INTRODUCTION TO SCREEN PRINTING. · Title: INTRODUCTION TO SCREEN PRINTING. Author: Cobb Hudjohn Created Date: 9/11/2015 1:34:38 PM

WHAT WILL OUR DAY LOOK LIKE?

• Introductions

• What’s & How’s of Screen Printing

• Setting up your workspace

• Job evaluation

• BREAK

• Artwork & Film Output

• LUNCH

• Screen Prep & Coating

• Pre-Registration & Exposure

WHAT WILL TOMORROW LOOK LIKE?

• Questions from day one

• Job Prep

• Press setup

• Knowing your tools

• BREAK

• Printing

• LUNCH

• More Printing

• Curing

• Clean up

• Review

WHAT IS SCREEN PRINTING?

Definition: A printing technique in which a woven mesh is used to support an attached stencil. The attached stencil is created to form open areas of mesh through which the ink may travel and closed areas blocking the transfer of ink to the substrate. The ink is placed on the upper side of the mesh screen and a squeegee is used to push the ink across the screen and through the open areas of mesh. The ink that passes through the screen is deposited on to the substrate and then cures using either air or heat until it has adhered to the substrate and created a permanent or semi-permanent bond.

1. Job Evaluation

2. Screen Selection and Preparation

3. Artwork Preparation

4. Film Output

5. Screen Exposure

6. Press Setup and Registration

7. Printing

8. Curing

9. Clean-up

STEP BY

STEP

Ink Types

• Plastisol

• Won’t dry in screen

• Opaque

• Excess can be reused

• Water based

• Soft hand

• Water soluble

• Discharge

• Doesn’t need under base

• Available in WB & Plastisol

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

SCREENS

STATIC FRAMES

• ALUMINUM

• WOOD

RETENSIONABLE FRAMES

• ROLLER FRAMES

• LOCKING FRAMES

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

EMULSION

PHOTOPOLYMER

• PRE-MIXED

• FASTER EXPOSURE

• LESS FORGIVING

DUAL CURE

• NEEDS TO BE MIXED

• SLOWER TO BURN

• MORE FORGIVING

INK COMPATABILITY

• WATER PROOF

• SOLVENT RESISTANT

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

FILM POSITVE

INK JET

• MORE OPAQUE

• ARCHIVABLE

LASER

• LESS EXPENSIVE

• FASTER TO MAKE

VELLUM

• CHEAPEST

• LOWER IMAGE

QUALITY

TOOLS OF THE TRADE SUN LIGHT

• INCONSISTENT

• UNRELIABLE

HALOGEN

• FAIRLY SLOW

• REQUIRES SHEET OF GLASS

FLOURESCENT

• LESS EXPENSIVE THAN

HALIDE

• FAIRLY GOOD IMAGE

QUALITY

SINGLE POINT HALIDE

• BEST IMAGE

• MOST EXPENSIVE

EXPOSURE

UNITS

TOOLS OF THE TRADE • ALLOWS FOR

CONTROLED AREA TO

CLEAN SCREENS

• CAN BE BACK LIT TO

HELP ENSURE PROPER

WASHOUT

• CAN BE USED IN

CONJUNCTION WITH A

FILTRATION SYSTEM TO

MITTIGATE THE FLOW

OF CHEMICAL AND INK

WASTE DOWN DRAIN

WASHOUT

BOOTH

TOOLS OF THE TRADE TABLE TOP

• INEXPENSIVE

• LOWER PRODUCTION

SPEED

• LIMITED COLORS

STAND ALONE

• AFFORDABLE

• MEDIUM TO HIGH

PRODUCTION

• EASILY PRINT

MULTICOLORS

AUTOMATIC

• VERY FAST

• EFFICIENT

• DOESN’T NEED TIME OFF

• BUILT IN FLASH

PRINTING

PRESS

TOOLS OF THE TRADE HEAT GUN

• CHEAP

• INCONSISTENT

• UNRELIABLE

FLASH

• AFFORDABLE

• SLOW

• HARD ON PALLETS

CONVEYOR

• FAST

• EFFICIENT

• CONSISTENT

DRYERS

OTHER TOOLS

SQUEEGEE SCOOP COATER

LASER TEMP GUN

INK KNIFE

SCRUB PAD PRESSURE WASHER

SCREEN DRYING RACK

SETTING UP A DARKROOM


What is a dark room?


What is a dark room?

A UV safe environment in which

unexposed emulsion can be handled

without fear of exposure.


How do you block UV light?



