Tips to Maintain Your Screen Printing Press

Posted by Mary Yaeger - 8/3/2017

Also seen on Printwear 

You can find a lot of tips online regarding screen printing, but something that seems to be a little bit of an anomaly is how to care for your screen printing press. Sometimes we get so excited about screen printing that we lose the care manual – or maybe we think that it doesn’t really need to be cleaned. Either way, we will get down to the absolute necessities (not specifics of each machine), and give you some ideas of how to maintain your press and keep it in optimal condition.

Location. Location. Location.

You want to make sure that your press is in as much of a temperature controlled environment you can manage. The main point of this is to protect the screens from drying out. You also want to protect it from the heat and humidity which over time can strain your press performance. 

Keeping it Clean.

Think of your press as a new addition to your home. Regularly dust the equipment and keep the area around it free of clutter. Each time you use it, you will want remove (and save) the left over ink and then wipe it down. Ink and other chemicals will build up on your machine which could strain performance.

On a regular basis (not just your press) make sure to check the filters, conveyors, feeders, belts and squeegees. Clean them when they need it and replace them when it’s time. Don’t cut corners on your equipment. If something needs fixing or replacing you don’t want to hesitate on a fix and then your production suffers.

For palette longevity be sure to use palette tape. It is also recommended that you use water based adhesives. This is because over time the aerosol chemicals will build up on your press.

Keep it Lubricated.

Check the performance of your palette heads and arms occasionally. If they have been stationary for a long period of time, they could become stiff and un-operational. Oiling may be necessary for certain parts of your machine. This part will take a little bit of research. Figure out what machine you have and what lubrication will be compatible. You will also need to figure out how often you should oil your particular machine. Over or under oiling can become a problem.

And as always with screen printing – try doing a few test prints to make sure the machine is fully operational and does not need further attention in a particular area.

Screen Printing History and How to Get Started

Posted by Mary Yaeger - 5/26/2017

Screen Printing History and How to Get Started

What in the world is screen printing? Simply, screen printing is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a surface - shirts, posters, stickers, wood and a variety of other materials. The idea of screen printing arose from the concept of stenciling (and in truth that’s what screen printing is a form of). Screen printing can be traced back to the beginning of recorded history where methods can be found in China as early as 960 AD (during the Song Dynasty).

Screen printing originally started as just another art form. It wasn’t until during the 1960s that you can see screen printing being used for promotional items or propaganda. The 1960s was full of civil rights and social justice movements so there were plenty of opportunities to express yourself and your views. Sharing ideas that turn into movements requires people paying attention, and screen printing provided a method to create stunning graphics that caught viewer attentions.

It didn’t take long after screen printing being introduced to commercialism, before screen printing became a popular choice for artists - the most notable being Andy Warhol.

Today, we are seeing a revival in the screen printing industry as artists are creating new twists to the concept. There is also a call for the industry to become more environmentally friendly with their chemicals and inks. So if you are just starting out in the screen printing business there is a lot of room for creativity and growth and we are excited we get to share that with you!

While we could write a book on how to get started screen printing, we decided not to bore you with that much information in this blog post. Instead, we will discuss some tips and basics to get you started.

Step by Step

This is a general outline used by Texsource staff to explain the process to customers and in Texsource University Classes. If you want a more detailed look at the 16 steps and how to get started screen printing, join us for our Screen Printing 101 class in June!

