The process of silk screen printing silicone for polyester cloth mainly includes the steps of silicone preparation, screen making, printing preparation, printing, curing treatment, inspection and packaging. The following is a detailed introduction:
Silicone preparation
Choose silicone: Choose the appropriate type and hardness of silicone according to the specific printing needs. For example, environmentally friendly and non-toxic silk screen silicone is a transparent two-component high-strength, high-transparency, high-tear resistance, soft feel, strong adhesion, small shrinkage, and a new type of printing glue with an operating time of up to 5 hours. It uses German technology and a new material jointly developed by Taiwan, and has many excellent properties.
Mix silicone and curing agent: Mix silicone and curing agent evenly in a certain proportion. The amount of curing agent added needs to be well controlled. Too much will cause the silicone to cure too quickly and affect the printing effect. For example, the use ratio of environmentally friendly and non-toxic silk screen silicone is A: B = 10: 1.
Add diluent and color paste: In principle, the diluent should be added in a certain proportion and stirred evenly. For thick lines and thick printing, the ratio of embossed silicone and diluent can be 1:1.3; for thin lines and thin printing, the ratio of liquid silicone and diluent can be 1:0.90. When adding color paste (dosage 5%-8%) or gold and silver powder, liquid silicone is generally equipped with a sealed mixing container to mix it, and then a certain amount of it is ejected each time to avoid waste. In order to reduce costs, you can also squeeze out 1/3 cup of silicone from the bag at a time, add an appropriate amount of diluent and stir, and then add an appropriate amount of color paste or gold and silver powder.
Screen production
Make the corresponding screen according to the pattern design to be printed. The choice of screen should be determined according to the size and fineness of the printed pattern. Generally, screens of different meshes are used to achieve different effects. For example, screen printing silicone for clothing usually chooses a screen with a mesh of about 80-120.
Printing preparation
Equipment debugging: Pour the prepared silicone into the silicone tank of the printing press, adjust the pressure and speed of the printing press, install the screen and adjust it.
Substrate treatment: Prepare the polyester cloth to be printed, clean the surface to ensure that there is no dust and oil.
Start printing
Apply silicone: Start the printer and evenly apply the silicone on the screen.
Printing operation: Print the silicone onto the surface of the polyester cloth by pressure. During the printing process, it is necessary to pay attention to controlling the speed and pressure of the printer to ensure uniform printing effect. For example, the base print is generally printed 5-8 times, and the enhanced thickness can be printed more than 10 times; the color print is 2-3 times to achieve the desired color effect.
Curing treatment
After printing, the silicone needs to be cured. Generally, drying or ultraviolet curing is used to ensure that the silicone is completely dried and cured. The curing time and temperature need to be determined according to the type and thickness of the silicone. Too short will result in incomplete curing of the silicone, and too long will affect production efficiency. For example, when using the baking method, the general temperature is around 120-160 degrees Celsius; natural drying at room temperature of 15 degrees to 35 degrees, or heating and drying below 5 degrees, and the temperature is controlled at around 30 degrees.
Inspection and packaging
Quality inspection: After curing, the printing effect is inspected. Check the clarity, color saturation and other indicators of the printed pattern to ensure that they meet the requirements.
Finished product packaging: The printed polyester cloth is packaged to prevent the surface from being damaged.