Screen printing
How screen printing works
A stencil of the design is made on a fine mesh screen, and ink is pulled across it with a squeegee so that it passes through the open areas only. Each colour in the design needs its own screen and its own pass, which is why screen printing is quoted per colour as well as per item.
Those screens are made once and then run, so the setup cost is spread across the order and the cost per garment falls as the quantity rises. The ink sits on the surface as a solid, opaque layer, which is what lets a light logo print cleanly on a dark garment.
What screen printing suits
Screen printing suits flat fabric and larger print areas: chest and back prints on garments, and panels on bags. It is the right answer for solid spot colours and bold shapes in quantity, and the wrong one for photographic artwork or a run of a handful.
Products and materials it works on
- T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts
- Tote bags, drawstring bags and canvas
- Large chest, back and panel prints
- Solid spot colours on light or dark fabric
- Flat, non-textured surfaces
Lead time, minimum quantity and artwork
- Lead time
- Confirmed with your quote, against stock and quantity
- Minimum quantity
- Depends on the product and the branding method
- Artwork
- Vector artwork (AI, EPS or PDF) with the colours separated and named against Pantone references. Every colour adds a screen, so a design is usually reduced to as few as it can carry. Gradients and photographs have to be converted to halftones before they can be screened at all.
Other branding methods
Embroidery
Laser engraving
Sublimation
Pad printing
Digital printing
Debossing and foiling
Doming and badges
Vinyl heat transfer
Pen branding
Ask us to price your order
Add the products you want to a quote list, tell us the quantity and how you want them branded, and we come back with pricing. Nothing on this site carries a price because every job is costed on the product, the quantity and the decoration.