Screen-print Process & Techniques

What is Screen Printing Used For?

This printing technique is highly flexible and its seen everywhere on all types of items, from clothing to tote bags to caps to mugs and so much more.

• Screen printing is responsible for printed T-shirts, uniforms, jackets, sweatshirts, towels, caps, mugs, pens, other clothing and promotional items.
• Glass and plastic containers, like shampoo bottles, makeup container etc., are very often decorated by the screen-printing process.
• Nearly every CD, DVD, Binders, Sports Items, Team Gear and more, that have an image are also screenprinted.
• Fine Art Prints also take advantage of the amazing look of screen printing.

One reason for the diversity of screen-printing applications is its ability to deliver bold, opaque colors on a wide variety of materials. Different ink formulations allow specific inks to bond with materials such as glass, plastic, cardboard, fabrics and metals. The result is a cool unique vivid and long lasting message or image that can be screen printed in mass or small quantities. Even with the advancements in technology and the new digital printing processes, screen-printing is still the preferred printing process for many printing applications and is known for its mass production capabilities. Some many think screen-printing is a quick, easy and cheap process, but the opposite is actually the case. Screen-printing is very labor intensive and it takes multiple steps to get to the end result.

Here Is An Idea of the Steps:

• Create or edit artwork to make it print ready.
• Create separations in Photoshop or another art program.
• Print the color separations on films.
• Prep screens with a coating to burn the film (image) onto the screen.
• Take films & burn image onto each screen (each color is put on a separate screen).
• Take the screen and set it up on a machine (have to line up with pallet/garment).
• Register the screen up with each other screen that has a part of the design on it, ensure its all printed as one and in order.
• Mix all the inks for each screen/color that is in logo.
• Stack the items for printing, specially separated by size & color.
• Print the items/garments, sometimes you would have to stop and change out ink colors depending on the item/garment color.
• If printing multiple locations - garments have to be restacked by size & color.
• Once complete, all items/garments again have to be recounted by item, size, color and gender.
• Items/garments are folded and packed for shipping.
• Once job is completed, all screens have to be sprayed down to remove the coating and images and cleaned with a pressure washer this is very time consuming.

Screen-printing is no longer inexpensive to produce as all the supplies, inks, screens, etc. have gone up tremendously over the last 15 years. Screen-printing is part of the textile industry and the textile industry has suffered greatly after NAFTA was put into place. We need more entrepreneur's to rise up and start fabric mills, dye mills, supply factories etc. to bring back the USA textile manufacturing. We need people to partner together and own factories again.