Silkscreen printing may be an unfamiliar printing method for t-shirts to many, but did you know it’s actually one of the oldest t-shirt printing techniques in Singapore?
If you ever own custom t-shirts, you’d have wondered what are silkscreen prints? You’re not alone! For starters, silkscreen prints are one of the printing methods where ink is printed directly onto the t-shirts or apparel.
The custom t-shirts printed via silkscreen printing are generally durable and long-lasting. These types of prints can withstand many rounds of washing, allowing apparel that is customized with silkscreen prints to last for many years. However, bear in mind that the durability of this type of custom t-shirt may vary based on usage and intensity of activities such as sports use which may result in friction and abrasion. In such cases, the durability of these silkscreen prints will be affected.
It is by far one of the oldest methods of T-shirt printing in the world, yet producing one of the highest quality types of t-shirts out there.
How is silkscreen printing done?
To understand why silkscreen prints are so durable, you have to know how they are produced.
The first step in the silk screen printing process involves the creation of a ‘screen’. This is done by using UV light to transfer the desired design onto a woven mesh board, with other parts of the board blocked by an ink-blocking stencil. Nylon mesh on stencil will have your desired design on it, covering parts of the mesh screen where you do not want the ink to seep through and leaving design area parts uncovered to allow ink to seep through the tiny holes in the mesh, which eventually forms your ink printed custom t-shirt.
To create the design area for printing on the stencil, we first need to cover the mesh screen with photographic emulsion. A transparency film with your design printed in black will have to be placed on the stencil.
Design printed on the film will be exactly how your custom t-shirt prints will turn out. After exposure to UV light, the stencil will be washed out preferably by a jet spray and your design area will be revealed on the screen.
Once done, the real work starts now. A ready stencil will be placed above the custom t-shirt print area. Next, you’d have to flood some ink onto the screen, and then use a squeegee to press down and ensure that the ink spreads evenly across the screen. Excess ink will be wiped away, and the screen is finally taken off with the design you’re printing. That’s it!
Why choose silkscreen printing?
Silkscreen printing is a traditional and popular method to print on different materials – from t-shirts designs to apparel such as tote bags. This is a process where images are created through a type of stencil process. The artwork is separated into different colors, then screens are burned with all
different color separations. Most importantly, choosing this method of printing results in a custom t-shirt with higher fidelity results in more vibrant colors which are harder for other printing techniques to replicate. Silkscreen printing also allows for sharper, cleaner and refined details.
Sign in to leave a comment.