T-shirt screen printing is also referred to as silkscreen printing. It has been around in different forms for hundreds of years. The silk part comes from a time when that is what the screens were made of. Now screens are still used in the process but it has been greatly modernized though it is essentially the same at its heart, whether using automated presses or hand methods. A negative opaque image of the chosen design is stretched between a screen or frame. Ink is poured over the mesh and a squeegee is used to force the ink through. The printer is left with a positive imprint that is then printed onto whatever is being printed on, often a t-shirt. It is a fast process which is why same day printing Miami is sometimes possible.
Screen printing set up
There is a certain amount of equipment and space required for screen printing and the cost for the printers depends on how many platens they use (stations) and how complex their press is. Then they also need a large conveyor heater to dry the shirts once they have gone through the printing process. Then they also need a dark room, an exposure unit and a station to wash the screens at. But once that is set up, getting started is easy and the process of t-shirt printing is fast. On a simple 6 color screen press a printer can get anywhere between 30 to 90 shirts done in an hour. That is how same-day printing is possible if you are local to your printer. The costs of the ink are not high but the process of setting up and then cleaning up after is time-consuming. For that reason, a lot of t shirt printers Miami and elsewhere charge a setup fee per color desired. Once create the screens can be stored for when the customer makes a repeat order.
Why choose screen printing
There are some very good reasons to opt for screen printing, you get very good results with solid color prints, it is affordable and that is more so as your order goes up, it is possible to offer same day printing Miami and beyond, and it has good durability as it lasts through a number of washes before fading starts to happen.
Conclusion
When you are considering what t shirt printers Miami to use, it helps to look into their experience and the quality of their work, not just who is more affordable. Keep in mind that screen printing is not the best printing option for photographs unless you do not mind having an image that is very reduced in quality. The more colors there are, the more the cost and the longer it takes to set up. Screen printing best suits simple designs that use fewer colors. There was a time when screen printing had a bad rep because of using inks that were not great for the environment but that has changed in recent years. You can check with the printer if they use soy based environmentally friendly inks.