Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh stencil onto the shirt. Use it when the design has a few solid colours and you need more than a handful of the same shirt. One shirt with a photograph is usually a different method, covered below.
What screen printing is
A screen is a fine mesh stretched on a frame. The design is blocked out as a stencil, and ink is pulled across the mesh with a squeegee so it only passes through the open parts. Each solid colour needs its own screen. A two-colour logo is straightforward. A design with many colours costs more to set up, because each colour is another screen.
The print is then cured. Plastisol ink needs heat, usually around 160°C, so it sets into the fabric and survives washing. Some water-based inks dry in the air, and some still need heat before they are wash-fast. Curing is what makes the print last. A print that was not cured properly cracks or washes out.
How a run is printed
These are the steps a shirt goes through. You do not need to supply screens or ink.
- Artwork. Bold shapes and solid colours print cleanly. Very small text, fine lines and soft gradients are harder, because each colour is a separate stencil. If the design is going on a larger run, limit the palette.
- Colour separations. The artwork is split into one layer per colour. Those layers become the stencils.
- Registration. The screens are lined up so each colour lands in the same place. A test print is checked before the run starts.
- Printing. The shirt is held flat and the ink is pulled through the screen. Further colours are printed once the previous colour is ready for the next screen.
- Curing. The print is heated to the temperature that ink needs, then checked.
The mesh on the screen changes the result. A finer mesh holds smaller detail and lays down less ink. A coarser mesh lays down more ink, which suits a simple logo on a heavier fabric. That choice is made when the screens are made. You do not need to name a mesh count unless a previous print has to be matched.
Cotton, polyester and blends
Cotton takes screen ink readily and is the usual base for a standard tee. Polyester does not absorb ink the same way, and the dye in the fabric can move when the shirt is heated. It can be screen printed with ink made for that fabric. A photograph, or a design that has to look the same on cotton and polyester, is often a better job for direct-to-film. A blend sits between the two. The fabric listed on the product is what the method is matched to.
Screen printing compared with DTG and DTF
Screen printing is the method to choose when the design uses a few solid colours and you need more than a handful of shirts. Direct-to-garment printing (DTG) puts the design straight onto the cotton and suits small runs and photographs. Direct-to-film (DTF) prints onto a film that is then heat-pressed, which is the better fit for polyester and for a design that has to look the same on mixed fabrics. Send us the artwork and the quantity if you want a straight answer on which one will hold up.
A longer comparison is on DTF vs DTG vs screen printing.
When to choose it
Choose screen printing for a logo, a uniform, a club shirt or an event shirt when most of the order is the same design in a few colours. It is a weak first choice for a single shirt, a full-colour photograph, or a design that changes on every shirt. Names and numbers can still be added. The method depends on how many colours and how many shirts.
The same choice comes up for hoodies and caps. A simple chest logo on a run of hoodies is screen printing. A detailed print on one cotton hoodie is usually direct-to-garment.
How to order
Send the artwork and the quantity, or start from a shirt in the custom printed range. Say which colours are in the design, and whether the shirts have to match a fabric you already wear.
The workshop is at 17 Castlemaine Street, Coorparoo QLD 4151, open Monday to Friday 9:00am to 2:30pm and Saturday 9:30am to 11:30am. Same-day printing is cut off at 12:00 noon. Pickup details are on the Brisbane workshop page.