• FILTERATION

• Tinted bulbs

• RUBYLITH

• NO BLACK LIGHTS



• ELIMINATION

• BLACKOUT

• WINDOWLESS ROOM

• UV SAFE BULBS


Controlling Humidity


Controlling Humidity

• Wet room VS Dry room

• De-Humidifier

• Identify sources of humidity

• Washout booths & Dip tanks

• Low quality de-humidifiers

SETTING UP YOUR PRINT AREA

Setting up your press correctly


Setting up your press correctly

• Height

• Rotation

• Working room


Setting up your dryer correctly

• Proper in feed

• Proximity to heat sensitive supplies

• Proper power


Setting up for proper workflow

• Tools at the ready

• Supplies on hand

• Films available

• Composite

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEP

CONSIDER ALL VARIABLES OF THE JOB

• ARTWORK


• ARTWORK

• SUBSTRATE


• ARTWORK

• SUBSTRATE

• INK


• ARTWORK

• SUBSTRATE

• INK

• QUANTITIES


• ARTWORK

• SUBSTRATE

• INK

• QUANTITIES

• OTHER: VARIABLES THAT MAY AFFECT THE TIME OR COST

ASSOCIATED WITH THE JOB.

ARTWORK

• RASTER OR VECTOR

• HIGH DETAIL OR LOW DETAIL

• Screen mesh count

• Ink compatibility

• NUMBER OF COLORS

• How many screens?

• SIZE OF IMAGE

• Screen size

• IS ART READY TO GO OR DOES IT NEED WORK

• Will you need to charge an artwork fee?

SUBSTRATE

• WHAT SUBSTRATE WILL YOU BE PRINTING ON?

• Poly

• Cotton

• other

• IS THE SUBSTRATE APPROPRIATE FOR THE ARTWORK?

• High detail images on open weave garments

• WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THE SUBSTRATE?

• Quality VS Price

• WHAT IS THE COST OF THE SUBSTRATE?

• Is there room for you to make money on the garment?

INK

• WHAT INK WILL WORK BEST WITH BOTH THE ART AND THE SUBSTRATE?

• Consider opacity, viscosity and adhesion

• WHAT ARE THE CURING PERAMETERS OF THE INK?

• Could your ink need to cure longer than your garment will allow?

• WHAT IS THE COST OF THE INK?

• Will you be buying a new product that you may be stuck with?

• Will you need a specialty ink?

• WILL YOU NEED TO CUSTOM MATCH A COLOR?

• ARE THE COLORS GOING TO WORK WITH THE ART AND SUBSTRATE?

• Could dye migration be an issue?

QUANTITIES

• HOW MANY TOTAL ITEMS WILL YOU PRINT?

• Are there enough to justify the job?

• HOW MANY PRINTS WILL YOU DO PER ITEM?

• Are there tag prints or sleeve prints?

• HOW LONG WILL SETUP TAKE VS PRINTING AND CURING?

• Could you possibly spend more time setting up than printing?

• HOW MANY PLACEMENTS?

• How many times will you have to take the garment on and off the

press?

OTHER VARIABLES

• DOES THE CUSTOMER WANT THIS IN A RUSH?

• WILL YOU NEED TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT OR

SUPPLIES TO COMPLETE THE JOB?

• WILL YOU HAVE TO LEARN A NEW PROCESS TO COMPLETE THIS

JOB?

• WILL YOU HAVE TO BRING ON EXTRA HELP TO GET THE JOB DONE

ON TIME?

EXAMPLE

This morning your best customer came in

with the following image and told you that

she wants it printed on 25 red polyester

tee shirts. She also let you know that she

is going to need the shirts in 3 days so

that they can be worn at an up coming

event.

EVALUATION

EVALUATION • ARTWORK

• SPOT COLOR

• 11 COLORS


• SPOT COLOR

• 11 COLORS

• SUBSTRATE

• POLYESTER

• RED


• SPOT COLOR

• 11 COLORS

• SUBSTRATE

• POLYESTER

• RED

• INK

• POLY WHITE

• STANDARD PLASTISOL COLORS


• SPOT COLOR

• 11 COLORS

• SUBSTRATE

• POLYESTER

• RED

• INK

• POLY WHITE


• NUMBER OF PRINTS

• TOTAL ITEMS 25

• 286 TOTAL PRINTS


• SPOT COLOR

• 11 COLORS

• SUBSTRATE

• POLYESTER

• RED

• INK

• POLY WHITE



• TOTAL ITEMS 25

• 286 TOTAL PRINTS

• OTHER

• 3 DAY TURN AROUND

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? WHAT CAN

CHANGE?


