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Screen Printing Tip of the Week: Choosing Mesh — Part 1

May 22, 2013

When it comes to choosing mesh for a project, it is important to consider what you are printing and the type of ink you are using.

Here is a simple guide that will help in choosing the right mesh counts for the right job:

Mesh Count: 25, 40
Usage: Glitter Inks

Mesh Count: 60, 86
Usage: Specialty inks, such as puff or high-density, fine shimmers, glitters or metallics

Mesh Count: 110, 155
Usage: Use where a large deposit of ink is needed, such as athletic numbers, printing white on black fabric, low-detail art or heavy white ink

Mesh Count: 160, 180, 200
Usage: Good for printing underbase white to create a softer overall feel, good medium-sized mesh count for medium-detailed artwork. The 200-count mesh can be a happy medium screen selection for when a 230 mesh is too fine and a 155 mesh is too coarse.

Mesh Count: 230, 280, 305
Usage: Low ink deposit, works well for halftone printing, simulated process or CMYK process printing


Mesh Count: 355
Usage: Very low ink deposit, generally used by very experienced printers only. Often used for printing 65 line or higher halftones for very detailed images

“Screen Printing Tip of the Week: Choosing Mesh — Part 2” will cover thread thickness and dyed vs. un-dyed mesh.

Kieth Stevens is the Western regional sales manager for International Coatings. He has been teaching screen printing for more than 10 years and is a regular contributor to International Coatings’ blogs. For more information, visit iccink.com and read the company’s blog at internationalcoatingsblog.com. 


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