Screen printing mesh count guide

Screen printing mesh count is a very important factor to be considered when setting up a job to screen print. The mesh count or number refers to the number of threads per inch. There is also a measurement for the diameter of the thread which also can be necessary to consider.

Screen printing mesh count guide

Here is a general screen printing mesh count guide chart that I would follow with extreme caution for working with plastisol inks:

Use a 30 mesh count for printing glitter inks. Always check with the manufacturer of the ink about this.
Use an 85 mesh count for athletic printing, opaque ink deposits, thick puff ink, and some shimmer inks.
Use a 110 mesh count for heavy coverage on dark shirts, solid under base prints, puff, metallic, some shimmer inks, and for certain transfer printing.
Use a 155 mesh count for general printing on white & dark shirts, prints on dark nylon jackets, and silver shimmer ink, or over printing on an under base on dark shirts.
Use a 195 mesh count for multi-color printing on light shirts, light colored nylon jackets or over printing on an under base on dark shirts.
Use a 230 mesh count for detailed multi-color printing on light shirts, light nylon jackets, or over printing on an under base on dark shirts.
Use a 305 to 355 mesh count for process color on light shirts, or for overprinting a halftone on a white under base on dark shirts.
With water based this may be different due to the thinner water based inks. Generally speaking you will print with lower mesh counts with plastisol inks and higher mesh counts for water based inks because they tend to be much thinner than plastisol.

Choosing the right screen printing mesh count will help you to better screen-print and produce better patterns. If you need to purchase screen printing network, please send us your request.