There are quite a few steps that go into screen printing after your art is approved. In screen printing, each color of your design must be separated out and put on to its own screen. So, if you have a design that has 3 colors on both the front and back, then your order would have 3 different screens for both sides.
Screens are used in screen printing (hence the name). They are metal frames with a mesh material stretched very tightly from edge to edge. An emulsion chemical is placed on the screens, so that when the artwork positive is placed on the screen and placed in the UV light chamber, the areas not blocked out by the artwork positive expands and fills in the mesh area making it solid. Once the screen comes out of the UV chamber and the positive is removed, the mesh under the positive remains open, which will allow ink to pass through. This is done for each screen needed for the job.
Once the screens are allowed to cure, they are placed on the printing press, each screen going in it’s own slot. The proper colored ink is then placed on top of each screen. A shirt is placed on a pallet that rotates around to each screen and is raised up to the screen. Then a squeegee runs over the top of the screen pressing the ink down through the open mesh on to the shirt. The shirt pallet then lowers and moves on to the next screen where the process is repeated. Once all the colors of the imprint are put on the shirt, the shirt is removed and placed on a conveyor belt that runs through a dryer that heats the shirt up to 425 degrees, which cures the ink and makes the design permanent.
What is flashing? Flashing is necessary when you place an ink directly on top of another color. This is most often used when an underbase is used. When a shirt is flashed, after an ink is placed on the shirt, the shirt pallet rotates over and up to where a screen would normally be, but in place of a screen is a miniature heater that cures the ink enough for another imprint to be placed on top of it without it being smudged.
What is an underbase? An underbase is similar to a primer coat painted on a dark wall before painting the wall a lighter color. A white underbase is placed under any inks that are lighter than the color of the shirt. This prevents the color of the shirt showing through the ink and not making it look solid.
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