Pad printing uses a soft silicone pad to pick ink off an etched plate, called a cliché, and press it onto the product. The pad is flexible enough to wrap around small curves and reach into narrow spots that a flat screen cannot touch.

This makes it the right tool for small logos placed on curved or tight areas, such as on the neck, near a handle, or on the bottom of a tumbler. It prints fine detail well at small sizes, though it is not designed for large solid areas or full wraps.

Setup is modest, and the method handles a single color cleanly. Multi-color pad printing is possible but adds registration steps, so most buyers use it for a compact one-color mark in a location other methods cannot reach.

Practical takeaway: Pick pad printing for small, single-color logos on curved or narrow areas where a screen cannot make contact.