Optimisation of screen printing process for

functional printing
Muhammad Ali
Department of Textile Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
Long Lin
Department of Colour Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Saira Faisal and Iftikhar Ali Sahito
Department of Textile Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan, and
Syed Imran Ali
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explain the effects of screen printing parameters on the quantity of ink deposited and the print quality in
the context of printing of functional inks. Both these aspects of printing are crucial in the case of conventional and functional printing. This is
because, in the case of conventional printing, the quantity of ink deposit affects the color strength while in the case of functional printing, it directly
affects the resulting functionality of the ink layer.
Design/methodology/approach – In this work, an automatic lab-scale screen printer was used to print functional inks on a paper board substrate.
The printing parameters, i.e. printing pressure and squeegee angle were altered and the resulting effects on the quantity of ink that was deposited
were recorded. The quantity of ink deposit was related to its surface resistivity. In addition, the quality of the print was also assessed by examining
the design registration quality.
Findings – The authors found that altering the squeegee angle has a significant effect on the properties of the resulting ink deposit. More importantly,
the authors found that the deflection in the rubber blade squeegee was greatly dependent on the initial angle of the squeegee at the start of the printing
stroke. For each set value of the squeegee angle that was considered, the actual angle during printing was recorded and used in the analysis. A printing
pressure of three bars and squeegee angle of 20° resulted in the maximum weight of ink deposit with a correspondingly lowest surface resistivity.
Practical implications – This study is envisaged to have considerable practical implications in the rapidly growing field of functional printing of
flexible substrates including, but not limited to, textiles. This is because, the study provides an insight into the effects of printing parameters on the
characteristics of a functional ink deposit.
Originality/value – Screen printing of flexible substrates is a well-developed and arguably the most widely used printing technique, particularly for
textiles. Numerous studies report on the analysis of various aspects of screen printing. However, to the best of the knowledge, the effects of printing
parameters on the characteristics of functional inks, such as electrically conductive inks, have not been studied in this manner.
Keyword Coatings
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction printing processes can be categorised into two categories,

namely, conventional printing and functional printing.
In comparison to several alternative manufacturing methods, Conventional printing of a substrate generally refers to the
the major advantages of roll-to-roll printing include high
colouration of a substrate for aesthetic purposes. On the other
throughput rate, low cost and simplicity of the process
hand, functional printing refers to a printing process that is
(Mathews et al., 2010) (Rogers et al., 1999). Owing to this,
desired to impart certain functionality to the substrate, for
printing is increasingly becoming a preferred method for
instance, electrical conductivity. Various aspects pertaining to
localised deposition of a desired material on a substrate. Due to
the formulation of electrically conductive inks have been studied
the intrinsic versatility of the process and its several variations,
almost any type of substrate can be printed these days. On the by the authors separately (Ali and Lin, 2018; Ali et al., 2019).
basis of the intended purpose of the product manufactured, all Due to advantages highlighted in the aforementioned text,
printing is increasingly being used to produce a broad range of
functional devices such as flexible sensors (Chen, 2005;
Cochrane et al., 2007; Qi et al., 2008; Sokolov et al., 2009),
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0369-9420.htm
large-area electronics (Parashkov et al., 2005), organic light
emitting devices (Pardo et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2009) and
polymer solar cells (Krebs et al., 2009). The use of printing
Pigment & Resin Technology
48/5 (2019) 456–463
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 0369-9420] Received 21 May 2019
[DOI 10.1108/PRT-05-2019-0043] Accepted 23 May 2019

