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Screen Printed Workwear
Screen printed customisation is an affordable and versatile personalisation technique that can apply custom images to many different materials. It is ideal for producing garments that need to be long-lasting and durable, which makes it a great choice for custom printed workwear. We also offer eco-friendly screen printing, produced to an exceptional standard. This guide will give you a quick introduction to our production process here at Essential Workwear.
When you're ready to place your order you are welcome to place your order directly through our website, request a quote or contact us directly.
What is Screen Printing?
Screen printing involves making a screen (a frame with a wax-coated mesh) to produce a template. The wax is applied to specific areas in the mesh to produce a 'negative' of the logo design.
Once the wax has been applied and cured, it is ready for use. A squeegee is used to pass ink through the screen. This can be done by hand, or using a machine. Using a rotary carousel screen printing machine ensures a consistent pressure is used and production is quick and efficient. The ink is forced through tiny holes in the screen onto the garment underneath. Multiple garments can be printed at once on a machine.
Each screen applies one colour. It is possible to layer different colours on top of each other to create more detailed logos or designs using multiple screens.
To produce our high-quality custom screen printed workwear, we use automatic presses that are quicker and more accurate than printing by hand. They're also professionally calibrated to ensure perfect alignment of each layered colour. This makes the process more accurate, and - importantly - cheaper for you.
Which garments are best for screen printing?
There are two requires for a garment to be screen printed:
- The garment fabric must be heat tolerant: This is so that when the garment is put through the heat dryer for the ink to be cured onto the fabric, the garment does not get damaged.
- The fabric or garment must be single-ply: This is so that when the garment is placed between the board and screen, it will not move. A double-ply fabric could move during the printing and ruin the quality.
The Benefits Of Screen Printed Workwear
Vibrant Designs
Compared with DTF printing and transfer printing, screen printing produces the most vibrant colours and designs.
Production Speed
Once the screens have been produced, our carousel machines can print up to 1,000 garments per hour.
Big Order Friendly
Once set up costs have been covered, the incremental costs thereafter for each garment is very small.
Variety
Screen Printing permits the creation of the following types of prints: metallics, 3D prints, puff prints, gradient prints & more.
Quality
Screen Printing uses heavy duty inks, cured in a dryer, creating a physical bond between the garment and ink. This means that the print will not fade over time.
Versatility
Although we exclusively screen print on workwear blanks and fabrics, the screen printing method can also be used on paper, wood, plastics and other hard materials.
Simple
Screen Printing is a method of customisation where ink is pushed through holes in a template. This process is more efficient using automated machines.
Screen Printing Colours & Effects
We're proud of the huge range of coloured inks that we can use for custom workwear, and we can accurately reproduce practically any shade through pantone matching our inks to your logo. Our inks wash well and retain their vibrancy over time. To ensure longevity, we use specialised inks to produce stretch-proof designs that won't crack and flake as the fabric moves.
We can also create a range of textures and finishes using specialised inks if you want eye-catching effects. For example, you could add flashes of foil to make a logo sparkle or stand out from it's background. Other options include high gloss finishes, inks that appears to glow, pearlescent colours, glitter inks, or even a raised 'puffy' finish to add texture to your garment.
Eco-Friendly Branded Workwear
Concerned about plastics? We can print with water-based ink onto cotton for an eco-friendly result. Water-based inks are a little more limited when printing on dark colours, but they produce a very pleasing, smooth effect when printed onto a light background.
As you've probably gathered, the sky is the limit when it comes to inks and finishes. The colours we have available to print your garments will vary according to the effects and finishes you want to use and the colour that you plan to print on. Get in touch with us to chat through the options.
What are the costs involved in screen printing?
A proportion of the cost of screen printing involves making the reusable screen, which is a major component of the set-up cost. For a one-colour print, we will make one screen. For multiple colours, we will need to make several, so the set-up cost will be higher.
