What are the characteristics of screen printing inks?

The screen-printing technique is popular and widely used in many areas, including printing on clothing or packaging. Among the factors determining the quality of the results obtained will be both the type of equipment used and the precision of the screen. Particularly important parameters also include the type of screen printing ink used. Let's find out what is important when it comes to inks for this printing technique and check what types of inks are used.

What properties should inks have for screen printing?

Due to the way in which the ink is fed in screen printing, it will be important for the ink to be relatively low viscosity so that it is only able to pass through the mesh when it is pressed down with a squeegee. Among the key characteristics will also be a low enough viscosity that the ink will not stick to the screen. Also important will be the ability to flow over the surface to eliminate fixing of the mesh structure on the print. Also important will be the speed of transition from sol to gel to facilitate drying, but the open time should be long enough so that the ink does not dry on the screen.

What inks are used in screen printing?

The screen printing technique can be used to print on a variety of substrates, so both inks designed for printing on absorbent substrates such as paper or fabric and non-absorbent substrates such as plastic or ceramics are used. Among the most important distinguishing features of screen printing inks is their mode of curing (e.g. UV light, aqueous solvent, thermosetting, chemically curing). Among the inks designed for printing on cotton fabrics and cotton fabrics mixed with other fibres, plastisol inks, which are created with the addition of vinyl, making them flexible and soft, are particularly popular. Water-based inks, which are designed for printing on fabric, paper and cardboard as well as wood, are also in demand. UV inks can be used on a variety of substrates, but are usually used for printing on non-absorbent materials, plastics (polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyethylene, PVC, polystyrene), as well as metal and ceramics and coated papers and boards. Solvent-based pain ts are usually nitrocellulose or solvent-containing paints with a formulation corresponding to the type of substrate.