Long Live Screenprinting

When durability is the question, screenprinted labels are the answer.

Cracked, faded, beat-up labels are not only ugly and ineffective, they can be dangerous. After all, what good is a warning label if it's so faded that it's become illegible? Or an engine label that isn't chemical-resistant? The answer is no good at all—and the solution is screenprinting.

Screenprinting involves pushing UV-cured or acrylic ink through a fine mesh screen mounted on a steel frame. The process offers vivid color, appealing texture and years of visibility and durability. Because of the way the inks adhere, and the versatility of screenprinting equipment, screenprinting can be done on a wide variety of materials in a wide range of sizes, from thick to thin, from tiny to huge.

Ideal for both indoor and outdoor use, screenprinted labels are weatherproof, waterproof and extremely resistant to chemicals and abrasion. They are, in a nutshell, one of the toughest—and most vibrant labels out there—so durable and eye-catching, in fact, that those who manufacture them suggest that distributors not call them screenprinted labels.

"Calling them screenprinted labels just doesn't do them justice," noted Keith Davis, materials manager at Tapecon, Buffalo, N.Y. He prefers instead the more descriptive moniker, "durable graphics."

"The keys to the durability are the amount of ink used and the amount of pigment in the inks," said Davis, explaining that screenprinting inks are 10 times thicker than other inks. This results not only in vibrancy, but al-so resistance to both sunlight and abrasion.

Davis noted that viable alternatives include vinyl-cut lettering and digital printing. "Vinyl-cut lettering provides some of the same qualities, but is limited to one color. And even the new digital printing methods won't last as long. There's just not enough ink laid down," he said.

What, then, does this mean to the distributor salesperson? It means that if a customer wants a product that will withstand harsh weather conditions and chemicals, will stand up to excessive abrasion and will remain vibrant and intact for years to come, screenprinting is the answer.