The use of photochemical platemaking technology for modern screen printing was patented in the United Kingdom in 1907 and introduced to Shanghai, China in the 1920s. As China's economy is lagging, it has stagnated for about half a century. Until the early 1980s, with the rapid growth of the national economy, modern screen printing has been rapidly developed. Great progress has been made in terms of industrial scale, technological level, and market development.
First, the current development status and characteristics of screen printing due to its extremely wide adaptability of the characteristics of the substrate, in the developed countries and regions have long been popular. In China, mainland China hardly found a professional screen printing factory before the 1980s. Only printing and dyeing plants, radio plants, ceramic flower and paper mills, glass processing plants, and art colleges had simple screen printing equipment. In addition, very few people know screen printing. Twenty years later, great changes have taken place. Professional screen printing factories and internal screen printing divisions have emerged in large numbers. According to industry estimates, there are more than 100,000 homes. If you count unregistered family homes, there are approximately 300,000 homes. In the production of screen printing machines, equipment and materials, the large categories are basically complete. The printing presses, plate making machines, screens, sensitized adhesives, squeegees, inks, and other auxiliary equipment and materials are all on the market, and there are also individual products. Manufacturer's product exports. According to incomplete statistics, there are 48 large and small screen printing press manufacturers, and the total number of production units for various materials has exceeded 300. Nearly a thousand dealers of various levels.
Looking at the above situation, the following features exist:
1 In the economically developed areas along the coast and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, most screen printing factories and nearly all aircraft and wood production plants are concentrated, while large areas of screen printing gaps exist in the central and western regions.
2 The scale of the company is very different. In recent years, a small number of enterprises have developed rapidly. Units with a production value of 10 million yuan and a profit of 1 million yuan are not rare. Enterprises with a production value of hundreds of millions and profits of tens of millions have also emerged. However, small businesses with less than 10 people still accounted for the majority, with the largest number of unregistered households. Therefore, the number of employees in the industry and the number of enterprises in the screen printing industry is in the same order of magnitude, which is approximately 800,000.
3 In the field of screen printing technology, it is in the stage of transition from popularity to improvement. Judging from the training courses organized by relevant institutions and screen printing associations, all of them are given basic knowledge and skills. More than 70% of the trainees are beginners. Most of them just started from simple technical equipment, and only a few industries, such as electronics, porcelain flower paper, advertising, high-end packaging boxes, have high technical capabilities.
4 Digital innovation is very fast. The production of manuscripts for positive pictures is rapidly transitioning from photoengraving to digitizing. Computer inkjet, computer photo has entered the market.
Second, the problems in development and the gap between developed countries and the developed countries are firstly based on traditional consciousness. There are phenomena of degrading screen printing. Some people often say that “the characteristics of screen printing are technology, simple equipment, low investment, and quick results. ". There are still many people who think that screen printing can only print thick lines of simple graphics, and do not believe that they can print fine-tuned images. This will, to a certain extent, affect the development of a high level. Secondly, due to the late start, the technical level of the screen printing factory is low, and more than half of them are mainly manual operations. The digital direct plate machines and large format multicolor automatic printing machines are still blank. Due to its short time of promotion, its advantages in some application fields have not yet been fully utilized. For example, in the case of advertising production, screen printing should have been in full swing, but due to its weak technical foundation, it has not been able to enter the role in a timely manner, resulting in most advertising companies not knowing what kind of screen printing is. When the inkjet entered this market, it immediately appeared in the advertising company phase and there was an upsurge of competing to purchase inkjet printers. In economically developed countries, screen printing factories that print large-scale advertisements have already established business relationships with advertising companies and are able to adapt to inkjet interventions to complement and complement each other. Third, there are considerable gaps in machine, equipment, and materials products:
1 In terms of precision and high quality, most screen printers, screens, photosensitive adhesives, inks, and other auxiliary equipment and materials are lagging behind industrial advanced countries;
2 Digital, high-speed equipment, China has no automatic, multi-color screen printing machine products, there is no large-format computer inkjet printer products, digital plate-making machine is trial production, there is no commercialization;
3 In terms of supporting and multi-category, only a few large categories such as machines, squeegees, mesh frames, screens, glues, and inks are complete, and the number of various other varieties is small;
4 In terms of environmental protection, screen printing machines and materials manufactured by industrially advanced countries are mostly environmentally friendly, while China's similar products have fewer environmental protection products.