1. Get to know your client and what they are looking for in the design. Don’t forget to take down their contact information to keep in touch as well as their deposit. It’s important to take a deposit at the start of a project so you can order the materials needed for the print job.
2. Place your material order.
3. Create the artwork and layout for the job you are going to be printing. Some sample art programs you might use are CorelDraw or Adobe Software.
4. Get the artwork approved by the client. This is a really important step! You may like what you have designed, but that does not necessarily mean that your design fits best with what the client is looking for. It is best practice to make sure that your client approves the artwork before moving forward.
5. Complete your artwork separations and outputs. It is helpful, and creates a clean print, when your printed artwork is very opaque.
6. Before you print, be sure to degrease and prep the screen that you will be using.
7. Coat the screens and let it dry.
8. Expose the coated screens. To help prevent pin-holes in your print, keep your exposure unit glass clean!
9. Rinse out the image and set the screens out to dry. The trick to rinsing out the image is to wet the screens on both sides and allow the water to start to break down the unexposed emulsion.
10. Tape and block out the screens.
11. Set your screens and make sure that the artwork is lined up right. If you need additional help with alignment, use a t-square to create a good template to follow for your artwork.
12. Print according to color sequence - light to dark! ALWAYS test before production.
13. Inspect the garments to make sure there are not any unwanted spots. Don’t fear if you find some, there are products to help remove unwanted plastisol.
14. When you are finished printing you can scoop the ink and put it back into the container for future usage.
15. Now you are ready to reclaim your screen. You will start by removing the ink, then remove the emulsion, de-haze your screen, and finally degrease it. 
16. Finally you have made it to step 16! This is where you get the products delivered to the client and receive your payment. Congratulations! 

Guide to the Right Mesh 

It is important that the mesh you select is right for the inks you will be using in your print. Mesh counts range from 40 to 305 and higher! We won’t discuss all of the mesh counts (you will get that in class), but here are a few of the most popular:

86 count mesh is used for printing a bold copy onto dark colored fabrics.
110 count mesh is considered the industry’s “do it all” mesh.
200 count mesh is used for printing onto light colored fabrics.
305 count mesh is used during four color process printing.

If you screen ever gets worn out or torn, Texsource can re-stretch your screens or we have products available for the DIY-er!

Mesh colors are another thing to consider. There is white mesh and gold (dyed) mesh. White mesh is used in lower mesh counts which are typically used for spot color work or large text. Gold mesh is used for counts higher than 200 resulting in a more defined edge and crisper print. The other thing that makes the two mesh colors different is the exposure time - the gold mesh will have a longer exposure time than a white mesh.


Other Things to Consider

Emulsions

There are 3 classifications of emulsions - Photopolymer, Dual Cure and Diazo. All of these can be used when printing with plastisol ink. Photopolymer emulsions are direct emulsions with ultra fast exposure times. Dual cure emulsion is resistant to both solvent and waterbased inks. Diazo is formulated to use with waterbased, solvent and plastisol inks which leads us into the next category - ink selection.


Inks

Ink selection is extremely important for your print job. Not all inks work on every material. Inks can also be particular about the mesh count. If the mesh count is too high or too low it could result in a poor print. I think that with as many colors of inks there are in the world there are just as many categories. That’s an exaggeration of course, but there are still quite a few you will encounter during your screen printing career. Some of the categories you will see are general purpose, low bleed, and super opaque. General purpose inks are generally used for for printing on 100% cotton. If you want to use a multi-purpose ink on another type of material, you will more than likely need to print an under lay.

Low bleed inks are best used for printing on 100% polyester materials or dye migrating garments like athletic apparel. Super opaque inks are high opacity inks designed for maximum coverage on dark colored garments.


After making a decision on those important factors the rest is up to you! Getting into the groove of printing, running your print shop, how you design the artwork - all of that is personal preference and that’s something we couldn’t give you a definitive guide on. The elements outlined in this post were to give you some basic knowledge and get you started. If you want any more details about the process, we highly recommend you attend our Screen Printing 101 class. The people who teach the class are highly knowledgeable, hands-on and excited about sharing this process with you.

Now, it’s time for you to get printing!

Back to the Basics: Elements of Design and the Screen Printing Process

posted by Mary Yaeger - Texsource - 4/28/2017

So, you’re looking for the key to screen printing success, huh? To find it you have to get back to the core of what design is. Great design comes from knowing and understanding the fundamentals - mainly the elements and principles of design.

In this post, we will explain the elements of design. Keep an eye out for part two where we will discuss the principles of design! Understanding the fundamentals of design will give you a competitive edge in your screen printing as well. Although some of these elements may seem only applicable to the artwork itself, it also applies to how your prints get set up.

