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Friday, May 19, 2017

Pros And Cons Of The Screen Printing Process

By Michael Reed


Nowadays, there are already a lot of technology advancements in printing including screen printing. In this type of process, the blade will be squeezed to a paste which is passing to the screen that opens to the fabric. Any type of medium can be used including metals, nylon, papers, plastic, fabrics, cotton, paper boards, and glass. Posters, labels, electronic boards, textiles, and signages are very common materials being produced.

Advantages. Longer lasting. The composition and the thickness of the inks are the main reasons for the durability of this process of Maryland screen printing. And because of this, the designs being placed with the use of this method have the ability of withstanding much more stress. Thus, better if compared to others without the loss of any quality of print.

Big orders friendly. Due to screen fabrication which is required in this method for each color used in a particular artwork, this could be best reserved for some large orders. So the more garments will be placed in orders, the cheaper will be the cost of each unit. Great finish. Vibrant colors will be produced and these could be hard to replicate using other techniques.

More ink. With this process, you can be allowed of having greater ink thickness rather than other methods. And this will surely result to having bigger possibilities that a perfectly made piece can be done. Versatility. Screen method for printing is a very versatile technique and you can surely find it hard to look for other methods with an equal level of versatility as this. Example of surfaces used include flat, fabric, metal, plastic, and wood.

Straightforward. Regardless of the changes in the operations, either doing it by hand or automatically through a machine, processes are still the same. Another advantage is replacing the tools easily. These are not considered as obsolete tools like what other technologies are.

Disadvantages. Not recommended for smaller orders. As being mentioned above, this printing process will need a lot of preparations compared to the other techniques before the production. And thus, not considering it as a suitable process for an on demand printing. On demand means creating the item right after the order has been made.

Higher costs for using more colors. Each color is being made with separate screens each and this could be hassle. Thus, having much colorful designs may involve some complicated processes which also a reason for price increase. So it would be recommended to choose simpler designs with lesser tones, while maintaining its attractiveness.

It is not environmentally friendly. Even if a lot of efforts have already been made for creating eco friendly screens and inks, there is still this reality in which the method is still wasting so much water. Water is one main ingredient for the mixtures of inks and for cleaning the screens. This problem may still continuously increase due to the thousands of productions every day.

Relative complexity. This may sound similar to a contradiction. However, the method might be quite complex but it depends upon the project and design. It is because it involves much more steps than the other methods.




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