Part Marking & Product Graphics
Part marking puts operating legends, identification, and branding on a sheet metal part by screen printing, also called silk screening, which pushes ink through a stenciled mesh, or by applying labels and decals. K-Display marks control panels, machine housings, kiosk cabinets, and other parts in Chicago.
What screen printing does to a sheet metal part
Screen printing leaves a thin layer of ink on the face, in the shape of the artwork. A label or decal carries the artwork on a film pressed onto the face. We mark a part as the last operation before assembly, on the face in the finish it will ship in.
We supply marked parts in steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, with hardware fitted or fully assembled. Powder coating gives the whole part one color, texture, and gloss, and the marking sits on that face.
The mesh lifts away on both sides of the squeegee and touches the panel only under the blade, where the ink bead is pushed through. The finished panel at right shows flat ink bars on the face, clear of both mounting holes.
Parts we mark
Graphics go where a person reads or operates the product, beside a switch or across a front face. Choose screen printing for legends and logos in flat color, and powder coating alone when the part carries no artwork.
- Control panel faceplates, with operating legends printed around each switch and knob opening.
- Machine housings, with an identification label pressed onto a flat face.
- Kiosk cabinets, with brand artwork and user instructions printed on the front face.
- Operator console panels, with legends and labels applied beside each control.
- Materials
- Carbon steel, Galvanized steel, Galvanneal, Stainless steel, Aluminum
- Production fit
- Marking method and production fit are reviewed with the artwork, substrate, finish, and quantity.
Marked last, before the parts go together
Marking follows powder coating, so the coat cannot cover the artwork, and it comes before assembly, so no knob or bezel stands proud of the face under the screen.
Set the part
We lay the part flat with the marked face up and set the stencil to the edges, holes, or bend lines the drawing dimensions from.
Print or apply
We draw a squeegee across the screen so ink passes through the stencil onto the face, or press the label or decal onto the face at the same position.
Assemble and pack
We fit the hardware and assemble the marked parts, or pack them with the marked face protected.
Design for part marking
Ink and film do not cross a bend, a hole edge, or a fastener seat cleanly, and a knob or bezel covers whatever sits inside its footprint. Dimension each graphic from one datum, the edge, hole, or bend line every other dimension starts from, and we place it on the flat face outside all of them.
A heavy powder texture softens fine printed type. Note the texture in the finish callout, and we put small type on a label wherever that texture is heavy.
The arcs around each round opening are wider than the knob above the left one, so an installed knob leaves the artwork uncovered. The bend along the lower edge lies outside the printed area.
What to send for a part marking quote
- Artwork
- Current revision, in a vector file where one exists.
- Placement
- Size, orientation, and dimensions from one datum.
- Colors
- Color standard and the text or symbols on each graphic.
- Surface
- Material, finish and texture, and exposure to cleaners, abrasion, or weather.
- Quantity
- Quantities and any supplied graphics.