Impressions - August 2016 - 51

think.
SCREEN PRiNtiNg PRODUCtiON

make.

Like this article? Read more screen-printing
articles at impressionsmag.com/screenprinting.

do.

Tip of the Cap
Common challenges for screen printing on headwear.
By BRIAN BURR, CoNTRIBUTINg WRITeR

While the classic aesthetic of embroidery
has traditionally dominated the customized headwear market, there still remains a
significant place in the hat-decoration business for screen printing.This is especially
true when it comes to local sports teams,
souvenir shops and promotional items.
As with apparel, remember that finer
artwork detail can be achieved on hats
via screen printing instead of embroidery.
However, headwear - notably baseball
caps and trucker hats - offer unique challenges, which we'll discuss here.
We'll also examine the requirements
for creating designs that are appropriate
for the smaller - and often-irregular -
surface of a cap's crown.
The Cap Itself
One of the biggest perceived hurdles to
cap customization is the general difficulty of screen printing on the product.
Screen printing usually is perceived as
a less-desirable form of hat embellishment because of the special equipment
required. But after investing in platens for
flat-hat printing or a curved hat-printing
machine, this aspect of customization
simply involves committing to a subset
of skills that is not entirely different from
screen printing on other garments.
Another hurdle screen printers frequently face is printing over the center
seam on the front and back of six-panel
baseball caps. But the popularity of trucker
hats makes this much less of an issue. In
fact, trucker hats - with their smooth,
unseamed foam-front panels - provide
a welcome canvas for screen printing.
This, combined with their generally attractive price points, has made them go-to
promotional items.

Creating suitable artwork for hats is
more challenging than doing so for
T-shirts, in part because of limited
available space.

Regardless of your experience level,
you've likely discovered that screen printing is a skill and art, requiring mastery of a
broad set of variables.When you add factors
such as limited size, three dimensions and
the stubborn center seams found on many
baseball hats, you have an entirely new set
of challenges.
However, once you overcome a hat's
unique obstacles, you're left with many
of the same challenges common to screen
printing on T-shirts, jackets or sweat shirts.
Using an Underbase
As with all dark garments, multicolor
screen printing on a dark baseball or trucker hat necessitates the use of high-opacity
inks made for printing on dark colors, or

an underbase.This is a flood layer - generally white or another light color - that
is used as a base or primer onto which
the design's other colors will be printed.
As with high-opacity ink, the underbase
should be flash cured before any other
colors are printed over it. This way, the
underbase will be properly sealed and
the darker surface will not show through
the artwork.
Regardless of the ink's opacity, you often
will apply the underbase twice - flashing it both times - to create a properly
opaque background for your designs. Only
by applying the ink twice can you be
assured that you've adequately covered
the cap's fibers so that you do not see the
dark-colored fabric underneath.
While you could conceivably print

Trucker hats - with their smooth,
unseamed foam-front panels -
provide a welcome canvas for
screen printing.
AUGUST 2016

P.51


http://www.impressionsmag.com/screenprinting

Impressions - August 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - August 2016

Impressions - August 2016
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
Overheard
First Look
Scene at ISS
On Design
Love, Peace and Fleece
Promo Power
Pick Me!
Caution: Consultant Needed
It’s Tune-Up Time
Shop Talk
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Sublimation
Direct-To-Garment
Heat Printing
Ad Index/Online Directory
Classifieds
Impressions - August 2016 - CT1
Impressions - August 2016 - CT2
Impressions - August 2016 - Impressions - August 2016
Impressions - August 2016 - Cover2
Impressions - August 2016 - 1
Impressions - August 2016 - Contents
Impressions - August 2016 - 3
Impressions - August 2016 - 4
Impressions - August 2016 - 5
Impressions - August 2016 - First Impressions
Impressions - August 2016 - 7
Impressions - August 2016 - From the Show Director
Impressions - August 2016 - 9
Impressions - August 2016 - Overheard
Impressions - August 2016 - 11
Impressions - August 2016 - 12
Impressions - August 2016 - 13
Impressions - August 2016 - 14
Impressions - August 2016 - 15
Impressions - August 2016 - First Look
Impressions - August 2016 - 17
Impressions - August 2016 - 18
Impressions - August 2016 - 19
Impressions - August 2016 - 19a
Impressions - August 2016 - 19b
Impressions - August 2016 - Scene at ISS
Impressions - August 2016 - 21
Impressions - August 2016 - On Design
Impressions - August 2016 - 23
Impressions - August 2016 - Love, Peace and Fleece
Impressions - August 2016 - 25
Impressions - August 2016 - 26
Impressions - August 2016 - 27
Impressions - August 2016 - 28
Impressions - August 2016 - 29
Impressions - August 2016 - Promo Power
Impressions - August 2016 - 31
Impressions - August 2016 - 32
Impressions - August 2016 - 33
Impressions - August 2016 - Pick Me!
Impressions - August 2016 - 35
Impressions - August 2016 - 36
Impressions - August 2016 - 37
Impressions - August 2016 - Caution: Consultant Needed
Impressions - August 2016 - 39
Impressions - August 2016 - 40
Impressions - August 2016 - 41
Impressions - August 2016 - It’s Tune-Up Time
Impressions - August 2016 - 43
Impressions - August 2016 - 44
Impressions - August 2016 - 45
Impressions - August 2016 - Shop Talk
Impressions - August 2016 - 47
Impressions - August 2016 - Embroidery Production
Impressions - August 2016 - 49
Impressions - August 2016 - 50
Impressions - August 2016 - Screen Printing Production
Impressions - August 2016 - 52
Impressions - August 2016 - 53
Impressions - August 2016 - Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Impressions - August 2016 - 55
Impressions - August 2016 - 56
Impressions - August 2016 - Sublimation
Impressions - August 2016 - 58
Impressions - August 2016 - 59
Impressions - August 2016 - Direct-To-Garment
Impressions - August 2016 - 61
Impressions - August 2016 - Heat Printing
Impressions - August 2016 - 63
Impressions - August 2016 - Ad Index/Online Directory
Impressions - August 2016 - Classifieds
Impressions - August 2016 - 66
Impressions - August 2016 - Cover3
Impressions - August 2016 - Cover4
Impressions - August 2016 - I1
Impressions - August 2016 - I2
Impressions - August 2016 - I3
Impressions - August 2016 - I4
Impressions - August 2016 - I5
Impressions - August 2016 - I6
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201801
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201701
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201610
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/digitaldecorator_2015fall
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