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techniques is even more prevalent in fabrication of basic (conventional or functional) and the substrate, determination
components of an electrical system such as conductors (Locher of the optimum process parameters is imperative to achieve
and Tröster, 2007; Karaguzel et al., 2009), resistors, capacitors the desired print quality. In all screen printing processes, a
(Jost et al., 2013) and transistors (Garnier et al., 1994; Gray hydrodynamic pressure is developed in the wedge of print paste
et al., 2001) on flexible substrates. that lies between the squeegee and the screen (Dubey, 1975). The
For functional printing on flexible substrates, some of the more quantity of paste that is forced out of the screen depends on this
widely practiced types of printing processes include offset printing hydrodynamic pressure, which, in turn, depends on the squeegee
(Pudas et al., 2004), flexographic printing, gravure printing angle, base length of the pressure zone, speed of movement of
(Pudas et al., 2005), screen printing (Jost et al., 2013; Hyun et al., squeegee, paste viscosity and screen pore radius (Yen et al., 2011;
2015) and inkjet printing (Sirringhaus et al., 2000; Yoshioka and Lin et al., 2008; Thompson, 1995). In addition, other factors that
Jabbour, 2006; Kim et al., 2009). Screen printing offers several influence ink transfer in screen printing include the ingredients of
crucial advantages over other printing techniques (Savage, 1976; the ink system and the screen specifications (Piao et al., 2008;
Krebs, 2009; Secor et al., 2014) and it is the subject of this work. Hawkyard and Miah, 1987). Detailed accounts on the effects of
However, regardless of the type of printing process, its objective printing parameters on print paste consumption have been
reported for flat screen printing (Dowds, 1970) and for rotary
Figure 1 Steps of print paste preparation
screen printing machines (Lomas and Short, 1999). Due to the
aforementioned factors, the ink film thickness can be varied
considerably in screen printing (Huebler et al., 2002). This is
particularly beneficial in case of functional printing due to the
following reasons. In case of printing of electrically conductive
inks or of inks possessing any other type of functionality, it is
imperative to achieve the desired print quality in terms of the
appearance of the print and in terms of functionality of the print.
In such cases, besides the total amount of ink transferred onto the
Figure 2 Squeegee angle measurement arrangement
substrate, the integrity of the deposited ink layer is also of prime
importance. For instance, if a given amount of ink is smeared over
a larger area of the substrate then the resulting ink film thickness
will be less compared to the same amount of ink printed over a
smaller area of the same substrate. It is to be noted that the
thickness of ink layer is often regarded as the prime characteristic
to control in case of functional printing (Pudas et al., 2004).
In the present study, the effects of changing printing
parameters on the amount of print paste delivered and quality
of registration were studied for a lab scale screen printing
machine. The amount of print paste delivered as a result of
changing printing parameters was calculated and related to the
DC electrical resistance of samples.

Figure 3 Interdigitated electrode used for resistance measurement

Table I Factor and levels for printing parameters

Levels
Factor High Low
Squeegee pressure 5 bar 3 bar
Squeegee angle 20° 40°

Table II DOE to test combinations of printing parameters Figure 4 Resistance measurement setup
Standard Run Squeegee pressure Squeegee angle from
order order in bars (SP) vertical axis (SA)
2 1 5 20°
3 2 3 40°
5 3 4 30°
1 4 3 20°
4 5 5 40°

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Table III Ink deposit and DC electrical resistance of samples

12 w/w% pigment 8 w/w% pigment 4 w/w% pigment
Ink deposit R Ink deposit R Ink deposit R
Run order SP SA (g) (X) (g) (X) (g) (X)
1 5 20° 0.0183 12.71 0.0052 17.283 0.0895 13.733
2 3 40° 0.018 12.143 0.0192 14.57 0.0996 15.467
3 4 30° 0.0077 12.54 0.0004 16.443 0.0918 13.403
4 3 20° 0.0223 11.923 0.0216 14.5 0.1078 13.24
5 5 40° 0.0198 12.793 0.0210 16.423 0.0967 16.513

2. Materials and methods

Figure 5 Measurement of the deflection of squeegee during printing
stroke 2.1 Substrate selection and preparation
All samples were printed on Incada Exel standard packaging
paperboard having a calcium carbonate clay coated surface. In
total, 175  100 mm samples were cut from A4 size sheets of
the substrate and multiple samples for each set of printing
parameters were prepared.

2.2 Preparation of print pastes

Print pastes containing 4, 8 and 12 w/w per cent of Clariant’s
(now Archroma) Printofix Black T-M were prepared using
Clariant’s Printofix Thickener CSN liquid. Other printing
auxiliaries such as binder, etc., were not added in the print
paste. This is because the primary objective of this study was to
analyse the printed ink layer and the amount of print paste
deposited.
Figure 1 depicts the sequence of steps in preparation of the
print pastes. The required amount of thickener was measured
in a beaker and de-ionised water was added followed by stirring
at 2,000 rpm for 5 min using an IKA high-speed overhead
stirrer. Printofix Black T-M carbon pigment was then added in
Figure 6 Effective squeegee attack angle calculation the required amount and the mixture was stirred again at
2,000 rpm for 10 min. The print paste was left for 4 h for de-
aeration. Thus, 20 g print paste of each formulation was
prepared.

2.3 Printing
Rokuprint flat screen printer SD-05 was used to print the
samples. The equipment is not provided with a means of
measuring the squeegee angle. To overcome this problem, a
reference scale was made and fitted coaxially with the squeegee
holder. This arrangement, as shown in Figure 2, provided a
means of adjusting the squeegee angle quickly and accurately
during the printing of the samples.
Minitab 15 was used to design a full factorial experiment to
test various combinations of printing parameters. The factor
levels are provided in Table I. The rationale for selecting the
Table IV Effective squeegee attack angles factor levels is based primarily on the equipment design
Effective angle limitations. In trial runs, it was observed that squeegee pressure
Printing parameters (from the surface of screen) below three bars was insufficient to move the squeegee holder
down to the print position. On the other hand, the pressurised
5 bar, 40° 20°
air supply connected to the machine provided a maximum of
4 bar, 30° 40°
5.5 bars. Thus, the high and low levels for squeegee pressure
3 bar, 40° 35°
were set at five and three bars, respectively. The machine
3 bar, 20° 60°
5 bar, 20° 45° manufacturer’s recommendation for squeegee angle is 30°
(from the vertical), which led to the selection of 20° and 40° as