Third, the development trend of the next ten years 1. Will maintain a high rate of development. The industry generally believes that the screen printing industry will develop at a rate of 8% higher than the national economy, and the annual growth rate will not be lower than 15%. This is because:
1 The improvement of advertising awareness, changes in consumer awareness, and improvement in light and devaluation of screen printing will all play a catalytic role.
2 Increased levels of education and skills and rapid penetration into underdeveloped regions and sectors;
3 The dramatic increase in demand for new industries and new products. For example, the rise of CD-ROMs in the past few years has increased the European web printing industry, which has become saturated, by a dozen percentage points. This phenomenon of extraordinary growth is common in the screen printing industry.
2. Advanced technology and equipment have increased dramatically.
1Platemaking equipment is digitized and automated. Digitized manuscripts will soon be universally used; some of the larger screen printing factories will achieve stretch-braiding, squeegeeing, printing, digital printing, and automatic plate-making; the digital plate-making machine will be used by some factories.
2 screen printing machine speed, multi-color. An automatic, multicolor poster printer with thousands of prints per hour and a multicolor T-shirt printer will become the main equipment for large companies.
3UV inks are good for high-speed printing, water-based inks are good for environmental protection, and both will become mainstream ink products.
4 Other equipments such as screens, sensitized adhesives, squeegees, mesh frames, etc., will survive in the development of their own or international exchanges, and will gradually reach the international level.
3. Manual work will not be eliminated. At present, urban self-employed households and rural specialized households who use manual screen printing are still increasing. It is estimated that this growth trend will continue for some time, especially in the central and western regions. However, it will not last long. Except for a few who are likely to gradually develop into modern factories, most of them may become manual screen-printing factories based mainly on treadmills. Especially in the urban-rural area, the site is large, the labor force is large, the transportation is convenient, and the speed of printing with the treadmill is not slow, so it can stand in the market competition.
4. Screen printing equipment dealers and distributors may be polarized. With the rapid development of the Internet and the improvement of e-commerce operations, users may order directly from equipment manufacturers. However, due to the variety of screen printing equipment varieties and certain uncertainties, many customers prefer on-site selection and on-site ordering. Therefore, after the development of e-commerce, screen printing equipment vendors may become part of a professional distribution center, and another part focuses on sales.
5. Screen printing and digital printing go hand in hand. In recent years, the rise of digital printing, inkjet printing, and computer graphics have been used in the same market as screen printing. This has led people to doubt the prospects of screen printing, and is worried that the market is being squeezed by digital printing. On this issue, the international screen community has drawn conclusions from practice:
1 Screen printing and digital printing are both complementary to each other and developed at the same time. The low printing number orders are printed digitally and the high printing orders are printed using screen printing.
2 Use digital technology to transform the traditional screen printing process (such as digital platemaking) to promote the development of screen printing.
The problem now is that digital printing technology is rapidly developing and will not replace screen printing one day. The author believes that no one will replace who, because:
(1) Screen printing is "universal printing". It is highly adaptable to substrates. It has a great tolerance for inks (printing materials). There are almost no materials that cannot be printed, and there are almost no printing inks that cannot be printed. . This feature determines that digital printing with specific requirements for substrates and inks cannot fully replace screen printing.
(2) The speed of screen printing has been increased to a few seconds to print a four-color poster, and the same size of posters has to be printed for more than 15 minutes. Such a large speed gap is completely impossible for the latter to completely replace the former.
(3) Digitization and full-automation are not the goals pursued by all screen printing companies. The diversity of screen printing substrates and machines and materials determines the variability of the selection of equipment and process conditions. Some kinds of substrates are more reasonable when choosing the semi-automatic or even manual operation when both the number of prints and the factory are suitable.
(4) The reason why silk screen prints are favored by contemporary people is because screen printing inks are thick, bright colors and strong three-dimensional effects. As a tool for making this kind of art, online edition will not change, just as the brush of the national artist will never change.
