Screen Printing

Screen printing technique refers to the printing process wherein hand-made screens are used to get the desired prints on flat surfaces such as paper and textile. Screen-printing is a very old printing technique and variations of it have been in existence for many past centuries. Archeological surveys suggest that something similar to the present day screen-printing technique was in use in medieval Japan. Similar techniques were also in use widely in Europe, especially in France, during the eighteenth century. The present-day screen-printing technique is, however, quite different from those early days when fabrics like organdy were stretched over wooden frames to hold the stencils and their frames in a proper place during stenciling or printing. Screen-printing has now become highly mechanized, and has provided a cheap alternative to wooden block printing.

Screen-printing process

In screen-printing technique, a fine mesh or screen is stretched on a rigid frame. The parts that are not to be printed are masked out. The screen is positioned over the printing substrate material, and a thick layer of ink is spread on the screen’s surface. The ink is then pressed with the help of rubber or vinyl rollers, forcing it through the tiny holes of the screen. This prints the design on the surface of the printing substrate. The excess ink is wiped out and collected for future prints. The final print is passed through a heat tunnel with the help of a conveyor belt. This is known as the curing process, and is carried out to dry the liquid ink on the surface of the printed material, and increase the life of the printed substrate even in harsh conditions. The curing process is essential for protecting the final print from damaging conditions such as heat, abrasion, friction, light, and moisture.

Uses and benefits of screen-printing technique

Screen-printing technique is used for getting both single-colored and multi-colored prints. To get single-colored prints, a single screen is used, whereas for multi-colored prints, multiple screens are used. For example, a design that has five colors will require five different screens, and designs that have seven will require seven different screens. The different screens used for colored prints are generally placed on a rotary press to allow the various printed colors to be properly aligned with each other. Some screen printing equipment have fully automatic presses that do not require any manual work, other than configuring the device settings, and loading and unloading printing substrate material.
Screen-printing technique is the most commonly used method for printing graphic designs and text on t-shirts, garments, and other fabrics. High-end screen-printing machines can also print on various types of other substrates ranging from plastic and metal sheets. Although the technique can create small and intricate details, it is generally used for printing bold and graphic designs. 
Screen-printing technique is quite economical because a relatively small amount of labor is required compared to wooden block printing. Modern-day screen-printing machines are completely automated and can be configured to produce different types of prints such as text and images. Even the thickness of the ink used in printing can be altered to create the desired effect on the printing substrate. For example, if the design requires the print to highlight a particular text or item, the printing equipment can be adjusted to spread more ink over the required area to create the effect.

The automated screen-printing equipment may be costly, but when future labor cost savings are considered, the initial acquisition cost does not seem to matter much. Moreover, since all the processes are automated, it makes it possible for even less skilled people to operate the screen-printing machine or equipment. All these factors have made screen-printing a popular choice, especially in the textile industry wherein companies are making huge savings by reducing labor as well as operational costs. Screen-printing technique is here to stay as long as more effective and economical printing techniques are not discovered.

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