What’s the difference between digital fabric printing and screen printing?

With the growth in technology over the past 10 to 20 years and the massive increase in number of computers, it is no surprise that the printing industry has also changed to encompass the digital age.

These changes have meant that many printing businesses now focus solely on digital fabric printing, especially in busy cities like Brisbane. Screen printing techniques have been superseded and can take a while to search out – if you are determined that you want to use this method of printing.

So what are the differences between digital fabric printing and screen printing? Are there circumstances when one is better than the other or is it just a change in technology that has fed the decline in screen printing?

What is screen printing?

This involves creating a stencil and applying layers of ink to the fabric, using a different stencil for each colour. This is a long, drawn out process, because each colour requires a separate stencil.

What are the PROS AND CONS of screen printing?

One of the benefits of screen printing is that it is a handmade process which some people really prefer to more mass produced products. This type of printing produces high quality, professional and durable designs that lend themselves very well to larger designs.

The problem with screen printing is that the setup can take a fair while because of all the stencils, so there is usually a minimum order quantity and it does not produce photo quality finishes – they are clearly handmade.

What is digital fabric printing?

This method involves a computer where the digital design is printed directly onto the fabric using a specialised printer.

What are the PROS AND CONS of digital fabric printing?

The benefits of digital fabric printing are that it does produce photo quality images and designs, there is no minimum order needed (because new designs can be uploaded simply), and the process is fast.

The problem with this type of printing is that you might not have an exact colour match with your design because of the pre-loaded colours used in the printer, and the printable area is limited by the capacity of the printer.

At Everything Vibrant in Brisbane, screen printing is not a method that we use – we focus on creating high quality photo quality digital images. Our digital fabric printing is very popular with Brisbane businesses as it is used as a promotional gift in their branding campaigns.

For more information on our digital printing or our extensive range of promotional gifts, call us on 07 3386 0536 or visit www.everythingvibrant.com.au.