There are several reasons why items are screen printed vs. typical printing. The first reason to screen print is the achievable color gambit which delivers rich, bold, and brilliant colors, as well as being able to print various specialty inks which include metallic, dry erase, non skid, magnetic, chalk board and many others. The second reason is durability of the print. While typical offset or litho prints exposed to outdoor conditions last only 3-4 months depending on the colors in the print, screen printed items will typically last a minimum of 24 months and there are several types of laminates or overprint clears that will extend the available life to 5 years or more in an outside environment. These ratios can be applied to indoor use as well.
Another reason to screen print is the available substrates that are available to compliment your product. Whether you are printing signs on corrugated plastic, styrene, foamcore, expanded PVC or polyethylene, or decals on vinyl or polyester, control panels and graphic overlays from polycarbonate or polyester, nameplates on aluminum or stainless steel, the list of materials that can be screen printed and fabricated are almost limitless.
The answer is yes and no. The digital printing revolution has definitely aided in being able to print products without the initial cost for films and screens. If you are just looking to obtain a low price for a small quantity run, then this is a reasonable alternative. Even as good as digital inks have become, they still do not compare in color density (pigment load) to screen print inks. There is also the “process to color” limitation of digital printing that will not allow you to hit a PMS (Pantone Matching System) color exactly where when screen printed the color can be an exact match which is especially important to some customers who want their logos to be perfectly consistent. However for a vast majority of needs at smaller quantities, digital printing is a good alternative to screen printing.
Vector format files allow for total manipulation of the artwork. A vector file can be resized without degradation of any images or text. It also allows us to build "traps" between the color breaks which is essential for screen printing.
