When I first came to work at a printing shop, this question always confused me. As a consumer I didn’t care, I just wanted my signs, banners or t-shirts made. As a software developer, it seemed like a waste of time. What I learned was an eye opener. The print method is possibly the most important aspect of your custom sign, banner or t-shirt order. Using a digital process where a silkscreen process should be used will affect quality, color, durability and price.
Digital Printing
Digital printing is easy to understand. It works similar to your desktop printer except the machines are huge and cost more than a house. They also operate in the CMYK colorspace and have 6 more more colors. Watching these machines run is amazing, almost mesmerizing.
Pros of Digital Printing
- Full color and gradients.
- Lower cost for small batches
- Faster turnaround times
Cons of Digital Printing
- Durability
- High costs for large volumes, ink is expensive and some systems have a per-click charge.
- Ink can fade over time or appear washed out.
Silkscreen Printing
Silkscreen printing is an art requiring highly skilled artisans and designers. The silkscreen process is labor intensive as each color has to be screened individually. The silkscreen process involves separation an image into its various colors creating a “screen” for each color. Once the screen is created, ink is gently pressed through the screen and adheres to the chosen substrate. Because of the labor invoked in creating the screens and separation of the images, there is a high initial cost per run of a silkscreen print job.
Pros of Silkscreen Printing
- Large runs can be produced economically resulting in a lower cost.
- The ink is applied much thicker resulting in a tactile feel desirable on some substrates
- Spot colors can be matched nearly perfectly.
- Long life and resistant to fade.
- For textiles, silkscreen printing can survive many wash-cycles without showing wear.
Cons of Silkscreen Printing
- Small runs are very expensive.
- Cannot reproduce gradients or true color type images
- The thicker layer of ink and corresponding tactile feel may not be desirable on some substrates.
Have Questions? Call US
(800)614-8040
Awesome, so When do I Want to Order Silkscreen?
For t-shirts with simple lettering and artwork, you always want silkscreen. In nearly every instance, the silkscreen will simply look better.
For yard signs, 4 of factors are involved. Cost, complexity, volume and turnaround time. As the consumer, you must carefully weigh each factor. Do you need just a handful of signs, choose digital because the cost will be lower. If you need 50 or more, choose silkscreen. If your artwork photo-realistic, choose digital because the costs of the multiple screens will raise the cost and time for proofing such a complicated process may add days to your production time.
Silkscreen is Nice, but as a Realtor, I Want my Picture on the Sign.
For photos, the signs will have to be printed digitally. At a certain level, the price per signs will increase as costs accumulate. You can always call us at (800)614-8040 for more innovative way to print your signs and lower your costs.
I am Running for Office, I Need hundreds or thousands of Signs.
1 or 2 color silkscreen would be the most cost effective way to spread a campaign message far and wide. For such campaigns we would work with your to reduce your per sign cost and maximize your campaign budget.