The Secret Art Of Screen Printing
Printing is a process of pictures and text, normally utilizing ink, paper and a printing press. Over time, printing technology has developed significantly. Different techniques are available, but screen-printing is used most of the time.
Screen-printing, or silk-screening, is a process ideally used on fairly flat surfaces. In this procedure, a fine mesh screen is secured snugly across a sturdy frame, with the screen masking the region which remains unprinted. To make the print, the screen is positioned atop the material along with a swath of dense ink. Using a squeegee tool, the ink is pushed through the screen part. The ink soaks into the region that is not masked, forming the print, while the masking keeps any ink from making contact, resulting in distinguished areas. Next the printed material goes through a hot passageway until the ink dries and it is ready to be packed up.
When a multi-color print is made, the procedure is performed again, changing screens. Thus, multi-color prints necessitate multiple screens positioned on a rotary press or performed manually, aligning the various colored prints in conjunction.
There are several methods of masking a screen. The simplest thing to do is to employ masking fluid right onto the screen. This process works very well for two-color graphics, while a photosensitive emulsion process is utilized for jobs involving multiple colors.
If you are unsure what to request when ordering, remember that a screen printer’s t-shirt printed with ink with plastics will be hot and tacky afterwards. It might be wise to request water-based inks if you prefer a softer, vintage-look screen printed shirt. But if you are wanting a heavy laid print, you should request ink containing plastics to be applied with a hot press.
Inks containing plastics are used by many screen printers because sometimes they last longer, are richer, heavier and more easily seen, not to mention being easier on the screen printing equipment. Within a short time frame, plastic inks can begin to crack up, though. Natural inks last longer and they look better too.