Screen Printing Process

Silk screen printing is a name first used when a mesh or screen was made of natural silk. It is also known as "Serigraphy" particularly when used for creating or reproducing fine art.

Screen Printing - Advantages :

• High rub and scratch resistance which is mainly required in industrial printing.
• Vibrant color.
• High quality screen printing inks with better light fast pigments delivers 3~5 years of outdoor life for any kind of applications
• Good ink film and mechanical stability allows to screen print on float glass, ceramic tiles, metal and many other complicated substrates.
• Knowledge and process calibration provides high dimensional stability which is required for industrial printing like printed circuits, instrumentation for medical appliances, aerospace, communications etc.
• Screen printing enables us to achieve a degree of flexibility that is unavailable in other printing process.
• In this process film thickness from points of micron to 300 microns and above is easily achievable.
• Wide range of substrates of various thickness, size and shapes can be printed easily.
• Flexibility of short runs to large industrial volumes
• Many kinds of ink are available.
• Thick coating is possible. (General stencil: 10-30 microns, Special stencil: more than 100 microns).
• Thick coating makes colors more vivid, finish more opaque and light fastness better.
• As printing pressure is small, it is possible to print on fragile matters.
• As the stencil is soft, it is possible to print on hard materials such as glass and metal as well as soft materials such as paper and fabrics.
• The stencil is cheap, which is the advantage in case of production of small quantity.

Applications :

Screen printing process is still considered a 'cottage industry' with a wrong belief that it is meant for printing small and odd jobs such as visiting cards, invitation cards and letter heads. But in reality it is not so, One needs to understand deeply as to what creative wonders screen printing can do.

With phenomenal growth sweeping across India and GDP nudging north, towards the double-digit realm, application of screen printing process is all set to spread widely by leap and bounds. Screen printing process is now being used for various substrates in numerous fields because ink does not adhere in some substrates when printed through other printing process.

Consumer Products :

Toys, Stationery, Sports goods, Bags, Art (Serigraphy), T-shirts, Cosmetic containers , Toiletry containers, Packaging, Wooden products, Glass & ceramics, Plastic Cards, Credit Cards, Foot wear and many more...

Industrial applications :

Automotive decals , Automobile meters , CDs , Parts of electric appliances , Membrane switches, Liquid crystal display, Automatic vendors, Name plates, Print Circuit Boards, ICs, Solar Cells and many more...

Indian Screen Printing scenario :

• In India less than 1 per cent of all printers have had any recognised training.
• 99 per cent learned through trial and error.
• Screen operators use only 10 per cent of the available technical knowledge or skills that are essential for quality screen printing.
• Estimated no of screen printers in India: more than 90,000.

Is there any threat from other printing process?

Each process is more suitable for certain specific applications. Therefore, it is not just enough for us to understand the technicalities of the print processes, we must also see the opportunities it can bring through our customers' eyes.

It would be inappropriate if we categorise markets as being digital or screen printing... We are not anymore “printers”, we are “image makers”, and, the final and sole purpose of these images, in our world of “visual communication” is to help the customer to sell his product or anything else he has to promote. With the advancement of technology, the distinguishing benefits between different processes are diminishing. For eg. computerised screen printing machines can substantially improve quality and reduce set up costs.

For jobs which need special effects and spot colours, screen printing could still be the best option. There is a certain technical limitations to a perpetual expansion of digital printing technology, plus a certain relation carefully hidden between “speed and quality”.

The print industry is fast becoming “multi-process users” with processors now owning a wide range of equipments in screen-printing, offset, digital printing, etc. We can choose most suited process to fulfil the customers' needs. It is should not be a question anymore “to kill” screen-printing but, to build an interesting and profitable combination of “joined forces”.

Market is fast expanding and so is the screen printing. Industry is also expanding. Simultaneously there is a good scope for industry, provided the technology is properly used. Screen Printing technology can not be outdated it is unique in itself. There are certain jobs which cannot be printed through any other process than screen printing. For some jobs, screen printing has the upper hand. Each print processing technology has its own specialty. Therefore I see really a good future for screen printing. Considering the boom in India, screen printing has to grow and it will grow if we work hard for best quality and be competitive at the same time.

With globalisation of the economy, there is a wide spread consumer boom. There is a greater need for printed articles in the form of POP materials, billboards, packaging, garment, textile, industrial, consumer applications and advertising. In short, for Indian screen printers the future is looking brighter than the moon! At the same time the industry need to gear up itself by producing a plenty of skilled human resources - the screen printing technologists.

Screen Printing Technology is more alive than ever.