Screen printing is a very common technique of creating high-quality, durable prints on any substrate. Advanced printing method on fabric, paper, or any other material, rich colors can give a new touch to your work and enhance your prints. Here in this article, we are presenting the most important techniques and best practices in achieving the whitest and most durable colors in Professional screen printing.
Understanding Screen Printing Basics
With no proper knowledge of the fundamentals of online screen printing, its higher-level techniques cannot be employed. The process is the forcing of the ink through a mesh screen into a substrate by way of a stencil to close off areas where the ink is not supposed to move. Rich colors are achieved dependent upon a series of factors that involve the quality of ink, mesh count, tension of the screen, and curing process.
Selecting Suitable Inks
The type of ink is a key factor in color vibrancy. Some of the basic types of ink are listed below:
Plastisol Ink – Plastisol ink is famous for its gloss and level of opacity and sits on the textile rather than being absorbed, hence the colors become very shiny.
Water-Based Ink – gentler and more environmentally friendly, water-based inks must be thoroughly cured to ensure that they can hold up to brightness.
Discharge Ink – This ink overwrites the material’s dye and introduces fresh pigment, creating full-color prints on dark colors.
For the best results, utilize high-quality inks with good pigmentation to maintain bright colors and reduce their likelihood of fading out.
Optimizing Screen Mesh and Tension
Mesh tension and mesh count on the screen provide a significant contributor to the depositing of the ink onto the substrate. Proper utilization of the screen mesh contributes to good color and detail.
Lower Mesh Counts (80-110) – Suitable for under base printing and heavier inks, where a higher amount of ink can be allowed to pass through to achieve higher opacity.
Medium Mesh Counts (160-200) – Ideal for overall design with good ink flow and balance of detail.
Higher Mesh Counts (230-305) – Ideal for detailed work and halftones but may require multiple passes to develop rich color payoff.
Even screen tension helps ensure even application of ink, which avoids uneven prints and lack of vibrancy of color.
Using Underbase Layers for Maximum Brightness
To get colors to pop on dark-colored shirts, an under base can come in handy. This is done by printing a white or light-colored under base first and then printing the actual colors of the design. The under base serves as a primer to prevent the shirt from taking too much ink and the design appearing pale.
For best performance:
Use a high-opacity white ink as the under base.
Flash cure the under base coat before printing more colors.
Keep good registration to avoid registration issues.
Layering and Curing for Durability
Slight layering of inks can achieve maximum brightness. Wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry layering techniques allow for uniform coating and color blending. Adequate curing is just as important to maintaining color strength and avoiding fading.
Heat Press or Conveyor Dryer Curing – Plastisol inks must be cured at around 320°F (160°C) to fully harden.
Water-Based Ink Drying – Slow drying and sometimes forced air dry or heat curing.
Proper Curing Test – A simple stretch test can be utilized to test whether the ink cured adequately on the garment.
Color Mixing and Pantone Matching
Proper color mixing is needed to provide consistent and bright colors. Pantone Matching System (PMS) guides are typically utilized by expert screen printers to aid in achieving the precision.
Utilize a Color Mixing Guide – This makes mixed colors bright and batch-to-batch consistent.
Add Opaque White for Pastels – The use of opaque white to lighten colors instead of transparent base maintains colors bright.
Use Fluorescent Pigments for Vibrant Colors – Adding neon or fluorescent pigments will make your prints more intense.
Equipment Maintenance and Consistency
Regular screen, squeegee, and ink reservoir maintenance ensures consistent color brightness. Filthy or clogged screens will produce uneven ink laydown and impaired print quality.
Clean Screens Cleanly – Debris disrupts ink flow and color accuracy.
Replace Squeegees Regularly – A sharp, flat squeegee blade will yield uniform ink laydown.
Stir and Store Inks Properly – Settling of the pigment will have an effect upon color consistency and therefore stir inks prior to printing.
Vibrant screen print colors are achieved through a combination of quality inks, the right screen choice, layering, and curing methods. Get these right and maintain your equipment well, and you can look forward to bold prints that will remain so and endure. Whether you are a beginner or experienced screen printer, these best practices guarantee professional-looking prints every time.
