PRINTING INFO

We offer either screen-printing or direct-to-film printing for t-shirts and tote bags, depending on the quantity ordered and the complexity of the artwotk.

What is screen printing?

Screen printing is the process of transferring a stencilled design onto a product by pushing ink through a mesh screen that holds a negative of the image.
Most things can be screen-printed- paper, fabric, metal, plastic! It's a very versatile print method and allows for a variety of finishes on garments. We use eco-friendly water-based inks where possible to give a very smooth print that is pushed into the fabric itself giving excellent washability and durability

The screen-printing process

1: Print the design

First, we print your finalised artwork onto transparent film (each colour in the design gets its own film and screen)

2: prepare and coat the screens

Next, we select the correct screen mesh for the image (depending on the material being printed and the detail in the image). The screen is coeated with a photoreactive emulsion which hardens when exposed to bright light

3: expose the screens

Once the emulsion is dried on we expose the screen- the film with the image is placed over the screen and exposed to a high-uv light. THe parts of the screen covered by the image will not expose as the light will not penetrate the film positive.

4: washout and dry the screens

Once the screen is exposed after a set time under the light, the screen is sprayed with water which will cause the unexposed areas to wash off, leaving a perfect negative of the image to be printed. This is then dried out, ready to start printing

5: Prepare the machine to print

Next the exposed screen is set up on the printing machine and locked into place. All screens to be used will be set up to print on top of each other as precisely as possible using micro-adjusters on the printing press

6: Printing

Once the screen is set up it's time ot print- garments are loaded onto the machine arms and the screen is brought down on top of them, ink is then pushed through the mesh using a squeegee which now creates a print on the garment.

7: Curing

The printed garment is then placed into a conveyor dryer where it will be heated to cure the ink into the garment.

What is Direct-to-film printing

The newest technologoy to become popular is Direct-to-film printing- your design is printed onto a carrier film with a white underbase so it can then be applied via a heat press directly to the garment. The white base means the design will be bright and opaque on all colours and types of t-shirt, and offers better washability and durability vs Direct-to-garment printing (where a printer prints directly onto the material)