SCREEN PRINTING is the correct word to describe what used to be known as “silk screening”. Since silk is no longer used, we make our screens from a nylon mesh. There are many steps to screen printing (most of them quite messy), which can make it expensive for just a few shirts, but extremely cost effective for a larger quantity.
Art must be broken down into separate colors as each color is printed with a single color of in in its respective screen. That’s what “color separations” are. Screen printing is best for items with smooth, flat surfaces such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, and certain jackets.
After the art is created, a screen is made for each color in the design. This involves coating the screen with a light sensitive emulsion, drying it, burning the image onto it with light, washing it out, and letting it dry. Whew! Next we set the screens up on the press and register them so that they line up to each other and are straight. We tape off the edges, add the (very messy) ink, and start printing.
Printing is fast and kind of fun! Cleaning the screens afterwards is not. If you look at the price chart, you’ll see that the set up and cleanup are reflected in the price. Smaller quantities are more expensive since it’s the same amount of set up and clean up with less actual printing.
Multiple colors can be cost prohibitive for short runs. However, we have a solution for that. We can digitally print full color transfers that can be applied on most items. Please see our Digital Transfer page for more information on this method.
Art must be broken down into separate colors as each color is printed with a single color of in in its respective screen. That’s what “color separations” are. Screen printing is best for items with smooth, flat surfaces such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, and certain jackets.
After the art is created, a screen is made for each color in the design. This involves coating the screen with a light sensitive emulsion, drying it, burning the image onto it with light, washing it out, and letting it dry. Whew! Next we set the screens up on the press and register them so that they line up to each other and are straight. We tape off the edges, add the (very messy) ink, and start printing.
Printing is fast and kind of fun! Cleaning the screens afterwards is not. If you look at the price chart, you’ll see that the set up and cleanup are reflected in the price. Smaller quantities are more expensive since it’s the same amount of set up and clean up with less actual printing.
Multiple colors can be cost prohibitive for short runs. However, we have a solution for that. We can digitally print full color transfers that can be applied on most items. Please see our Digital Transfer page for more information on this method.