If you’re looking for a high-quality print that will last, then screen printing is perfect.
Screen printing is the process of pushing ink through a mesh on to your desired material using specially created screens with impermeable areas that ensure liquid only transfers to the permittable sections.
All our screen printing is done by hand in-house on our hand carousels and we can talk you through colours, processes and finishes as different designs and fabrics may require different printing techniques and special finishes are also available.
Inks and processes we offer are:
Plastisol
The most common ink used in garment decoration, plastisol has good colour opacity for printing onto dark garments, gives clear graphic detail, and, as the name suggests, a more plasticized texture. It can also be made softer with special additives or heavier by adding extra layers of ink.
Water Based Ink
These penetrate the fabric more than the plastisol inks and create a much softer feel. Ideal for printing darker inks onto lighter coloured garments, they are also useful for larger area prints where texture is important.
Discharge Ink
Used to print lighter colours onto dark background fabrics, they work by removing the dye in the garment leaving a much softer texture. They are less graphic in nature than plastisol inks, and exact colours are difficult to control, but are especially good for distressed and vintage prints.
Foils
These are exactly how you would imagine. To achieve this, a glue is printed onto the fabric and then the gold or silver foil applied for a mirror finish.
Glitter/Shimmer
Silver flakes are suspended in a plastisol ink to create this sparkle effect. Although available in gold or silver we can mix these to make most colours.
Expanding Ink
If you’re looking for a more raised effect, we use an additive which is mixed with plastisol inks to raise the print off the garment, creating a more 3D feel.
Four Colour Process
If you want the beauty of screen printing with the look of 4 colour digital prints then this can be achieved with artwork created using dots (CMYK) which combine to create the full spectrum of colours needed for photographic prints. This means an infinite number of colours can be printed using only 4 screens, making the set-up costs more viable. The inks are required to blend and are therefore more translucent, meaning a slight compromise with vibrancy of colour.
Gloss
Wanting a shinier print? We can apply a clear base over plastisol inks to create a glossy finish.
Nylobond
If you’re wanting to print onto more technical or waterproof fabrics then we use a special ink additive with our plastisols to ensure the print will adhere to the fabric and wash and wear well.
As this printing technique requires a new screen for each colour, the more colours a design requires, the more screens we will need to prepare. Artwork can be supplied to us separated on individual layers or, if you need any help then we can prepare artwork for you. We can also help you choose the best garment for the job and have a range of catalogues available as well as being a distributor of Stanley/Stella.
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