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Which printing technique should I choose for my flags?

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Screen printing, digital printing and half-tone printing are printing techniques that are often used to print textile items. Therefore, we often use these techniques to print flags, beach flags and other similar products.

Flags are usually printed one side. But which printing technique should you choose for your flags? Below we summarize the most important characteristics for each technique.

Digital print

Digital print is printed in lanes by a full-color printhead, like the one your inkjet printer at home might have. This makes printing detailed designs possible.

  • Colors: full-color CMYK print.
  • Visibility on the other side: 80-90%
  • Setup costs: none.
  • Print costs: higher than screen printing.
  • Production time: short (24-hour production is possible).
  • Minimum print run: from 1 piece.

Screen print

Screen print is printed color by color by pressing ink through a screen. This makes it difficult to print very detailed designs, because the fine lines and elements cannot be converted properly.

  • Colors: in solid PMS-colors, the result is more durable.
  • Visibility on the other side: 99-100%.
  • Setup costs: per color.
  • Print costs: less than digital printing.
  • Production time: long (at least 1 week).
  • Minimum print run: from 10 pieces.

Half-tone print

Half-tone print is a variation of screen print. It is used to make printing complex designs possible while maintaining the quality of screen printing. Half-tone printing uses complex screens to make gradients in the design possible. However, it isn't used very often and is intended for large productions with complex full-color designs.

  • Colors: approach to full-color by gridding PMS colors.
  • Visibility on the other side: 99-100%.
  • Setup costs: per color.
  • Print costs: less than digital printing.
  • Production time: long (at least 1 week).
  • Minimum print run: large runs, depending on the design.

Summary

In certain cases, the choice of printing technique is made for you. For example, if you only need a single flag, or if you have a design with lots of colors and color gradients, or need your flags yesterday, it's best you choose digital print. However, if you want to be sure of the outcome of the printing colors, you should choose screen printing or half-tone printing.

If you need something in between these options, check what's most important to you. If you need at least 10 flags, with a design in one color and it's not urgent, we recommend choosing screen printing.

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