Screen printing has been around us for a long time. Through the years its simple processes have reached certain changes and revisions to enhance its outcomes. As we all know, screen printing is one of the many ways in bringing plain goods to life. But did you know that there is more to it than simply being coined as screen printing?
Under the section on screen printing, there are different ways in generating different finishes that are performed to create a specific look for a print. It encompasses techniques that are used whenever a customer is aiming for a certain look or unique aesthetic. Check them out below:
Halftone Printing
If you are into combining and blending different colors into one scale then halftone printing is the one for you. Its prints can be multi-colored in which gradients are printed. The tones in halftone printing can range from solid spots to halftones of the same color. Making it an excellent method for achieving a multi-color look without actually doing it. It typically emphasizes the usage of shading with tiny dots.
In achieving a halftone print, the color of your choice can be generated by combining a color close to it with the shirt color. A percentage of gradient will also be mixed to it in order to really give the print that halftone signature look. The outcome of this process brings improved graphic quality and a softer feeling print on the garment.
Duotone Printing
This screen printing technique also goes by the name multitone printing. It is a combination of two halftones for the same image printed with two colors with the first one having a black halftone print on white tees and a second halftone which will be printed with colored ink. These two are combined to produce a duotone color hue.
Using the duotone printing technique for your screen printing project gives your print a retro and cooling effect with a full-color print appearance. However, this technique requires that the press should be set up with special inks instead of the standard inks used for color printing.
CMYK Printing
CMYK printing is one of the oldest and most complex screen printing technique used in the industry. It uses 4 ink colors namely cyan, magenta, yellow and black which accounts for its name CMYK. Its printing process combines these colors to recreate the original image’s full final and color range.
In CMYK printing, Photoshop, screen creation, and an automatic press are the biggest requirements in achieving optimum results for your printed garments. Due to its complexity and cost, this printing technique is seldomly used as compared to the other printing methods.
Simulated Process Printing
The screen printing technique used to reproduce almost any image on the market is simulated process printing. Its process involves overlapping and blending colors in a method similar to CMYK by using halftones and spot colors and/or PMS colors. Its output of printed images uses more opaque ink in creating a more stable color and production-friendly ink that enables it to print almost any design for any garment.
Usually, simulated process printing is used to print complex images on black-colored garments. And with its process, challenging designs that are too difficult to separate in a vector program, photographs, raster images, and complex tonal illustrations become more doable in the printing industry.
Spot Color Screen Printing
Wondering what screen printing method is commonly used? The answer is spot color screen printing. It uses the stock color of the ink by printing it through the stencil of the screen thus producing a vibrant solid spot of color with a thicker layer of ink that depends on the ink and mesh count being used.
This technique offers much better consistency from print to print providing a much more detailed outcome. Typically, spot colors layer an infinite amount of colors that may cost a bit more but can add a lot of assets to your printing project making the extra cost well spent at the very end.