Screen printing is one of the most popular methods of printing and it’s the most widely used method of t-shirt printing. It is a process that involves pushing ink through a woven mesh stencil onto fabric. The stencil opening creates the space through with the ink will go, to create the design. The ink is then pushed over the mesh, pulled by a fill blade or squeegee. As the blade is pulled, the ink is pushed through the mesh, onto the garment.
If you are going to get your t-shirts, hats or bags with screen printing, you’d better know the following advantages and disadvantages of screen printing:
Advantages
1 – Long lasting
Due to the composition and thickness of inks used in screen printing, designs placed with this method can withstand far more stress than others without losing the quality of the print.
2 – Big Order Friendly
Since this is a method that requires the fabrication of screens for every color used in an artwork, it is best reserved for large orders. The more garments placed in an order then the cheaper the cost per unit will be.
3 – Great Finish
Screen printing produces vibrant colors that are hard to replicate by other printing techniques. Techniques like direct to garment (DTG) use cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) dots to recreate their images and while it is a great method to replicate details it usually pales (literally) in comparison to screen printing.
4 – More Ink
Screen printing allows for greater thickness of the ink than other techniques, which result in greater possibilities when it comes to the finish of the piece.
5 – Versatility
It is hard to find a printing method as versatile as screen printing. It can be done on almost any surface as long as it is flat, fabric, wood, plastic and even metal, among many others.
6 – Straightforward
It is a basic process that does not change regardless if it’s automated or done by hand. The tools are not hard to replace and won’t become obsolete as fast as other technologies.
Disadvantages
More money for multiple colors
Because of the technique of screen printing, only one color can be applied at a time. Therefore, the number of colors on a t-shirt are limited, and each layer demands more time, another screen and stencil, and ultimately, more money.
Not practical for small orders
Screen printing needs more prep than other techniques before going into production. This doesn’t make it suitable for “on-demand” printing, which is the creation of a garment as soon as it is ordered.
Relative Complexity
It might sound like a contradiction, but screen printing can be quite complex depending on the design and project because it has more steps than other methods.
Not environmentally friendly
While efforts have been made to create eco-friendly inks and screens, it is still a reality that screen printing wastes a lot of water. Water is used to mix up inks and clean the screens, which may not seem like much at first, but manufacturers produce hundreds of garments a day and when we start to add up, it can get scary.
Click The Pros and Cons of Screen Printing or https://www.hotairstenter.com/product/flat-screen-printing-machine.html to learn more information about Flat Screen Printer