If you do any sort of screen printing, you will need tape for your mesh screens. Tape not only offers a quick repair, but it can also serve to add strength in order to prolong the longevity of your mesh screens and cut down on the number of repairs needed. Tape is almost always necessary for screen printing in order to tape up your screens or block pinholes and prevent ink from going through the open mesh onto your shirt or printed item. So, which tape is right for your screen printing needs?

When looking for the best screen printing tapes, you should look for the following characteristics:

• A tape that will peel cleanly and quickly every time
• A tape that will stay down when you need it to
• A tape that won’t leave residue behind when peeled away
• A tape that can withstand the chemicals used in the screen printing process

You’ll also want to consider your particular application and what inks you are using when choosing the best tape for your screen printing needs. The types that we recommend include:

• Split tape
• Masking tape
• Packaging tape
• Blue blockout tape

For instance, if you are using metal frames, you don’t need a high-adhesive tape like you do with wooden frames. Split tape works great here. Spending too much time, effort, energy, and money in trying to remove lower-quality tapes can end up costing you more than you saved in the long run. Another example is for solvent inks that can get under the tape, blue blockout tape works exceedingly well. Packaging tape and masking tape can work here as well; it depends on if the tape will stay down on your particular frames. We recommend experimenting with different types of screen tapes in order to find the best for your particular processes, workflow, inks, and frames.

You also want to consider if any mess will get left behind when you peel the tape up. This, too, can be extremely time consuming, and, if done too quickly, can cause ink to stain your screen printed item, causing you to have to redo that item.

For screen printing, you’ll most definitely need an industrial or commercial-grade tape, especially if you screen print all day long. Finding the perfect tape for your screen printing needs can improve the screen printing process, yield better screen printing results, and, most importantly, make your screen printing more efficient with less hassle.

SpecTape offers a wide variety of screen printing tapes to meet your needs that we have designed to be easy to use and highly effective. All of our tapes are made from the highest-quality materials so you can rest assured your tape will get the job done. We offer split tapes, masking and packaging tapes, as well as vinyl and blockout tapes. We also offer custom tape capabilities, so if you have something particular in mind that you just can’t find, let us know; we’d be happy to help. Learn more on our website at https://www.spectape.com/ or reach out to a team member today.