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low and high levels of squeegee attack angle. The full factorial 3. Results & discussion
design of experiments is provided in Table II.
To determine the amount of print paste transferred onto the
A total of 80 shore hardness, square edge squeegee was used
substrate for each set of printing parameters, the weight of
in all experimental runs. Rectangular area measuring 30 
printed and unprinted substrates was recorded. The difference
120 mm was printed using a 52 mesh stainless steel screen with
of weight is equal to the amount of deposited print paste.
an emulsion thickness of 20 microns. The snap-off height was The weight of each sample had to be measured just before
set at 2 mm. For printing, the substrate was secured on the and after printing the ink. In this way, it was assured that little
vacuum plate of the printer. or no variation occurred due to evaporation of water from the
ink layer. In addition, oven drying was not carried out to avoid
any un-recordable variations in the moisture content of the
2.4 Testing and characterisation
paperboard substrate. As this technique did not involve cutting
The weight of each substrate was recorded just before and
the samples for weight measurement, any variations due to
immediately after printing. For this purpose, a typical
inaccurate cutting dimensions were also eliminated. For each
electronic weighing scale was used. The other important
experimental run, the difference between the weight of printed
test in the context of the present study was the DC
and unprinted samples was recorded using this approach. The
electrical resistance of printed conductive inks. Prior to DC electrical resistance was then measured after drying the
measuring the DC electrical resistance, the printed samples samples for 24 h in ambient conditions. Relevant results are
were dried in ambient conditions for 24 h. The resistance given in Table III.
measurement setup consisted of an interdigitated electrode It was observed that the actual squeegee attack angle during
as shown in Figure 3. The electrode terminals were printing stroke was directly dependent on the squeegee
connected to Keithley 2100 high precision digital pressure and the initial squeegee angle (when no pressure is
multimeter as shown in Figure 4. The registration quality applied on the squeegee). Thus, for each set of printing
of the printed samples was analysed by scanning the dried parameters, the effective squeegee angle was measured during
samples at 300 dpi using a HP Scanjet 2200c flat-bed printing stroke by marking the position of squeegee blade on a
scanner. board attached to the rear end of the squeegee as shown in

Figure 7 Weight of ink deposit and resistance of 12 w/w% pigment ink

Weight (12% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Sq. Angle Resistance (12% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Sq. Angle

12.75
0.020

12.50
0.015
Weight (g)
R (ohms) 12.25
0.010
12.00
5 5

4 4
Sq. Pressure (bars) 40 Sq. Pressure (bars)
40
30 30
3 3
20 20
Sq. Angle (vertical) Sq. Angle (vertical)

(a) (b)

Weight (12% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Effective Sq. Angle Resistance (12% ink) vs Sq. Pressure, Effective Sq. Angle

12.75
0.020
12.50
0.015
Weight (g) R (ohms) 12.25
0.010
12.00
5 5

4 4
Sq. Pressure (bars) 60 Sq. Pressure (bars) 60
3 40 3 40
20 20
Effective Sq. Angle Effective Sq. Angle

(c) (d)

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Figure 5. An example of the angle calculation method is shown stroke) delivered a higher amount of print paste and these
in Figure 6 and the effective squeegee angles, calculated using samples had the lowest DC electrical resistance as well.
this technique, are provided in Table IV. The data presented in Reference will now be made to the data presented in Table IV
Table IV shows that increasing the squeegee pressure for a from which it is evident that increasing the squeegee pressure
given initial squeegee angle (from vertical) resulted in a for a given initial squeegee angle resulted in a considerable
decrement in the effective squeegee attack angle. The decrease in the effective squeegee angle, i.e. the angle of
significance of this in relation to the effects on print squeegee from the surface of the screen. Such a decrease should
characteristics are discussed in the following text. result in an increased hydrodynamic pressure in the print paste,
Figures 7-9 show the surface plots of the weight of the ink and subsequently, a larger amount of ink should be forced out
layer deposited and the resistance of each sample that were of the perforations in the screen (Hawkyard, 2003). Our results
obtained for various combinations of printing pressure and [Figures 7(c)-9(c)] show that a smaller angle between the
squeegee angle. In these surface plots, a rather clear correlation surface of the screen and the squeegee does not necessarily
can be observed between the amount of ink deposit and the DC result in an increased ink deposition. Besides, the direct effects
electrical resistance of the printed area. In all cases, i.e. 4, 8 and of printing process parameters, this finding can be attributed to
12 w/w per cent pigment-containing inks, the DC electrical other factors as well: the absorbency of the substrate arguably
resistance decreased as the amount of deposited ink increased. being the most important one. Nevertheless, this result suggests
This result is in-line with the expected characteristics of a layer that it is crucially important to optimise the printing process
of a functional ink. For the experimental conditions (machine parameters according to the purpose of printing and the
settings, substrate and ink properties), a particular trend was required characteristics in the end product.
observed in the amount of ink deposited. It was found that the Although the primary objective was to determine the optimum
combination of four bar squeegee pressure and 30° squeegee printing parameters, which result in the maximum deposit of
angle (from vertical) resulted in a minimum deposit of ink onto print paste, registration of design could not be ignored as it is an
the substrate. It was also found that for all of the inks used, the important factor to consider in the context of this study. This is
combination of three bar squeegee pressure and initial squeegee because, a thick ink deposit with poor registration is of limited
angle of 20° (60° from the surface of the screen during printing used in printed electronics applications (Dubey, 1975). Thus, the

