There are some screen printing equipments we provided,and if you want to know how to printing, please look at the PPT.

1. Emma Liu

2. Screen Printing Equipment:

3. Photo emulsion is what makes the
modern day screen printing process
possible. The emulsion is a
substance that reacts to ultraviolet
light. Once it has been exposed to
the correct ultraviolet wavelength,
the emulsion hardens and becomes
impermeable. There are many
different types of emulsion in the
market, as well as many different
methods of application. In a later
post, I’ll dive into the two most
popular methods for coating the
screen mesh with emulsion.

4. A squeegee is a flat, rubber or
urethane blade set into a handle.
Some people may argue that this
is not necessary and that
brushes or sponges can be used
to push the ink through the
screen. They are correct and it
can be done, but the results and
time consumption can lead to
very mixed results. Almost all
professional screen printers use
squeegees to produce
consistent, high quality results.

5. This is a tool that is used to
coat the screen with a thin,
uniform layer of liquid photo
emulsion. Without the
scoop coater it is possible
to use a squeegee to
spread the photo emulsion
but this can sometimes
lead to uneven thickness
and poor exposure results.

6. The film positive refers to the artwork
which is typically printed or drawn onto
on a transparent medium. The artwork
must be opaque in order to produce
proper results when exposing the screen.
One of the cheapest ways to create the
film positive is to print directly onto
transparency film from your laser or ink
jet printer. Be sure to have the printer
settings set to produce the darkest black
possible for your artwork. As an
alternative, vellum can also be used as a
film positive. If you are using vellum add
approximately 20% to the exposure time
due to the reduced transparency of the
vellum.

7. In order to properly expose
the emulsion and “burn” the
screen, a light source is
required that contains
Ultraviolet Radiation in the
350-420 Nanometer
spectrum. Fluorescent
unfiltered tubes, metal
halide lamps and even the
sun can be used to expose
a screen.

8. These are essential if you
plan on screen printing
paper goods or other flat
objects. The hinge clamps
you to keep your screen in
the same position, allowing
for easy registration and
consistent prints.

9. There are kinds of tape that I use
on a regular basis. The first is
painter’s tape which use for easy
registration of screens,
positioning acetate, etc. The
second type of tape that I use is
a tape made for screen printing
which is water and solvent
resistant. This one is used for
taping my screens. I have also
used plastic packing tape with
great results.

10. During the coating and exposure
process it is important to create
light safe conditions. Premature
exposure to UV light (sunlight,
regular household lights, etc) can
pre-expose the coated screens
resulting in poor results. Yellow
bulbs filter out the spectrum of
light that can expose the
emulsion, making it “safe” to
work under those conditions.

11. Screen Printing Equipment:

12. Inks

13. There are two main types of inks that are
used for screen printing, each with their
own advantages and disadvantages.

14. THE 2 MAIN TYPES OF INKS
• Water-based inks
utilize either dyes or
pigments in a
suspension with
water as the solvent.
The evaporation of
the water is
necessary to set or
cure the ink.
• Plastisol is a
thermoplastic ink. It is
composed of PVC
(polyvinyl chloride)
particles suspended in a
plasticizer. High
temperatures are
required to cause the
molecules of PVC resin
and plasticizer to cross-
link and fully cure.

15.  Water-based inks tend to be a little more
environmentally friendly and give printed fabrics
a soft “hand”. A soft hand means that your hand
cannot easily feel the ink when it passes across
the surface of the fabric. Water based inks
printed on fabric can also be ironed (Plastisol will
melt and smear if heated up to it’s curing
temperature). For paper screen printing
applications water-based inks are ideal as they
will air dry as the water content in the ink
evaporates. Clean up is easy and can be done
without much impact to the environment.

16.  Water-based ink is much more difficult to cure than plastisol
for fabric applications. With water-based ink, the curing
temperature must be reached and then held until all of the
solvent (water) is removed. If you don’t fully cure the ink (for
example on a T-shirt), the ink will fade with repeated
washings. If water-based ink is left in open mesh for even a
short period of time, it can clog the mesh and ruin the
screen. You don’t really have to worry with regards to paper
applications however. The other thing is that water-based
inks will break down regular emulsion very quickly and even
break down water resistant emulsions over time leading to
screen breakdown for longer print runs.

17. Plastisol inks are not water-soluble and the
ink will not dry if left in the screen for
extended periods of time. It can be left in
the screen for extended periods of time
without worrying about clogging the mesh.
Platisol will not break down the screen
emulsion like water-based inks. They also
happen to be very opaque and great for
applications on colored fabric

18.  Plastisol inks will not air dry and need to be cured
(heated) as a result. Curing the inks can be done with
a flash dryer, or more inexpensively, any home oven.
Be careful not to burn your house down! Most
plastisols need to reach a temperature of about 350
Fahrenheit before being fully cured.
 Plastisol tends to sit on top of the threads instead of
soaking into them, which typically results in a raised,
plasticized texture. There are, however, plastisol
additives that can give the ink a softer “hand”. If the ink
is under-cured, the print will crack and peel over time.
 Plastisol inks are generally considered harsher on the
environment. Fortunately, there are a number of
plastisol inks on the market that contain less toxins,
and there are also eco-friendly solvents that are
available for clean up.

20. Screen Printing Equipment:

21. LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR LOREM
IPSUM DOLOR
LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR LOREM
IPSUM DOLO
LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR LOREM
IPSUM DOLOR
LOREM IPSUM
DOLOR LOREM
IPSUM DOLO
fRAME

22. The screen frame is a structure that
the woven mesh is stretched upon
and adhered to. Screen frames come
in a variety of shapes and sizes,
depending on the size of the art work
and printing surface. The mesh is
either stapled or glued to the frame
with sufficient tension to provide a flat
printing surface that will not buckle.

23. Typically, frames are made out of
wood or aluminum. Personally I
recommend aluminum frames
over wood because they are
easily cleaned and can be reused
indefinitely without losing their
shape.

24. Wood screens will be fine for a
while but repeated water
exposure tends to warp the frame
over time. Over time, with
extended use, both wood and
aluminum screen meshes will lose
some tension which may result in
poorer quality printing results. If
you start to notice this occurring
it’s best to have the screens re-

25. Always choose a screen frame
that is larger than the area you
are attempting to print by at least
2 inches on every side. This will
make your life easier when
applying emulsion, exposing
artwork and printing.

27. Screen Printing Equipment:

28. Woven mesh is the “silk” in silkscreen.
Typically this mesh is made out of mono-
filament polyester fabric which is stretched
taut over a screen frame. The spaces
between the mesh make the fabric porous
which allows ink to pass through.

29. • Screen fabric come in a wide variety of mesh
counts. Lower mesh counts means that the
fibers of the mesh are spaced farther apart,
allowing more ink to pass through. Higher
mesh counts deposit smaller amounts of ink
and are generally better for fine details and line
work. A general rule of thumb is 110 – 160
mesh count for fabrics and 230+ if you are
printing on paper. If you are on a budget and
only want one screen, 150 should do the trick
for both fabric and paper.

30. • Screen mesh is available in either white or
dyed mesh (typically yellow). Dyed mesh cuts
down the amount of light diffusion during the
exposure process which leads to a sharper
print. For lower mesh counts around 110 it
doesn’t really make a difference if the color is
white or dyed.

31. SCREEN PRINTING MESH