What is The Difference Between Screen Film and Offset Film?

The screen plate making of Screen printing is inseparable from the film to do the plate exposure. So what software do we use to design the screen printing film?

Screen printing film design software has AI, CDR, and PS. the computer processing before screen printing is the color separation processing of the pattern.

To make sure the silkscreen picture has clear and smooth lines, we usually make the file into a vector format, so that the edges of the pattern will be smooth and non-jagged. Commonly used software is AI and CDR. When making the four-color film, we will use PS software to separate the colors.

To maintain the printing accuracy of the images, we usually set the resolution of PHOTOSHOP to 300 pixels.

Tips for making screen printing film:

1. Multi-color pattern overprinting and overlap printing. The adjacent part between the color blocks made by the software should draw the positioning line to ensure the accuracy of the subsequent overprinting. Generally, enlarge the light color and unchanged the dark color.
2. At the same time, the film of screen printing should be done as well as offset printing. And the cross-positioning line should do well. In this way, the counterpoint of post-printing is very convenient and fast.
3. Screen printing film to do four primary color dot printing, according to the actual situation of the resolution to decide the lines and angle. It's all set up on the computer.
4. When screen printing film is output, the drug film is upward, contrary to offset film.

The difference between screen film and offset film

Offset film

The PS plate of Offset printing should be the positive direction, transfer to the roller is the reverse word, and finally, when transferred out to paper or other substrates is a positive pattern or text. As we all know, the text/picture of the PS plate is obtained by film exposure.

The exposure lamp is from the top to down, but the film negative plate has a certain thickness. To make the film display image as soon as possible and in full contact with the PS plate as far as possible, to ensure that the drug film contacts the PS plate without any space. So the drug film of offset film is downward.

Screen Printing Film

Screen printing is short for screen mesh printing. To ensure full contact between the drug film surface of the screen film and screen mesh, therefore, screen printing film can only achieve the printing effect when it is a positive character. In addition, the screen printing exposure light is working from below to the top, so the image part of the screen printing film should be the drug film up. In other words, if the drug film is on top, we should see obverse letters.

Conclusion: The content of offset film is mirrored (that is, reversed). The content of screen printing film is not mirrored. This is the biggest difference between screen film and offsets film.

A final note:

In addition to the output of screen film with a film machine, we can also print film with a printer, that is, print black ink on PP film. Some directly use sulfate paper to make the film, to ensure the pattern of sulfate paper blackness, and usually use a special blackening agent to ensure the blackness.

In addition, if the substrate of screen printing is transparent, reverse printing is required, then the screen printing film will mirror the pattern. Or it is an offset film.

Before the film output, we have to distinguish whether to do screen printing film or offset film. We know exactly how to set it up on the computer.

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SUBLIMATION Or SCREEN PRINTING: Learning The Distinctions