Silicone Silk Screen Printing
for Custom Silicone Parts

Before any ink is applied, each silicone part is carefully cleaned to remove mold release agents, dust, or surface contaminants that could interfere with ink adhesion. Depending on the part geometry and ink system used, we apply either a silicone-specific primer or use plasma surface treatment to activate the silicone surface and maximize bonding strength between the ink and the substrate.

This step is critical. Skipping or under-performing surface preparation is the most common cause of print adhesion failures in silicone — and we take it seriously on every production run.

Once your artwork file is approved (we accept AI, PDF, and EPS formats), our team performs a pre-press review to check for color separations, line weight suitability, and registration alignment across colors.

We produce custom screens in-house, selecting the appropriate mesh count based on your design requirements:

• Lower mesh count — for heavy ink deposits on bold, large-area graphics.
• Higher mesh count — for finer details, smaller text, and tighter registration on multi-color designs.

Pantone color matching is performed at this stage to ensure printed colors meet your brand standards.

Parts are positioned and fixtured on the printing platform to ensure accurate, repeatable placement of the design. The screen is aligned to the part, and silicone-based ink is applied using a controlled squeegee pass.

For multi-color designs, each color is printed in sequence with intermediate curing between passes to maintain registration accuracy and prevent color bleeding. Our team monitors ink viscosity, squeegee pressure, and speed throughout the run to maintain consistent print quality across the entire production batch.

After printing, parts are transferred to a curing oven where they are heat-processed at a controlled temperature and duration. This curing step is essential: it triggers the cross-linking reaction between the silicone-based ink and the silicone substrate, creating a durable, flexible bond that resists peeling, cracking, and abrasion.

Curing parameters are validated for each ink system and part type to ensure full cure without affecting the dimensional or mechanical properties of the silicone part.

Every production batch undergoes quality inspection before shipment. Our standard checks include:

• Adhesion test — cross-hatch tape test to verify ink bonding strength.
• Abrasion resistance check — rubbing test to simulate real-world wear.
• Color inspection — visual and instrument-based color comparison against approved standard.
• Print registration — alignment verification for multi-color designs.
• Appearance inspection — check for smearing, pinholes, ink bleed, or incomplete coverage.

Inspection records are maintained for each order, and we can provide quality documentation upon request for customers with formal supplier qualification requirements.