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Whether you’re creating tote bags for a promotional campaign or personal use, understanding the difference between screen printing and digital printing will help you achieve the desired results. This guide explores the equipment, processes, and ideal materials for each method.
Screen Printing on Tote Bags:
Digitally Printing on Tote Bags:
The checklist for digitally printing on tote bags is significantly shorter than that of screen printing on tote bags. Let’s explore the differences between the two processes further.
Screen printing is a go-to method for apparel decorators, making it an appealing choice for those looking to decorate tote bags as well. At a surface level, industrial screen printing machines are often a solution for decorating some tote bags; however, diving deeper, the need to heat bags to dry them is not suitable for all materials. Furthermore, there is discussion around Plastisol inks, that are often use for screen printing, questioning the makeup of the ink and consequences for inhalation.
The first step in the screen printing process is the artwork creation. From there, the artwork needs to be transferred to a stencil.
Fun fact: Apparel screen printers take note! You need to invert the image on the screen. You will place the tote onto the press opposite of how you would do it as a t-shirt.
In the most basic sense, screen printing involves transferring an inverse image of a stenciled design onto a surface using a combination of a squeegee, ink, and pressure. This process can be executed using a variety of equipment, ranging from handheld tools to sophisticated industrial machinery. Moreover, the techniques for creating stencils vary widely, encompassing methods such as vinyl transfers, laser engraving, exposure units, and more.
Advanced screen printing systems, particularly high-end hybrid printers, can streamline the process by integrating both the printing and heat curing stages. This integration enhances efficiency and productivity. It should be noted that with screen printing, between each layer of color, there needs to be a drying stage.
For some, the drying stage and choosing the right textile dryer is one of the most important aspects of the screen printing process for tote bags. The tote bag has to be properly cured with heat between each layer and therefor the chosen method of textile driver could in turn boost operations or slow it down. Extensive research should be conducted prior to selecting a drying unit for your screen-printing shop.
When it comes to screen printing inks for tote bags, two prominent options stand out: water-based inks and Plastisol inks. Plastisol inks are favored in the industry due to their highly opaque appearance, effortless Pantone color matching, user-friendly application, and prolonged shelf life. On the other hand, eco-conscious consumers often opt for water-based inks, which offer a soft-to-the-touch feel once dried, in contrast to the texture of Plastisol inks. Water-based inks excel particularly on 100% cotton materials, yielding vibrant prints, albeit with a shorter shelf life compared to Plastisol inks.
The advantages of screen printing are multifaceted. It offers flexibility in terms of cost, catering to budgets of varying sizes. Furthermore, it excels in its capability to print on a diverse array of colors, including dark fabrics, with remarkable contrast. Additionally, screen printing equipment, commonly utilized for apparel printing, often boasts larger print areas compared to alternative methods.
However, pain points of screen printing include multi-step, multi-machine processes, the need to dry, and the use of plastisol inks. Other comparable methods, like UV digital printing on bags, can avoid such troubles.
There are a wide variety of different materials that can be decorated with screen printing. Screen print on cotton and canvas totes, as well as polyester reusable bags, nylon and more. However, it should be noted that cotton bags are the easiest to screen print on.
Screen printing is a popular and cost-effective method for printing on tote bags as it can create high-quality, long-lasting prints with bold colors. Keep in mind that the ink must be dried between each layer of color and therefore materials that are susceptible to heat might not be the best application, such as PVC clear concert bags.
The process of digital inkjet printing on tote bags begins similarly to screen printing, starting with the artwork. Once the artwork is finalized, it undergoes preparation for printing, involving specific layers for white and color. UV flatbed printers then take these prepared digital images and directly print them onto substrates, instantly curing them with UV light, enabling immediate stacking and shipping.
Prep the artwork, load the bag onto the platen, start the print, and load the next set of bags. The process is that simple, and better yet, complete within one machine.
UV inkjet printing on tote bags stands out as the preferred decoration method due to its ability to overcome limitations faced by other methods. For instance, UV inks and UV light negate the need for drying units. UV Vivid White inks offer a comparable contrast to screen printing white inks, enabling decorators to freely embellish tote bags of any color. Additionally, UV printing addresses issues encountered in screen printing, such as the inability to effectively decorate red substrates with white ink due to dye migrations, which often result in white letters appearing pink.
Inkcups manufactured first of its kind, direct-to-bag inkjet printer, the XJET Switch, to alleviate the limitations plaguing those looking to decorate tote bags. The XJET Switch features rotating platens,2-up, to allow for a streamlined process of the operator loading while the machine prints in the back. This continual process eliminates down time.
UV digital printers print with UV curable inks. We recommend for tote bags, the XFlexx UV Series. The XJET Switch swiftly decorates two tote bags at a time. Much like the XJET Switch being specially designed for decorating bags, the XFlexx flexible ink line was designed to flex and move with the flexile materials they decorate without cracking or distorting. Depending on customer requirements, the XJET Switch can house custom tooling for 3-up, 4-up or more as long as the printable area stays within the 650×350 mm total area.
Utilizing a UV flatbed printer for digitally decorating tote bags offers numerous advantages over traditional methods like screen printing. Firstly, digital UV printers offer instant curing, removing the wait time for drying or the necessity of an extra machine. Secondly, the specially formulated XFlexx Vivid White ink provides exceptional contrast, brightness, and quality akin to Plastisol white ink. Lastly, the XJET Switch has the versatility to decorate various materials of tote bags without limitations.
With digital flatbed printers, such as the XJET Switch, there are no limitations as to what materials can be decorated. In fact, digitally decorating tote bags is an ideal method as it can accurately and instantly decorate non-woven, coated non-woven, polyester, PCV stadium bags, cotton, canvas bags and more.
Get started today with digitally decorating tote bags with digital UV flatbed printers such as the XJET Switch. Contact your local sales representative to get the discussion started.
For more information, please visit, Applications: Reusable Bags
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