SILKSCREEN
Pros and Cons
However, due to the process of screen printing which can be inefficient for small orders with many colours, t-shirts printed using this method can be costly. On the other hand, if the order quality is large, the process actually brings down the cost dramatically and makes screen printed tee shirts very affordable.
Suitable for large quantity
Order more will be cheaper
Versatile design placement
Only solid colors, no gradients
One design per batch
Not cost effective for low quantity
First, a stencil is required for the silk screening process. The making of the stencil requires of the application of a light sensitive emulsion onto a porous polyester mesh stretched over an aluminium or wood frame into a screen. Traditionally silk was used as the material for the mesh which resulted in the name silk screening. A film containing the vector artwork of the desired design is placed between the screen and a light source, solidifying the exposed portion of the mesh uncovered by the vector artwork on the film. The screen is then rinsed, removing the unexposed area of the emulsion which remains porous, making it a stencil.
Using multiple stencils, unlimited colors can be printed producing clear and bright finishes. We at Asia Apparel, offer a wide spectrum of colors with specific pantone colors also available (up to 90% closeness). Due to the need of preparing stencils for multiple colors, prices are thus very dependent on the number of colours. As a rule of thumb, the more colour there are, the more expensive it will cost.
CMYK Screen Printing is the usage of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (Key) with colour separation to print full colored designs. The design is the first colour separated into the basic CMYK colour combination and the stencils for each colour is made. Using halftones and layering the colours, a full colour print is produced. However, due to the need for halftones, CMYK Silk Screening is unsuitable for solid colour prints and very high detailed print designs.