There are a few basic tools you will need for screen printing. Plastisol ink, a mesh screen, and a stencil are the three main materials. Screen printing was developed in China during the Song dynasty, when artists wove human hair to form a fine mesh and pushed ink through it onto silks. Today, screen printers use heat guns and automatic presses. Read on to learn about screen printing tools.
Once you have made the stencil, the next step is to place the stenciled screen onto a printing board. Using a squeegee, the ink is forced through the stencil openings and into the product underneath. Repeat this process with each item to create a different pattern. After the screen has dried, the product is inspected for quality. If it is perfect, the printer may apply plastisol ink on the shirt using the stencil.
To create a screen print, you need to first prepare an acetate sheet with a design. Once the acetate sheet has been printed, you place it onto the mesh screen that has been coated with emulsion. The mesh screen has to be exposed to strong light, so you need to use a bright light. As the ink dries, you’ll need to clean the screen before printing. Afterwards, you can reuse the stencil again.
Screen printing has evolved from an ancient art form. Chinese artisans began using a similar technique in around 950AD. In the same century, Japanese artisans used a stiff brush to apply art to fabric and push ink through a mesh made of human hair. The process continued to evolve and became popular in Europe during the 18th century, and it became widespread in that continent. The silk Road, however, made fabric more affordable. So screen printing was soon spreading throughout the world.
A manual screen printing press is used by most commercial screen printers. It holds a screen and t-shirt simultaneously. A manual screen printing press is typically shaped like a clamshell and holds one stencil at a time. Automated presses are available as well, with arms that can hold multiple screens. They can cost from eighty dollars to several thousand. To create your own screen printing equipment, you’ll need mesh screens. Mesh screens have a specific mesh count, which is measured in hundreds or thousands. For cotton t-shirts, a standard mesh count is 156. Alternatively, you can use a thicker thread or even white or yellow.
As a print medium, screen printing has many benefits. Its speed and ease of use make it an ideal choice for large-scale printing. It is also cost-effective, as the more you print, the more money you can save. Aside from being affordable, screen printing is an effective way to create repeat prints of designs. It is also very easy to automate and the tools required are not expensive to replace. Its many advantages make it the perfect choice for companies that need to reproduce the same design over. For more details on screen printing visit https://www.tacomaprinting.net/.