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!

Choosing the Right Inks for Shirt Materials

posted by Melissa Crawford - Texsource - 5/20/2017

I have a shirt made out of Exotic Space Martian Silk - what is the best ink to use for this?

While this isn't exactly a question we get every day here at Texsource, it does help illustrate the point that many people (especially those who may be new to the screen printing process) have questions about exactly which type of ink to use for a certain type of shirt material (or 'substrate').  I am going to attempt to clear the smoke from the subject and bring things into focus!

COTTON
Ah, the granddaddy of them all, cotton is by far the most common material for tshirts.  It is a light, durable, soft, and economical fabric that is versatile to printing / coloring.  There are also sub-settings for cotton such as combed cotton, organic cotton, pima/supima cotton, and slub cotton.  Most of these sub categories have to do with the length of the fibers or how the fabric is woven.  In the case of organic cotton, it is different mostly in how it is grown, harvested, and processed in a more environmentally aware method.  The difference in these can be felt by the hand as either softer or more textured than other types.  Combed cotton uses a process in manufacturing that causes it to have a smoother feel than other types.

INKS TO USE
Most any general purpose ink will work well with any cotton fabric.  This would be the Texsource GEN Series inks, the Union Maxopake inks, the International Coatings 700 series inks, or the Triangle 1100 Multipurpose series inks.

LINEN
Like cotton, linen is grown and processed, in this case from the flax plant.  It is lightweight, moisture wicking, and has a textured weave feel.  Linen is durable, but gets softer with multiple washings.  It is an easy fabric to print, but can wrinkle more easily which may require more frequent ironing.


INKS TO USE
Same as cotton, most general purpose inks will work well with linen fabrics.  Mesh counts may need to be adjusted and some detail may be lost as linen has a tendency to be woven more 'loosely' than cotton.

POLYESTER
An entire series of articles could be written just on printing polyester shirts.  In short, polyester is a synthetic material that many still associate with the flamboyant disco fashions of the 70s.  It gained popularity as a material that could be washed, pulled, worn, and generally could take all kinds of abuse yet still maintain a smooth, wrinkle-free appearance.  It does not mold or mildew and is resistant to shrinking or stretching.  It is often seen in athletic apparel.  Polyester is often a trouble fabric for many screen printers because polyester must be sublimated or dyed to have any color.  That is, a green polyester shirt has been 'dyed' green in a heating or dyeing process.  When screen printing, the temperature that you need to cure your ink in the dryer is often higher than the material can hold its dye at.  Such a temperature will cause the polyester to 'release' the dye, which can cause a problem known as dye migration.  This is when the color of the shirt 'bleeds' into the color you printed.  To prevent this, you can use a 'blocker'-type ink as an underbase (a light grey is usually the best choice, but others use simply white).  You can then more safely print your colors without the fear of such dye migration issues.

More recently a relatively new type of ink, silicone ink, has been introduced that specifically combats this problem.  Silicone inks can typically cure fully at a much lower temperature than standard plastisol (around 260-270 degrees rather than 300-320).  This is often lower than the dye release point on most quality polyester materials thus eliminating dye migration issues.  Silicone ink has a very soft feel (called 'hand') and is extremely flexible, virtually eliminating cracking.  It is becoming a very in-demand ink for athletic uniforms.

INKS TO USE
Use a good underbase such as International Coatings Guardian Gray or Blocker Gray.  For ink, consider Texsource Poly inks, Union Poly inks, International Coatings 7100 series inks, or Triangle 1700 Low Bleed series inks.  If considering some of the new silicone ink products, try Rutland Silextreme inks.

LYCRA / SPANDEX
It may have seen its heyday among the slew of 80s heavy metal rockers, but lycra (spandex) has seen new life more recently as athletic wear such as yoga pants and tops, swimwear, and even casual shirts / tops.  It has found a home in athletic wear mainly due to its ability to easily stretch greatly while being resistant to wrinkles.  As lycra has great stretchability, a stretch additive is recommended.


INKS TO USE
General purpose inks will serve you well on most lycra/spandex substrates, but you will need a stretch ink additive such as the Union Unistretch 9160.  When printing a white color on pure black lycra, you may get better results using a poly white ink such as the Rutland Super Poly White ink or International Coatings 7113 Athletic White ink.

RAYON
Rayon is made from purified cellulose, mainly from wood pulp.  Because it is chemically converted into a compound, it is considered a semi-synthetic fiber.  It is well known as a popular replacement for silk.  When woven or knitted it is a silky, breathable fabric common in athletic wear.  Rayon does not hold up as well to prolonged wear and can more easily wrinkle.

INKS TO USE
Because Rayon is a semi-synthetic material, you may find some testing is necessary for best printing.  Much will depend on the percentage of rayon in the material.  If adhesion is an issue, you may want to add a catalyst such as Union Nylobond or International Coatings Nylon Bonding Agent.  On materials that use less rayon, you may use most general purpose plastisol inks.  Like lycra, you may want to test using poly inks when printing on darker colors.

NYLON
Nylon is a fully synthetic material that has found many uses in other applications including plastics, flooring, automotive, films, and more.  It is popular in shirt material for its excellent resistance to heat, is lightweight, and wrinkle resistant.  It also blends well with other materials.  Nylon is more prone to shrinking and is not as stain tolerant as other materials.  When using inks to print on nylon materials, a 'catalyst' should be mixed with the ink.  A catalyst works as a adhesive agent, particularly for extremely smooth surfaces.  When mixed properly, your ink / catalyst mixture will cure as normal and will be very resistant to peeling.


INKS TO USE
For a catalyst, use the International Coatings Nylon Bonding Agent, or the Union Nylobond catalyst as described in the inks for rayon shirts.  General purpose inks can be used on most colors, but light colors on dark fabrics may benefit from using low bleed poly inks.

BLENDS
Many shirts today are blended fabrics, sometimes with two, three, or four fabric types.   The most common you are likely to see as a screen printer would be the cotton polyester blend fabric.  Here is where some testing may be required as blends may be 50/50 or any other ratio.  Typically, general purpose inks may do well for most color fabrics, but as with 100% polyester shirts some dye migration or bleeding may occur, at which point you may want to consider a blocker underbase and / or poly inks.


INKS TO USE
Test using a combination of blocker inks such as International Coatings Guardian Gray or Blocker Gray.  Your general purpose inks such as Texsource GEN inks, the Union Maxopake inks, the International Coatings 700 series inks, or the Triangle 1100 Multipurpose series inks.  For poly ink, consider Texsource Poly inks, Union Poly inks, International Coatings 7100 series inks, or Triangle 1700 Low Bleed series.

CONCLUSION
While this certainly isn't a complete listing of available materials that you might see in your screen printing shop, it is a list of the more common types you may encounter.  As always, testing is the key; get the first shirt right and approved before you begin your batch.  Taking shortcuts in the screen printing process can lead to lost customers and lost profits.  Experimentation can often lead to creative and valuable results, and this guide should serve as a great base from which to start your screen printing journey.  If you are looking for where to find some of these great screen printing inks and more, look no further than the Ink section on the Texsource website - all the screen printing supplies you need and every product mentioned in this article can be found right there, in stock, ready to go!  #printlife