Print Screening in Salt Lake City.
As the premier choice for screen printing in Salt Lake City here is a brief overview of screen printing in the United States.
What is Screen Printing?
Screen printing is a technique that has been in use since the first century in China. They would take hair and stretch it across a wooden frame. They then created stencils from leaves. However, the west was not introduced to the concept of print screening until the late 1800s. Although there are thousands of different techniques, the main steps remain the same.
After several thousand years the materials used have changed a bit. A frame with wires creating a mesh surface transfers ink onto apparel or canvas once the ink is squeegeed over the frame.
The ink goes everywhere except where a blocking stencil has been put in place. Unlike in ancient China, a plastic stencil is usually used as opposed to leaves.
Screen printing was popularized in the 1960s by Andy Warhol ( the Campbell's soup guy ) and has been popular in the United States ever since. Screen printing accounts for over half of the apparel customized in the US today. So, chances are you have worn a piece of clothing with a design that was printed using screen printing.
What is the Difference Between Screen and Digital Printing?
Screen printing has been around and refined for thousands of years while digital printing is a relatively new process. Digital printing takes an image and throws it into the digital magic of a computer and then paints the picture onto the apparel.
Screen printing creates a more vibrant image. Screen printing applies thicker layers of ink with each coating. Due to screen printing being a manual process it does take a bit longer and cost slightly more.
Digital printing can handle fine detain better than screen printing. However digital printing can produce a lackluster of color in the final design on darker colored shirts or designs incorporated with bright designs.
Do Screen Printed Shirts Last?
Absolutely! The designs will hold their vibrate color for longer than just about any other printing techniques.
How Expensive is Screen Printing?
As was mention above screen printing has been around for thousands of years. Meaning that screen printing is extremely efficient in terms of cost and materials. The final price of the print depends on several things.
The number of colors in the design will affect the final price. As each color must be done in an individual layer the more colors in the model the more time the printing process will take. The larger the design, the more money it will take to print. Lighter colored materials are easier, because they require less paint, so using darker colored shirts is a bit more expensive.
If you have any questions about whether screen printing is right for your design, feel free to contact us, and we will do our best to help you create the designed apparel you've been dreaming of.