TSHIRT PRINTING SCREEN PROCESS

T shirt Designs through Screen Printing

When I started screen printing in 1989, water based inks printed through photographic process screens were by far the cheapest mode of transfering images on shirts both for small and big orders. When we started using computers in 1993, that was the heyday that lifted the souls of the Recto boys out of  purgatory-  accelerating the speed at which the artworks were done as against the manual or tranfer letter types to direct computer printouts for positives.  I still remember having to work on the drawing board all day to finish so many pending artworks when suddenly computerization gave me all the time in the world. Film cutting then also slowly faded out and screen printing became less and less tedious than what it used to be.

     Computers changed everything. Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop changed the landscape. I have so many friends who were booted out of the business because they failed to adapt to the new environment and the dictates of competition.  Like coco cloth streamers they just had to go because the quality and price of Wide Format printing has gone down  below the levels of the "letratistas". They are becoming extinct.

New technologies.

     Digital printing using desk top printers on heat transfer sheets have become popular

although its durability is questionable after several washings. Dyes, pigments and sublimation inks however have greatly improved the process although they still remain expensive due to the high cost of consumables. Digital printing remains viable for small limited runs or personalized printing.
    Plastisol inks are  still by far the best medium to do the "color photo" effect prints because it uses fine screens and can capture tiny dots without clogging. This is so because the inks need to be cured on high temperature or by UV flash.   Most of the production processes have been simplified. The use of laser printers for color separation and bitmap halftone of images into tiny dotted artworks has  come to life. The production cost however does not go down to the level of water based paint processes. Ovens for drying and the high cost of electricity limits plastisol ink technology to volume printing.

       Water based ink technology kept up with the times. Improved inks that retard drying time have raised the quality of color separations (CMYK) or spot color to finer and more detailed finish. The DPI (dots per square inch) have become higher because of the new water base ink technology. Now water base can compete in quality against plastisol thus a lower production cost. Picture like prints are now attainable without the cost of a platisol set up. Water base then becomes a more competitive option to screen printing.


Water Based Screen Printing

• Ordinary or Regular textile paint - the most common and frequently used. These type of inks are the cheapest and the most manageable in screen process. This type of ink however is limited only to white shirts and light colored materials. These paints are transparent thus it will be hard to handle it on dark clothing. Ordinary textile paints are soft to touch and does not block the fiber holes thus they are more comfortable to wear.
• Opaque or Super Color textile paint - this type of ink dominates the dark colored fabrics. They are used most of the time for dark colored shirt printing and for athletic or sports uniforms. To get best results, the fabrics are given two or three print runs to achieve thicker and outstanding finish. this inks have a longer druing time than the ordinary inks. The white opaque composition of this ink limits the colors to pastels.
• Wetlook textile paint - this type of ink has a "wet" or glossy appearance. Wet look paints are tranparent. Normally they are used hand in hand with opaque inks as a final touch. Wet look paints tranparency makes it easy to mix colors. As an overlay to opaque inks to achieve the desired colors and to make a glossy effect.
• Emboss textile paint- the "pop up". This type of paint is heat sensitve. Applied like any other inks, the emboss paint expands or puffs-up when ironed or heat pressed. Emboss paints can duplicate the embroidery effect with a little creativity.