What is screen printing? Everything you need to know

Do you have a textile or advertising company? Then you must continue reading. Screen printing came to stay in the world and never expire. However, what is screen printing? Here we are going to tell you what you need to know about it.

What is screen printing?

In a few words screen printing is a printing method that allows images to transfer from a mesh with ink to any material. Since its discovery until today, it lets express designs ranging from clothing to an advertising berry.

The word serigraphy which is screen printing comes from the Latin sericum. It means silk and from the Greek word graphe, which means to engrave or draw.  So, serigraphy consists of the technique of printing or stamping a fabric, using a mesh and ink.

One of the peculiarities of screen printing is that it has a repetitive system. When a model is ready it can be reproduced hundreds of times. And no matter how many repetitions it does, it doesn’t lose its quality

What is screen printing used for?

As we mentioned before, screen printing is a stamping design technique. These designs can print on: caps, t-shirts, uniforms, advertising posters, and all kind of fabric printing. Also, in the printing of signage plates and control boards.

Besides, the use of this technique is extended to any type of printing on fabric. Its use is very diverse and allows us to reproduce our designs on a large scale, such as a T-shirt with a cartoons print. It is widely used in advertising works and designs and prints of T-shirts and allows the printing of:

• Labels
• Printed on textile materials.
• To print on specific plastics.
• Prints on leather, cardboard, aluminum and fabric.
• To make billboards.
• In the manufacture and marking of electronic devices.
• Labeling, notices and logos in the automotive industry.

What is the technique based on?

The first thing to do is tighten the mesh with the frame so that when applying the ink it can be fixed on the material to be screen printed. Then, it is recommended to use a frame preferably square and rigid. In this way, when applying on the design it does not get out of adjustment and cause damage to what you want to capture.

Then, we apply ink on the mesh and the technique is pressed to make it perfect. These types of machines are used to stamp images or phrases on T-shirts and others.

You can see an example of this clicking here . There we see how it is pressed on the mesh. In this case, the design is the letter A. As you can see, the design has open and closed areas. The open areas are where the ink will be transferred and the closed ones are those that are not of use or an important example click here.

Where does screen printing come from?

Screen printing, more specifically its techniques came from ancient China. Some historians point out that the first to carry them out were natives of the island of Fiji, approximately in the year 3000 B.C. They used gaping banana leaves to distribute the inks.

One of the first serigraphs were advertising posters in the United States around 1916. Guy Maccoy pioneered the use of this technique with artistic utility, his serigraphy took place in 1932. Although in 1938 the first exhibition on serigraphy was held specifically in a gallery.

This technique catapulted into the United States. It happened by the development of photography and chemicals. Its rise is due to the versatility it has to print on many materials. Today, there are hundreds of articles made using the screen printing methodology.

Could I do any?

The answer to that is yes. Everyone can do it with creativity into practice. Of course, you also will need the instruments and learn the technique properly. We can read this post where we explain how to do it at home.

You can see this video. Here you have a tutorial of the entire process for a practical screen printing. If you need profesional help we will be happy to guide you in this process. You only have to contact us. In T-shirts Florida we are lovers to this technique.