Printing on Plastic – the Options.

Plastics Australia Printing Options

At Plastics Australia we can faithfully apply your corporate logos and images via a variety of printing methods. The most common are

• Screen Printing,
• Digital Printing, and
• Foil Printing

 

What is Screen Printing?

The art of screen printing has been employed to print fabrics from as far back as the late 900’s but really found popularity in the 1960s when printed T-shirts became fashionable.

The process involves a stencil being created on a fine mesh screen (originally made of silk, thus the term silk screen printing), then ink is pushed through the screen with a squeegy, transferring the image on the substrate.  This method requires the use of thick inks, with each colour being printed separately – that is a screen is required for each colour. The actual process may be manual, or machine based.

Although many new methods of printing have been developed, screen printing remains one of the most reliable methods with many advantages.

Screen printing Pros.

• Colours are often brighter and more vibrant even on dark backgrounds.
• On long print runs of one colour only, screen printing is often more cost effective.
• Screen printing is suitable for a wide range of materials.
• Screen printing provides a durable, weather-resistant finish.

 

                 

Screen printing Cons.

Gradients and finely detailed images can be difficult to achieve with screen printing. Screen printing can include simple gradients with the use of halftones, but the resolution is noticeably lower than what can be achieved digitally.

Variable data, and sequential numbers are not recommended.

The white area shows how screen printed gradients can appear dotty.