Screen printing
Probably the most ubiquitous method on decoration or embellishment from garments to printed circuits.
The video below is a pretty good representation of how a print gets onto a tee shirt, although it's a very basic set up, that light source is rather make do and mend, the principle is the same, light proof image, a light sensitive emulsion coated onto a polyester meshed screen, a uv light source and water to wash it out with.....
The video below is a pretty good representation of how a print gets onto a tee shirt, although it's a very basic set up, that light source is rather make do and mend, the principle is the same, light proof image, a light sensitive emulsion coated onto a polyester meshed screen, a uv light source and water to wash it out with.....
That's how you get a screen print.
Our main work is onto garments, bags and other textiles.
We have printed skateboard decks and stickers before and by working closely with local specialists in
embroidery and digital printing we can offer a full gamut of possibilities, from one-offs to thousands of prints,
including re-branding of inside neck labels, swing tags and bagging.
Embroidery and digital work can also be undertaken as we work closely with local experts.
Artwork
Supply your own, or we can design your logo. Click the picture above to see the artwork information page.
Supply your own, or we can design your logo. Click the picture above to see the artwork information page.
Ink types and special effects
Plastisol
We use plastisol for many jobs as they are reliable and quite clean to use with no waste ink going down the drain. They are suitable to make transfers from and are Pantone® compatible. Used in conjunction with waterbased inks can allow for some special effects like foil and when we can we'll use a discharge underbase on dark fabrics to give great vibrancy to colours.
They can be used as direct prints or as transfers and they work on many surfaces including, when used as a transfer, nylon jackets, hi-viz vests and various bags.
The transfers have a very smooth finish as they are printed on a carrier paper and are also much thinner than a direct print. We use this method to print in-neck labels as we can achieve a very fine finish and small text is perfectly legible.
It also works extremely well on jute bags, giving a vibrant print with fine lines and text as good as on a cotton bag. Printing them directly is very difficult as the material can't be cured with heat so an air drying ink is required and the fabric is so rough any moderately fine parts of a design can become blurred or lost in the warp/weft.
You shouldn't iron a plastisol print as it will melt under the heat of the iron and make a mess. Ironing on the reverse is usually fine.
We use plastisol for many jobs as they are reliable and quite clean to use with no waste ink going down the drain. They are suitable to make transfers from and are Pantone® compatible. Used in conjunction with waterbased inks can allow for some special effects like foil and when we can we'll use a discharge underbase on dark fabrics to give great vibrancy to colours.
They can be used as direct prints or as transfers and they work on many surfaces including, when used as a transfer, nylon jackets, hi-viz vests and various bags.
The transfers have a very smooth finish as they are printed on a carrier paper and are also much thinner than a direct print. We use this method to print in-neck labels as we can achieve a very fine finish and small text is perfectly legible.
It also works extremely well on jute bags, giving a vibrant print with fine lines and text as good as on a cotton bag. Printing them directly is very difficult as the material can't be cured with heat so an air drying ink is required and the fabric is so rough any moderately fine parts of a design can become blurred or lost in the warp/weft.
You shouldn't iron a plastisol print as it will melt under the heat of the iron and make a mess. Ironing on the reverse is usually fine.
Discharge and other water-based inks
Water-based inks are split into three types: discharge, transparent and opaque, mostly Pantone® compatible but the material colour can effect the ink shade.
In discharge printing, the ink when heated chemically removes and replaces the dye in cotton and gives vibrant colours onto dark material without an under-base or much feel to the print, is definitely the nicest print on a dark material giving a very even finish to large areas of colour and almost no feel to the print after washing.
It is limited to working properly on 100% cotton which is reactive dyed. Not all are, some colours of material don't work, reds and greens particularly. Bamboo viscose mixes work well too and other poly/cotton mixes can give some interesting results.
Transparents work on white and unbleached material, ideal for tea towels as they can be ironed with impunity and have virtually no feel to the print. They are rather unsuited to coloured material as they sink into the fabric, so unless it's black ink on, for instance, a red tee it'll not show up too well; yellow on that red tee will be near invisible.
Opaque versions can be used which work in a similar way to the plastisol in that it sits far more on top of the fabric and is opaque but has more of an obvious feel to the print but may not be ironable.
Water-based inks are split into three types: discharge, transparent and opaque, mostly Pantone® compatible but the material colour can effect the ink shade.
In discharge printing, the ink when heated chemically removes and replaces the dye in cotton and gives vibrant colours onto dark material without an under-base or much feel to the print, is definitely the nicest print on a dark material giving a very even finish to large areas of colour and almost no feel to the print after washing.
It is limited to working properly on 100% cotton which is reactive dyed. Not all are, some colours of material don't work, reds and greens particularly. Bamboo viscose mixes work well too and other poly/cotton mixes can give some interesting results.
Transparents work on white and unbleached material, ideal for tea towels as they can be ironed with impunity and have virtually no feel to the print. They are rather unsuited to coloured material as they sink into the fabric, so unless it's black ink on, for instance, a red tee it'll not show up too well; yellow on that red tee will be near invisible.
Opaque versions can be used which work in a similar way to the plastisol in that it sits far more on top of the fabric and is opaque but has more of an obvious feel to the print but may not be ironable.
Nylon
For nylon and polyester bags we use nylobag or nylotex which are air curing and very robust.
For nylon and polyester bags we use nylobag or nylotex which are air curing and very robust.
Special effects
Several special effects can be achieved using inks, vinyl or foil materials including luminous, metallic, mirror foils, suede, puff and 3D vinyl and ink as well as artwork effects like distressed or aged looking prints.
Several special effects can be achieved using inks, vinyl or foil materials including luminous, metallic, mirror foils, suede, puff and 3D vinyl and ink as well as artwork effects like distressed or aged looking prints.
Tools of the trade
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Carousel
Workhorse 6 colour manual Heavyweight and constant registration Heat Presses Adkins swing away A3 flat bed & Adkins cap press |
Ink
The thing that colours We mostly use Magnaprint, Virus and SISS/Sericol. |
Screen making
Parker 3kw rapid start light source UV light used to expose screens We use CPS emulsion Separations Canon 24" inkjet with Wasatch controller |
