How to determine screen tension and screen distance? Master core parameters to improve printing quality

In the screen printing process, screen tension and screen spacing are two interrelated core technical parameters, which directly determine the overprint accuracy, ink thickness and image and text clarity. How to scientifically determine these two parameters is the key to ensuring high-quality printing.

Tension is the foundation, and the setting needs to be scientific

Screen tension has a significant impact on ink transmittance. Too low tension (such as less than 25N/cm) may result in dot loss in the highlight area. The ideal tension should usually be maintained within the range of 18-25N/cm. What you must be vigilant about is: Do not rely on increasing the mesh distance to improve the tension effect. This will cause the scraper pressure to increase and the mesh points to expand. The correct approach is to set the surface tension during the mesh stretching stage. Practice shows that controlling the screen tension at 20-30N/cm can better balance printing quality and efficiency.

The network distance is adjustable and the value can be flexibly set.

The screen distance refers to the distance between the printing surface of the screen and the surface of the substrate. Its function is to ensure that the screen rebounds and detaches instantly after scraping to avoid ink dragging. The network distance setting needs to be comprehensively considered:

Format size: Small screen frames are usually set at 2-3mm, ordinary formats are set at 3-4mm, and large formats can be increased to 5-6mm.

Characteristics of printing substrate: For highly absorbent materials such as textiles, the mesh spacing can be as small as 0.8-1.6mm.

Comprehensive balance: In most fine printing scenarios, it is more appropriate to set the screen distance to 3-5mm.

Equipment and technical support

Achieving precise parameter control requires printing equipment with stable performance. As a high-tech enterprise in the field of printing machinery manufacturing, Kunshan Oulet Printing Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. has profound technical accumulation in this field and can provide comprehensive printing technology consulting and professional training services.

The company has introduced advanced European printing technology, and its intelligent screen printing machine is equipped with core pneumatic components such as German FESTO and Japanese SMC, which ensures the accuracy and stability of the screen lifting and scraping movements, and provides reliable hardware support for the fine adjustment of screen distance and tension. Our products are widely used in precision printing fields such as electronics, automobiles, and cosmetics, and we are suppliers to many well-known companies.

Conclusion

Accurate determination of screen tension and screen distance is the core process to ensure screen printing quality. Choosing equipment and service partners with professional and technical capabilities like Kunshan Oulet can help companies better grasp these key parameters in actual production and achieve efficient and stable printing production.