screen printing services
The best way of printing onto most cotton clothing is screen printing.
Screen printing is ideal for large designs and is far more cost effective for large quantities
The Screen Printing Process explained
Screen printing or silk screening is a printing technique particularly suited for flat or relatively flat surfaces. The heart of the process involves a fine mesh or screen that is tightly stretched around a rigid frame. The areas that are not to be printed are masked out on the screen . To create the print, the framed screen is positioned over the item to be printed along with a dollop of thick ink. A squeegee is then used to press the ink through the screen.
The masked areas prevent ink from passing through, but the unmasked areas allow the ink to be imprinted on the material.
The final step is to send the item on a conveyor belt through a heat-tunnel. This curing process ensures that the inks dry quickly so that they materials can be stacked or packaged. Properly cured inks will remain on the printed substrate even under harsh conditions.
If more colors are desired in the final design, the process is repeated with different screens. Therefore, a design that requires four different colors would require four different screens. The screens are usually placed on a rotary press which allows the different color prints to be properly aligned or registered with each other.
There are a variety of ways that the screen can be masked. The most straightforward way is to apply masking fluid directly on the screen . This technique is suitable for simple one or two color graphics but is ineffective for more complex prints. For multicolor jobs, we often use photosensitive emulsions to create the masked areas. First, the design is created on a clear piece of plastic film. Meanwhile, a photosensitive coating is applied to the entire surface of the screen and then dried.
The film is placed on the prepared screen and they are exposed to bright light. After a period of time, the exposed areas can be washed off the screen with water which makes the screen ready to print.
Print Prices
When you place an order for screen printed clothing there are two charges:
Setup
The first is a setup charge which covers the cost of having the design made into a screen. This charge is 'one off' as the screen is stored for future use. Therefore, if you wanted to place another order in the future with the same design there would be no setup charge.
Screen print setup is charged at £20 per screen (ex VAT). One screen is required for each different design, and different screens are required for each colour printed, and each different location of printing. For example, a one colour front and back print requires two screens if the design on the front is different to the design on the back.
Per Screen/Per Colour
The second charge is a 'per screen' charge which applies to each item that is customised. This charge basically covers the cost of labour, materials and our other manufacturing overheads. The per screen charge is directly based on the number of items to be printed with the same design and applies to each screen:
| Printing charge - 1st Colour: (ex VAT) | per extra colour: (ex VAT) |
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