No matter where you may be shopping or what your children may be wearing, specialty printing is everywhere. Today’s styles have their roots in board sports. Fashion has morphed into a hybrid of extreme sports and what is drawn from street, urban and fight embodied in today’s specialty applications.

What’s more, there has been an obvious revolution in decorating techniques over the past couple of decades. In the late 80s and early 90s we saw embroidery gain momentum as an embellishment choice with the rise of casual Friday. At the time, embroidery was the norm on golf shirts—perhaps that higher perceived value with texture and dimension became important as well—which, contrasted by plain old regular screen printing on basic Ts, may well have spelled disaster for contract screen printers. But we old schoolers would have none of it, as we saw dimensional printing rise out of the traditional flat plastisol print—literally. If it was texture and dimension customers wanted then they would get it.

The 21st century printer packs several processes in the tool box, including screen printing, embroidery, transfers, digital, and multimedia that brings it all together, to name a few. There are a great number of innovations making steady progress all the time. Modern technology is creating the look of the future. Given the need to continually show the customer something new and different, screen printing has introduced to the market a number of quality embellishment choices.

Semantics
I write this as we prepare for the upcoming NBM Show (next stop, Long Beach Aug. 10–12). As many may be aware, I present seminars at these shows including some on special effects and multimedia, among others. Recently, the course names, as well as our contract offerings, have changed from the term special effects to specialty printing. It’s not purely semantics; we feel it is not enough to offer special effects, but ratherencourage becoming a specialty printer and lumping more processes into that category, thus increasing margins.

Much of what we try to teach—and sell as the case may be—is taking the perceived complexity out of specialty printing applications. Sure, there are a number of techniques that are quite difficult and only the very best printers in the world tackle. We teach that. But, there are quite a few processes that are not difficult and can be printed using basic materials.

When we teach these seminars, the first thing we establish is a definition of specialty printing. We go through some specifics that are industry buzzwords. We refer to terms like texture and dimension, eye catching, touch and feel. Finally we determine the keyword in special effects printing is special, whether referring to the original art, to a technique or a treatment.

Today’s equipment and raw materials are superior to those from 20 years ago when we might have only been able to offer puff or weak metallic inks. There are countless specialty inks available, along with specialty meshes and better stencil systems to get us started, but the responsibility is ours to push past what the products are “designed” for.

Trend watch
Texture, or lack thereof as the case may be with discharge, burnout and water-based printing, has been in and out multiple times over the last several years. While these printing techniques and specialty applications may seem difficult, with a little commitment and direction, many specialty applications can be fairly simple and easily executed. 

Today’s equipment and raw materials are superior to those from 20 years ago when we might have only been able to offer puff or weak metallic inks. (All images courtesy the author)

You may have also noticed there are reinventions of old techniques with a new spin—dimensional effects from sharp-edged, high-density prints to multiple styles of gel or clear and even good old puff printing. Not terribly difficult to execute on press, but with some creative effort, great textures can be achieved. 

Within these categories, multiple layers work, such as adding sugar/glitter or combining the applications with previously mentioned techniques. There are some great suede and leather as well as cracked ink treatments mimicking the texture of rock or sand. These effects add just that extra something to make the print special.

Some of the older techniques that have reemerged with better results than ever are reflective and glow-in-the-dark inks in a variety of colors. It’s no longer limited to that green glow or dingy gray reflective and the inks are not all that difficult to print. Photochromatic, thermochromatic, light and heat changing inks have come back around. Remember scratch and sniff when you were a kid? Imagine a brown shirt with a Hershey’s logo that smells like chocolate… it’s possible.

As we know, colored metallics and glitters have been executed in any number of ways. The hand-sprinkled appearance can be accomplished using receding base, leaving the glitter on the surface. We can suspend a low percentage of the flakes into a clear gel over other colors. Ink manufacturers have taken silver and gold to a new level with products that look like liquid gold and silver that are very convincing and more durable than ever.

Water base and discharge inks that make up good portions of fashion have been reinvented this time around. Discharge had almost disappeared years ago and has come back with a vengeance, some with alternative chemistry. The high solids versions allow users to print through much higher mesh counts to achieve a higher level of detail than ever before. These water based versions can be used in spray bottles and sprayers for treatments and in all-over and over-seams printing as well. This has added a whole new multi-level and texture to the screen printing options. Now we can combine this with some texture and add some sequins, rhinestones or nail heads or even foil for very hip presentations.

