What's the difference of screen printing silicone middle layer and ordinary silicone

The screen printing silicone middle layer and ordinary silicone differ in the following aspects:
Application:
The screen printing silicone middle layer: mainly used in the screen printing process as an intermediate medium connecting the screen printing pattern and the substrate. Its function is to ensure that the screen printing pattern can be firmly attached to the surface of the substrate, which plays a transition and enhances the adhesion effect. It is often used on materials that need to be screen printed, such as textiles, non-woven fabrics, clothing, gloves, printed patterns, and genuine leather imitation leather surface printing.
Ordinary silicone: It has a wider range of uses and can be used to make silicone products, such as silicone kitchen utensils, silicone mobile phone cases, silicone buttons, sealing rings, silicone molds, etc.; in the medical field, it can be used to make human organ repair materials, medical catheters, etc.; in the industrial field, it can be used to make desiccants, adsorbents, insulating materials, etc.
Performance characteristics:
Viscosity and adhesion:
The screen printing silicone middle layer: It has strong viscosity and specific adhesion, and can be well combined with screen printing inks and substrates to ensure the firmness and durability of the screen printing pattern. The pattern after screen printing is not easy to fall off or fade, and it can maintain a good adhesion effect even in complex use environments.
Ordinary silicone: Its viscosity and adhesion are relatively weak, mainly to meet the needs of product molding and sealing, rather than specifically for printing and attachment. For example, the silicone seal ring used for sealing focuses on its sealing performance, and the adhesion requirements are different from those of the screen printing silicone middle layer.
Leveling:
Silk screen printing silicone middle layer: It needs to have good leveling so that it can be evenly distributed on the screen during the screen printing process, and smoothly pass through the pattern gap of the screen to print on the surface of the substrate to form a uniform and flat pattern. Poor leveling may cause problems such as uneven thickness and missing printing in the pattern.
Ordinary silicone: The requirements for leveling are relatively low, and more attention is paid to its physical properties after molding, such as elasticity, hardness, heat resistance, cold resistance, etc.
Hardness:
Silk screen printing silicone middle layer: The hardness is usually low to ensure that the screen will not be excessively worn during the screen printing process, and it can also better adapt to the surface shape of the substrate, so that the pattern can be completely attached to the substrate.
Ordinary silicone: The hardness range is relatively wide, and silicone materials of different hardness can be selected according to different application requirements. For example, when making a silicone mold, a higher hardness silicone may be required to ensure the shape stability of the mold; while when making soft products such as silicone bracelets, a lower hardness silicone is required to provide a comfortable wearing experience.
Appearance:
Silk-screen silicone middle layer: usually liquid or semi-liquid to facilitate silk-screen printing. During the silk-screen printing process, it needs to be screen-printed onto the substrate, so its shape needs to meet the requirements of the silk-screen printing process.
Ordinary silicone: It can be in different forms such as solid, liquid or semi-solid, depending on its use and production process. For example, the raw materials for making silicone products are usually solid silicone particles or blocks, which need to go through heating, vulcanization and other processes to be formed; while silicone used in some special occasions, such as silicone glue, may be liquid.
Ingredients:
Silk-screen silicone middle layer: In addition to the basic ingredients of silicone, some special additives may be added, such as curing agent, tackifier, leveling agent, etc., to meet the special requirements of silk-screen printing process. The addition of these additives can improve the performance of the silk-screen silicone middle layer, making it more suitable for silk-screen printing operations.
Ordinary silicone: The main component is silicon dioxide. Depending on different uses and performance requirements, some other additives may be added, such as vulcanizers, reinforcing agents, flame retardants, etc., but the overall composition is relatively simple.