If you’re new to screen printing, you’ll undoubtedly come across a few terms you don’t know. Below, we’ve listed 19 screen printing terms that will make navigating the industry a whole lot easier.
Screen Printing Terms to Know
Artwork:
When we reference artwork in the screen printing world, we mean your custom design. Not a Picasso. (Although yours may be just as good.)
Automatic Press:
An automatic press is a press used to create custom apparel. Unlike manual ones, a mechanical press can get the job done much faster and more precisely.
Blend:
Blend is when we print a design with more than one ink color on a screen. It creates an excellent blending effect.
Cure:
To cure a print means completely fusing Plastisol ink into the fabric, which is different from drying the ink. Even if the ink feels dry to the touch, that doesn’t mean it is completely cured or fused to the material.
Discharge Ink:
Discharge ink is water-based ink used to print on darker materials. Discharge ink is made with a discharge agent that removes the manufacturer’s original dye from the material and replaces it with the color of the ink being used.
Drop Shadow:
Drop Shadow is a graphic design effect that screen printers use to create a print that looks 3D.
Extender Base:
An extender base is an additive that can be added to ink to make it go just a little bit further and cover more surface space.
Hand:
The hand is a screen printing term used to describe how a print feels to the touch. Plastisol ink has a rougher, heavier hand than water-based ink.
Keyline:
The basic outline of your print’s design is the keyline.
Name Drop:
A design may not be custom in many cases, but a client may want to brand it with their logo or business name. This is known as a name drop: branding a generic design with a custom logo or name.
Overcured:
It is possible to expose a print to too much heat. When this happens, the design has been over-cured. Symptoms of an over-cured print include premature cracking or fading of ink.
Plastisol:
Plastisol is a PVC-based ink. It’s the standard for most screen printers and offers thick, glossy prints for all kinds of apparel items.
Proof:
The proof is simply a tester. It serves as a preview of what all your other prints will look like.
Screen Printing:
(How could we not include this on our list?) Screen printing is a method of printing designs onto various materials with a screen, ink, and a squeegee. Many professional screen printers use the automatic press mentioned above to complete the process, but manual presses with squeegees can also be used.
Special Effects Ink:
Many different types of ink are used for screen printing, many of which are referred to as special effects ink. These include puff ink, glow-in-the-dark ink, and reflective ink (among many others).
Stencil:
This part of our screen contains your custom design to be printed.
Undercure:
Just as a print can be over-cured, it can also be under-cured. Under-cure is a term that describes a design that hasn’t been completely cured. If the material is washed, the ink will likely be wiped off in the process.
Viscosity:
Viscosity is a term that refers to the level of the opaqueness of a design. It can either be increased or decreased for a more vivid or pale design.
Wet on Wet Printing:
Wet on wet printing is printing a design of multiple colors without drying them in between; this can be done if the design’s colors do not overlap.
You may see us use countless more terms on our blog or hear during the ordering process. So if you have additional questions or want more information about what we do, leave us a comment or contact us today. We’re happy to provide clarity.
