Editing Pad printing (section)

===Clear-coated thin ink===
Most people's perception of pad printing is the so-called "decal" look found on most modern desktop and laptop keyboards. Despite the appearance, the letters are not decals; after the legends are printed, a clear coating is applied over each legend, and this coating follows the contours of the legend. [[Signature Plastics]] refer to this as "selective image" coating.<ref name="SP" /> Clear-coated legends have been the norm since the 2000s, but it was already in use in the 90s; the specific chronology of this change is not yet documented.

Tai-Hao offered two possible explanations for their change from thick ink to clear-coated thin ink as of the 2000s:<ref name="TH" />

*Their ink supplier changed the ink formulation to meet RoHS legislation requirements, leading to a less-sticky ink
*RoHS legislation mandated a change in raw materials for the keycaps themselves, and this may have led to reduced adhesion by the ink

Modern pad printing ink is typically an epoxy.<ref name="SP" /><ref name="RK" /> The clear coating may harden upon exposure to UV light<ref name="SP" /><ref name="RK" /> or be itself a clear epoxy.<ref name="RK" />

<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Logitech Y-RJ20 -- Macintosh modifiers.jpg | Roughly-applied selective image coating (2003)
File:Pad printing.jpg                           | Dell KB522 multimedia keyboard (2012)
</gallery>