Our in-house printing facilities include Rotary and Flat Screen printing.

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. A design is imposed on the mesh with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. A roller or squeegee in moved across the screen forcing ink through the mesh in open areas onto the printing surface revealing the design. Each stencil used supports a different colour.

What’s the difference?

Flat bed screen printing...
Flat-bed presses use a flat polyester or silk screen and a three step reciprocating process to perform the printing operation. The screen is first moved into position over the substrate where ink/pigment is applied. The squeegee is then pressed against the mesh and drawn over the image area, and then the screen is lifted away from the substrate to complete the process. With a flat-bed press the substrate to be printed is positioned on a horizontal print bed that is parallel to the screen.

What are the print limitations?

Rotary screen printing...
Rotary screen presses are designed for continuous, high speed web printing. The screens used are seamless perforated nickel cylinders. The open-ended cylinders are aluminum capped at both ends and fitted into blocks at the side of the press. During printing, ink is pumped into one end of the cylinder so that a fresh supply is constantly maintained. The squeegee is a free floating steel bar inside the cylinder and squeegee pressure is maintained and adjusted by magnets mounted under the press bed. Rotary screen presses are most often used for printing textiles, wallpaper, and other products requiring unbroken continuous patterns.

What are the print limitations?