In summary, digital printing will continue to develop, and digital technology will promote the progress of screen printing technology. The screen printing market in China has great potential and is far from saturated. It is certain that in China, digital printing and screen printing are new sunrise industries. Both will go hand in hand in the future and develop together.
First, the current development status and characteristics of screen printing due to its extremely wide adaptability of the characteristics of the substrate, in the developed countries and regions have long been popular. In China, mainland China hardly found a professional screen printing factory before the 1980s. Only printing and dyeing plants, radio plants, ceramic flower and paper mills, glass processing plants, and art colleges had simple screen printing equipment. In addition, very few people know screen printing. Twenty years later, great changes have taken place. Professional screen printing factories and internal screen printing divisions have emerged in large numbers. According to industry estimates, there are more than 100,000 homes. If you count unregistered family homes, there are approximately 300,000 homes. In the production of screen printing machines, equipment and materials, the large categories are basically complete. The printing presses, plate making machines, screens, sensitized adhesives, squeegees, inks, and other auxiliary equipment and materials are all on the market, and there are also individual products. Manufacturer's product exports. According to incomplete statistics, there are 48 large and small screen printing press manufacturers, and the total number of production units for various materials has exceeded 300. Nearly a thousand dealers of various levels.
Looking at the above situation, the following features exist:
1 In the economically developed areas along the coast and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, most screen printing factories and nearly all aircraft and wood production plants are concentrated, while large areas of screen printing gaps exist in the central and western regions.
2 The scale of the company is very different. In recent years, a small number of enterprises have developed rapidly. Units with a production value of 10 million yuan and a profit of 1 million yuan are not rare. Enterprises with a production value of hundreds of millions and profits of tens of millions have also emerged. However, small businesses with less than 10 people still accounted for the majority, with the largest number of unregistered households. Therefore, the number of employees in the industry and the number of enterprises in the screen printing industry is in the same order of magnitude, which is approximately 800,000.
3 In the field of screen printing technology, it is in the stage of transition from popularity to improvement. Judging from the training courses organized by relevant institutions and screen printing associations, all of them are given basic knowledge and skills. More than 70% of the trainees are beginners. Most of them just started from simple technical equipment, and only a few industries, such as electronics, porcelain flower paper, advertising, high-end packaging boxes, have high technical capabilities.
4 Digital innovation is very fast. The production of manuscripts for positive pictures is rapidly transitioning from photoengraving to digitizing. Computer inkjet, computer photo has entered the market.
Second, the problems in development and the gap between developed countries and the developed countries are firstly based on traditional consciousness. There are phenomena of degrading screen printing. Some people often say that “the characteristics of screen printing are technology, simple equipment, low investment, and quick results. ". There are still many people who think that screen printing can only print thick lines of simple graphics, and do not believe that they can print fine-tuned images. This will, to a certain extent, affect the development of a high level. Secondly, due to the late start, the technical level of the screen printing factory is low, and more than half of them are mainly manual operations. The digital direct plate machines and large format multicolor automatic printing machines are still blank. Due to its short time of promotion, its advantages in some application fields have not yet been fully utilized. For example, in the case of advertising production, screen printing should have been in full swing, but due to its weak technical foundation, it has not been able to enter the role in a timely manner, resulting in most advertising companies not knowing what kind of screen printing is. When the inkjet entered this market, it immediately appeared in the advertising company phase and there was an upsurge of competing to purchase inkjet printers. In economically developed countries, screen printing factories that print large-scale advertisements have already established business relationships with advertising companies and are able to adapt to inkjet interventions to complement and complement each other. Third, there are considerable gaps in machine, equipment, and materials products:
1 In terms of precision and high quality, most screen printers, screens, photosensitive adhesives, inks, and other auxiliary equipment and materials are lagging behind industrial advanced countries;
2 Digital, high-speed equipment, China has no automatic, multi-color screen printing machine products, there is no large-format computer inkjet printer products, digital plate-making machine is trial production, there is no commercialization;
3 In terms of supporting and multi-category, only a few large categories such as machines, squeegees, mesh frames, screens, glues, and inks are complete, and the number of various other varieties is small;
4 In terms of environmental protection, screen printing machines and materials manufactured by industrially advanced countries are mostly environmentally friendly, while China's similar products have fewer environmental protection products.
