Screen Printing
It's hard to understand the need for setting minumems without understanding the process of silk screening. Do you know that when screen printing, it takes the same amount of time to process and set up a job for 1 shirt as it does for 100 shirts? That process includes art separation, screen coating, screen burning, registration of colors, doing test prints and finally applying the ink to the product. There is also support staff that handles customer service, finds and orders products, preps the orders for printing and handles shipping and billing. Shop time for an order could be $100's to get your order setup and to you after you take into account all of the time each department spends on your order!
Screen Printing - for a Professional Image that will LAST!
Serigraphy is a print technique that is also known as screen-printing or silkscreening. It is a stencil technique that uses a mesh fabric stretched tight on a support frame. In most shops, there will be a screen charge and set up charge because each color of the design requires a different screen created by affixing a stencil to the screen and "burning" the image into the screen. Solid areas in the stencil block the ink from getting through the screen. In our shop, we have a 4-station and 6 station manual press. When the screens are setup on the correct press, the registration will be adjusted manually until it is as perfect as we can get it. A good printer knows this must be monitored throughout the entire printing of the job being worked on. Using a squeegee, we apply the ink which covers everything except the blocked-out sections. Light on dark may require a white backing and spot heating which may raise the cost of printing the item. The image appears on the t-shirt, sign, paper, canvas or other surface placed beneath the screen as each color is applied. This is a time-honored printing technology that is used to print everything from t-shirts and short-run posters, to novelties like coffee mugs, decals, and other fun goodies. Screen printing is most valued for its ability to print on a wide variety of materials with flexibility.
No two jobs are alike when it comes to screen printing! This requires someone with a lot of experience to make sure every job is done correctly. Maybe you only need a simple one color design on a white t-shirt or perhaps you want a complex six color job on a black shirt. Here at Street Graphex we have the experience to know exactly how to get the absolute best image possible on your project! We understand that different materials will require different methods of printing to achieve the best results. We will be honest with you on how what you want may not actually turn out as you expect it!! Every shirt we print, every sign we create, every project that we do, is our billboard of what we can do for you, our customer. We are COMMITTED to making sure that all of our customers are 100% satisfied with what we do here at Street Graphex.
Street Graphex INC minimums are 12 shirts for a 1 color image, 24 shirts for a 2 or 3 color image, 48 for a 4+ color image. We will be strictly enforcing these minimums for screen printed apparel.
There are other options for lower quantity requests. We can do dye sublimation on light colored polyester garments. We can do transfers on other apparel.