Screen printing - what is it? This is a specific type of print. Its main feature is an interesting way of applying paint to a material. It is squeezed out through a stencil through small cells of a special mesh.
Screen printing - what is it? This is a widely demanded and unique technology that allows drawing on any souvenir products (pillows, pens, t-shirts, etc.).
Benefits
The silk screen printing method allows you to not only create unique objects. The technology demanded in modern conditions significantly expands the range of services provided. Silk screen patterns are much juicier and brighter, and colors are sharper. The main advantage of the unique method is the ability to produce products in small runs, applying images to any surface. The work is quite simple and has a low cost.
Appearance story
Screen printing - what is it? The term "serigrafia" includes two roots. Translated from Greek, they mean "silk" and "image" (scripture). The very origin of the word "silk-screen printing" speaks of work that is associated with the decoration of silk fabric or its use. According to some sources, it is believed that this technology first appeared in China. The version is based on the fact that it was in this country one thousand two hundred years BC. began to produce silk. However, concrete evidence of this has not yet been found.
Some historical facts indicate that the basics of silk-screen printing were discovered by the Phoenicians. These people extracted purple from the secretion of the gland of one of the types of mollusk. The substance has a red color, and was used to decorate materials. The technology was not based on a manual method. She was acceleratingly repeating. The ancient method is fundamentally different from the modern one. It can be described as the application of simple drawings using special stamps (matrices).
Technology improvement
Significant improvements to the screen printing method occurred in subsequent centuries. The fact is that printing with a stamp had a number of drawbacks. The main one was a small layer of pigment when using absorbent and thick tissues. Around the period from 1185 to 1333 in the city of Kamakura, which was the capital of Japan at that time , craftsmen decorated jewelry for horses and armor of the samurai. Initially, a simple screen-printing method was used to apply the patterns. Then a brilliant innovation was launched - the applied image was pasted onto a special mesh made in the form of a frame with human hair fixed on it. This method allowed to fully transfer the pattern to the fabric. The human hair pressed by a swab dipped in pigment on the material was completely invisible.
World popularity
By the second half of the XVIII century. A unique technology for displaying dye on fabrics has become popular in many countries. Screen printing has become widespread in Europe. Unique wallpapers began to be produced in France and England. American craftsmen decorated metal products, walls, furniture and fabrics.
Over time, the material for the manufacture of the "printed frame" was not human hair, but silk threads. A big step in the development of silk-screen printing was a patent registered in 1907 by a certain Simon. He invented a new screen printing method. According to the new invention, the drawing began to be carried out through silk fabrics. This guaranteed greater stability of tension, dimensional stability, and also allowed the use of rubber rollers.
The technology of screen printing acquired a modern look from the thirties to the fifties of the last century. Since that time, silk-screen printing began to be used to apply a picture to any type of fabric. Using a unique method, posters and postcards, labels, and even license plates for cars began to be created.
Screen printing is widely used today. The possibilities of this printing method are multifaceted. This allows the use of silk-screen printing in printing houses, as well as in electronic and textile, glass and ceramic, automotive and many other industries.
New opportunities
Screen printing - what is it? This is a unique way to get multi-color and high-quality photos and images on metal, porcelain and fabric products. When using the traditional method, expensive, bulky equipment and a fairly large experience are needed.
More recently, a new technology was introduced into the
CIS countries from America, which immediately became very popular. With this method, silk screen printing, made at home, is available.
What do you need?
Screen printing equipment includes a computer and a printer, a scanner and a digital camera, as well as special accessories. In that case, if you know how to draw well, computer technology is not needed.
Drawing
The whole process consists of two stages. The first of them should prepare a negative image. The next step is to transfer the drawing to the product.
For the first stage of the technological process, it is necessary to print the desired image on a printer or draw it on a sheet of paper. Then the screen film is pasted onto the sketch. A workpiece thus prepared is placed for several minutes in a special frame in sunlight or under a UV lamp.
At the next stage of the technological process, the film is placed in water, rinsed and excess coating is removed from its surface with a soft brush. The resulting wet negative must be dried on a cloth or napkin under the sun or an ultraviolet lamp.
In the next step, the image is transferred to the selected item. In
this case, the negative is tightly applied to the product, and paints are applied with a special spatula made of plastic material. To work, you will need to purchase a kit that includes an exposure frame, five ordinary A4 sheets, the same amount of paper for applying a higher resolution image, and a plastic spatula. If you want to use screen printing for profit, you will need to organize a larger production.
In this case, you will need to purchase special equipment. In addition to a computer and a black-and-white printer, there will be a purchase of a silk-screen machine (in order to save money, it can be done independently), an exposure camera, and a cutter. It will also take some components (squeegee cuvette and frames, paints, etc.).
Print media
Inks for silk-screen printing are currently produced at Russian enterprises centrally. They are classified according to the type of film-forming and sealed material. For the nomenclature of such paints, digital and letter designations are used. Marking of paints of foreign manufacturers differs from domestic. However, it is also expressed using numbers and letters. When applying inks for silk-screen printing, you should adhere to the recommendations given by the manufacturer.
What conditions exist for high-quality application of a unique print? Paints should have good fluidity, but not be too liquid. This will allow the material to be easily applied to the product, passing through the tissue cells. In this case, the paint should act in such a way that the process of bonding the substrate and the screen form does not occur.
In silk-screen printing, there is another important concept. It is called "paint coverage." What is meant by this? For example, when applying white paint to a black product, the original (black) color should not be visible from under the pattern. This concept is directly related to the dullness, that is, the opacity of the paint.