Screen Printing - (Silk Screen Printing)
Screen Print: Commercial and industrial printing technique which involves the passage of a printing medium, such as ink, through a taut fabric to which a refined form of stencil has been applied. The stencil openings determine the form and dimensions of the imprint thus produced.
The screens have dye cut vinyl placed to add the color to the fabric. The number of colors that are in the project is how many screens you will use.
When the project is a 4 color process, the mesh is coated with a light sensitive emulsion or film, which, when dry, blocks the holes in the mesh. Next the image that needs to be printed is output to film either by camera or image-setter. The film positive and the mesh on the screen are then sandwiched together and exposed to ultra-violet light in a device called a print-down frame. The screen is then washed with a jet of water which washes away all the light sensitive emulsion that has not been hardened by the ultra-violet light.
This leaves you with an open stencil which corresponds exactly to the image that was supplied on the film. The screen is then fitted on the press and is hinged so it can be raised and lowered. The substrate to be printed is placed in position under the screen and ink is placed on the top side of the screen, (the frame acts also as wall to contain the ink). A rubber blade gripped in a wooden handle (not unlike a giant wind-screen wiper) is pulled across the top of the screen. This pushes the ink through the mesh onto the surface of the substrate you are printing.
How does our screen printing work?
We place the fabric on a specialized vacuum table and then lay the screen in place. We heat the fabric and lay down the ink, and when all the ink is down, we infra red cure the finished product which allows us to ship immediately.
The Advantages of Screen Printing
- More cost effective than one of digital prints.
- Our specialized screen print process will last for years to come.
- Images are bright and use pantone colors to match.
- Can be printed on color fabric.
- Very cost effective
- More elegant look and feel than vinyl or plastic dye cut images.
- Portability – can easily be rolled/shipped
- Lightweight
- Easy to fit stands, frames, & structures
- Many options to choose from
How Long Has Screen Printing Been Around?
Screen Printing has its origins in Japanese stenciling, but the screen printing process that we use today stems from the patents taken out by Samuel Simon of Manchester at the turn of the century. He used silk stretched on frames to support hand painted stencils, a process also used by William Morris. In 1914 John Pilsworth of San Francisco also took out a patent for multicolor printing, using the screen process.
During the First World War the invention of the photographic stencil revolutionized the process; in the following years, obviously improvements were made in the presses, inks and chemicals used, but apart from the introduction of computer technology in the 1980's - in the pre-press side of screen-printing - very little else has changed since.
Anywhere you wander you can see examples of screen printing everywhere: in store fronts you will see displays and posters advertising their products; along with banners, canopies, tents, wall signs and even lighted fixtures, these have been screen printed. In the home you will find that many textiles and items of clothing, sports bags and T shirts have been screen printed, as well as the stickers that you have on the rear window of your car. |
