Screen printing

Screen printing is most commonly used for printing on textiles such as T-shirts, caps, bags, sweatshirts, workwear, etc. This printing method is ideal for printing large flat surfaces. When done properly, screen printing is characterized by high durability during use and washing of garments and low price for larger print runs. Screen printing is a technique of squeezing ink with a squeegee (manual or automatic) through pre-exposed dies (screens). The screens are in turn mounted on a screen-printing carousel.

Full range of colors

An unquestionable advantage of screen printing is printing in any color. After all, paints can be mixed at will, and special programs calculate the amount of pigment needed every gram. Once the files are properly prepared for exposure, tonal transitions, or gradients, and full color printing are also possible. There are different types of screen printing inks, the most common of which are plastisols. Others are, for example, water-based inks or lint-based inks. Each type of ink requires different preparation of the materials on which we make applications. The printing process is also slightly different. Less frequently used, but very interesting, are effect inks. They allow the application of multiple special effects.

Very high resistance to washing

A properly made print has no right to come off after washing! What do we mean by properly made? Each successive step of the process: exposure, quality of the inks used, printing, drying. If each of these stages is done according to art, the print is very durable and no washing machine is afraid of it. It is supposed to survive the material it is applied to.

Screen printing likes larger print runs

Surely you know the rule The more, the cheaper. It is particularly apt with screen printing. Choosing screen printing means certain fixed costs, independent of the number of pieces ordered. It is mainly about the preparation for printing in the form of printing plates and exposing them to matrices. Each color more is an additional screen to expose.

EXAMPLE: the cost of preparing one screen is 140 PLN. It is spread over the number of pieces ordered. Thus, with a 1-color order of 1,000 pieces, it comes out to 14 cents per piece, with an order of 100 pieces – 1.40 PLN / piece, and with 20 pieces – 7.00 PLN per piece. This is the cost of preparing the screens alone, to this must be added the cost of making the printing.

You can see from the above example that it’s worth thinking carefully about how many shirts or sweatshirts you’ll need, as each additional piece lowers the unit price.

Printing on colored and dark materials

It’s worth remembering that when printing on T-shirts, sweatshirts and other colored or dark garments, a white undercoat is used under the actual print so that the color of the print matches the design. Skipping this step would mean that the color of the fabric may show through from under the print. With colorful designs printed on dark garments, one additional screen must therefore be included. In some cases, a trick can be used to save on printing the backing separately. What is the trick? If there is a white color in your design, it can be used as an undercoat at the same time!

The final price of printing therefore depends on two factors:

circulation, i.e. the number of pieces ordered
number of imprint colors

We offer screen printing to customers starting from 20 pieces. Most companies start the conversation about screen printing with 50 or even 100 pieces. Our screen printing carousel allows you to print up to 10 colors in one pass. If you have less demand, you can take advantage of the possibilities offered by thermal transfer or sublimation

IMPORTANT: Remember that there is no such thing as “the best printing method”. Every printing technique has its strengths and weaknesses. Much (in fact, most) also depends on the skill of the printer, as well as the materials and equipment used. Also important are such “non-technical” aspects as the customer’s taste and individual expectations of the final result. The role of a professional company is to propose the most appropriate solutions for your specific needs.

INTERESTING: Screen printing is a printing technique that originated back in ancient Japan. You can read more about it on our blog.

Is screen printing always the most appropriate printing technique?

The short answer is no

However, it is worth exploring the topic and looking at examples for which screen printing is not the best printing technique:

Example: You want to open your own clothing brand, but you have very little start-up capital (at the level of a few hundred zlotys). In this case, there are more optimal methods of investment than screen printing. How to better use such a budget? It’s probably better to do several different designs on Russel HD sublimation T-shirts or, if you absolutely want 100% cotton, choose one of these thermal transfer techniques: flex, flock.

This will give you the opportunity to make several designs, instead of one, in such a small budget. What does this solution give you?

easier, faster and cheaper to study the preferences of potential and actual customers
more designs will translate positively into brand image
durability as in screen printing or higher (in case of sublimation)