Screen printing is one of the most popular printing techniques used amongst a vast range of companies for printing designs onto various products. The screen printing process has been around for a long time and has evolved from simple stencilling to a complete merchanised printing method. Most often, the process is used for printing onto posters, fabrics and packaging. However, it has been adapted to a larger variety of items as the technique is much more advanced today.

It has been used for more than 100 years in the commercial and artistic sector and is mainly used for printing images and designs on personalised drawstring bag, personalised school bags, T-shirts, tote bags, paper, wood, ceramics and other materials like clothing magnets too.

There are different types of silk screen printing t-shirt, depending on the aim and the printing process used. Among them, we can find serigraphy for the graphic design sector, serigraphy for the art sector and textile printing, which is what interests us most.

Screen printing is optimal for creating an increase in brand awareness through the use of different promotional products.

Screen Printing Equipment

In order to develop beautiful print images, some just as beautiful screen printing equipment is required.   The production process involves the following tools:

The printing press

The Ink

A Squeegee

A flash cure unit

A conveyor dryer

ink used for screen printing

The printing press is the core piece of the screen printing process. Without it, we would not be able to start or finish the job. There’s options between manual and automatic machines, however, as mentioned, the automatic ones will allow the process to go much quicker and smoother. The ink also has varying aspects to it. For instance, you can choose between different types of ink: water-based and discharge inks or traditional plastisol ink.

Afterwards, we can select the colours for the screen printing ink based on the client’s preferred design and customisation. Then, a squeegee is used to get the ink across the screen and lay down the designed print. The last part of the printing process equipment is a flash cure unit which allows for the curing of the ink. It’s a fancy way of explaining how we are able to print white undertones or overlap with various colours.

Lastly, the conveyor dryer (as evident as the name is) heats the ink so that the print will remain long-lasting and perfect for when you receive it. And there you have it! Let’s explore the printing process now.

Through much innovation, screen printing came into existence as an efficient and effective way to produce images onto various items. Some of the earliest uses of modern day screen printing began in the United States. American companies made use of the machinery to create screen printed images for their marketing campaigns. The items used for this were various advertising displays such as posters, signs, and book covers.