How to Use Polyester Mesh for Screen Printing?
Screen printing, as an economical printing method, is widely spread to Europe since the start of the 20th century. And there is no question that it is warmly welcomed owing to its convenient operation and high printing efficiency. In recent years, it is extensively used to print a variety of items like textile, circuits, glass and ceramic items, etc.
And here a simple guidance of screen printing is offered, hoping to give some help.
Determine your design
Determine your design and print it on transparencies. Make sure the pattern you need is black as black areas will be where the ink pass through. If your pattern has two colors, you need to have two different transparencies for each color.
Coat the screen
Pre-process the polyester mesh by coating the screen with light-sensitive emulsion using scooper. Make sure the screen in evenly coated, and then left the mesh to dry in a dark room.
Burn the screen
After the emulsion has set, lay the transparent design you determined down and place a black piece of board on it to temporarily block the light. Expose the screen to a strong light to harden the emulsion yet the black pattern will prevent the light from reaching the mesh. And it is this unlighted area that will let the ink pass through easily.
Wash the emulsion
Wash the unhardened emulsion off the mesh using water. And dry the screen before screen registration. Your design will be left open for the ink to pass through.
Register the screen
Put the transparent design under the screen and lining up the registration marks.
Check the screen
Check the screen for extra areas that are not covered with hardened emulsion. And tape off these areas on the back side of the screen to prevent the tape from being pulled up by your squeegee.
Printing
Pour a line of ink at the top of the screen, lift the screen and pull your ink across the mesh using a squeegee. Put the items you want to print under the mesh with the printing screen on it at an appropriate position. Then pushing the squeegee down at an angle of 45 with some pressure to let the ink pass through the screen. And then lift the screen and pull out the printed item.
Clean the screen
After screen printing, do not forget to clean the screen, for example, removing the remaining inks on the surface of mesh, remove the tape and wash off all ink. If you do not like the pattern any more, you could also apply the emulsion remover for cleaning.
