Screen Printing
A method of producing vibrant colours product with a non-duplicatable result that can be produced by other printing techniques. A design is normally imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh with blank areas coated with waterproof substance & inks are forced through the mesh onto the fabric.
Where a woven mesh is used to support an ink-blocking stencil, the latter forms an open area of mesh to allow inks to be transferred onto the substrate. Using a roller or squeegee on the screen stencil will then allow inks to past the threads of woven mesh in the open areas.
Technology
Two main issues faced by the traditional hand printing can be solved by machine printing.
As quality is one of the most valuable item in production, machine printing can resolve the problem of inks dropping after several washes of fabric. As a consistent & calculated pressure that will be imposed by machine printing, we can assure that the printing artwork will remain intact even after infinite numbers of washing.
Reducing costs and production time can also be achieved through machine printing as the latter has the ability to mass produce printed goods as compared to traditional hand printing. Mass production also indefinitely leads to the reduction of costs, bringing about a win-win situation.
Production
As fabrication of screen is required for every colour used in an artwork, a large quantity of production will bring about a cheaper cost per unit produced.
Having to create a new screen for each colour can bring about higher costs and hassle to production; thus it is explainable that colourful designs complicates the printing process leading to higher costs imposed to the production.
Nevertheless this explains why it is advisable to keep screen printing as simple and lesser tones if possible as we believe minimalist is perfection.
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