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what is screen print?

What is screen printing?

Screen printing or Silk printing is the oldest method of printing clothing that is still used today. The principle of printing is very simple: transferring ink through a stencil to the garment.

The origin of printing is in China and from there it reached Europe at the beginning of the 18th century. In ancient China, the production of the stencil was done by stretching silk fabric over a wooden frame and then pouring the closure of the areas that are not intended for printing with wax, and for this reason this printing method is called silk printing (another name for this printing is mesh printing because today it is customary to use polyester mesh instead silk).

The print itself was made by transferring color onto the fabric and thus only in areas that were not sealed with wax did the color transfer to the fabric.

Today, instead of wooden frames and silk fabric, a polyester net stretched over metal frames is used. The polyester nets come in different levels of density which affects the level of accuracy of the printing (in order to print graphics with small details we will use the high density net, if you want to know more about net density click here).

How is screen printing works?

Screen printing is a process of printing on a fabric or other material by using a mesh screen to block the ink. The screen is stretched tightly across the frame and ink is applied to the mesh.

The screen is then lifted out of the way and the fabric or other material is placed against it.

A squeegee, is then used to push the wet ink through the mesh onto the fabric. The process can be done by hand or with an automatic machine.

Motty Malka

With over ten years of experience in the field of t-shirt printing and after hundreds of satisfied customers, I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with you. Over the years I have experimented with most methods for printing shirts and clothing, some of which I use regularly in my workshop and some of which I have experimented with as part of my personal learning process.

Table of Contents

What is screen printing?

How is screen printing works?

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