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Why Choose Screenprinting?
While the image clarity and color richness of screenprinting is significant compared to other forms of printing, it is the considerable durability of screenprinted decals and labels that makes it the best choice for many applications and environments. In this section, you'll learn a little about screenprinting, and find out what sets Signcraft apart from its competitors.
About Screenprinting
The screenprinting technique is used on tens of thousands of items, including decals, vehicle wraps, and many other products.
Screenprinting, as indicated by the name, begins with the assembly of a high-quality screen. Our handmade screens are built of a piece of a finely-woven mesh stretched over an aluminum frame. Areas of the screen are blocked off with a non-permeable material to form a stencil, which is a negative of the image to be printed; ink passes through the permeable areas of the screens.
Before ink is applied to the screen, the screen and frame must go through a "pre-press" process. In this process, an emulsion is applied across the mesh and an exposure unit burns away the unnecessary emulsion, leaving behind a clean area in the mesh with the identical shape as the desired image. The last process in pre-pressing is blocking out any unwanted "pin-holes" in the emulsion. If these holes are left in the emulsion, the ink will continue through and leave unwanted marks. We are meticulous in our production, ensuring you receive only the best results.
Our industrial screenprinters use a blade called a squeegee to rapidly move the mesh down to the substrate and push the squeegee to the rear of the screen. The ink that is in the mesh opening is squeezed by capillary action to the surface of the item being printed. The resulting ink deposit is proportional to the thickness of the mesh. The squeegee moves toward the rear of the screen, and the tension of the mesh pulls the mesh up away from the printed surface, leaving a clean, precise application of the ink.
Screens can be re-used after cleaning. However, if a design is no longer needed, the screen is recycled, and cleared of all emulsion to be used again. The recycling process involves removing the ink from the screen, then applying a stencil remover. Emulsion is then washed out using a pressure washer.
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