What is screen printing on clothing?
Screen printing is the most widely used textile printing technique in the world for large quantities. It involves pushing ink through a screen (or stencil) stretched over a frame, color by color, to create your design on the fabric.
The screen printing process
- Color separation — each color in your design is isolated into a separate film
- Creation of the screens — each film is transferred to a screen coated with photosensitive emulsion
- UV insolation — the screen is exposed to UV which hardens the emulsion in areas without design
- Rinse — areas of the design are washed, creating the stencil
- Printing — ink is pushed through the screen onto the garment, color by color
- Drying — each layer is dried in an infrared oven before the next one
Distinguishing features
- Thick, opaque ink — very vibrant colors, even on dark fabrics
- Hand (touch) slightly raised on the printed areas
- Exceptional durability — plastisol ink withstands hundreds of washes
Limits
- Setup costs per color (creation of screens)
- Recommended minimum order: 12-24 units to make the setup profitable
- Designs with more than 6-8 colors become complex and expensive
At PrintPress
Professional screen printing for your volume orders. Free quote according to your design and quantity.