Okuzeka
Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Colours, Prints & Decoration

Screen printing

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/ˈskriːn ˌprɪntɪŋ/nounCommon term

In fashion & textiles, screen printing means: A printing method that pushes ink through a fine mesh screen onto fabric, using a separate screen for each colour in the design.

In Turkish: serigrafi, şablon baskı, rotasyon baskı

How it is used

Used on garments, such as T-shirt graphics with plastisol or water-based inks, and on fabric rolls with flatbed or rotary screens. It is cost-effective for large quantities but each colour adds a screen, so the number of colours affects price.

Example sentences

  1. Screen printing is cheaper for this order because it's 5,000 pieces and only two colours.

  2. The logo uses screen printing with a soft water-based ink.

Common collocations

  • rotary screen printing
  • water-based screen printing
  • plastisol ink
  • number of screens
  • printA design applied to the surface of fabric with ink or dye, such as flowers, logos or stripes, rather than woven or knitted into it.
  • digital printingPrinting designs directly onto fabric or garments from a computer file with inkjet machines, without screens.
  • strike-offA short test print of a design on the actual production fabric, sent to the buyer to approve colours, scale and quality before bulk printing.
  • repeatThe smallest unit of a print or woven design that is repeated across the fabric, and the distance after which the design starts again.

More terms: Colours, Prints & Decoration

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: