Thermal transfer and silk screen printing are two common printing technologies. They
have some differences in principle, applicable materials, color performance, cost, etc. The
following is a detailed introduction:
– **Printing principle**
– **Thermal transfer**: The ink of the text, pattern, etc. on the transfer paper is sublimated
to the cloth or other materials through high temperature and high pressure. Thermal
transfer is divided into sublimation thermal transfer and thermosetting ink transfer.
Sublimation thermal transfer uses the characteristics of ink sublimation at high
temperature to transfer the pattern to the substrate; thermosetting ink transfer uses heat
pressure to make the ink firmly adhere to the surface of the substrate.
– **Silk screen printing**: Through the extrusion of the scraper, the ink is transferred to the
substrate through the mesh of the printing plate to form the same image and text as the
original. Silk screen printing belongs to hole printing. The image and text part on the
printing plate is the through hole that can pass through the ink, while the non-image and
text part is the blocked hole that cannot pass through the ink.
– **Applicable materials**
– **Thermal transfer**: Commonly used for clothing, textiles, ceramics, metals, plastics
and other materials. For some fabrics that require high color saturation and precision,
such as synthetic fiber fabrics such as polyester and nylon, thermal transfer has a better
effect.
– **Silk screen printing**: Widely used in a variety of materials such as paper, plastic,
glass, metal, leather, etc. It can also be printed well on some rough surfaces or irregularly
shaped objects, such as glass bottles, cans, etc.
– **Color performance**
– **Thermal transfer**: Rich colors, natural transitions, high-precision pattern printing, and
photo-level effects. Especially in the performance of gradient colors and fine patterns, it
has obvious advantages.
– **Silk screen printing**: Bright colors and high saturation, but relatively weak in the
performance of fine patterns and gradient effects. However, through some special silk
screen processes, such as dot printing, the color transition effect can also be improved to
a certain extent.
– **Printing cost**
– **Thermal transfer**: The initial equipment investment is high, and professional
equipment such as thermal transfer machines are required, and the cost of consumables
such as transfer paper and ink is also relatively high. However, for mass-produced
products, due to their high printing efficiency, the unit cost will gradually decrease.
– **Screen printing**: The cost of equipment and consumables is relatively low, the
production cost of the screen is not high, and the price of ink is relatively cheap. However,
screen printing requires more manual operations during the printing process. For complex
patterns or high-precision printing requirements, multiple overprints may be required, and
the labor cost and time cost will increase.
– **Environmental performance**
– **Thermal transfer**: It is relatively environmentally friendly, especially sublimation
thermal transfer, which produces less pollutants such as waste gas and wastewater
during the printing process. However, thermosetting ink transfer may use some inks
containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have a certain impact on the
environment.
– **Screen printing**: Traditional screen printing inks often contain a large amount of
VOCs, which will evaporate into the air during the printing process, causing certain harm
to the environment and human health. However, with the improvement of environmental
awareness, more and more environmentally friendly screen printing inks are now
appearing, such as water-based inks, UV inks, etc., which can effectively reduce pollution.