Screen printing
Screen printing enables the design to be produced on a mass scale for a cheap price, it is the process of printing through an exposed mesh screen onto paper and fabrics.
Pros:
- Perfect for larger designs consisting of one or two colors.
- Ideal for printing onto cotton and poly cotton clothing items
- The ink is heat dried, therefore the garments can withstand the roughness of machine washing.
Cons:
- Time consuming (washing & drying)
- Room for human error (ghosting and offset print)
- Separate screens for individual designs
Screen printing may be a possibility for me to demonstrate how my deliverables will look, however if this company was to be created and developed I would need to find an alternative printing method which can achieve the colour I need.
Since some of my deliverables are totes and tshirts, screen printing is ideal in my current situation to show how the deliverables will be presented.
Heat Press
A heat press is a machine that presses a design onto a material. The machine uses high temperatures and heavy pressure to embed the design onto the material permanently. For professionals especially, these machines are highly recommended instead of using irons. Irons cannot reach the high temperatures and pressure that a heat press machine can reach and sustain. Heat press machines typically require 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In terms of pressure, they typically demand forces of 40 to 80 psi.
Pros:
- Can use several colors, as long as they do not overlap.
- Photographic material can be pressed.
- No registration marks.
- Not messy.
Cons:
- Expensive set-up costs.
- Cannot layer colors because the t-shirt will become bulky and heavy.
- Each image needs to be cut precisely to eliminate the extra paper you do not want to print onto the image. This can be very time consuming.
Laser / Inkjet Printing
Printing in this way is the most convenient and easy approach for me however I know that I will not be able to achieve the colour I need by using a basic inkjet printer in the print room. Other processes must come into play if I am to achieve the right tone for my concept. This method however would be able to produce a large amount of printed deliverables at once, but could be more pricy to produce.
Risograph Print
"The Risograph is an environmentally friendly and cost effective printer, which uses soy-based inks to produce unique outcomes. Each stencil (master) is made from thermal sensitive paper and unlike offset printing it only takes a single print for the screen to be fully inked and ready to print thousands of copies. The Risograph is extremely energy efficient and generates a minimal amount of waste. All our stocked papers are recycled or FSC certified." source
Riso printing would be a great option as it is more environmentally friendly, cost efficient, and also uses soy based inks (perfect for a vegan project...). However, due to the time scale of the project, I cannot use this method. However, if this project was to be produced, riso printing would be a great method of printing for the restaurants posters and especially menus.
As seen above, Risograph printing gives a beautiful quality, and is able to achieve fluorescent inks that regular printing cannot achieve. Since it is cost effective, this would be ideal for mass reproduction, and the environmental aspects perfectly reflect my company's ethics.
The system for Risograph is similar to screen printing, where the greyscale images are all layered onto separate pdfs.
The colour for the green in my deliverables would be printed with the pantone swatch "Pantone Pastels Neons Coated 802 C" if it was to be produced as a business. This is the closest ink found to #00ff00.
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