Screen Printing Steps And Tips

Screen printing is an old and popular method of printing where the ink or paste is forced through a screen that has been prepared using a squeegee. The ink then registers on the chosen substrate (an item that is being printed in) such as paper, t-shirt, leather, or tote bag printing for example. It is a printing technique used by printing services as well as clothes makers, artists and more. Unlike some other printing methods, screen printing works on all kinds of surfaces, glass, rubber, paper, plastic, wood, cloth, leather and more.

Steps for preparing the printing screens

Here is an overview of the steps in printing on something with prepared screens.

1. The first step is to correctly prepare the printing table
2. Then the substrate, meaning the item the cap, jacket, t-shirt or such on the table
3. Next, the screen should be positioned on the substrate with the hollow side facing up
4. Then the paste or ink should be applied to the ink reservoir
5. Then using a squeegee at the right angle the ink or paste should be drawn across and pressed through
6. If needed it can be done again for a deeper print
7. Then the screen can be removed, washed and dried
8. Then the jacket printing needs to be left to dry

Tips for achieving a better quality in printing

1) Make sure the screens are placed correctly on the substrate

The printer needs to make sure the screens are properly and carefully placed on the material being printed on. If it is not done well then it can register as the wrong design on the substrate, or it will mess up the pattern trying to be achieved with disorder and gaps where there are not meant to be any.

2) Make sure the correct pressure is applied when using the squeegee

Another thing to get right is the pressure required on the squeegee. It should be firm and moderate in nature, too loose and some areas will not register for printing. On the other hand, if too much pressure is used with the squeegee for tote bag printing that can cause blurred lines and designs which impacts the quality of the printing. It also means the design might go beyond the borders set.

3) The screens need to be washed straight away and properly

When you are doing jacket printing the screens after need to be washed right away so that the screens do not become blocked. When the ink residue is left on the screen because it was not washed or not washed well this leads to clogging and poor-quality print results when the screen is used again. The screen should be washed with warm and soapy water to remove all the residue but it should be done gently otherwise it can create pinholes in the screen. These are small areas that are free of the solution or it is areas of tearing, or where the stretched screen is no longer taught.

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Created on Dec 9th 2022 04:57. Viewed 39 times.

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