Screen printing has been said to be the most versatile of all of the printing processes. This process is also quite tedious because of the numerous steps that are involved in it. In order to have a better understanding of the screen printing process it is important to review each of these steps.
The Screen Printing Process
The first thing that you need to do is place a screen on top of the material that you are working with. Your ink will be placed upon this screen. This is done by using a fill bar to fill up the mesh openings with ink. Once this is done it is time to start lifting the screen in order to make sure that the screen will not have any contact with the material that you are working with. Next you need to place some downward force before using your squeegee to move the mesh down and to the rear of the screen. The mesh’s tension will pull the mesh away from the substrate and leave the ink in place there.
Simply put, in the screen printing process ink must pass through a screen (the mesh) and is fixed upon a frame before being passed through the screen. Once this happens you will want to apply a stencil to your screen. It is this stencil’s openings that are responsible for determining what image will be imprinted upon the material that you are working with. You also need to use different screens for the different colors that you are working for. This is a process that must be repeated multiple times until you finally obtain the desired outcome.
Understanding The Screen Printing Process
The aforementioned steps are just one of the many ways in which the screen printing process can be done. Other types of screen printing processes include the flat bed, cylinder and rotary methods. Of course, there is also the silk printing technique that involves numerous printing techniques in which stencils are used to transfer the design. There is also single print screen printing in which many colors are used by numerous stencils. This has been turned into a commercial medium today and is commonly used more now than in the past.
Utilizing Screens In Screen Printing
You can use a screen numerous times but you must stop to clean it after each use. Herein the screen must undergo the reclaiming process wherein the ink is removed from the screen. At the same time stencil removers are sprayed. These are in the form of a liquid, gel or powder. It is also important to de-haze the screens as well so that there are not any blurry images left on your screens.
In Conclusion
There are a lot of great ways in which people are using the screen printing process today. While the one that probably comes to your mind the quickest is advertising on shirts and hats, this is not the only way in which the screen printing process is utilized. The screen printing process is also a useful technique whenever it comes to preparing both personal and corporate gifts. Regardless of what type of item you choose to do your screen printing on, one thing will still remain the same: You will have a high quality item that will make a huge positive impact upon anyone who receives the item. This is why so many people will tell you that the screen printing process is actually an art form. Whenever you stop to look at it in this manner you too will be able to see the truth behind these words.