Printing tool, printing apparatus, and printing method

A printing method in which a printing pad, having a printing surface to which an ink image has been transferred, is pushed against an item to be printed by being linearly moved in a first direction toward a printing stage to transfer the ink image to the item to be printed, the printing method comprising:

• placing a printing tool and the item to be printed on the printing stage,
• the printing tool including
• an inner edge;
• and
• a pad receiving surface extending outward from the inner edge;
• wherein the placing of the printing tool and the item to be printed are performed such that the inner edge faces a peripheral edge portion of the item to be printed;
• and
• pushing the printing pad against the item to be printed and the printing tool, the printing pad being pushed against the printing tool until the printing pad is brought into contact with the pad receiving surface, wherein
• the pad receiving surface has an inclined surface having a tangential angle of less than 90° relative to a portion of an imaginary line, that passes through a center of a surface to be printed of the item to be printed and that is parallel to the first direction, that is above the item to be printed, such that the inclined surface slopes upwardly away from the item to be printed, and
• printing is performed in a state in which the peripheral edge portion of the item to be printed is disposed side by side with the inner edge in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.