screen printing and custom shirts

Screen Printing

In today’s digital era, screen-printed custom t-shirts are famous worldwide. They add colors to life and glamorize events. Custom t-shirts are prominent for unique screen printing ideas and promotional strategies. Let’s explore the benefits of screen printing, its types, process, and the nearby screen printing service in Dallas.

What Is Screen Printing?

It is a modern printing technique that transfers a print or design on a flat surface by pressing ink into a mesh. It is a versatile printing process used in different industries to decorate various materials, including canvas, banners, apparel, promotional items, brochures, and many more. 

In the production of custom t-shirts, screen printing is most popular technique than any other printing method. It is also known as Silk-Screen, Serigraphy, Screen, or serigraph printing. It is helpful because of the following benefits.

  • It is a versatile printing technique, and you can also get prints on glass, wood, plastic, and metal other than the commonly used surfaces, including fabric and paper.
  • You can achieve various intense colored designs on both light and dark-colored fabrics.
  • It can replicate the procedure many times, so using it commercially for large printing orders is better.
  • The prints are durable and long-lasting. It is different from vinyl prints which last for many years. However, the screen prints will remain fresh throughout the entire life of your shirt.

The Process of Screen Printing [4-Steps]

Below are the steps involved in all screen printing methods.

Step-1: Creation Of Design

If you want to print a t-shirt, you need a basic artwork/design, which you must prepare yourself, or get help from the nearby Texas screen printing service. The selected design is printed on a transparent Acetate film and later used to prepare the stencil.

Step-2: Preparation Of Screen

It takes time to prepare the screens for the chosen design. The mesh screen is selected according to the ready-to-use design and the type of fabric in which you need to take imprints. For single-color printing, only one screen is sufficient. 

However, for each color, a different screen is required. Below is the step-wise guide from making the screen to preparing the stencil.

  • The mesh screen is coated with light-reactive emulsion.
  • The next step is to keep the acetate film (having prints on it) over the mesh screen and exposed to bright light.
  • The emulsion gets hard due to light exposure which hardens the printed surface of the mesh, which is not covered by design.
  • The last step is to wash off the emulsion from the screen, and the stencil (cutouts of your design) is ready to get prints directly on the shirts.

Step-3: Getting Print On The Shirts

After finalizing the stencil, take the shirt you want to print. Commercially, automatic screen printers are used to get the prints. Depending on the design, use screen printing ink ( water-based or plastisol ink) and a squeegee.

After placing the shirt below the stencil, pour ink over the design and press it with a squeegee twice or thrice until the ink passes through the impermeable mesh holes in the fabric. For each color, a separate screen is used. In an automatic printing machine, several screens work at a time.

Step-4: Drying Off The Printed Shirts

Finally, the printed shirts are dried to get smooth, fine finishing of the print before passing it to the owner. 

Custom Shirts and Screen Printing in Dallas

Suppose you want to transform your garments into a prominent and colorful new look. In that case, Dallas shirt printing is a reliable screen printing service in Dallas that offers screen printing of logos and quotes on t-shirts, sweatshirts, sports shirts, and other garments at affordable cost. 

The best quality ink, fabric, professional designs, and printing process make it perfect for the local and commercial industry. If you want logos printed on your shirt, Dallas shirt printing helps you develop new design ideas on relevant fabric.

FAQs

What Is Kind Of T-Shirts Suitable For Screen Printing?

Cotton shirts are the best because they absorb the colors and finish delicate and smooth. Synthetic fiber shirts blended with the cotton or polyester shirt are also suitable for screen printing.

How Long Does A Screen-Printed Shirt Last?

If screen-printed shirts properly care for, they do not fade. In screen printing, colors penetrate the substrate and dry correctly before use. They remain fresh even after 40 -50 washings.

Why Should I Choose Printing For My Custom Shirt Instead of Direct To Garmen Or Heat Transfer Vinyl?

The screen printing technique differs from DTG and Heat transfer Vinyle as it helps produce printed t-shirts in bulk, whereas in DTG and Heat transfer method, one shirt can be printed at once for best results.