Flock remains popular in some high-fashion brands. While the equipment for inline flock printing can be costly and the process takes some practice, flock transfer applications can be handled similarly to foil. Flock can sometimes be overprinted onto a regular print to achieve a variety of effects as well. Both transfer and direct inline applications have come and gone and come again several times the last few years.

There has been an obvious revolution in decorating techniques over the past couple of decades.

Art works
As with all good printing, we know it all starts in the art department. Remember—it’s a garbage-in garbage-out world, and this holds especially true for SFX. While working with the specialty applications, especially in the beginning, design the effects into the artwork as fairly basic elements within your image, perhaps as shadows or highlights, for example.

Try to avoid fine detail at first until learning of the limitations for the specific application, bearing in mind that some of the inks actually move. For example, puff grows in all four directions in the dryer. Space must be made for this growth to avoid smearing. Use of chokes, spreads, gutters and traps become a big part of successful execution on press. Images to be printed in water-based inks may need a bit larger than normal halftone size to keep from detail drying in the screens.

Ink idiosyncrasies
Many specialty inks are made to perform a specific way. For example, if I wanted to print a navy puff, I cannot mix fifty percent puff base and fifty percent navy ink—we’ll end up less navy and closer to light blue. The puff ink will not perform as well either and won’t really rise as it passes through the dryer.

A much more effective execution for both color and specialty performance is to invest in pigment concentrated inks for the specialty products. These allow users to mix a lower percentage of pigment into a base, leaving the ink intact to do what it is designed to do. Just as the puff example, this is true for many of the specialty products designed to change.

One commonality with most of the specialty applications is the fact that they are quite thick (or thixotropic) and more difficult than standard plastisol inks to get through the mesh. Opening up the open area of the mesh is critical and, traditionally, reaching a tension level in the 30 N/cm is important to allow the ink to transfer to the substrate.

Most specialty products, from metallics, glitters and crystalinas to puff, gels and high-density inks, will need to be printed using 110 standard thread-per-inch (tpi) or lower.

Mesh matters
Most specialty products, from metallics, glitters and crystalinas to puff, gels and high-density inks, will need to be printed using 110 standard thread-per-inch (tpi) or lower. Large glitters and beads will need screen meshes that go as low as 13 to 24 tpi. Recently, the reintroduction of thin thread mesh is making specialty applications even easier and reasonable tensions in the smaller thread really open up the space between the threads.

The most effective mesh count for many applications using the thicker specialty inks is 83, but not with the traditional standard thread diameter—look for the 83 with a 70 micron thread diameter or even the 83/55. The smaller thread diameter allows for the ink to pass more easily through the increased open area.

Water-based inks work nicely using the thin thread 150 and even some of the higher tpi thin thread versions. Because of the general thickness of ink deposit needed in some applications, typical coating techniques will need to be modified a bit for the very low meshes. This is also where some specialty emulsions and capillary film for many of these applications come into play.

Capillary film comes in thin versions from 20 microns up to very thick 1,000 micron films. The best results for specialty printing are usually realized within the 100 to 400 micron range. The thick capillary films are usually of a pure photopolymer type for faster exposures to compensate for the thickness. Developing and washout of the properly exposed stencil takes a bit of voodoo sometimes. We like to get folks to drop them into a dip tank with an agitator, using the sink and light spray to clean up the edges of the stencil.

Print parameters
There are some special printing considerations when printing these specialty products as well. Using less standard meshes and sometimes thicker stencils will require a steady, slow flood stroke with heavy pressure to fill the stencil with the ink. The print stroke will be smooth at medium to fast speed with decreased pressure to transfer the ink from the well in the stencil to the garment.

The flood and print stroke require some finesse to get just the right pressures, speeds and increased off contact combination. The squeegee itself is a bit of a trick too. We want a nice, sharp-yet-soft edge, but we don’t want the squeegee to roll over either. The best way to go is dual durometer blades or 65/95/65 triple-ply squeegees. We have been doing some work with a newer 55/95/55 with some good results.

Specialty applications and special effects inks usually require a bit more attention to drying requirements as well. The ink deposits are usually much thicker than traditional printing. Or, with some water-based applications, the water must be driven off before curing can take place. Dryer belt speed will typically need to be reduced or the temperature increased and possibly a combination of both. Because different specialty inks require different curing parameters, refer to the product data information. Wash test new techniques to be certain of durability.

Make the rules
In today’s world of printed garments, there are no rules. These and any number of specialty applications will add to bottom-line profit. Higher perceived value means higher prices. Everybody wins.