What is Screen Printing

If you're looking to screen print, you should already know what is screen printing; for anyone else that is interested, here's a brief look. Screen printing is done manually or with an automatic screen printing press. A stencil is made and applied to a screen by exposing the screen with the stencil placed over it to ultraviolet light. When the light is applied, the parts of the screen that did not get any UV light (your stencil over the screen blocks the light) will wash out of the screen and expose the tiny screen holes that will allow ink to pass through and onto the shirts or whatever you are printing on. The rest of the screen will have emulsion cured on it that will block any ink from being pressed through. There are several ways of exposing the screen, and we carry exposure units to give you the best quality.

 

After the screen is washed and ready, ink will be pushed through the screen onto the material you would like to screen print on by using a screen printing squeegee. The squeegee can be done by hand or an automatic screen printing press can be used for easier and quicker production. An automatic screen printing press takes up more space, costs more money and has electrical and air consumption requirements. It does, however, greatly improve your screen printing production capabilities. Check out our articles on When and Why to Buy an Automatic Screen Printing Press.

-note: This was just a quick, general look at what is screen printing. There are more steps & screen printing equipment needed for successful screen printing. Check out all of our screen printing presses and equipment. For new printers, we'd recommend checking out our entry-level screen printing machine, Titan, and Rapid Wave flash cure. Or if you want to start small with a manual press, check out our Thunder. Be sure to check out our full lineup of automatic screen printing presses as well. Be sure to check out other places such as YouTube for a more in-depth look at what is screen printing.