Screen Printing, From the Production Line
Screen printing knowledge from people who actually run the machines.
Written from industrial production experience — automotive-grade discipline applied to process, inks, equipment and quality. For print shop owners, engineers and serious hobbyists.
Explore the Foundry
Process & Technique
Mesh, tension, squeegees, curing — and how to fix every common print defect.
02Inks & Materials
UV vs solvent systems, low surface energy plastics and surface treatment.
03Equipment
How a factory actually evaluates presses, exposure units and dryers.
04Quality & Testing
Adhesion standards, abrasion and climate tests, first article inspection.
05Business & Pricing
Cost-based pricing, quoting and margins — the money side of running a small print shop.
06Tools
Free shop-floor calculators and converters — mesh counts, openings, and more. No sign-up.
07Teardown Notes
Taking apart an industrial printing line one subsystem at a time — vision, calibration, motion, controls.
08Industry Data & Stats
Verified industry statistics plus our own original product censuses — market size, wages, real pricing. Updated quarterly.
09Glossary
Screen printing terms explained in plain English — screens, inks, equipment, process and quality vocabulary.
Latest Guides
- Autotype Exposure Calculator: How to Read the Film That Nobody Explains
The Autotype (MacDermid) exposure calculator is five exposures in one sheet of film. How the factor columns work, how to read the color change, what the resolution targets tell you, and what to use if you don't own one.
- Ink Viscosity for Screen Printers: How to Measure It, Read It, and Adjust It
Viscosity runs your print quality, but 'thick' and 'thin' aren't numbers. Flow cups vs. rotational viscometers, the right measuring procedure, real working ranges for water-based and plastisol inks, and how to adjust ink without wrecking it.
- How a Squeegee Really Works: Pressure, Angle, Skew, and Peel-Off in Plain English
The four settings that decide every print — squeegee pressure, print angle, skew, and peel-off — explained with the actual physics, the working numbers, and the maintenance habits that keep a blade true.
- How to Use a Screen Printing Tension Meter (And the Numbers That Matter)
Screen tension in plain numbers: where to measure, what 25 N/cm actually means, when a screen is too loose to print with, and how to pick a tension meter that lasts.
- Water-Based vs Plastisol Ink: Which Belongs in Your Shop
Water-based vs plastisol ink, from the printer's side: 8-factor chart, dried-in-screen first aid, pot life, discharge on darks, and a decision tree.
- Curing Screen Printing Ink: Temps, Times, and Wash Tests
Dry to the touch is not cured. Plastisol needs 320°F through the entire ink layer, water-based needs airflow — here's how to cure with any equipment and prove it worked.
- Mesh Count Chart: 110 vs 156 vs 230 — What Actually Changes in Your Print
A printable screen printing mesh count chart (TPI + metric T), the 3-screen starter kit, the 4-5x LPI rule for halftones, and the TPI-vs-T confusion nobody explains.
- How to Price Screen Printing Jobs: A Cost-First Method
Stop copying competitor price lists. Here's the cost-first formula for pricing screen printing jobs — with the three hidden costs most small shops forget, and a worked example.