What is a screen for screen printing on t-shirts and apparel?
A screen is a printing tool that is made of a finely woven fabric called mesh, which is stretched over a wooden or aluminum frame. Nylon and steel make up the majority of the materials used to make mesh screens. Areas of the screen are then blocked off to create a design printing template. Screen printing on t-shirts is considered very high quality and long lasting.
The screen used in screen printing uses a woven mesh that supports an ink-blocking stencil. The stencil forms open areas of mesh that allow ink and other printable materials to be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or squeegee is then rolled across the screen stencil, forcing ink beyond the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas onto the printing surface. The open areas are where the ink will appear.
T-shirts and other items printed with multiple colors in the design require one screen for each color. Also, items printed with designs in multiple locations, including front, back, side and sleeve, must use one screen per location. For this reason, items are priced depending on how many colors are used on the shirt and how many locations are used.
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