CHANGE? • ARTWORK

• CONSOLIDATE COLORS

• USE SHIRT COLOR


CHANGE? • ARTWORK


• USE SHIRT COLOR

• SUBSTRATE

• ASK CUSTOMER IF COTTON IS AN

OPTION


CHANGE? • ARTWORK


• USE SHIRT COLOR

• SUBSTRATE


OPTION

• INK

• IF THE CUSTOMER IS OK WITH

COTTON WE COULD ELIMINATE THE

NEED FOR POLY WHITE


CHANGE? • ARTWORK


• USE SHIRT COLOR

• SUBSTRATE


OPTION

• INK



NEED FOR POLY WHITE


• THIS NUMBER WILL DROP

CONSIDERABLY WHEN THE COLORS

ARE CONSOLODATED


CHANGE? • ARTWORK


• USE SHIRT COLOR

• SUBSTRATE


OPTION

• INK



NEED FOR POLY WHITE


• THIS NUMBER WILL DROP

CONSIDERABLY WHEN THE COLORS

ARE CONSOLODATED

• OTHER

• 3 DAY RUSH FEE

CONCLUSION

After evaluation it is likely that either you or your customer

would pull the plug on this job. In order for the job to make

sense you would either have to simplify the print to a point the

customer would likely be unhappy with or charge a price that

the customer would surely be unhappy with. Unfortunately this

is a common situation in screen printing and is often missed by

printers that do not perform an evaluation of the job before they

accept it. By taking the extra time you will be able to ensure that

the jobs you take on are in the best interest of both you and

your customer.

GETTING TO

WORK!!

NOW THAT YOU HAVE EVALUATED THE ENTIRITY OF THE

JOB AHEAD AND DETERMINED THAT IT IS A REASONABLE

AND PROFITABLE JOB TO TAKE ON WHAT’S NEXT?

TYPES OF PRINTS

TYPES OF PRINTS

SPOT COLOR

TYPES OF PRINTS

SPOT COLOR FOUR COLOR PROCESS

TYPES OF PRINTS

SPOT COLOR FOUR COLOR PROCESS SPOT PROCESS

UNDERSTANDING HALFTONES

IMAGE

GRADIENT

VS

HALFTONE

IMAGE

GRADIENT

RIP SOFTWARE Halftone size

Halftone shape

Halftone angle

Ink manager

RASTER ART

&

VECTOR ART

VECTOR ARTWORK

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as

points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygons, which are all based

on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer

graphics.

VECTOR ARTWORK




graphics.

VECTOR ARTWORK




graphics.

VECTOR ARTWORK




graphics.

VECTOR ARTWORK PROGRAMS

Adobe Illustrator

RASTER ARTWORK

Raster graphics, or bit-mapped graphics, are digital images stored

as arrays of pixels for display and modification. In raster data

there are no lines, circles, or polygons, only pixels that are

grouped to give the appearance of these elements.

RASTER ARTWORK





RASTER ARTWORK





RASTER ARTWORK





RASTER ARTWORK PROGRAMS

Adobe Photoshop

WHAT IS A FILM POSITIVE?

DEFINITION: A TRANSPARENT FILM MATERIAL UPON WHICH A

POSITIVE IMAGE IS PRINTED OR DRAWN. FOR THE PURPOSE OF

SCREEN PRINTING THE INK USED TO CREATE THE IMAGE ON THE

FILM MUST BE OF AN OPAQUE OR UV INHIBITING NATURE.

FILM TYPES

INK JET

• MORE OPAQUE

• ARCHIVABLE

LASER

• LESS EXPENSIVE

• FASTER TO MAKE

VELLUM

• CHEAPEST

• LOWER IMAGE

QUALITY

HOW IS A FILM CREATED?

PRINTED

Ink jet printers

Most commonly used

Best method for maintaining image integrity

Requires rip software and all black inks

Used with waterproof film

Laser printers

Less expensive

Faster

Lower image quality

Lower opacity

Used with laser film or vellum

HOW IS A FILM CREATED?

Hand drawn

Using opaque pens a film can be created or altered by hand.

Unique look

Good for people that are not computer savvy

Time consuming

Unforgiving

Almost impossible for multicolor

REGISTRATION MARKS

CENTER POINT MARKS

• All film positives should include center point

marks so that you can ensure that you have

properly aligned the image to the center of you

platen.

REGISTRATION MARKS

• Anytime that you will be printing more than one

color on a single substrate you will need to ensure

that registration marks are included on your film

positives.

FILM STORAGE

OUT OF FLUORESCENT LIGHT

• Fluorescent light will bleach the ink your films

over time and will result in a film that is no longer

opaque enough for proper exposure.

KEEP THEM DRY

• Regardless of them film type that you choose to

work with it is a safe bet that they will work better

dry than wet.

REVIEW • What is screen printing?

• How does screen printing work?

• Ink types

• Tools

• Darkroom

• Print area

• Job evaluation

• Artwork

• Print types

• Gradients/Halftones

• Film output

INTRODUCTION TO SCREEN PRINTING. · Title: INTRODUCTION TO SCREEN PRINTING. Author: Cobb Hudjohn Created Date: 9/11/2015 1:34:38 PM

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