Everything You Need to Know about Screen Printing: How Does It Work?

Screen printing is a popular printing method used to create large, detailed designs on bulk quantities of custom sports garments. It is effective on darker and lighter fabrics to make your design or logo look it's very best. 

Read on to learn more about screen printing and how it works.

What Is Screen Printing?

Screen printing, also known as silk screening, is the method of printing graphics on t-shirts by squeezing inks directly onto the fabric through mesh screens. It uses thicker inks to make colors pop out, leaving an amazing look and soft feeling when touched.  While being affordable for bulk quantities, screen printing is recommended for printing designs with one or two colors.

How Does It Work?

How screen printing works is by tightly stretching a thin mesh screen on a frame. The design is then printed on the screen. After, the ink is rolled over the screen on areas where the design has been printed, allowing it to slip through and set on the t-shirt. The t-shirt is then allowed to dry.

Here is a step-by-step guide to how screen printing works:

• Preparing the Screen

  Select the mesh screen that suits the design and texture of the fabrics being used and cover it with a layer of emulsion to prevent ink from coming through. The colors on the screen won’t blend with the colors on the design, ensuring precise results.

• Color Selection

  Various custom colors are mixed and matched to get the exact color specified. Only high-quality and thick inks are used to ensure amazing and long-lasting designs.  

• Printing Process

  The screen designed for the t-shirt will be placed onto the printing press on 12-armed printing equipment.  The t-shirt is then lined up with the printing lasers to ensure a consistent design. 

  The screens are then lowered on the t-shirt to pour the custom ink concoction. A rubber squeegee is then used to quickly move the ink from one end of the screen to the other. This allows the ink to slip through areas where the design has been printed, thus creating a t-shirt with the exact design and color specified. 

• Drying Process 

  The t-shirts are then dried and inspected to confirm that the design was made exactly as wanted. 

Order Your Silk-Screened T-Shirts Today!

Pro-Tuff Decals is your trusted partner in designing customized, high-quality professional sports apparels at affordable rates. You can easily customize your comfortable and stylish sports apparel with your players’ names or numbers as well as the team’s logo with screen-printing technology. 

Contact us today to place an order!