Screen Making

Because sometimes you need to bring it in-house

A few of our clients do their own printing, either for in-house quality control purposes or because they enjoy getting ink under their nails. The reasons are varied.
We service certain industries, such as those in electronics manufacturing, stained-glass, and even other screen printers who are not set up to make their own screens.
So whatever your reason, we can custom-make your screens too.

Frames	Mesh	Emulsion
Our standard frames are made of wood; either solid or laminate (plywood) depending on the size. We have two basic standard sizes which cover most requested applications (8" x 10" i.d. and 12" x 21" i.d.). Custom sizes are available upon request.	All the mesh we use is polyester mono-filament mesh. (Silk has not been used in the industries for years. This is the reason why the term Silk-screening is frowned upon.) Mesh coarseness is determined by thread-count. We carry many different thread counts (measured in threads-per-inch); each has a different usage or is more suitable for different ink viscosities. Thinner inks, such as epoxy and UV, would require a higher thread count to reduce the amount of ink that passes through. Thicker inks, like Plastisols, or inks with a large particulate, like metallic flake, require a lower thread count to let more ink through and leave a heavier lay-down.	Graphic Images uses Autotype's Autosol Classic emulsion for our stencils for resistance to solvents and water. The stencil is made by contact exposure. This process involves using the photo-reactive emulsion, a film positive, a very large vacuum frame, and a bright light source.

Frames

Mesh

Emulsion

Our standard frames are made of wood; either solid or laminate (plywood) depending on the size. We have two basic standard sizes which cover most requested applications (8" x 10" i.d. and 12" x 21" i.d.). Custom sizes are available upon request.

All the mesh we use is polyester mono-filament mesh. (Silk has not been used in the industries for years. This is the reason why the term Silk-screening is frowned upon.) Mesh coarseness is determined by thread-count.

We carry many different thread counts (measured in threads-per-inch); each has a different usage or is more suitable for different ink viscosities.

Thinner inks, such as epoxy and UV, would require a higher thread count to reduce the amount of ink that passes through.

Thicker inks, like Plastisols, or inks with a large particulate, like metallic flake, require a lower thread count to let more ink through and leave a heavier lay-down.

Graphic Images uses Autotype's Autosol Classic emulsion for our stencils for resistance to solvents and water.

The stencil is made by contact exposure. This process involves using the photo-reactive emulsion, a film positive, a very large vacuum frame, and a bright light source.

Special Considerations

With a clear understanding of your project, we can customize your screen to meet your needs. The last thing we want is to give you a screen that you can't use.

Overall Size	Metal Edges	"Extreme" Modifications
Sometimes you have to print inside an item such as a metal enclosure. If there's room, we can make that screen.	Like above, sometimes there doesn't appear to be enough room to print where you would like, such as in a corner or next to some other immovable item. By replacing parts of your wooden frame with thinner metal edges, allowing you to print much closer to your obstacles.	Sometimes replacing a single or even two sides won't get you past that obstacle, or you have to print around an object. In this case we can cut a channel out of the frame or even poke a hole in the screen. "Poke a hole in the screen?" Sure, if that's what needs to be done. By reinforcing the mesh around the section with a dimensionally stable mylar, it's perfectly okay to cut small voids from the mesh.

Overall Size

Metal Edges

"Extreme" Modifications

Sometimes you have to print inside an item such as a metal enclosure. If there's room, we can make that screen.

Like above, sometimes there doesn't appear to be enough room to print where you would like, such as in a corner or next to some other immovable item.

By replacing parts of your wooden frame with thinner metal edges, allowing you to print much closer to your obstacles.

Sometimes replacing a single or even two sides won't get you past that obstacle, or you have to print around an object. In this case we can cut a channel out of the frame or even poke a hole in the screen.

"Poke a hole in the screen?" Sure, if that's what needs to be done. By reinforcing the mesh around the section with a dimensionally stable mylar, it's perfectly okay to cut small voids from the mesh.

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