The role of mesh
The role of screen printing mesh is in screen printing is to act as a regulator, it is a way of
metering the ink deposit while printing.
Fine screen print mesh has more threads per cm.
- The smaller the space in between each thread, the less ink can
pass through and the thinner the ink needs to be.
- The larger the space in between each thread, allowing more ink to
pass through and
the thicker the ink can be.
Mesh color
The screen printing mesh for sale normally comes in two clours:
• White polyester screen printing mesh - exposes faster
• Yellow mesh fabric for screen printing - keeps finer detail.
• White silk screen printing mesh reflects the UV light around, while yellow print mesh absorbs the UV light.
The main index of characteristic of screenprinting screens
The usual mesh screen printing is silk screen, nylon mesh,
polyester screen printing mesh, stainless steel wire mesh. The main
index of characteristic of various screen printing screen mesh as
below:
1. Tensile strength [g/d (g/diameter)] silk fabrics 3.7- 4.1 g/d,
nylon mesh for screen printing 4.5- 5.8 g/d, polyester printing
mesh 4.3- 5.5 g/d, stainless steel wire mesh 1.5 g/d.
2. Ratio of wet- and- dry strength (%), silk screen 92 ~ 100%,
nylon screen mesh cloth 89-90%, polyester screen mesh 100%,
monofilament screens stainless 100%.
3. Knot strength [g/d (g/diameter)], silk mesh screen 2.9 g/d,
nylon screen mesh fabric 4.5-5.4 g/d, polyester fabric for screen
printing 3. 4-4.4 g/d.
4. Tensile elongation (%), silk screen mesh 8 ~ 22%, nylon
screenprint mesh 26 ~ 32%, polyester screenprinting fabric 16 ~
30%, stainless steel screenprinting screens is 38%.
5. Elongation dry and wet ratio (%), tulle 120 ~ 134%, nylon screen
printing mesh fabric 115-122%, polyester mesh screen printing 100%,
stainless steel mesh of silk screen 100%.
How to choose right mesh fabrics
The screen printing mesh you will use will be determined by:
1. What you are printing onto.
2. What ink you will be using.
3. The detail in your design.
A lower number means a coarser polyester screen printing mesh , a
higher number means a finer mesh count. You will need to select the
correct silk screen printing mesh count for the artwork you have
produced.
Finer mesh counts for printing with water based inks will prove
more difficult because the ink will dry up too quickly on the finer
mesh counts.
With over 400 different polyester screen printing mesh fabric to
choose from, selecting the correct mesh screen printing size can be
a frustrating process. Use the following information as a general
guideline for silkscreen fabric selection.
• 43T polyester silk screen printing mesh is used most commonly for
general textile printing.
• Use 30 threads per inch polyester printing screen/mesh (12
threads per centimeter) for printing glitter inks.
• Use 60 threads per inch screenprinting fabric (24 threads per
centimeter) for athletic printing, opaque ink deposits, thick puff
ink, and shimmer ink.
• Use 85 threads per inch monofilament polyester screen printing
mesh (34 threads per centimeter) for heavy coverage on dark shirts,
solid under-base prints, puff, metallic, and shimmer inks, and
transfer printing.
• Use 125 threads per inch printing screen mesh (49 threads per
centimeter) for general printing on dark shirts, under-base prints
with detail, prints on dark nylon jackets, and silver shimmer ink.
• Use 180 threads per inch silk screen mesh for printing (71
threads per centimeter) for muti color printing on light shirts,
light colored nylon jackets.
• Use 230 threads per inch mesh for screen printing (90 threads per
centimeter) for detailed muti color printing on light shirts, light
nylon jackets, over printing on dark shirts.
• Use 305 thread per inch high tension silk screen printing mesh
(120 threads per centimeter) for process color on light shirts,
overprinting on dark shirts.
• When printing fleece goods use 20 threads lower. When printing
with an automatic press use 30 threads higher.
