What can screen printing be used for?

Technology

Screen printing is a popular process that can be used to create a number of different items. It is essentially a way that you can transfer a design onto another item. The design is stenciled out onto a mesh that then has the ink pushed through it to print the design onto the canvas or other items that you want. There are many kinds of Screen Printing Equipment that can be used for this and those from https://www.mascoprint.co.uk/ are a great place to start.

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There are many advantages to using this kind of printing but the most obvious one is that it is incredibly cost effective as the stencil can be used over and over again and the colour results that are produced are much more vivid than those found in other printing methods.

The most common items that are produced from screen printing are canvases and poster prints as well as clothing and products that are made using material. You can even make bespoke fabric using screen printing. It is a very similar process to that used in silk printing and follows the same basic principles.

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The process is, in very basic terms.

  1. Create the design – this might involve using the services of a graphic designer or you can create the template yourself. It is important that the design is suitable to be used as a stencil for screen printing.
  1. Prepare the mesh screen – the printer will create the screen based on how complicated the design is and what materials you are going to be screen printing onto. Ince the selection has been made the mesh screen is covered with an emulsion that is reactive to light.
  1. Expose the emulsion covered screen to light – this results in the emulsion hardening which means that the design area stays a liquid form and allows the ink to be pushed through these spaces.
  1. Emulsion is washed off leaving behind the stencil – after this the screen must be dried thoroughly to help prevent any water from affecting the print quality or the item that is being printed.
  1. Place the screen on the printing press along with the item that is being printed on – the item that is being created will be placed on the board beneath the printing screen on the printing press that you use. There are lots of different types of presses and the one you choose will depend on the quantity of items you are going to be printing and your budget.
  1. Press the ink through the screen and onto the final item – if you are making a number of items from the same stencil you can add new items to the press each time whilst you wait for the previous ones to dry.
  1. Dry your product and enjoy.

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