Screen printing presses ink through a fine mesh stencil, laying down each color as a separate pass. Each color lays down as its own premixed spot ink, printing solid and consistent across the run. The applied mark is flat and opaque, sitting on top of the material with crisp edges; on heavy coverage, you can feel a slight raised texture where ink builds up. The cured ink is durable and holds up to repeated handling and washing.

Pad printing (tampography) transfers ink from a silicone pad onto the item, flexing into curves, angles, and recessed areas flat application can't follow. The result is a thin, nearly flush ink layer with well-defined edges — each color prints as an opaque spot-ink solid, holding evenly on contoured or darker surfaces; cured ink resists everyday wear.

Digital printing sends artwork straight from file to the item — no plates or per-color screens — laying all colors down in a single pass. It carries photographs, gradients, drop shadows, and dense multi-color artwork at high resolution, reading as a flat image on the surface. A specific brand color is rendered as a close full-color process simulation rather than an exact spot ink, and on colored items the substrate shifts the appearance.