Figure 8 Weight of ink deposit and resistance of 8 w/w% pigment ink

Resistance (8% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Sq. Angle

17

16
R (ohms)

15

4
Sq. Pressure (bars)
40
3 30
20
Sq. Angle (vertical)

(a) (b)

Resistance (8% ink) vs Sq. Pressure, Effective Sq. Angle

17

16
R (ohms)

15

4
Sq. Pressure (bars)
60
3 40
20
Effective Sq. Angle

(c) (d)

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Figure 9 Weight of ink deposit and resistance of 4 w/w% pigment ink

Weight (4% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Sq. Angle Resistance (4% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Sq. Angle

0.025 38

0.020
36
Weight (g) 0.015 R (ohms)
34
0.010
5 32
5

4 4
Sq. Pressure (bars) Sq. Pressure (bars)
40 40
3 30 3 30
20 20
Sq. Angle (vertical) Sq. Angle (vertical)

(a) (b)

Weight (4% ink) vs Sq. Pressure , Effective Sq. Angle Resistance (4% ink) vs Sq. Pressure, Effective Sq. Angle

0.025 38

0.020
36
Weight (g) 0.015 R (ohms)
34
0.010
5 32
5

4
Sq. Pressure (bars) 4
60 Sq. Pressure (bars) 60
3 40 40
20 3
20
Effective Sq. Angle Effective Sq. Angle

(c) (d)

quality of the print was analysed by scanning the samples at deposited a thick ink layer in many cases but the registration
300 dpi using a typical flatbed scanner. The scanned images of all quality was considerably poor (e.g. for SA = 5 bar and SP = 40°).
the samples are tabulated in Figure 10. It was found that high In contrast, the combination of three bar squeegee pressure and
squeegee pressure and larger initial squeegee angle (from vertical) 20° attack angle produced a very fine registration mark without

Figure 10 Registration quality in printed samples

Printing 12 w/w% pigment 8 w/w% pigment 4 w/w% pigment

parameters ink ink ink

SP = 5 bar
SA = 20º

SP = 3 bar
SA = 40º

SP = 4 bar
SA = 30º

SP = 3 bar
SA = 20º

SP = 5 bar
SA = 40º

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smearing as shown in Figure 10. This result is also in-line with Hawkyard, C.J. (2003), “Screen printing”, in Miles, L.W.C.
the observations made regarding the weight of ink deposit and (Ed.), Textile Printing, SDC.
DC electrical resistance and it can be concluded that with this Hawkyard, C.J. and Miah, A.S. (1987), “The parameters of
particular set of printing parameters, i.e. squeegee pressure of rotary-screen printing”, Journal of the Society of Dyers and
three bar and initial squeegee angle of 20°, the integrity of the ink Colourists, Vol. 103 No. 1, pp. 27-31.
film that was deposited onto the substrate was maintained. Huebler, A., Hahn, U., Beier, W., Lasch, N. and Fischer, T.
(2002), “High volume printing technologies for the
4. Conclusions production of polymer electronic structures”, 2nd
International IEEE Conference on Polymers and Adhesives in
The effect of printing process parameters, namely, printing Microelectronics and Photonics, pp. 172-176.
pressure and squeegee angle have been studied in the context of Hyun, W.J., Secor, E.B., Hersam, M.C., Frisbie, C.D. and
printing of electrically conductive inks. Some minor Francis, L.F. (2015), “High-Resolution patterning of
modifications have also been made in the lab-scale automatic graphene by screen printing with a silicon stencil for highly
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concerned in this field of work. In this study, we found that Gogotsi, Y. and Dion, G. (2013), “Knitted and screen
the combination of three bar squeegee pressure and 20° printed carbon-fiber supercapacitors for applications in
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