We deal primarily with thick film screens and this selection addresses these film deposits; however, this selection process can deal with ALL critical screen printing applications.

Your paste or ink supplier can provide a good starting point for screen selection which achieves specified film characteristics.

Three parameters are the main determinants in selecting the screen and emulsion.

1. The particle size of the material that will be printed and pass through the screen.   The mesh opening should be three times that particle size to avoid screen clogging.


2. The minimum film thickness that a screen produces is determined by taking mesh thickness multiplied by the percent of open area.  The emulsion thickness buildup on the screen will increase wet print thickness.  The actual dried and fired film thickness depends on the paste vehicle and binders that the paste supplier formulates into that particular product.


3. Overall film smoothness and line width will be the final consideration that influences the selection of mesh.  Wire diameter affects the flow of the paste or ink around the wire which affects the resultant pattern.  The larger the wire the rougher the resulting film print.  The finer the wire and mesh count, the finer the images, and the thinner the print.