Silkscreen Screen Printing

1. What is it?

• Silkscreen is also known as screen printing
• Screen printing creates a greater thickness of ink compared to other print processes
• At AJS we use the UV Rotary Screen process.

2. How is the ink applied?

• There are three elements to screen printing: the screen, the squeegee and the ink
• The screens are made from a wire mesh coated in a plastic film. The film is removed in those areas to be printed, revealing holes for the ink to pass through
• The squeegee sits inside the screen and forces the ink out of the holes
• The ink is a liquid UV curing ink designed to flow through the wire mesh onto the label material when squeezed out by the squeegee

3. Which kinds of labels are best suited to this method?

• The inks are durable and able to withstand chemicals, moisture and weather exposure, which makes these kinds of label ideal for outdoor use and high traffic areas
• This method of printing is ideal for printing tactile effects such as Braille
• The best solution when a high opacity is required.

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages

• Offers solid opaque colours that make this method incomparable to any other printing process and ideal for spot colours
• Coat weight of screen ink enables line drawn illustrations to be printed in bold colours
• Inks are durable and abrasion-resistant.

Disadvantages

• Not suitable for CMYK
• Not suitable for fine details
• Not suitable for building up layers of colour.