We're very happy to produce small runs of garments, but you'll find that larger orders tend to be much more economical to produce because the screens can be used over and over.
If price is a factor in your purchase decision, we recommend sticking to one or two colours per design to keep the cost down. We can also suggest alternative printing methods that might be more affordable.
If you have a multi-coloured logo and you're not sure how it will look, our team maybe be able to tweak your artwork to reduce the number of colours. If you'd like us to take a look, just drop us a message for a chat without commitment.
Preparing your Artwork for Screen Printing
Our in-house design team can get creative with your logo, but we will make sure your brand is represented as clearly and as strongly as possible. You will receive a proof to approve before we begin branding your garments.
We'll take a look at the complexity of the design and recommend the best methods to create your branded workwear.
Here are some things to consider when sending any artwork our way.
File type
We prefer images in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator format at at least 300 dpi, with each colour separated onto a different layer.
If you don't have Photoshop or Illustrator, our team can advise on alternative options to help you achieve your vison.
We can help
If you don't have a pre-prepared file, and you're not confident in using graphic design software, we can help you to develop a suitable version of your image.
Just send our team a clear example of your logo in the largest possible size and we will help!
Bold is better (usually!)
Bold designs work best because they'll make your image 'pop' from the garment, ensuring it's eye-catching and, importantly, legible at a distance.
Contrary to what you may have read online, we can print shaded gradients on garments, so you can incorporate interesting effects and colour fades.
Know the limitations
Remember: screen printing is an analogue process, while most designs are digitally designed for high-resolution displays.
Very intricate designs can be complicated to reproduce using screen printing, and very fine lines (such as serif fonts) sometimes become difficult to read when printed at small sizes.
The Disadvantages of Screen Printing
Multiple Colour Costs
Although we do everything to keep set up costs to a minimum, the secret to having the best quality prints comes from producing the highest quality screens. This comes under the set up costs. However, you will not have to pay this fee again.
Multiple Screen Costs
As each colour is applied by a specific screen, multiple colours require multiple screens, each of these increases set up costs further. If you have an intricate design with many colours, a different printing method might be more cost-effective.
Unsustainability
Screen printing has traditionally been a somewhat unsustainable process that uses inks with harmful chemicals. However, here at Essential we are starting to change that with the use of water based inks and self-contained screen reclamation.
...and finally, some screen printing myths that need busting!
"Colour gradients can't be produced through screen printing"
It was long thought that colour gradients could not be created with screen printing, however with an expert artworker that can do some advanced pre-production colour separation of your artwork, colour gradients can certainly be produced.
"The minimum order must be HUGE for screen printed workwear"
For a simple 1 or 2 colour design our minimums are only 25 pieces. We would not recommend using the screen printing method to customise a smaller batch of clothing than this.
Our Screen Printing Equipment
Precision is vital when printing one colour over another. It can make the difference between a professional-looking logo and one that wouldn't pass our stringent quality control checks. That's why our team uses state-of-the-art printing presses in our in-house production facility.
Our high-spec machines help us to achieve consistent results, and we take great pride in the accuracy and quality of the image of our screen printed workwear. We service our machines regularly and update them every 5 years to ensure they are produce impeccable results each time, every time. We also use high-quality inks to ensure wash fastness, so your designs will never fade.
Manual Vs Automatic Presses
Manual
Manual presses are great for hands-on printing, particularly in artist studios and small garment runs. But as soon as you ramp up the quantity, the manual printing process quickly becomes impractical. It can be a little to slow, or a little less accurate and that means greater room for error and a higher cost.
Automatic
All of our screen printing machines are automatic presses because of the volumes that we print and the accuracy of the ink application and curing times. Being able to control these processes automatically improves consistency, reduces waste and keeps costs down. Our machines automatically detect problems and will stop if a garment becomes snagged. That results in less downtime and quicker turnaround.
If you have a target date for receipt of your printed workwear, just let us know when you order and we will do our best to meet it.