What does print preparation include in silkscreen printing?

Print preparation includes the preparation and printing of films, creation of screens with emulsion, mixing colors according to the Pantone C color chart, setting up the silkscreen machine, and subsequent cleaning of the screen. Each of these steps requires time and expertise, which is why it is included in the total print preparation cost.

How much does print preparation cost per color?

Print setup price depending on the bag, excluding VAT, for each colour in the design. If your design has two colours, for example, we charge the print preparation twice, because each colour requires its own screen and preparation.

Why do I have to pay for print preparation even for a repeat order?

Even for repeat orders, it is necessary to perform all print preparation steps again – create new films, prepare a clean screen with emulsion, mix colors, and set up the machine. After each print run, the screen must be cleaned and prepared for the next use, which requires time and materials.

How does screen creation work for silkscreen printing?

Emulsion is applied to the frame with the screen and the printed film is placed on it. The entire frame is exposed on a vacuum table, where the emulsion hardens in areas not covered by the film. The frame is then rinsed of unhardened emulsion and dried – this creates a screen ready for printing.

What are colors mixed according to for silkscreen printing?

Colors are mixed according to the Pantone C color chart, which guarantees precise color shades. Using recipes, we mix basic color shades to achieve the required Pantone shade, which is important for maintaining the quality and accuracy of the print.

Print preparation

In our series of articles about getting familiar with our printing processes, an article about print preparation cannot be missing. We will show you everything that the print preparation charge covers in screen printing.

Computer film preparation and printing

For silkscreen printing, it is necessary to create a film for screen production. Each color from the preview has its own screen, as you can see in the image below. Print setup price depending on the bag, excluding VAT, for each colour.

Two-colour preview for making the films — *Two colours in the preview, so we will create two screens. We therefore charge print preparation for two colours.*

When printing multiple colors, it is necessary to separate the colors from each other and possibly slightly "overprint" one of the colors so that a white unprinted gap does not appear during printing. Usually we "overprint" the lighter color in the preview by 0.5 to 0.7 points, which is overprinted by the darker color without modification.

Screen printing films — *We convert all colors to 100% black and pass them to our printers for printing on special film.*

Screen Creation

We apply emulsion to the frame with the screen and attach the printed film. The entire frame is placed on a vacuum table, which is illuminated by a lamp. The lamp is turned on and exposure takes place, during which the emulsion on the screen hardens in places where it is not covered by the film. Simply put, the emulsion has filled the holes in the screen and the paint now flows only in places where the film was.

Vacuum table with an exposure lamp — *Vacuum table with lamp*

We rinse the frame of uncured emulsion, let it dry and go prepare the colors.

Frame with the exposed screen before washing off the emulsion — *Frame with finished screen. It needs to be washed from emulsion.*

Color mixing

Now it's necessary to mix the color according to the Pantone C color chart. Basically, we take the recipe and mix the basic color shades to achieve the required Pantone shade. Of course, this also takes some time and therefore this step is also included in the print preparation cost. More about Pantone in the previous article...

Mixing colours according to the Pantone guide

Machine setup

We have the screen dried and colors mixed, let's set up the machine. We place the frame with the finished screen on the silkscreen machine, specifically on the printing pallets and using the printed film we center the print placement on the bag. Then we pour paint on the screen and can start printing.

Printing on a screen printing machine — *Screen in its place, paint poured, we're printing…*

Screen cleaning

After printing, the screen must be thoroughly cleaned, stripped and prepared for new emulsion application. Over time, it's necessary to clean the mesh from residues of previous prints and also stretch new mesh, which is another item included in the total print preparation cost.