There typically are two types of screen printers that are prevalent when it comes to printing on sporting goods or apparel made of nylon: those that do it and those that don’t. Based on either the garment type or lack of preparation invested into the process prior to production, it can be very easy for a textile screen printer to have a negative experience when attempting to print on this substrate.
Although nylon has a reputation of not being printer friendly, you can make the venture an easy, successful and profitable one simply by having a clear understanding of the fabric and ink you’ll be using.
This article will review the variables involved with printing on nylon and the correct procedures needed to ensure a winning product each time. For the printing demonstration, I will use American Apparel’s Nylon Pack Cloth gym bag (style B540). It features a nylon zipper closure and webbing straps, as well as dual handles. Its 100% medium-weight nylon construction also provides an ideal surface for yielding good screen printing results.
In Part 1 of this series, step-by-step techniques were listed for everything from press setup to preparing pallets and applying pallet adhesive. In Part 2, we'll start with emulsion practices and sufficient coverage on screens.
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From the moment I enrolled in my high school printing class as a freshman to the time I printed my first shirt, I’ve been hooked on screen printing.
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One of the top complaints I have heard in my career is that textile inks, whites in particular, are not opaque enough.
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