T-Shirt Printer
T-shirts are printed on by a process called screen printing or silk screening. Though this type of printing has a variety of applications it is most commonly used to print t-shirts. T-shirt printers use a wide variety of inks and dyes to create virtually any image.

Materials
T-shirt screen printers require three components; the screen that carries the image, the squeegee and the ink. The screen in usually made up of a wood or metal frame that has a porous mesh material stretched over it. In addition, the squeegee is usually a blade made from polyurethane. And the screen ink is usually a moderately viscous ink. The inks can be UV curable, solvent, water, solvent plastisol, or water plastisol.

The Process
The first step in t-shirt printing involves creating a stencil. The print operator will take a photo or image and will create a positive image that will be transferred to the t-shirt.

The stencil is then either manually or electronically applied to the screen. The stencil represents the image that will be printed by the t-shirt printer and is often referred to as the image plate. The screen is then placed over the t-shirt and ink is applied to the screen. A squeegee is used to push the ink through the openings in the mesh. Ink will be forced onto the surface of the t-shirt to form the image of the stencil.

This printing process has been around for many years, though the efficiency or printing on t-shirts continues to improve with advances in technology. The process remains the same for UK banner and t-shirt printers as well as others worldwide.

Speed
There are several factors that contribute to a t-shirt printer’s production rate. For example, the amount of units that can be printed on with UK t-shirt screen printers depends heavily on the drying rate of the screen ink.

Improved drying systems in discount t-shirt printers help improve the production rate. In addition, the wide spread use of automatic printers rather than manual presses has increased the volume of t-shirts that can be produced. Also, curable inks, and rotary presses that allow for continuous use increases the production rate of cheap t-shirt printers.