Thursday 13 April 2017

Pros And Cons Of The Screen Printing Process

By Michael Reed


Screen printing can be considered as one of those widely used printing technologies these days. The process includes squeezing the blade to the paste passing through the screen opening onto the fabric. This can be utilized on different medium including fabrics, metals, cotton, nylon, paper boards, papers, glass, and plastic. Commonly created products would include some commonly used materials like textiles, posters, signages, labels, and electronic boards.

Advantages. Longer lasting. The composition and the thickness of the inks are the main reasons for the durability of this process of Maryland screen printing. And because of this, the designs being placed with the use of this method have the ability of withstanding much more stress. Thus, better if compared to others without the loss of any quality of print.

Big orders friendly. Due to screen fabrication which is required in this method for each color used in a particular artwork, this could be best reserved for some large orders. So the more garments will be placed in orders, the cheaper will be the cost of each unit. Great finish. Vibrant colors will be produced and these could be hard to replicate using other techniques.

More ink. The process would allow a greater thickness of the ink compared to other techniques. And for sure, it will result to having a greater possibility of finishing perfectly your piece. Versatility. It will surely be a bit difficult for you to search for a similar method having the same versatility as a screen method of printing. It could be done in any surface such as plastic, flat, wood, fabric, and metal.

Straightforward. Regardless of some changes when it comes to the operation, it may be done through hands or with the use of a machine, processes involved would still be the same. The tools that are being used can be easily replaced. These tools also do not become obsolete like the other technologies do.

Disadvantages. Small orders could be impossible. Like those statements being mentioned above, a screen printing process needs more preparations than other techniques do prior to production. And thus, considering this process as a suitable one for on demand printing. This means an item is then immediately produced after being ordered.

More colors would mean higher costs. It can be a hassle for screens to be created for each color. And thus, it means that having the colorful designs is a complicated process, making the item more expensive. One best recommendation for this is to keep the designs simple by only applying fewer tones. However, you need to maintain its attractiveness.

It is not environmentally friendly. Even if a lot of efforts have already been made for creating eco friendly screens and inks, there is still this reality in which the method is still wasting so much water. Water is one main ingredient for the mixtures of inks and for cleaning the screens. This problem may still continuously increase due to the thousands of productions every day.

Relative complexity. This may sound similar to a contradiction. However, the method might be quite complex but it depends upon the project and design. It is because it involves much more steps than the other methods.




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