People always ask me, “How are imprinted balloons made?” Imprinted balloons are unique in that each balloon must be pre-inflated to half the full size before they can be imprinted. If imprinted balloons were not inflated before imprinting, the image would fade when the balloons are inflated. The image that is printed on the balloon is adjusted to about 4.5 inches in diameter and then burned onto a silk screen. When the balloon is printed, it is inflated to about 9 to 10 inches. Then the screen containing the image is pressed over the balloon for a few seconds as the image is printed. The imprinted balloon is then kept inflated on a assembly line to dry or cure the image. Because the image is silk screened onto the balloon the ink is about 20 times the amount of ink that a flexo-graphic image would contain. Flexo or flexo-graphic balloon printing was how balloon printing was done 50 years ago. Most balloon printing done today is silk screened for a sharper crisper image that will not fade or disappear when the balloon is inflated.
