What Is Screen Printing

 

Screen printing is one of the early methods of printing. It involves the passing of ink or any other printing medium through a mesh or 'screen' that has been stretched on a frame, and to which a stencil has been applied.

History Of Screen Printing
Screen printing was a technique first used by the Chinese almost 2000 years ago. they use hair in form of mesh for making screen. that they attached a stencil made from leaves stuck together into different shapes.

Subsequently, the Japanese adopted the screen printing process and used woven silk to make the mesh and lacquers to make stencils. The use of silk is where screen printing got its alternative name – Silk screening or silk screen printing.

From using hair to silk to polymer meshes, screen printing has come a long way today

Equipment Used In Screen Printing
No matter what kind of screen printing machine you have, there is some basic equipment that will be required. The stencil or screen is of prime importance since it determines the design and image output. It refers to the frame, the mesh and the photosensitive material on which the image is created.

The squeegee, ink The substrate refers to the surface on which the design is to be printed. The machine base, which holds the substrate and allows the screen to print on it and is often the base of the entire screen printing unit.

Screen-Printing

Screen printing is a great way to advertise, display team logos, or create a unique t-shirt for friends or family. You can screen print on a variety of items including t-shirts, bags, towels, sweatpants, and hats. We offer a large variety of standard design locations, however we are willing to work with any ideas you may have for your screen printing project. 

 

Buying Screen Printing Tools

If you are looking to set up your own screen printing unit, whether for commercial purposes or personal use, you will need to invest in some basic screen printing equipment. A manual printing press, a flash curing unit and a conveyor dryer are some pieces of screen printing equipment that you will need.

Here are some tips on helping you select the best screen printing equipment for your use.

Selecting A Manual Printing Press

There are a wide variety of printing presses in the market. It can be pretty difficult to pick one. Keep in mind the following things when shopping for a manual printing press and you should be able to make a good choice.

• Buy a six-color or four-color press: Depending on your requirements look to buy a six-color or four-color press. If you are setting up a small unit for specific purposes only, then a four-color press should suffice. However, if you are looking to use the press for commercial uses, it will be better to spend a little extra and buy the six-color press to keep pace with competition.
• Ensure that the press is sturdy. Buying a really sturdy press can drive the cost a little higher but it will be worth it in the end. If the center arm that holds the shirtboard is not sturdy and bends or bows, the print quality will be compromised.
•  Micro adjustment can really help speed things up and better the print quality. Not an essential requirement but very desirable.
• Look for a press that says "All Heads Down". This means that you have six printing heads over six printing stations and can have more than one person print at the same time. This will allow you to multiply your production many times over with just one press.

Selecting A Flash Curing

A flash curing unit is the same heater that is used in a conveyor dryer except it does not have the conveyor or tunnel. Since flash curing units use infrared rays that only cure the surface they touch and do not heat the air around it, a tunnel is not absolutely essential. The flash curing unit will work equally well without the tunnel.

You can get a cure in just a few seconds with a flash curing unit and hence the name - flash or spot curing unit.

• Depending on the usage decide on the size of the heater. If you plan to use it only for a specific purpose and a specific size of prints then you can choose a smaller heater measuring 16" x 16". However, for commercial purposes something in the range of 24" x 24" is really required.
• Invest in a sturdy stand if you want to avoid tipping over the heater. Good large wheels on the stand are also a great idea because you are invariably moving the heater around.
• Get a heater with the automatic cycle feature. It will more than pay for itself by saving you curing time and a lot of trouble wondering whether the print has been cured or not.
•  Some manufacturers promote a heat controller but most printers tend to run their units on full heat anyways. So pay for this only if you are sure you want to use it.

Selecting A Conveyor Dryer

If you are looking to print large quantities of t-shirts or merchandise with your screen printing unit, then a conveyor dryer is a must. A flash dryer can generally handle a few dozen t-shirts a week comfortably. But for greater quantities, you need to upgrade to a conveyor dryer.

• Decide on the conveyor size depending on your requirements. A 6' to 8' long dryer with a 24" conveyor can generally handle about 8-12 dozen shirt an hour. If you increase that to a 8' to 10' dryer with a 30" conveyor you can cure almost twice the number of shirts.
• Look for adjustable heater height so that by lowering the height you can get the ink to dry faster and yet accommodate taller products through the dryer when needed.
•  Look for a dryer that is easy to maintain and find spare parts for. Some of the larger, fancier dryers are so fancy that it can take days to get them apart, fix the part and restart them. This can cost you good money. Try buying a dryer under warranty or sign up an annual maintenance contract.
• Forced air feature is good if you plan to print with air-dry inks used for towels and non-textiles.

