# Direct Screen Printing vs Pigment Screen Printing



## OlsCool (Jul 10, 2010)

Hi there guys 

Today, my friend spoke to a guy who said he does "screen pigment printing" he said it works by baking the design onto the t-shirt at 140 Celsius using different screens for different colours.

He also said that there are two types of screen printing being direct screen printing and pigment printing where direct is more expensive.

Now my confusion is that I always thought there was simple heat transfer (which often isn't good quality and peels off in the wash after a while) and screen printing with the squeegees and the flat beds. 

The guy told my friend that the quality is good and it won't wash off in the wash, but i'm still a bit lost.

Could someone possibly explain the differences and which is better? I would greatly appreciate that.

Dan


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Your friend should ask the guy more questions.

1. Is the pigment printing also called water-based screen printing or is this done with transfer paper?

2. Can you give me a sample print done on a shirt so I can do some wash tests to see how the colors hold up?

Generally, screen printing is better quality and holds up better than pigment ink applied to transfer paper.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

I was just told that one of the print shops over seas we deal with will be doing a design using Pigment printing but they won't clarify what that means (trying to get an answer is like playing broken telephone in a hail storm).
I can't seem to find any clear info on this process, pigment printing seems to be a general term for a couple of processes. Anyone have experience with this and can shed some light on this process for me?
i think it maybe the pigment printing technique used for doing bed sheets, where the press is similar to an offset for paper printing.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Printing with Pigment Dye | Pigment Printing Concept


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks Jared. read that article already and that seems like the most likely scenario however that process doesn't work with finished goods.
I've seen pigment printing mention in several different processes, for example

pigment printing = screen print water based inks

pigment printing = DTG

pigment printing = digital heat transfers

pigment printing = giclée

reactive pigment printing = dye sublimation

i wish all manufacturers used the appropriate terms (i use the SGIA glossary of terms as my main reference)

guess i'll have to wait and see what they send us, i'm just trying to avoid delays because it's not what we're asking


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I had a feeling you might have read that article already! It doesn't really go into the entire process, just an indication of it.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

hehe ya and that was the best article i could find. i did find pictures of a press used for pigment printing fabric and it looks similar to that of an offset press for paper.
We have many communication issues when dealing with factories overseas because they use different terms or general terms to express their methods. i'm trying to work that out but it's a slow process


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