Screen printing is a critical aspect of countless manufacturing processes, paving the way to transferring clear and integrated designs onto products. While a handful of elements go into an efficient screen printing process, proper utilization of screen printing wire mesh is often overlooked.
For example, stretching your wire mesh plays a critical role in the efficiency of your printing process. But many are unsure how and why.
W.S. Tyler strives to empower screen printers alike to turn out best-in-class prints through expert guidance that will help you navigate the world of woven wire mesh.
With that, we wrote the following article to highlight the ins and outs of stretching screen printing wire mesh. It will cover:
- The definition of screen printing wire mesh
- Why it's important to stretch screen printing wire mesh
- How screen printing wire mesh is stretched
- The common mistakes that are made when stretching screen printing wire mesh
What Is Screen Printing Wire Mesh?
Screen printing wire mesh is a versatile screen media that facilitates an accurate and repeatable screen printing process. Typically constructed using a stainless steel alloy, it is created by weaving hundreds of metal wires tightly to create pore openings that are precise and uniform.
Over the years, wire mesh, in particular, has become more popular in the industry as parameters such as wire diameter, alloy, mesh count, and weave thickness can all be customized by you. That said, the mesh count is the driving factor heavily responsible for the level of detail that can be achieved in your prints.
The Importance of Mesh Count
Mesh count is best defined as the number of mesh openings in a linear inch. As it directly impacts the ink flow of your printing process, mesh count must be selected carefully.
To help you make heads or tails of what mesh count you should use, it is essential to know that lower mesh counts yield prints with bolder designs and thick layers of ink. Higher mesh counts, on the other hand, yield prints with finer, detail-oriented imagery.
Gain more information on how mesh count impacts the screen printing process in the article below:
Why Must Screen Printing Wire Mesh Be Stretched?
Preparing wire mesh is a complex process that requires many steps to ensure high-quality prints. One of the more critical steps is tightly stretching the mesh across framing hardware.
Properly stretching your mesh ensures that the wires throughout the weave are evenly spaced. Uniform wire spacing means you have complete control over ink distribution, accommodating your quality expectations.
Tightly stretching your wire mesh also plays a major role in the screen's ability to be lifted cleanly after ink has been transferred to the substrate. The tighter the screen is stretched, the less likely you are to encounter ink bleeds.
Not to mention that ensuring your mesh is taught helps reduce the mechanical stress on your screen. In turn, your mesh will have minimal sag, if any, and it will not distort after several uses.
Put simply, stretching your screen printing wire mesh ensures quality prints while helping prolong the lifespan of your mesh.
How To Stretch Screen Printing Wire Mesh
Stretching screen printing wire mesh typically starts with the selection of the framing. After you select a wire mesh specification that accommodates your mesh count and material needs, you will want to align and attach the mesh to one side of the frame.
Using a mechanical stretcher, you will stretch your mesh, working from the center outwards to the opposite side. As the mesh comes into tension, you will want to anchor the section you are pulling to ensure the tension is locked in place.
Once all areas of the screen are evenly tensioned, you will want to utilize a tension meter to verify that the tension is uniform and compliant with the requirements of your process. The next step will be to secure the mesh tensioning.
For static framing hardware, this involves stapling the mesh in place. But if you are working with retensionable framing hardware, you will need to tighten the frame's tension mechanism.
At this point, if necessary, you will want to trim any access mesh and conduct one last inspection to ensure your screen tensioning is to your liking.
What Are the Common Mistakes Made When Stretching Screen Printing Wire Mesh?
While it is essential to stretch your screen printing mesh, you must be mindful of the common mistakes you encounter during the stretching process. Naturally, uneven tensioning is one of the more frequent mistakes. This uneven tension can cause certain areas to be more precise than others, creating inconsistent prints.
To that end, it should be known that overstretching your mesh can alter the size and shape of the mesh openings, create anomalies in ink flow, and even damage the wires in the weave. Understretching your mesh, on the other hand, can cause sagging, which ultimately leads to blurred and distorted imagery.
Note: It is important that you follow the manufacturer's recommendations when tensioning your mesh.
One last mistake you should avoid is using outdated, worn, or damaged framing hardware. Failure to use up-to-par framing can hinder the tensioning process, which can cause a decline in print quality over time.
Make the Most of Your Stretched Wire Mesh With the Right Printing Technique
Stretching is a woven wire value-added service in which screen printing wire is tightly stretched across a screen printing frame. It is a critical step in the screen printing process as it helps improve print precision, ink distribution, mesh durability, and print repeatability.
But as stretching is one of the final steps before you start to print, you will want to ensure you are integrating the right screen printing technique. By taking the time to weigh the pros and cons of the various ways to screen print, you are setting yourself up to create an efficient process.
A prominent woven wire manufacturer for over 150 years, W.S. Tyler strives to support our customers' screen printing endeavors by supplying industry-leading wire mesh. Allow us to learn the ins and outs of your process so we can serve as your organization's wire-weaving division and help you achieve best-in-class prints.
Gain insight into the most widely used screen printing techniques used today in the article below: