The working principle of machine screen printing is similar to that of hand screen printing, and screens are also required. The workflow is, screen positioning → lowering the screen → squeegee ink → raising the screen.
The difference from hand screen printing is
1, The automatic machine squeegee replaces the hand squeegee.
2, Unlike hand screen printing, which needs to move the screen every time it is printed, the screen of machine screen printing is fixed on the machine. Every time printing is completed, the fabric will move forward with the guide belt for a fixed distance.
3, Hand screen printing needs to change another screen every time when a batch of fabrics printing finished, and then repeat the printing. Machine screen printing is one-time forming, each screen is placed on the fabric at a fixed distance, and all the screens are lowered at the same time, and the corresponding color is scraped on the fabric. After the fabric passes through all the screens, the printing is completed.
The advantage is that machine screen printing is a semi-automatic printing method, production efficiency is much higher than manual screen printing, and the price is much lower than hand screen printing, which is one of the cheapest printing methods.
The disadvantage is that machine screen printing is not as accurate as manual screen printing, there may be small deviations between different colors, and the fineness of the pattern is poorer than that of hand screen printing. It is not suitable for designs with many colors or fine details. The minimum order quantity is relatively high. It also costs about 100 US dollars for each time of sample printing. Machine screen printing is currently mainly used in low-end fabrics.
