What is Screen Printing

Screen printing has been around for thousands of years. It was originally done by pushing ink through a fabric make of fine mesh silk threads. Nowadays, the silk had been replaced by a much stronger, longer lasting polyester thread. Screen printing is done in two basic ways: spot color and process color.

Solid Color Printing, or ‘spot color’ printing as it’s called within the industry, uses distinct ink colors and it accounts for about 95% of the printing we do. Our presses allow us to use up to 5 colors on a design. While we have a generous selection of stock inks, we are also capable of producing shirts using any color you may choose from the Pantone (Solid Coated) color library, though there is a small charge for ink mixing. The ink colors are solid on the surface of the shirt, without color variations, although shading is often achieved through the use of screen halftones.

Process Printing – Traditional process printing that is done in the four primary colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (commonly referred to as CMYK) has been replaced in the t-shirt industry by simulated process printing which uses colors from the Pantone Matching System that are brighter and more vivid than traditional CMYK.  It is a best of both worlds approach that combines the benefits of Pantone inks with the technique of CMYK process printing.  We can choose whatever inks make the most sense for your particular job rather than limit ourselves only to primary colors.

Process printing on dark shirts has taken on a new life with the advent of simulated process as the opaque colors allow for a vibrant print on top of the white underbase (think primer coat of paint).  Please note, there is an art charge for converting multi-colored artwork into a process screen print but this charge only applies to the first order.  Any reorders of the same artwork will not need to be charged again.

We have a full-service Art Department and will be happy to create artwork for your project or to consult with you on artwork which you already have or plan to create yourself. Please call or email with any questions you may have. We will respond cheerfully knowing that we may have to hold your hand through what is often an intimidating process.  For more information, see our page on custom printing.