Need to color match the inks to a very specific color you have in mind? Super easy. Explore different options. Think again! There are a ton of great synthetic fabrics out there that work great with screenprinting - polyester, silk, viscose, and more. Everything you've always wanted to know about screen printing but were too afraid to ask. Screenprinting is Let us know! Will is a word-obsessed marketer and Real Thread alum. He loves to write about creativity, great design, and of course, soft t-shirts.
Outside of work, you can find him being too particular about coffee and hanging out with his son, Ezra. Sign up for new product releases, free design resources, and a chance to win 36 free custom printed shirts. Screen printing has years old, but a lot has changed since then.
How screen printing works now:. Step 1: An Idea. Your Idea. Will Harris Will is a word-obsessed marketer and Real Thread alum. Get the latest from Real Thread Always stay current with Real Thread news by subscribing to our email updates.
Email Address. You're on the list! Something went wrong while submitting the form. Keep reading View all posts. Try these materials. Get an inside look at how we use Pantone matching for embroidery—and why it's so dang important. Ready to raise your t-shirt game? Begin your order. Subscribe for t-shirt enlightenment Sign up for new product releases, free design resources, and a chance to win 36 free custom printed shirts. Email Address Boom! You're now subscribed to Real Thread updates.
About us Our company. Success stories. Services Screen printing. Order samples. The screen is then dried, and the printer will make any necessary touch-ups or corrections to make the imprint as accurate as possible to the original design. The stencil is now ready to be used. The screen is then placed on the printing press. The item or garment being printed is laid down flat onto the printing board, underneath the screen.
There are a number of different presses, including manual and automatic styles, but most modern commercial printers will use an automatic rotary carousel printer, as this allows several different screens to work at once.
For multicoloured prints, this sort of printer can also be used to apply the separate colour layers in quick succession. The screen is lowered down onto the printing board. Ink is added to the top end of the screen, and a squeegee is used to pull the ink along the full length of the screen.
This presses the ink through the open areas of the stencil, imprinting the design on the product underneath. If the printer is creating multiple items, then the screen is raised and a new garment is placed onto the printing board. The process is then repeated. Once all the items have been printed and the stencil has served its purpose, the emulsion is removed using a special washing fluid so the mesh can be reused to create new stencils.
The printed product then passes through a dryer, which 'cures' the ink and creates a smooth, colourfast finish. The final product will be checked and washed thoroughly to remove any residue, before being passed on to its new owner. To get a clean, sharp print, a screen printer needs to have the right tools for the job.
While it is possible to screen print with just a mesh screen and a squeegee, most printers prefer to use a press, as it allows them to print lots of items more efficiently. This is because the press holds the screen in place between prints, making it easier for the user to swap out the paper or clothing being printed.
There are three types of press: manual, semi-automatic, and automatic. Semi-automatic presses are partially mechanised, but still require human input to swap over the items being pressed, while automatic presses are completely automated and require little to no input. Businesses that need to print items in large quantities will normally use a semi- or fully automatic press, as this allows faster, more efficient printing and minimises mistakes.
Smaller companies, or those who do screen printing as a hobby, might find that a manual table-top press sometimes called a 'handbench' press is better suited to their needs. The ink, pigment or paint is pushed through the mesh screen and onto the item being printed, transferring a coloured imprint of the stencil design onto the product.
There are lots of specialist inks, which can be used to create different effects on the finished product. For instance, a printer may use glittery inks, texturised inks, or puff inks which expand to create a raised surface to create a unique look or feel.
The printer will also take into account the type of fabric being screen printed, as some inks will work better on certain materials than others. When printing clothing, printers will use a type of ink which becomes machine washable once it has been heat-treated and set. This produces a colourfast, long-wearing item that can be worn again and again.
The silk screen in silk screen printing is a metal or wooden frame with a fine mesh fabric stretched over the top. Traditionally, this mesh was crafted from silk thread, but nowadays this has been superseded by polyester fabrics, which offer the same performance for a lower price.
The thickness and thread count of the mesh can be chosen to suit the texture of the surface or fabric being printed, with smaller spaces between threads allowing for greater detail in the print. Once the screen has been coated in emulsion and exposed, it is ready to be used as a stencil. After the screen printing process has finished, it can be washed and re-used.
A squeegee is a rubber blade attached to a long wooden, metal or plastic handle. The printer will usually pick a squeegee that is a similar size to the frame of the screen, as this will give better coverage. A firmer rubber blade is better for printing intricate designs with lots of detail, as it ensures all the nooks and crannies in the stencil receive an even layer of ink.
A softer, more yielding rubber squeegee is often used when printing less detailed designs, or when printing onto fabric. The screens need to be washed to remove all traces of emulsion after use, so they can be reused again for future prints.
Some larger printworks may use large tubs of special cleaning fluid or acid to remove the emulsion, while other printers simply use a water trough or sink and a power hose to clean their screens. To ensure a colourfast finish, the printer needs to make sure that the ink is set according to the manufacturer's guidelines.
The correct drying temperature and time vary depending on the type of ink and the fabric used, so the printer needs to follow the instructions to the letter if they want to create a long-lasting, washable item. Direct to garment DTG digital printing uses a specialised fabric printer — a bit like an inkjet computer printer — to transfer an image directly onto a textile. It differs from screen printing because a digital printer is used to transfer the design directly onto the fabric.
0コメント