Why Screen Printing May Be the Better Solution Than Digital Printing for Your Project

Although digital printing has become more popular in recent years over screen printing, the latter has certain advantages! We've been told by a few business partners that we are unicorns in the print world for our machines and processes. We love connecting with other businesses that need to add screen printing in as an option for their customers. While it isn't the right choice for EVERY project, it is a great choice for a lot of different applications.

1. Cost-Effectiveness for Large Runs

The first benefit of screen printing is efficiency with large volume. Unlike digital printing, screen printing has a set up cost involved to get everything running, and so the cost is spread over the entire run of prints. This means that every item that you order becomes cheaper than the one ordered before it. As I've told many customers, whether you're ordering one print or 1000, I am doing the same amount of work to make a screen, set everything up and start printing. Volume and quantity are where you will save with screen printing.

2. Vibrant and Durable Colors

Screen printing is valued because of the full color and /or opaque layer of color it produces. Screen printing inks have specific uses for different materials and are capable of withstanding wear and tear better than many digital print options. We can custom mix pantone colors, which can be harder to do with a CMYK system on a digital printer. Different screen mesh sizes allow for more or less ink to flow through for each print, so we have control over opacity and ink volume in a way that digital printers just don't.

3. Versatility with Materials

Screen printing can be used on a wide variety of materials. We frequently print on vinyl, paper, coroplast, cardboard, glass, wood, metal, acrylic, fabric, and more! Certain ink series will "bite" into different materials better than standard inks, with the help of additives that can improve adhesion, etch into glass, or make a print more UV resistant so that it doesn't fade in the sun. Screen printing is used worldwide for everything from reams of fabric to skateboards to wine glasses.

 

4. Heightened ink opacity

The inks utilized in screen printing are generally thicker than digital inks. If you want a shiny and slick look or a more coarse and dull feel, screen printing offers a number of variables that can make your prints more textured. Flatting paste will make a color matte, NB80 will improve adhesion to make scratches much less likely to happen on signs in a high-traffic area... the right print maker will be able to steer you in the right direction for your project.

 

Conclusion

White highly detailed photo-prints are more the realm of digital printing, screen printing makes up for it with its capacity for creating superior quality, lasting prints that are rich in color, and is ideal for bulk orders. Its biggest advantage is that it is relatively cheap, can be used with numerous types of inks, and is suitable for many applications. Whether you need custom t-shirts printing, promotional or design printing on different materials or surfaces, then screen printing can be the ultimate solution to your needs.

If you want a professional screen printing service that gives you quality at a good price; then consider working with a professional print house. Find out what screen printing can provide for you and discover how it can benefit the next project that you are planning.

 

 

No time? Here's the highlights

Screenprinting

Pros:

• Wide range of materials are printable
  
• Vibrant, long-lasting colors, fade resistant.
  
• Pantone color matches possible!
  
• Thick ink, very opaque results
  
• More cost-effective for large volume print runs like yard signs, election signage, retail ads for multiple locations.
  

Cons:

• Not suitable for complex designs or photographic images due to one screen needing to be used for each color.
  
• Higher set up costs (producing screens and stencils, mixing custom inks) make it less cost effective for shorter print runs.
  
  

Digital printing

Pros:

• Quick to set up.
• Cost effective for short runs.
• Fast turnaround
• Can print variable data on each print e.g. barcodes or page numbers
  

Cons:

• Cannot match pantone colors
• Thinner ink layers