Introduction of Silk-screen of promotional gift Technology

Screen Printing

Screen printing is the technology of printing ink on the objects through the mesh screen. Compared with convex, flat, concave this three major printing, screen printing is more extensive and more merits. Therefore, the types of ink and printing materials are also increasing. Further more, silk screen is widely used during the production of printing logo on gifts, like silicone power balance bracelet, leather keychain, etc.

- screen printing it is not limited by the size and shape of substrates, it can print on any mold in different shapes no mater it is uneven surface or convex surface.

- Screen printing is the kind of printing with the minimum pressure but its printed surface is of soft and elastic.

- Screen printing has thick inking with strong adhesion. The thickness of printing can reach to 30-100μm with a particularly large-ranged cover percent, its graphic has a strong third dimension, and its method of printing is unmatched by others (its ink thickness can be controlled as well.) – It can use  all types of ink because of its wide adaptability so tat it can adapt to any kind of paint for printing, such as oil, water, synthetic resin type, powder and other inks. As long as the oil and coatings which can mesh through a mesh fineness of inks that can be used. It can print monochrome but you also can color printing and processing network for color printing.

- Screen printing has a strong performance of fast light: it can easily put light-fastness pigments and fluorescent pigments into the ink, so that the graphic prints will own the permanent bright without the impact of temperature , sunlight, and even glow in the night.

 - It has the functions of convenient plate with cheap cost, diverse flexible printing and the easy mastered technology.

Screen printing is widely used in the electronics industry on membrane switch.

Screen printing process: the original screen version→ bottom plate printing →silk-screen→ plate burning → drying → printing → drying → inspection → finished print product

The basic method of printing:

First, direct printing

Direct printing is directly printing on the white fabric or pre-dyed fabric printing. The latter referred to overprinting. Of course, the color prints has a dark colour than the background staining. Hereby, large number of common printing methods are direct printing.

Second, discharge printing

Discharge printing is finished by two steps, first step, dyeing the fabric color; the second step is printed pattern on the fabric.

Third, resist printing

There are two period process of resist printing：

(1) printed chemical agent or wax resin on white fabric which can stop or prevent the fabric dye penetrate into the textile.

 (2) Piece dyeing fabrics. The aim is to dye the background white to bring out the pattern. Note that the results is same discharge printing fabric, however, the methods is the opposite with discharge printing.

The application of resist printing method is not common, it usually is used when the background can only be used when the background could no be discharged. Comparing with the large-scale production, most of resist printings are acchived by hand-printing, such as arts and crafts (such as wax resist printing) .

Fourth, pigment printing

Instead of using cloth dye, coating has been extensive used, and people began to stamp it as an independent way. Paint pigment printing is direct printing, the printing process is often called dry method, as distinguished from wet printing (or dye printing.)

By comparing the hardness of the same piece of fabric which is not printed on with the printing area, we can distinguish clearly about the differentiated pigment printing and dye printing. Pigment printing will be harder than not printing area, maybe may be it will be a little thicker. If the fabric is printed with a dye, its printing position and non-printing area will not existing the significant difference of hardness.

Pigment printing is the most inexpensive way of production printing because the coating is relatively simple, the process required at least, usually do not require steaming and washing. Paint a bright, rich colors, is available for all textile fibers. Their light fastness and good resistance to dry cleaning fastness, or even be called good, it is widely used for decorative fabrics, curtain fabrics and the need for dry cleaning fabric. In addition, almost no paint on the fabric in different batches have a greater color and background color when printing in the hood is also very good coverage.

Coating makes the printing area in fabric feel stiff, this situation is not clear when colour is light, but dark colour will be very prominent. Coating is particularly wear-resistant, especially in the dark. However, dark-colored paint should be avoiding to be particularly fabrics such as furniture.

How the distinction between spot color printing, and other colors?

1. What is the four-color printing?

Four-color printing process generally refers to the use of yellow, magenta, blue RGB color ink and black ink for copying all the original color of the printing process.

2. What is a spot-color printing?

   Spot color printing is the use of other colors expect of yellow, magenta, green black ink color ,four-color black ink. Copying the original printing process, often used in packaging and printing spot-color printing process is usually used in printing color in large area.

3. What products must use four-color printing process?

    Way with the color photography taken a variety of color changes reflect the nature of the photographs, the artist's works of art or other color contain many different colors of the screen. Considering of the process on the request or because of economic considerations that must go through Electronic color scanner scans color or color desktop, and then four-color printing process used to copy complete.

4. What kind of product will use spot color printing?

    Packaging or the cover of books often use a different color or a regular uniform color and text color gradients. These colors and texts can be used after separation from four-color ink overprint, spot-color ink can also be deployed , And then only printed in the same color at a particular spot color ink. After considering improving overprint print quality and save the number of cases, sometimes we should use spot color printing. 

5. What is the difference of spot color printing and four-color overprint on the visual effect?

    Deployment of spot-color printing is based on pigment ink out of subtractive color and to obtain them by mixing principle. The lower brightness color, its saturation was high: the special color ink usually printed on the ground, and appropriately increase the amount of ink When the layout of ink film thickness is large, the ink film thickness changes the degree of color change will reduce the sensitivity, likely evenly to get ink, solid print results.

6. From aspects of the perspective of improving product quality, what kind of products suitable for use spot color printing?  

Based on a large light-colored uniform in color printing, we usually use the original ink: to deploy special agents in light colored ink, then printed on-site, so that thicker layers of ink is easier to get solid results. If using four-color printing, you must use the number of low cost flat screen network. However, the number of flat-screen low-cost network printing down easily be resulting in uneven ink.

7. From the economic point of view, what kind of products is suitable to use spot color printing?

    From the economic point of view, it is mainly depends on the use of spot color printing weather can save the overlay times or not. Because overlay can be saved by reducing the number of printing costs.

8. Weather a same product can be used four-color printing and spot color printing?

    If both products of the screen picture color level, there are large areas of background color, the color level can adopt screen part of the four-color printing, and the color in large area can be spot-color printing. The benefit of this action is: four-color printing part of the screen by controlling the site density can be restored correctly, some background color to increase the amount of ink through the proper uniform can be obtained solid ink visual effects. This method is high-end packaging products and printing stamps is frequently used in production, but due to increase in the number and color, it also increases the cost of making the printing plate.

9. While using four-color printing process, how to plate thick ink if there is a large area of black spot, black spot more conducive to?

Using four-color printing process, in order to ensure that the correct restore order harmonic colors, each color of ink thickness should be strictly controlled. Usually in four-color printing, black-site density is less than 1.8, the density of printing in such a large area of black on the ground, will cause the lack of solid visual effects. Force method is commonly used in large parts of the black spot which is 40% of the green overprint. it will be more solid visual effects, field trapping a small amount of black, blue, or black from the hue point of view, Originally printed in only one color black on white paper.For more information, please visit www.top-customized.com