Hand Screen Printing is time consuming and limited to relatively short lengths of 60 yards. For this the process of screen printing became mechanized and is called automatic flat-bed screen printing.
Automatic Screen printing is like hand screen printing except that the process is automated and is faster than hand screen printing process.
Method:
Electronically controlled automatic machines can screen print long lengths of cloth at rates of up to 450 yards per hour. In this method, the back of the fabric to be printed is coated with an adhesive, which causes it to adhere to a backing on a rubber conveyor belt that serves as the table top for the printing operation. A series of flat screens, one for each color are set in frames with automatically operated squeegees and are placed above the belt.
As the fabric advances, the screens are automatically lowered to the cloth and the appropriate colour is properly applied with automatically regulated squeegees. The cloth is then fed in to the oven continuously for drying. Greater production of Printed cloth can be achieved by this machine and exact registration of prints with different repeats is possible.
The rate of Production is about 500 yards/hour.
Automatic screen printing is utilized for whole rolls of fabric but not for cut garment parts.
Characteristics:
The colours of the screen printing are characterized by their cleanliness and they exhibit the natural bloom and brilliancy.
The unprinted white portions do not get tinted.
The total design exhibits the individualistic appearance.
Large repeats and blotch designs can be obtained by this method.
Merits and Demerits:
Merits:
It is not a laborious process
Automatic Screen printing is a continuous process
Colours can be produced in brighter, cleaner shades.
Pattern with very large number of colours more than 20 are often created through automatic flatbed screen printing machine.
All types of fabric structures, including woven’s, knits, and non woven’s, can be printed through this process.
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