When buying my first manual press, what type of screen do I need?

The best type of screen is a tight one, whether it’s wood, aluminum, or a retensionable frame. All fabrics relax over time so what you really need is a reliable method of tensioning screens.

The most important thing that is often overlooked is the downside of buying pre-stretched screens. It is difficult to buy a screen from a supply house that’s more than 20 newtons per centimeter. By the time the screens sit in a factory in inventory, get shipped on a truck, get sent to a dealer inventory, and then arrive in a UPS truck, they are going to be 20 newtons or less. If you can’t tension your own screens, you are going to be printing with soft screens, and that’s the biggest mistake any screen printer can make. It makes white ink very difficult to push through the screen, and it makes registration difficult.

—Workhorse Products