How to prepare the screens for the screen printing process?

Screen printing is a very popular technique because of its versatility in terms of the substrates it can be used on, as well as its good print quality and the possibility of multi-colour printing. As with other analogue technologies, it will be necessary to create a print mould in advance. Preparation of the master requires the use of a screen printing frame and mesh. Let's find out what these are used for and check out how they are created.

What is the screen used for?

The screen is a matrix that is used in screen printing to transfer a particular image onto the substrate to be printed. This process takes place as a result of its appropriate preparation, i.e. the 'obscuring' of those meshes which are to remain unprinted. During printing, the ink applied to the screen by the squeegee moving across its surface will only colour the substrate where it comes into contact with it. The correct preparation of the screen is therefore crucial to the quality of the print. If the print is to be multicoloured, a correspondingly larger number of screens will be needed - one for each.

How is the screen prepared?

The screen, which is the matrix allowing the reproduction of the design, consists of two elements - the mesh and the screen printing frame onto which it is stretched. Nowadays, plastic mesh is most commonly used; this can be a tensile-resistant polyamide or polyester fibre. In professional printing, aluminium frames are used. To obtain the form, the mesh is coated with a photosensitive emulsion. A special film with a single-colour print is then laid over it as a reproduction of the prepared design, i.e. a slide. Under the influence of light radiation, the emulsion is removed from the areas where this radiation has reached.