Screen printing or also known as silk screening is a printing method that utilizes a meshed weave with a stencil on top of it. The weave and the stencil, as one, is placed on top of substrate, which is normally a garment or fabric in practical applications, and ink is poured on top of the weave to transfer a particular image onto the substrate. Since the stencil blocks certain areas from ink transfer, only the desired area will have the print desired. Typically, a roller is used to flatten the ink on top of the mesh to speed up the transfer onto the substrate.

Importance

You are probably wondering how this information will help you at all in life. Well, in reality, screen printing is seen every single day in the clothes that people wear and the posters of rock bands you see. More prominently, screen printing is used to print your favorite T-Shirts sporting those cool and trendy logos and designs. So, if you are wondering how someone got that cute Mickey Mouse design onto the front of a shirt, then you now know that screen printing is the answer.

History and Modern Methods

Screen printing is not a new printing technology. In fact, this printing process can be traced as far back as 900 AD in ancient China. The craft was then adopted by the Western world in 1907 when a guy by the name of Samuel Simon patented the technique. This soon became the printing technique used to transfer designs onto linens, silks, and other fabrics. Back then, screen printing was done by hand through process mentioned above. Today, to allow mass production of printed garments like T-Shirts and most companies use large, automated screen printing presses. With the inception of the four color process or CMYK (the use of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black color keys) and simulated process printing, complicated graphic designs can now be done and transferred onto any type of substrate.

Many companies use this printing method on their garments since it is believed to be the most cost-effective method compared to inkjet printing or dye sublimation. Today, companies like All Access Merchandising, uses screen printing to transfer intricate and sharp designs onto the clothes they sell. This being said, if you want some T-shirts with cool designs on them or for any other printing need, then you will want to visit www.allaccessmerch.com as they specialize in screen printing and can provide you with pre-designed or custom designed T-Shirts.