To Understand Screen Printing Maryland Is Worth Visiting

By Dennis Bell


Screen printing refers to a printing technique that employs a mesh to transfer ink onto substrates except in regions in which blocking stencil is applied to make ink impermeable. A squeegee or blade is moved across the screen filling ink into open mesh apertures. Passing a reverse stroke causes the mesh to momentarily touch the screens along some line of contact. The ink touches the wet substrate to print. When in need of screen printing Maryland is the location to visit.

Other names are also used to refer to this technique. Some of the most commonly used names are screen serigraphy, serigraph printing, and silk-screen. This process can be used to print single color or multiple colors. When multiple colors need to be printed, several screens are used and a single color gets printed at a time.

Before the invention of polyester mesh, silk was the predominant material used. It is from this occurrence that names like silk-screen came up. The adoption of synthetic threads has happened more although polyester is the most dominant synthetic thread in use. Meshes come in different sizes and how the final work appears depends on the mesh size.

The first realizable forms of silk-screens were discovered between 960 and 1279 AD in the Chinese Song Dynasty. After the discovery the Song Dynasty, the process was adopted by many other Asian countries, especially Japan. It was only until the eighteenth century that its introduction into Western states happened. The adoption was slower after introduction until when silk was introduced from the East in trade in Western Europe.

The credit for popularizing screen printing as an artistic technique often goes to Andy Warhol. Michel Caza and Sister Mary Corita Kent are the other individuals who also played a major part in making the method popular. They made works that were recognized on an international scale. Michael Vasilantone produced the first machine for multicolor screen printing in 1960. He applied for a patent over the machine in 1967, which was granted two years later in 1969.

There are many advantage associated with this method. First, modern automatic presses allow for the rapid production of large quantities. Currently, up to 1800 shirts can be produced with a period of one hour. The speed loading record is at 1805 shirts in an hour. The world record speed is four times greater that the typical average speed for manual loading.

In comparison to traditional printing methods, silk-screen is more versatile. Surfaces do not need to be planar. Also, unlike lithography or etching surfaces do not have to be printed under pressure. Various materials can be printed including plastic, metal, glass, paper, textiles, wood, and ceramics. Different inks can be used for each of the materials.

Many industries find use for this technique because of its ability to be used on various materials. Some of the industries that employ this technique are those that produce medical devices, clothing, balloons, textile fabric, decals, thick film technology, and snowboard graphics. Additional industries include signs and displays, product labels, and printed electronics.




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