How did they print the white ink onto 3.5" floppies?

[Starglider 2]

I sometimes found myself strangely intrigued by the white ink seen on Amiga floppies, and still do.



There was a flat area of plastic perfect for a paper label, and instead they just printed straight onto the disk! Madness!

Does anyone know what machine printed these on?

[s2325]

It was some advanced printing for 90s as I never saw any flaws.

[amigadude]

Me too and by strange coincidence I was thinking about it less than a hour ago when I was looking for an Amiga & power supply to test/fix a RGB->Scart lead... came across this lot while I was cataloging so stuff is easier to find next time...

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by s2325

It was some advanced printing for 90s as I never saw any flaws.

I know right? Modern equivalents have more errors sometimes.

[Amigajay]

Probably silk screen printing

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by amigadude

Me too and by strange coincidence I was thinking about it less than a hour ago when I was looking for an Amiga & power supply to test/fix a RGB->Scart lead... came across this lot while I was cataloging so stuff is easier to find next time...

Small world. There are probably a million people thinking the same thing right now!

(Ok maybe not...)

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by Amigajay

Probably silk screen printing

More likely tampon printing.

[BarryB]

Or Pad Printing!

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by idrougge

More likely tampon printing.

What is tampon printing?!!

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by Starglider 2

What is tampon printing?!!

From the Interweb:

"Tampon printing is a sort of "stamping" process whereby the ink is taken from an etched metal plate onto a flexible pad - the tampon - and "stamped" onto the article to be printed. The technique is a good alternative if the surface of the product to be printed, does not allow for silk-screen printing. Furthermore, very small print can be better achieved by tampon printing. If necessary two-color printing can be done in one operation. Printing inks used are basically the same as those used in silk-screen printing; however, the print density of the ink is considerably less."

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by BarryB

From the Interweb:

"Tampon printing is a sort of "stamping" process whereby the ink is taken from an etched metal plate onto a flexible pad - the tampon - and "stamped" onto the article to be printed. The technique is a good alternative if the surface of the product to be printed, does not allow for silk-screen printing. Furthermore, very small print can be better achieved by tampon printing. If necessary two-color printing can be done in one operation. Printing inks used are basically the same as those used in silk-screen printing; however, the print density of the ink is considerably less."

Unfortunate name and not what I thought the answer to this question would be! But thanks?

[BarryB]

Yes, the only drawback is you can only print in RED

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by BarryB

Yes, the only drawback is you can only print in RED

🤦♀️

I won't ask what the white ink is.

[Foebane]

It's most likely easier to just stamp multiple disks with the ink than to print labels and stick them on.

[demolition]

Anyone know of a method to make this kind of print yourself, e.g. using some transfer method? A low quality print could also be used and then finish it up by hand.

[amigadude]

chop a potato in half and get carving

I found a welsh company that'll do limited run printed floppy disks - http://www.dischromatics.co.uk/cd-du...k-duplication/

Maybe t-shirt transfer paper? dunno if you'll be able to get the iron hot enough to transfer without damaging the disk...

[demolition]

Yeah, I thought about some kind of t-shirt transfer but the usual ironing-method is not something I'd try on any floppy - at least not one that I'd like to be able to use afterwards..

In some car shows I've seen them make their own (vinyl?) decals that they apply before clear coat painting, but I guess they are probably using some special expensive printer to make those.

[rkidd7952]

I found https://decalprofx.com a while back while looking into ways to label a control panel with white text. I've never tried that system, so if you do, please post back to let us know how it works!

More generally, you might look into techniques that scale modelers use to make custom decals. A water transfer decal probably wouldn't be ideal for a floppy, but I'll bet it could work if you were careful.

Robert

[LuMan]

What about a simple stencil and water-based spray paint? Or even a solvent-based paint (better finish) with a solvent that won't start dissolving the plastic casing?

Actually, that may prove tricky for those letters and shapes with holes in them...

Amigadude does have a point with a potato, though. A decent foam stamper can get a reasonable finish. Works for Emma Bridgwater

[demolition]

Originally Posted by LuMan

Amigadude does have a point with a potato, though. A decent foam stamper can get a reasonable finish.

Well, I'm not after making 1000x of a single print but rather to make a bunch of one-off prints, so it would have to be something that would be quick from drawing to application, i.e. similar to the t-shirt transfer method but without the need for heat. Perhaps to do an ink-jet print on something where the ink will not be able to dry for a little while and then carefully apply it to the floppy surface? It would probably be faint, but then it would be easy to finish it by hand if I only want a simple single-color print.