Janoschka magazine Linked_V8_2023

40
f a c e t o f a c e
issue #8 ©
l i n k e d
41
Watch dial-makers mostly use round pads,
hence the name: ballon.
PAD PRINTING
All techniques used to create
watch dials have one thing
in common: high quality and
know-how are of paramount
importance for each individual
part and for all the materials and
every manufacturing step.
In addition to highly specialised
and high-performance equipment,
it is the skilled hands of
artisans who lend the blanks a
unique identity on their journey
through the different crafts.
The end result is the finished
watch dial, which translates the
concealed tiny world of wheels,
levers, pins and springs into
readable time and endows the
many hundred individual parts
of a watch with a meaning.
In the final step, indices, markings, the brand
logo are added to many watch dials by means
of pad printing. This lithographic technique,
also known as tampography, is characterised
in particular by its fineness and precision.
Minute figures and symbols can be added even
to curved surfaces, bent parts and recesses to
yield an extremely sharp printed image.
As with all forms of gravure printing, the elements
to be printed – for example, numbers,
letters, logos and images – are first engraved
on a steel cliché. These recesses are then
filled with paint or lacquer. A silicone pad, a
balloon-shaped, soft cylinder, picks up the
paint and prints it directly onto the watch dial.
The printer repeats this process with different
image plates and pads until all lettering
and colours have been applied. Alongside a
dust-free atmosphere, a printing expert with
a steady hand, a feel for consistent pressure
and keen, experienced eyes is essential for
perfect results.
ulysse-nardin.com