- January 17, 2023
- Posted by: Aryan Deo (Aarpee Decor)
- Category: Blog
What is Screen Printing?
A complete guide to Screen Printing
By Dev Sahu & Aryan Deo, Aarpee Décor
Contents of Article
What is Screen Printing
Types of Screen printing
What is the method of Screen Printing?
Types of Screen Printing Inks
Our Special Screen Printing inks
What is screen printing?
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-coloured image or design.
In traditional screen printing, silk was the material of choice for the screen mesh. However, with the advancements in technology, synthetic threads have become widely utilized in the process. Among them, polyester has gained popularity as the most commonly used mesh material in general screen printing. Additionally, screen-printers have access to specialized mesh materials like nylon and stainless steel for specific applications.
The selection of mesh material and size holds significant importance as it directly influences the final outcome and appearance of the design on the material. Different mesh materials offer varying characteristics such as durability, flexibility, and ink flow. Polyester meshes are preferred for their durability and versatility, while nylon meshes provide excellent elasticity. Stainless steel meshes, on the other hand, offer durability and are suitable for heavy-duty printing applications.
Determining the appropriate mesh material and size for a specific printing job is crucial to achieve the desired results in terms of print quality, resolution, and color vibrancy. Screen-printers carefully consider these factors to ensure optimal performance and achieve the desired visual impact on the printed material.
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Types of screen printing
- Spot Color Screen Printing:
Spot Color Screen Printing is indeed the most common type of t-shirt screen printing. In this method, the ink used is in its stock color and is printed through a stencil created by the screen mesh. This technique allows for the creation of vibrant and solid spots of color on the t-shirt. Depending on the specific ink and mesh count used, it can also result in a thicker layer of ink being applied.
The advantage of spot color screen printing lies in its ability to produce precise and consistent colors, especially when working with solid designs or logos. By using predefined ink colors, the printer can accurately match the desired shades, resulting in a high-quality and visually appealing print. The thicker ink layer achieved through this method also contributes to a more pronounced and vivid appearance.
Spot color screen printing is widely used in the t-shirt industry due to its versatility and cost-effectiveness. It allows for efficient production of vibrant, solid colors without the need for complex color mixing or gradients. This makes it an ideal choice for designs that require precise color representation and a bold visual impact.
- Halftone Printing:
In halftone screen printing, the technique allows us to print single or multiple colors in gradients. This means we can achieve smooth transitions from one color to another or create beautiful halftones within a single color. It is an effective method for creating the appearance of multi-color printing without actually using multiple colors in the process. This makes halftone screen printing a versatile and cost-effective solution for achieving complex and visually appealing designs. Whether we need solid spots or intricate gradients, this method enables us to achieve the desired visual effects with precision and efficiency.
It improves the graphics quality and produces a softer feeling print when printed directly onto the garment.
- Grayscale Printing:
Grayscale screen printing is a great way to print full-colour images as one-colour grayscales or halftones. Full-colour photographs can be printed as a one-colour halftone.
Typically it’s done in black ink but it can be done in any colour ink as desired. The resolution will depend on the lines per inch used in the dot pattern.
- Duotone Printing:
Duotone screen printing is basically the combination of two halftones for the same image printed with two colours. Firstly, a black halftone is printed on white tees, and then a second halftone will be printed with the colour ink. Finally, the colour halftone combines with the black halftone to produce a duotone color hue.
- CMYK Printing:
CMYK screen printing is the most complex out of all types of screen printing methods that are existing and should be done on an automatic press. It can also be done manually, but for the best results, you have to prefer automatic.
Here, we take a full-colour photograph and break it down into its four constituent colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black(Key). The printing process simply combines all these four colors and finally recreates the original image with its real color and great tone.
Point of information: CMYK screen printing is really expensive because of its complexity.
- Simulated Printing:
The simulated screen printing combines the four-colour printing process with spot colour printing. Inshort, we combine spot colors with Halftone colors to create the original image.
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What is the method of Screen Printing?
A screen is made of a piece of mesh stretched over a frame. The mesh could be made of a synthetic polymer, such as nylon, (earlier silk mesh was in use) and a smaller hole for the mesh would be utilised for a design. For the mesh to be effective, it must be mounted on a frame and it must be under tension. The frame which holds the mesh could be made of different types of materials, like wood or aluminium, varying from people to people, machines to machines. The tension of the mesh may be checked by using a tensiometer; a common unit for the measurement of the tension of the mesh is Newton per centimetre (N/cm).
A stencil is formed by blocking off parts of the screen in the negative image of the design that has to be printed; that is, the open spaces are where the ink will appear on the substrate.
The operator positions the screen over a substrate. Ink is applied onto the top surface of the screen, and a floodbar is employed to push the ink through the mesh openings. To avoid contact with the substrate, the operator lifts the screen and, applying gentle downward pressure, moves the fill bar towards the front of the screen. This action effectively fills the mesh openings with ink. Subsequently, the operator utilizes a squeegee, equipped with a rubber blade, to lower the mesh onto the substrate and pushes the squeegee towards the rear of the screen.
The ink that is in the mesh opening is pumped or squeezed by artery action to the substrate in a controlled and amount, i.e. the wet ink deposit is proportional to the thickness of the mesh and or stencil. As the squeegee moves toward the rear of the screen the tension of the mesh pulls the mesh up away from the substrate (called snap-off) leaving the ink upon the substrate surface.
There are three common types of screen printing presses: flat-bed, cylinder, and rotary.
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Types of Screen Printing Inks
There are three types of screen printing inks:
- Solvent-based inks
- Water-based inks
- UV screen printing ink
are some of the most commonly used screen printing inks in present times.
These inks have different types of properties suitable for different materials and print patterns.
In very recent years, the demand for soft-hand screen prints in apparel and accessories is really rising up. Customers are more attracted towards prints that are really soft, subtle, and at the same time not anything plastic-like when touched. The commonly used screen printing ink in today’s time is Water-based ink.
What is Water-based Screen Printing Ink?
As the name speaks for it, water-based inks are those which can dissolve in water. Such inks use water as the main component to carry the colour pigment. Water-based inks give a soft, clean, and a long-lasting print..
There are various types of water-based inks:
- Ready to use inks (RFU) inks – Ready to use water-based inks are easier to work with and offer a great finish. RFU inks are simply pre-mixed colours that come in a wide range of lively colour choices. These colours can be used directly on lighter fabrics as desired. To use RFU on dark fabrics, use a white under base for proper pigmentation
- High solid acrylic inks (HSA) are a recent ink formulation that addresses issues commonly associated with traditional water-based inks. Traditional water-based inks tend to be thin, runny, transparent, and prone to drying out on the screen. However, high solid acrylic inks provide an ideal solution to these problems. They contain a thickening binder that imparts properties similar to plastisol inks. HSA inks dry at a slower pace, allowing for stretching and layering during printing.
Our Special Screen Printing inks
Our company, Aarpee Décor has different types of screen printing inks for different types of products, depending upon customer’s needs. So, Want our special screen printing inks for printing on your products at an affordable price? Or want to know more about screen printing inks? What are you waiting for?
Mail us at info@aarpeedecor.com
or Call us on +91 9899513351, +91-11-41315115
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