The Many Uses for Screening Printing Products and Apparel

Jan 13
08:27

2012

Bob B. Hamilton

Bob B. Hamilton

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There are so many uses of screen printing. In fact it is arguably one of the most versatile printing processes around. Versatile means it can be adaptable and with the technology these days, your creativity can just be the limit.

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There are so many uses of screen printing.  In fact it is arguably one of the most versatile printing processes around. Versatile means it can be adaptable and with the technology these days,The Many Uses for Screening Printing Products and Apparel Articles your creativity can just be the limit. Screen printing is advantageous to other forms and processes in that it can be used to print on many different shapes of substrate no matter the thickness and size.  This is an essential aspect to consider when it comes to production. You need to have materials which are flexible. Flexibility means being able to adjust on so many aspects of business such as material resources and the budget.

Screen printing is also highly regarded as the best printing process because it is used to print on a variety of substrates like paper, glass, metal, nylon and plastics. This is an advantage to companies with products which are packaged in different types of substrates such as plastics, metal and nylon. These three substrates are basically the main types known but there are actually more being used by other business owners.

The two main types of screening are silk printing and digital printing.  If your products have relatively flat surfaces then silk printing is the option to take.  The process involves the use of a mesh which is stretched tightly around a rigid frame. Then the areas which are not supposed to be printed are left out or masked to prevent ink from spilling onto these areas.  The product is printed by use of a thick ink which is positioned over the product.  At this point the unmasked areas are printed by the ink while those left unmasked are out creating the desired print. The last step is called curing and involves the product being passed over a heat tunnel to dry up the ink.  After the process the ink can stay for a very long time even under unfavorable conditions.

Digital printing unlike silk printing does not allow the ink to be absorbed but rather forms a coating on the surface to be printed.  It can be used to print various materials such as plastics paper and even metal.  It is better than screen printing because after the curing process, the garment or product printed can stay for a longer time than in screen printing.  The technology uses ink jet which is high quality and cost effective for apparel graphics applications.