A Super Brief History of Screen Printing 

Screen printing as a method for creating an image was first discovered in China and Japan in early centuries. Around 1860, was the first time screen printing was used on textiles. England started the trend and France shortly followed. It wasn’t until the United States used screen printing for an industrial purpose that the industry developed for business use. With technological and political advances (especially in the art world), influencers like Andy Warhol began using screen printing as an artform. In today’s society, screen printing is not only a large industry, it is a well respected art form.

So, What the Heck are the Elements of Design? 

The elements of design are structural values that were first created to give a visual explanation of the arts. They became a new formal vocabulary that was developed during the industrial and technological revolutions in the art world during the 19th century. Eventually they became established as the foundation for good design. In today’s world, they are meant to be used as a tool for up and coming artists (especially in formal design schools), but not everyone goes to get their 4 year degree in the arts, so the elements of design have more or less been forgotten. But, there is power in understanding these values. That power is having the ability to make sense of trends and even allow you to predict new ones. Below, we have defined the 6 elements of design. Going a step further, you will begin to see the relevance to the screen printing industry.


The 6 Elements of Design

Line

This is probably the most fundamental element in design as it is considered the beginning of artistic creation. Lines are versatile - they can be implied, continuous or broken. They can be short, long, vertical, horizontal, curved or diagonal. They can be any width and some have texture.

Shape

Shapes are the forms that come from the combination of lines (see again why lines are so fundamental?). Shapes then become your subject matter and are defined by boundaries (implied or otherwise) like color and texture.

Form

Form is usually described as a three dimensional object. Why? Forms can be measured - height, width and depth. Being a 3D object means that it is also defined by light. Light creates shadows and faces of the object. There are two main forms - geometric (man-made) and organic (in nature).

This is the perfect example of trend prediction. Something fairly new with screen printing is the use of 3D modeling technology. Now, 3D printers have been out for years, but have only recently started getting used in an “arts and crafts” and fashionable setting. First it started with jewelry and now printers are starting to create 3D models and apply them to the shirts. After the model is applied to the shirt, then ink is applied over top of the 3D model.

Space

Space is what determines how objects interact with one another. Space is the concept that concerns how people perceive a piece of artwork. Even in two dimensional pieces, you can create the illusion of three dimensions.

Space and form tend to work hand-in-hand. When printing a shirt, especially one with a scene of some kind, it is important to make sure that you have good color separation and that you print in the same order every time. Printing a shirt in the Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black order is going to yield different results than a Magenta, Yellow, Black, Cyan order. Not having good color separation or print order means that the illusion of a 3D space that you tried printing won’t read right to the viewer. Software products such as Separation Studio can aid in the color separation process.

Color

Color plays one of the biggest roles in design - especially in screen printing. Color is created by the way our eyes interpret light. One of the most important roles color plays is creating a visual impact which can draw in or repel interest of the viewer. Depending on the type of reaction you were wanting for your print determines the colors you should consider using. Color sets the tone for scenes and ultimately is the first thing someone is bound to notice.

When it comes to screen printing, color is usually discussed in terms of CMYK which is short for Cyan, Magenta (which doesn't exist), Yellow and Black - this is also known as a 4 color process. This process was developed to reproduce full-color artwork when printed on white; however, variations of the primary colors are visible when printed in various densities if you chose to print on a shirt other than white.

Texture 

Texture is fun because it is defined as the way something feels or the way that people perceive it to feel. Texture can be added (just like color) to attract or repel interest. Now, I want to go back to some of the earlier elements that were mentioned - Line and Space. In the shirt concept below, you can see how lines were applied to create the illusion of bone texture. In regards to space, you can see how this is clearly an illusion. We know that there REALLY aren't any bones, a heart, and more bones hanging on this shirt (that would be plain creepy), but the way that it was printed represents a skeleton. Adding texture is what finalizes a piece by bringing all of the concepts together. A good way to generate a similar texture would be using a puff additive.