Factors that dictate which mesh count you use

Different mesh counts are used for different applications in the silk screen printing process. What is mesh count? Well, mesh count is a measure of how many threads of polyester (used to be silk, centuries ago, hence ‘silkscreening’) cross each other per square inch of the screen. For example, a 110 mesh screen would have 110 threads crossing per square inch. The higher the mesh count, the finer the holes are in the screen.

The first factor you should keep in mind when choosing a mesh size is how detailed your image is. For example, your image has extremely high detail, a low screen printing mesh simply wouldn’t hold the detail. The fine lines or dots in the image would simply fall through the holes in the mesh, leaving you with a poor representation of what your image should be. If you have a low detail image and you use too high of a mesh count, you’ll run into issues of not getting enough ink to lay down on the shirt.