Analysis of change in surface roughness of samples printed using screen printing with variable mesh type

Abstract

This paper presents results of experiment conducted in order to determine influence of mesh density on surface roughness of textile materials printed with screen printing technology. Experiment was conducted to prove hypothesis that printing with different mesh density of the screen will cause changes in surface roughness parameters. Density of the screen mesh is usually used for determining volume of the ink transfer to the substrate. Volume of the transfer ink has a significant influence on changes in surface roughness of substrates. Surface structures of the textile substrates are filled with ink thus causing changes in surface roughness. For these experiment three different types of screen printing mesh were used with variable mesh density, 46, 54, as well as 90 threads per centimeter. Printing substrates used in the experiment was textile material composed of 100 % cotton. Inks used for printing were cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and green. All together 15 samples were made and their surface roughness was measured using TR 200 measuring unit. Mean value of 10 measurements is presented and further analyzed. The results showed a correlation between the type of screen printing mesh used and changes in surface roughness.