Screen printing entails transfer of ink onto a surface. This process is done with a mesh screen, ink, and a squeegee. Fabric and paper are the most popular printed surfaces because the two materials work well with regular ink.
But this is not to rule out the fact that you can print on surfaces like wood, metal, plastic, and even glasses. It is very possible to. All you need is specialized ink and a little bit of tweaking to the process. The big idea of this type of printing is to create an imprint of your design on the desired surface.
Why is Screen Printing Widely Used?
Most people choose this technique because of its vivid outline on the surface. Your colors will come out perfect with excellent resolution when you use this technique. You also get away with the tactile quality of your prints. This is because your paint or ink lies in layers beneath your work surface.
Besides that, this technique is popular because you can use it to reproduce a design multiple times. This means that if you need many copies of certain fabric, this technique can replicate without any further ado.
That makes the technique highly reliable and efficient. Especially when you have a huge batch of production. You can also use it to create intricate multi-colored designs. The machine is indeed limited to the quantity of color it can use. But you can use it for more intense coloring.
7 Step by Step Screen Printing Process
Of course, the methods of screen printing are diverse, and it can be hard to cram them into one similar process. However, it involves the same basic technique. That is what we are going to touch base on in this article especially if you are using the special light-reactive emulsion.
Here is a step-by-step process if you want to create a custom stencil. Keep scrolling down the page.
1. The Design is Created
You first need to create the desired design based on what you need to have on your finished product and feed it to your printer. Proceed to feed it onto a transparent acetate film where you will create your stencil.
2. Prepare the Screen
Guide your printer to choose a suitable mesh screen for both your designs and the texture of your fabric. Allow it to coat with a layer of light-reactive emulsion. This will harden as soon as it is developed under bright light.
3. The emulsion is exposed
Once the emulsion is exposed to the bright light, you will notice that the designed are will remain in liquid form. For more than one color, you will need separate screens to layer different ink.
4. Wash off the Emulsion
Once the above process is done, the emulsion is washed off. This will leave imprints of the design to pass through. Once that is done, you can go ahead and use your stencil.
5. Prepare Your Item for Printing
Place the screen on the printing press and lay your fabric on the printing board ready for design. It all depends on the presses you are going to use based on the design. Choose the right one to achieve the desired results.
6. Press the Ink Through the Screen to the Fabric
This is where your ink and the squeegee come into active use. Press the ink with the squeegee to imprint the design on your material. For multiple productions, the screen will keep raising for the new garment to print.
7. Dry, Check, and Finish
Your printed material will then roll through a dryer to dry the ink on the design. This will create a smooth colorfast finish. Finally, check and thoroughly wash to remove any lingering residue from the ink printing.
What are the Pros and Cons of Screen Printing?
As we have always said, there are always pros and cons to everything under the sun. A side to every coin. If there is no other side of the coin, it certainly is too good to be true. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the screen printing method.
Pros
- Flexible in print materials- Screen printing is most popular when it comes to flexibility. Especially if you are using a flat surface. You can print almost anything and everything flat. It is also flexible with shapes.
- Good for simple designs– This technique is perfect for simple designs and texts onto a surface. It has solid colors that are ideal for a variety of printing needs like logos, graphics, gradients, among other things.
- Produce high print volume- This technique can produce a large batch of prints in a short time. This means lowered costs and timely designs. What more would you ask for?
- Durability- Compared to other techniques, screen printing produces the most durable prints on your printing surface. The thick layers of ink enhance the durability because they would take a lot of time and washes to fade.
Con
- Requires High Print Volume- Unless you are printing a large batch of material, this technique is not cost-effective at all. The elaborate process will have you spending more money on a few prints than you would with large quantities.
- Set up time- The setup time for this technique is more complicated. In fact, it has a slower turnaround time. All the elaborate processes listed above will surely demand a good amount of time.
- Limited colors- You are limited to color schemes when it comes to using this technique for printing purposes. This is a huge setback as some clients are just so keen on particular colors for certain prints. Before putting your money on the machine, consult with the manufacturer to check the features and see if it matches your clients’ needs.
- Use Dated Method- The use of squeegees to roll ink into a surface sounds all technical and hard work. It also sounds so dated as compared to the other techniques that do not require any manual assistance.