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The Ultimate Guide of Silk Printing in Bottle Packaging

Screen printing belongs to stencil printing, and it is called the four printing methods together with flat printing, embossing and gravure printing.

silk printing bottles and pumps

Screen printing refers to the method of obtaining graphics by scraping and printing using screen stencils and printing materials, referred to as screen printing.

The screen printing method has lower graphics accuracy than the photochemical method, but the process is simple, the production efficiency is high, and the cost is low, which is suitable for mass production.

Screen printing belongs to stencil printing, and it is called the four printing methods together with flat printing, embossing and gravure printing. The screen printing equipment is simple, easy to operate, easy to print and plate making, low cost, and strong adaptability.

Different from the other three methods, it can not only print on the plane, but also because the screen can partially wrap the three-dimensional object, so this allows the screen printing to print images and text on the molded product that has been made.

Origin of Screen Printing Process

Transcription printing is the simplest form of serigraphy, which began in the late 19th century.

This kind of printing is on a special wax paper, which is made into a wax paper graphic plate by a typewriter or a stylus, and printed on the wax paper plate with an ink roller, and the desired printing effect can be obtained on the substrate. In stencil printing, screen printing is the most widely used.

silk printing concept

Screen printing is to stretch silk fabric, synthetic fiber fabric or metal mesh on the screen frame, and use hand-carved paint film or photochemical plate making method to make screen printing plate.

Modern screen printing technology uses photosensitive materials to make screen printing plates by photo-making methods (make the screen holes of the graphic part of the screen printing plate through holes, and the screen holes of the non-graphic part are blocked).

Working Principle

Screen printing is composed of five major elements, namely, screen printing plate, squeegee, ink, printing table and substrate.

silk printing process

The basic principle of screen printing is to use the basic principle that the screen printing plate is printed with ink through the mesh of the graphic part and the non-graphic part of the screen.

When printing, pour ink on one end of the screen printing plate, and use a squeegee to apply a certain pressure on the ink position on the screen printing plate while moving toward the other end of the screen printing plate. The ink is squeezed from the mesh of the graphic part to the substrate by the scraper while it is moving.

Due to the viscosity of the ink, the imprint is fixed within a certain range. During the printing process, the squeegee is always in line contact with the screen printing plate and the substrate, and the contact line moves with the movement of the squeegee, due to the screen printing plate and the substrate A certain gap is maintained between them, so that the screen printing plate during printing produces a reaction force against the squeegee through its own tension. This reaction force is called resilience.

Due to the effect of resilience, the screen printing plate and the substrate are only in mobile line contact, while other parts of the screen printing plate and the substrate are in a separated state. The ink and the screen are broken to ensure the printing dimensional accuracy and avoid smearing the substrate.

When the squeegee is scraped across the entire layout, it is lifted, and the screen printing plate is lifted at the same time, gently scraping the ink back to the original position. So far is a printing trip.

Advantages of Screen Printing

1. Strong printing adaptability

The three printing methods of flat printing, embossing, and gravure printing generally can only be printed on flat substrates.

And screen printing can not only print on flat surfaces, but also print on curved, spherical, and concave-convex substrates. On the other hand, screen printing can not only print on hard objects, but also on soft objects, without being restricted by the texture of the substrate.

In addition, in addition to direct printing, screen printing can also be printed by indirect printing according to needs, that is, screen printing on gelatin or silicone plate first, and then transfer to the substrate. Therefore, it can be said that screen printing is highly adaptable and has a wide range of applications.

silk printing bottle

2. Strong three-dimensional feeling and rich texture

The thickness of the ink layer for offset printing and embossing is generally 5μm, the thickness of the ink layer for gravure printing is about 12μm, the thickness of the ink layer for flexographic (flexographic) printing is 10μm, and the thickness of the ink layer for screen printing far exceeds the thickness of the above ink layer, generally up to about 30μm.

Thick screen printing for special printed circuit boards, the thickness of the ink layer can reach 1000μm. The braille is printed with foaming ink, the thickness of the ink layer can reach 1300μm after foaming.

If the screen printing ink layer is thick, the printing quality is rich, and the three-dimensional effect is strong, which is incomparable to other printing methods. Screen printing can not only print in monochrome, but can also perform color printing and screen color printing.

silk printing cosmetic bottle

3. Strong light resistance, bright color

Bright color. Because screen printing has the characteristics of missing printing, it can use various inks and coatings, not only can use pastes, adhesives and various pigments, but also coarser particles.

In addition, the screen printing ink formulation method is simple, for example, the light-resistant pigment can be directly put into the ink for formulation, which is another major feature of screen printing. Screen printing products have a great advantage of strong light resistance.

Practice has shown that according to the maximum density value range measured after using black ink on coated paper for one impression, offset printing is 1.4, embossing is 1.6, gravure printing is 1.8, and the maximum density value range of screen printing can be Up to 2.0, so the light resistance of screen printing products is stronger than that of other types of printing products, and it is more suitable for outdoor advertising and signs.

silk-printing-skincare-bottles

4. Large printing area

Generally, the maximum size of the area printed by printing methods such as offset printing and embossing is the full-sheet size. If it exceeds the full-sheet size, it is limited by mechanical equipment. While screen printing can print large areas, today’s screen printing products can be up to 3m×4m or even larger.

silk printing bottles

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