SCREEN PRINTING: THE PROCESS

Along with the many details for processing an order, there are a number of steps that happen between print request and the packing of the finished screen printed product.

• Review Art Submission
• Art Proof
• Color Separation and Film Output
• Pre-Press Meeting
• Screen Exposure
• Screen Prep for Production
• Mixing Ink
• Set up

REVIEW ART SUBMISSION

There’s a number of guidelines and standards we use to determine if a piece of art will print well. We’ve developed these standards based on our experience over the years. We review each piece art and offer suggestions and recommendations for better printing if necessary.

ART PROOF

Once we get art that is good for printing, a design request, or other direction, we’ll set up an art proof for you showing a mock up of the design on the garment style and color(s). On this proof, we’ll list out the exact imprint sizes and list the pantone colors we intend to use. The mock-up is an estimate for sizing and location, so if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

COLOR SEPARATION AND FILM OUTPUT

For each color in a design, we produce a piece of film that will become an individual screen. Each separate screen is put on press and loaded with a specific color to be printed. The process for deconstructing the art into it’s single color components is called color separation. Once the art is separated, we output a film positive for each color.

PRE-PRESS MEETING

Artistic technical demands have been a huge factor in the direction screen print technology has taken. On numerous occasions for prints at a high difficulty level, we hold production meetings to discuss finer points of the design, troubleshoot potential press problems and come up with a plan for executing the print as exactly as possible with the first set up.

SCREEN EXPOSURE

Screen exposure or “burning screens” is the process of creating a screen stencil from the image on the film. A pre-stretched screen is coated with a photo-reactive emulsion and dried. The film is then adhered to the coated screen and exposed to high intensity light for a defined period of time. After exposure, the screen is sprayed with water to remove the emulsion from the image area.

SCREEN PREP FOR PRODUCTION

Once the screen has dried from the wash out, we prep it for the production run. We apply a gooey liquid that dries solid, called block-out, to the emulsion areas outside of the design. This prevents the occurrence of pin-holes (tiny holes in the stencil that allow unwanted dots on a shirt) and helps stabilize the stencil for the entire production run. The edges of the screen are taped off to prevent other ink leakage and allow easier clean-up.

MIXING INK

While the film is being printed and the screens are being made, the ink department is pulling the ink and stationing it in a holding area for the press operators. Since plastisol inks don’t dry out, we can keep pantone mixes on the shelf ready to go. Should a particular pms color run out, a new batch is mixed up using a PC ink system. PC stands for pigment concentrate. Pigment concentrate combinations are measured out by gram and mixed with a base to create Pantone ink colors used for screen printing.

SET UP

There’s actually quite a lot of variables that are addressed each time a screen print design is set up on press. Depending on the design and desired outcome, press operators consider the amount of off-contact, squeegee speed, squeegee angle, durometer and other technical aspects of screen print. After the initial set up, these settings are recorded so the set up takes a fraction of the time for a re-order.

Ready to Get Started?