Thus, you must decide on the output you expect from your screen printing equipment to help you buy the right equipment. Also, keep in mind your expansion plans when buying the unit so that you don't have to reinvest in expensive screen printing equipment too soon.

 

How Improve Screen Printing Quality

 

Screen printing is an extremely affordable method of printing and hence very popular. However. Often because it is so economical people associate the low cost with low quality. That is not necessarily true. Screen printing can give fantastic results. However it is important to go to a screen printing expert who knows what he is doing. Here are some tips for screen printing that you can use on DIY projects. These tips will also come handy when you need to evaluate potential screen printers for your screen printing needs.

Tips To Improve Screen Printing Quality

Ink Quality: The consistency of ink is a critical factor in the quality of screen printing. Inks can be classified as stiff or loose depending on their consistency. Some printers try to adjust the squeegee angle and pressure to compensate for the consistency of ink. This is likely to make the screen printing process much more difficult and if the process is manual, can even lead to carpel tunnel syndrome or sore joints.

The correct way to modify the way an ink prints is by using two products known as soft hand clear or extender base and curable reducer. The soft hand clear is used to adjust the pigmentation in the ink. In addition to adjusting the percentage of pigment in the ink, the soft hand clear also makes the ink more creamy and easier to screen print. The soft hand clear ink requires less squeegee pressure than regular ink and hence improves screen printing quality.

Curable reducer changes the adhesive quality of the ink and can be used anywhere from 2-4% to 10% depending on its texture. The curable reducer allows the ink to shear easily and thus print better.

Thus it is important to modify the inks as required so that you not only screen print easier and faster but also save ink and get better registration.

Screens: The rule of thumb with screens and meshes is that the tighter they are, the better the quality of output. The benefits of a tight mesh include a decreased likelihood of the mesh moving out of registration during printing and lesser chances of one color bleeding into another. 

Tight screens also offer lower resistance when pulling the squeegee thereby reducing labor and cutting the ink cleanly. 

A tight mesh also deposits the ink evenly onto the substrate. A soft mesh may have deposits of ink towards the edges thus printing with more ink in the center and less towards the corners. The uneven deposit of ink results in lowered printing quality.

Squeegee: It is vital that the blade of the squeegee is straight and sharp. The squeegee should be sharpened every day if need be to allow for even spreading of the ink.

Press: To get good quality screen printing, the platen must never move during printing. Even if you do everything else right and the platen shifts, the quality of the print will suffer. Also the color arm must not deflect when it in or out of the registration gate. 

Curing: You cannot substitute the amount of time that the ink is cured for by increasing the heat. Sometimes inks need to be cured at lower heat for longer time for the ink to fuse with the fabric and get a full cure.

Thus, keep these tips in mind when screen printing to ensure high quality screen printing.

Applications Of Screen Printing

Screen printing is a fairly economical method of printing and hence its growing popularity. The applications of screen printing are increasing as fast as one can think about a new surface for printing. Any surface that is flat can be screen printed on. The possibilities are endless.

Another factor that makes screen printing so popular is the fact that it allows one to use a wide variety of printing materials on a wide variety of surfaces. The combinations possible are numerous and can suit any kind of end usage and budget.

Applications Of Screen Printing

The textile industry probably makes the largest use of the screen printing technique. Screen printing is used to print on fabrics ranging from cotton and organza to silk and polyester. These fabrics are then made into finished products. The finished products include shirts, skirts, dresses, children's clothing and any kind of clothing made from printed the fabric. In fact many designers set up their own screen printing units since they are so cheap. 

The designer then creates his or her own design and screen prints it in limited quantities for sale with his or her brand label.  Screen printing is also used for upholstery, linen, curtains, drapes, cushion covers, bed sheets, bedcovers and other household and lifestyle requirements.

The other industry that makes extensive use of screen printing is the marketing and advertising industry. Flyers, posters, hand outs, advertisements and other point of sale or graphics products are all screen printed. The advertising industry uses screen printing primarily because it generally requires limited edition printing. The costs of printing small quantities digitally or electronically can be very high. Hence screen printing to the rescue. 

The sports industry also uses screen printing to print souvenirs and collectible items. T-shirts printed with the logos of popular teams, souvenirs like caps, sweatshirts, mouse pads, keychains, baseball bats and a host of other items are all screen printed.    Thus, screen printing has innumerous applications. Everywhere you look you will find examples of screen printing. Some are overt and others will be disguised.

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