So You’re Interested in Screen Printing, Huh?
Since 1902 ish, Screen Printing has been producing custom goods for all of it's consumers but it looks a little different today than it did 120 years ago.
As a local company in Lincoln and Omaha that has been in the industry 20+ years - we know that not everyone knows what all goes into the art of what we do - screen printing.
One of the coolest things about screen printing here at Art F/X is how much our production team enjoys being able to produce the products they do. Every custom t-shirt and jacket that they produce is part of their craft and they take great pride in that.
Thanks Production Team!
Step One: The Idea
This whole process begins with the client. Without the idea from our clients, we wouldn't have anything to produce or at least nothing of benefit to anyone but us.
When you come in or call us, we take into consideration all of the factors that go into producing a exactly what you need. From print locations and colors to garment colors and quantities which is all addressed by the sales rep provided to you at the start of your project.
Our sales reps have an extensive knowledge of just what can be done when it comes to screen printing and custom goods. They help you settle on an idea that is doable and doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.
We then pass off the project to our designers who take your design and consider how the design will work once it is actually produced. Once we have your go-ahead - we send it down to our production team to get rollin.
Step Two: The Execution
Your design is now out of your hands and into ours and we will make sure we provide you with the best product possible. Our production team then puts your design on screens - what most people would describe as a stencil on a wooden frame.
Once on screens they put it through a process called emulsification that makes the screen hard so that it can act as a stencil and then burn the design into the screen so it can be used later in the process. What an explanation of what that looks like here.
Step Three: The Mix
Next, the exact colors you wish to use in your design are whipped up and checked to make sure that they can be used in the design.
They are then set out for easy access when creating the shirts and we move on to the next step!
Step Four: The Press
Ooo, now this is the good part! Your product is then aligned onto the giant press to ensure that each product looks the same. On machine presses there is a loader who puts the products onto the press and then there is a puller who pulls them once they have been screen printed and checks for imperfections.
Once they have ensured that the product is flawless - they then put it on a dryer and what they call a catcher is at the end of the conveyor belt to catch the finished product and check once again, for imperfections.
Step Five: The Finish Line
Once the shirt is finished and boxed up it can then take one of two trips, additional services or to the client.
If a product needs an additional service such as embroidery or heat press it then goes to it's next step in the process so that the next team can handle the order. If it doesn't need anymore work done, it then goes onto a shelf and the customer is contacted so they can either pick up their order or it can be delivered.
That's it! Our production process for screen printing goods is a simple but effective one that allows us to create custom goods for you and anyone else that needs them.