Pad print vs. UV digital golf balls

The short answer

Choose pad printing when your artwork is a solid-color logo of one to four colors and the whole order carries the same design. Choose UV digital printing when the artwork has a photo, a gradient, fine detail or many colors, or when you want different names or wording across the order. Both start from 12 balls at Get Custom Golf Balls, and the print team will recommend the method after seeing your file. Browse logo printed golf balls or photo golf balls to see each in use.

Side by side

Colors and brand matching

Pad printing deals in solid colors. Each of up to four spot colors goes on as flat, even ink with sharp edges, which is why it is the long-standing choice for club crests and corporate marks. If your brand guide specifies exact colors, a pad-printed logo is the safest way to hold them across a big run.

UV digital printing reproduces color the way a photo printer does, by mixing cyan, magenta, yellow and black. That removes the color-count limit, so a six-color mascot or a shaded crest costs you nothing extra in complexity, but a very specific brand tone is matched as full color instead of a single mixed ink.

Photos, gradients and fine detail

A gradient or a photograph needs continuous tone, and that is what the digital process is for. The ink is cured under ultraviolet light as it is printed, so the image stays crisp on the dimpled surface instead of bleeding into it. If you want a face, a pet or a scenic hole on the ball, order photo golf balls.

Hairline strokes and very small type are worth sending early. The free mockup shows how your artwork lands at true scale on the ball, so you can simplify before anything prints.

One design or many

Pad printing is most efficient as one design repeated across the run, such as every tee gift carrying the same sponsor logo. Digital printing does not need a separate plate per design, so every dozen or sleeve can carry its own wording. That is what makes custom text golf balls and personalized wedding balls practical.

Mixed jobs are common: a tournament order might pad-print the event logo for the field and digitally print a one-off set for the winners. Send both and the team will plan the split.

What both methods share

The ink is cured onto the cover, so either print should hold up to ball washers, wedges, bunker sand and range mats. Either one can go in a single position or a double position, so the logo shows however the ball lands. Printing does not change the size or weight of the ball; the guide to USGA rules and logo balls covers what to check.

Both come with the same free mockup within 24 hours and the same standard turnaround of about 2 weeks, packed in bulk, three-ball sleeves or dozen boxes.

Which events suit which method

Pad print suits golf-course house balls, company marks, sponsor logos on tee gifts and any tournament order where one logo goes on every ball.

UV digital suits wedding favors, photo gifts, retirement presents, mascots and any order where the names or art change from dozen to dozen.

The verdict

Solid-color logo, one design: pad print.

Photo, gradient, many colors or different wording: UV digital.

Not sure which your artwork needs? Send the file and a quantity and Get Custom Golf Balls will recommend a method and return a free mockup within 24 hours. For the full step-by-step on both processes, read how custom golf balls are printed, or request a quote.