What is Screen Printing?

In the world of customized vintage streetwear, screen printing has become a favorite of many brands and designers because of its unique charm and significant advantages. Today, let's step into the world of screen printing and see, in simple terms, how this ancient yet dynamic printing technique can add a touch of glamour to our customized vintage streetwear.

Screen printing, in fact, is like painting with a perforated net. This net is stretched over a sturdy frame, and the holes in the net are open where there is a pattern, and blocked where there is no pattern. We then scrape ink across this net with a squeegee, and the ink leaks out of the through holes and prints on whatever we want to print, such as fabric, paper, or metal. This technique has been around for thousands of years, first appearing in China and now used all over the world.

Screen printing can be applied to almost any material, from common cotton, linen and polyester to specialized leather and metal. This means we can be more flexible in choosing fabrics when developing vintage streetwear to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Screen printed graphics have high clarity, fine lines, bright colors and strong adhesion. This ensures that the patterns printed on the garments are not easy to peel off and fade, and will remain as new even after many washes. This is a great advantage for streetwear that seeks vintage style and durability.

The ink layer of screen printing is thicker, and the printed pattern has a strong sense of three-dimensionality and texture. This unique texture makes our vintage streetwear more visually outstanding and can better create a retro atmosphere.

Screen printing is not only capable of monochrome printing, but also color printing with overlay and screening to meet the design needs of various complex patterns. At the same time, due to its relatively low cost of plate making, it is very suitable for mass production. This allows us to ensure the quality of apparel while effectively controlling costs and improving market competitiveness.

Numerous well-known brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi's, etc. have widely used screen printing technology in their customized apparel series. The recognition of these big brands not only proves the strength of screen printing, but also provides more inspiration and confidence for us to develop retro streetwear.

Compared with the embroidery process, screen printing is less costly and more suitable for mass production; compared with digital printing, screen printing is more cost-effective in mass production.

Screen printing is relatively simple and fast, once the plate making process is completed, mass production can be carried out quickly to meet the market demand.

Screen printing patterns of high clarity, strong adhesion, thick ink layer, can show a unique retro texture and sense of hierarchy, which is difficult to compare with other printing processes.

Screen printing can be applied to almost any material and shape, which gives our retro streetwear greater flexibility and creative space in design and development.

Vintage street style emphasizes individuality, freedom and rebellion, and screen printing's rugged texture, vibrant colors and long-lasting patterns fit right into the core elements of this style. Through screen printing, vintage street brands can easily create apparel products with unique charm and cultural connotations.

Screen printing's flexibility and versatility are especially important for apparel brands that offer personalized services. Whether it's simple text, patterns, or complex images, screen printing can accurately render them to meet customers' individual needs.

Screen printing can ensure the clarity and adhesion of patterns while effectively controlling costs and realizing mass production. This enables apparel brands pursuing high quality and cost-effectiveness to provide quality apparel products at a more reasonable price and win the favor of more consumers.

Touches Dark, as a custom vintage streetwear clothing manufacturer, we specialize in custom design and production of vintage style streetwear, providing one-stop service. We understand that every designer, streetwear brand and startup brand that loves vintage style is obsessed with the pursuit of the ideal vintage streetwear, so we are always committed to providing them with the best quality products and services. Since its establishment, Touches Dark has served more than 2,000+ apparel brands and accumulated 18 years of experience in apparel production and 12 years of experience in foreign trade export. With our independent design team, we are able to complete our design tasks most efficiently, ensuring that each piece of apparel accurately captures the essence of vintage trends while incorporating modern aesthetics to create a unique vintage street style.