When you talk about these two techniques, there are many factors you should take into consideration because Digital printing and screen-printing are two very different things, both in terms of results and in terms of costs. Which is cheaper? Which one gives better quality? Still not sure, what interests you the most?

Let’s first see what they are all about and which are the major advantages and disadvantages of each one of them

The classic screen-printing

To make use of this technique, the main thing that you must do is to choose a design that you will print on a photolith, this will be the one that will be transferred to a fabric mesh that will be stretched over a frame that is called screen, from this comes to its name.

The person using this process will open some pores of the mesh to let the ink pass, and others will be closed to avoid that. After that, the screen will be placed on the garment and the ink of the selected color is transferred using a scraper on the screen.

As you could read, this technique needs experience because you must do all the process for every color and makes it perfect for optimal results.

Some major advantages that you can find in Screen Printing are:

• This is an economic process.
• You will have a high-quality result.
• Maximum durability and resistance, the colors will remain for a lot of time.
• You can use it to make huge orders

Disadvantages:

• Screen preparation has a high cost, and it is great only for huge orders.
• You need the experience to make the pieces look amazing.
• You need a great order to generate enough income.
• It can take some time to prepare a screen for all the colors that you need.

On the other hand, we have digital printing

For this one, you will use a printer and it is based on textile inks that are special for this work, to use the method you will need to have the design in the computer and just as the paper put the pieces of clothes in the printer to start the process.

Therefore, this is easier because you will not have to make it manually as the screen/printing. However, let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

Advantages of this method:

• You can use to produce just one piece if you want it
• It allows you to have amazing results even if you want to put a photo or HD image.
• The print will damage the garment because it puts it on delicately.
• You can use all the colors you want in just one use.

Disadvantages:

• You will need an enormous amount of money for the initial investment.
• The ink used could be expensive.
• It will cost you the same to print just 1 or 100 pieces, so there is not a benefit for huge orders.

Reasons on why screen-printing is better than digital printing

Will I need a few or many units? This question you must ask yourself to choose correctly. Screen-printing involves a series of initial costs that make it expensive, and those costs do not exist in digital printing. Therefore, if you are going to order a few units, digital printing is usually more helpful and it will allow you to print in full color.

So why is not digital printing ideal? Well, it turns out that the cost per unit of this technique is much higher than that of screen-printing one. It may seem that we are contradicting ourselves, but we are not. Screen-printing is expensive to start because of the manufacturing costs of photoliths and screens, which are the matrices for printing in each color used, but once assumed, each print is drastically cheaper than in direct printing.

When does screen-printing become a win-win?

There is a point where the barrier between Screen Printing Miami and digital printing is diluted: with a high number of units, screen-printing, even with several screens, is much cheaper than digital printing and yet it does not have color limitations since it allows the four-color, thanks to the use of frames.

In addition, we must not forget that with its ink curing process, screen-printing offers high resistance to passaging time, which is a considerable addition.

Of course, the total investment will be quite high. Thus, the cost per unit offsets the costs of photoliths and screens. If you wonder now what quantities we are talking about, we can comment that it also depends on the desired size.

Quantity, size, number of inks… Actually there are many factors that influence, so it is best to start from the need (What material, what quantity, with how many colors and what size), and once defined, ask for a quote in both techniques, compare and decide then.

Digital printing versus screen-printing

The major difference between digital printing and screen-printing is that while the latter offers excellent results, the process is complicated in designs with many colors. In addition, digital printing allows you to print images with much more detail.

However, on a professional level, if you want to print large runs of a few colors, screen-printing is usually more recommended because it is cheaper and the result is very good.

Screen-printing is a traditional technique that is done in a more traditional way. It is undoubtedly an artistic craft, as certain skills and experience are required to achieve complex designs.

On the other hand, digital printing is much easier to perform and does not require experience. It uses inkjet technology to print directly on the fabric, be it on T-shirts or any other textile.

In conclusion, Screen Printing Miami and direct digital printing are not rival techniques but can be complementary. However, screen-printing is more remarkable in the case of large orders with few colors, because it will generate more income, the results are amazing if you have experience and the clothes will last for a long time.