

That's encouraging, Joe, but I've been scrounging for reliable ink info for a week and coming up empty-handed. So many sources are in China, which is not really an option considering my limited scale. And it's IMPOSSIBLE to correspond with them. Most would have to study for years to come up to "Chinglish" level

Much of the price is in the setup so the larger quantity the better price per item.

At the outset, I think it'll be small runs. That's why I'm willing to do it myself - at least to begin with. No screen printing experience, but I understand the process and can easily build the frame/press (been earning my SilkScreen degree at YouTube University...haha)

If color is not needed, that material does engrave with laser, giving an embossed look

I realize laser engraving must be a deep subject, but can you point me in the right direction on two apsects of it? They are:

a) Is it expensive and hardware-intensive, say, on par with setting up a CNC router or milling operation?

b) Per unit, is it a quick process, or a slow process? Assume a 15 x 15" EVA sheet, and I need to "laser engrave" a small logo, product name and website address (1.5" x 3.5") in the center of the work piece.

[Joe Pelonio]

I have done it, but ended up finding a local guy that does just that, as it is messy, stinky, and you cannot be interrupted mid-job.

You only need one screen the right size for the job, filler for doing the image, a squeegie and ink, plus cleaner. It's not very expensive if you have a wholesale sign supply nearby as I do. If multiple colors, you let one dry then clean and dry the screen and do the next, using registration marks.

Rather than getting into the photo process, if you have no half tones, you can laser or hand cut a stencil of the negative space from an adhesive film and apply it to the screen, then use the filler, let dry and remove the stencil. The image left will block the ink. If it's too small for this, perhaps pay a shop just to make you the screen. It's too complicated and does require materials (not expensive but you can't buy just enough for one job) plus a powerful light.

I'm sure you can find procedures if you google.

Your job, for a single color, should take only seconds each once set up, but plan on a lot of practice (or waste) until you get the squeegie technique right.

[Tom Burgess]

Joe, thanks a lot for the reality check on Silk Screening. I hear you, in all regards. I really don't want to go that route, but I will if no other viable/inexpensive option presents itself...

Though I very much appreciate the silk screen advice, I was also hoping you could answer two questions for me regarding laser engraving of EVA foam sheet (3mm thickness in my case [approx 1/8"]):

If color is not needed, that material does engrave with laser, giving an embossed look

a) Is laser engraving expensive and hardware-intensive, say, on par with setting up a CNC router or milling operation?

b) Per unit, is laser engraving a quick process, or a slow process? Assume a 15 x 15" EVA sheet, and I need to laser engrave a small logo+product name+web address (1.5" x 3.5") in the center of the work piece. Does the laser take 1 minute, or 5 minutes, or 15 minutes?

[Scott Shepherd]

Yes, it's expensive. The smallest machine to do the job would be about $8,000. You could buy chinese and get it for less than 1/2 that if that's a practice you are comfortable with.

You're probably talking 60 seconds or so to do something that size. Some form of printing would be faster and cheaper, I would think.

I'd look for pad printing suppliers and find the people that sell the ink. Call them and ask then for recommendations on the ink for your application. I'm sure someone will even send you a sample of that material completed. Either that, or they will tell you they don't make inks that do well with it.

You want something you can bang out in seconds, not minutes, I'm guessing.

[Tom Burgess]

Yes, it's expensive. The smallest machine to do the job would be about $8,000. You could buy chinese and get it for less than 1/2...

You're probably talking 60 seconds or so...

I'd look for pad printing suppliers and find the people that sell the ink. Call them and ask then for recommendations...someone will send you a sample

You want something you can bang out in seconds, not minutes, I'm guessing.

Thanks, Scott.

Yeah, printing (the way I hope to approach it) would involve almost no capital expenditure. Certainly a tiny fraction of $8K or even $4K.

And yes, I hope to bang one unit out in a few seconds, as opposed to minutes.

Thanks for helping me avoid a(nother) process-investigation 'rabbit hole'.

[Joe Pelonio]

Geez, I need to pay more attention to the question before answering.

Scott's reply is right on.

[Tom Burgess]

Geez, I need to pay more attention to the question before answering. Scott's reply is right on.

Hey, anybody with 6,000+ posts has earned the RIGHT to miss the point once in a while...

[Scott Shepherd]

Tom, I'm doing some quick research now on it....just for starters, check this site- they do it, print on foam. They might not be a source, but you might see stuff on that page that will give you other search terms that might help you....

www dot popfoam.com/Printing.php

[Tom Burgess]

Thanks a lot, Scott, for the link to Pop Foam.

Their Decoration page does indeed mention pad printing, hot stamping (might be akin to my "branding" concept?), silk screening and labeling. I've been investigating all four, so it looks like I'm on the right track.

That's encouraging. I'm Googling "pad printing' which looks promising. I'm also waiting for a quote on "supertack" labels bearing my own simple/basic graphics.

Word of caution: You say you're doing some research on this. Don't allow yourself to be drawn into my oddball quest. Save yourself!