Amazingly some form of screen printing has been around for thousands of years, starting in China where it was used to decorate items much as it is today. Because silk was used as the material to create the screens, it was called silkscreen printing and it is now shortened to screen printing, a popular option for tshirt printing, Singapore and beyond. While t-shirts are one of the most popular options businesses choose to print their logos onto for the sake of promotion and advertising, there are other items, caps, tote bags, jackets, mugs, water bottles, USB drives and more. It is a popular type of printing because it is good to be used on a variety of materials including plastic, metals, paper, ceramics, wood and glass as well as different fabrics. It is also great for a lot of different industries.
The process of screen printing
Screen printing is probably the most commonly used method when you order t shirt printing Singapore or anywhere. Ink is transferred through the woven mesh stencil creating an image on the substrate that is well-defined. While manual screen printing does happen if something more artistic is happening, for the purpose of bulk orders the process tends to be done through automatic screen printing technology. There are five aspects to the process, the screen that is now made of a fine mesh consisting of synthetic materials, a squeegee, a fill or floor bar, the ink, the surface being printed onto ie the substrate, which in this example is the t-shirt. Here is an outline of the process.
- The image or text being printed needs to be saved in the right format so it can then be moved to a screen stencil.
- The fine mesh screen or stencil is secured to the printing machine.
- The substrate, in this case, the shirt, is laid so on a conveyor in the right position for where the stencil will be lowered.
- Ink is put into the top of the screen and the flood bar is used so the design fills with ink. It tends to be true that keeping the colors to a handful or less is best with screen printing.
- The screen lowers onto the t-shirt and a squeegee is drawn across the mesh to force the ink through the screen.
- When the tshirt printing Singapore process is done the screen returns to the first position it was in ready for the next shirt.
Advantages to choosing screen printing
The great thing about this method for t shirt printing Singapore is that you can get a large number of shirts printed in a fairly short amount of time. Once the screens are set up for each color the process is easier and quicker. Many printing companies offer bulk discounts so if you order more you get each shirt for a lower price. It is a very cost-effective option for promotional printing purposes and when you choose the right items and the right design it can also be very effective.
