Characteristics of Different Silk Screen Materials

Cotton yarn mesh: due to the poor evenness of warp and weft, the mesh size is inconsistent and the shape is different. Cotton yarn has poor surface smoothness, low tensile strength and low pressure resistance. The printing plate made of cotton silk screen is not ideal in quality, poor in resolution and poor in printing resistance, so it has been rarely used.

Silk screen: its warp and weft yarn evenness, tensile strength and surface finish are higher than those of cotton yarn screen. Its disadvantages are too large elongation rate, easy aging and deterioration, poor light resistance and easy brittleness after long-term exposure to light.

Nylon mesh: woven from a synthetic fiber-poly (cooamine) fiber. There are many strands and monofilaments in weaving. The thickness of warps and wefts can be processed according to different requirements, the area density of meshes is uniform, the abrasion resistance is good, the elongation rate is lower than that of silk meshes, and the printing plate made of nylon meshes has less static electricity when in use. The disadvantage is that the acid resistance is slightly poor.

Vinegar mesh: also known as polyester mesh, is also woven from a synthetic fiber. The thickness of warp and weft can also be made according to requirements. The mesh area and density are even. Its chemical resistance is stronger than nylon mesh and its elongation is lower than nylon mesh. The disadvantage is that static electricity is generated during printing, and the water content is worse than nylon mesh.

Wire mesh: refers to the wire mesh woven of stainless steel wire and steel wire, and also the wire mesh made of electroplated nickel. It is characterized by high strength, good wear resistance, excellent chemical resistance, high surface finish and excellent electrical conductivity. It is extremely easy to heat during printing and is very suitable for screen printing ink or slurry that needs heating. The disadvantage of wire mesh is that the elasticity is small, and if the wire mesh has creases, the elasticity cannot be recovered and it can only be discarded.

In the current screen printing, nylon wire mesh is usually used as the substrate of the printing plate, but polyester wire mesh and metal wire mesh are also often used as the substrate of the printing plate when making very precise image printing plates.