Third, the development trend of the next ten years 1. Will maintain a high rate of development. The industry generally believes that the screen printing industry will develop at a rate of 8% higher than the national economy, and the annual growth rate will not be lower than 15%. This is because:
1 The improvement of advertising awareness, changes in consumer awareness, and improvement in light and devaluation of screen printing will all play a catalytic role.
2 Increased levels of education and skills and rapid penetration into underdeveloped regions and sectors;
3 The dramatic increase in demand for new industries and new products. For example, the rise of CD-ROMs in the past few years has increased the European web printing industry, which has become saturated, by a dozen percentage points. This phenomenon of extraordinary growth is common in the screen printing industry.
2. Advanced technology and equipment have increased dramatically.
1Platemaking equipment is digitized and automated. Digitized manuscripts will soon be universally used; some of the larger screen printing factories will achieve stretch-braiding, squeegeeing, printing, digital printing, and automatic plate-making; the digital plate-making machine will be used by some factories.
2 screen printing machine speed, multi-color. An automatic, multicolor poster printer with thousands of prints per hour and a multicolor T-shirt printer will become the main equipment for large companies.
3UV inks are good for high-speed printing, water-based inks are good for environmental protection, and both will become mainstream ink products.
4 Other equipments such as screens, sensitized adhesives, squeegees, mesh frames, etc., will survive in the development of their own or international exchanges, and will gradually reach the international level.
3. Manual work will not be eliminated. At present, urban self-employed households and rural specialized households who use manual screen printing are still increasing. It is estimated that this growth trend will continue for some time, especially in the central and western regions. However, it will not last long. Except for a few who are likely to gradually develop into modern factories, most of them may become manual screen-printing factories based mainly on treadmills. Especially in the urban-rural area, the site is large, the labor force is large, the transportation is convenient, and the speed of printing with the treadmill is not slow, so it can stand in the market competition.
4. Screen printing equipment dealers and distributors may be polarized. With the rapid development of the Internet and the improvement of e-commerce operations, users may order directly from equipment manufacturers. However, due to the variety of screen printing equipment varieties and certain uncertainties, many customers prefer on-site selection and on-site ordering. Therefore, after the development of e-commerce, screen printing equipment vendors may become part of a professional distribution center, and another part focuses on sales.
5. Screen printing and digital printing go hand in hand. In recent years, the rise of digital printing, inkjet printing, and computer graphics have been used in the same market as screen printing. This has led people to doubt the prospects of screen printing, and is worried that the market is being squeezed by digital printing. On this issue, the international screen community has drawn conclusions from practice:
1 Screen printing and digital printing are both complementary to each other and developed at the same time. The low printing number orders are printed digitally and the high printing orders are printed using screen printing.
2 Use digital technology to transform the traditional screen printing process (such as digital platemaking) to promote the development of screen printing.
The problem now is that digital printing technology is rapidly developing and will not replace screen printing one day. The author believes that no one will replace who, because:
(1) Screen printing is "universal printing". It is highly adaptable to substrates. It has a great tolerance for inks (printing materials). There are almost no materials that cannot be printed, and there are almost no printing inks that cannot be printed. . This feature determines that digital printing with specific requirements for substrates and inks cannot fully replace screen printing.
(2) The speed of screen printing has been increased to a few seconds to print a four-color poster, and the same size of posters has to be printed for more than 15 minutes. Such a large speed gap is completely impossible for the latter to completely replace the former.
(3) Digitization and full-automation are not the goals pursued by all screen printing companies. The diversity of screen printing substrates and machines and materials determines the variability of the selection of equipment and process conditions. Some kinds of substrates are more reasonable when choosing the semi-automatic or even manual operation when both the number of prints and the factory are suitable.
(4) The reason why silk screen prints are favored by contemporary people is because screen printing inks are thick, bright colors and strong three-dimensional effects. As a tool for making this kind of art, online edition will not change, just as the brush of the national artist will never change.
In summary, digital printing will continue to develop, and digital technology will promote the progress of screen printing technology. The screen printing market in China has great potential and is far from saturated. It is certain that in China, digital printing and screen printing are new sunrise industries. Both will go hand in hand in the future and develop together.
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