An aluminum mesh screen is a screen printing screen made of a welded aluminum frame with polyester mesh stretched and glued across it. The mesh holds the emulsion stencil and the aluminum keeps it flat and tight. Buckets of Ink stocks them pre-stretched in 20 x 24, 20 x 28 and 23 x 31 from 60 to 420 mesh, $27 to $46 each.

Yes for any shop printing regularly. Aluminum does not absorb water or warp under the flash, so registration holds on multi-color jobs, the frame survives pressure washing and dip tanks, and the mesh keeps tension through hundreds of reclaim cycles. Wooden frames cost less once but drift, swell and are usually thrown away when the mesh goes.

Monofilament polyester mesh woven to a stated thread count per inch. Buckets of Ink aluminum screens run white mesh from 60 to 180 for ink deposit and yellow mesh from 180 to 420 for detail and halftones, all stretched to production tension before they ship.

Yes. When the mesh tears or loses tension, a stretching shop can strip the old mesh and glue new mesh to the same aluminum frame, which is one reason aluminum costs less per print over time. Shur-Loc E-Z Endurance frames on this page take snap-in pre-tensioned panels for in-house retensioning.

For standard plastisol spot colors on cotton tees, 110 to 160 mesh covers most jobs: 110 for white underbases and bold colors, 125 to 160 for everyday colors with a smoother hand. Step up to 180 through 230 for detail and top colors, and 255 through 305 for halftones and simulated process.

Yellow mesh absorbs stray light during stencil exposure instead of scattering it, which protects fine detail at high mesh counts. That is why our 200-and-up screens use yellow mesh, while low and mid counts where heavy deposit matters more than micro detail run white.

20 x 24 is the manual-press standard and fits most standard platens. 20 x 28 gives extra length for jacket backs and better off-contact, and 23 x 31 is the automatic-press standard with room for oversize and multi-up layouts. Check your press clamp spacing before ordering.

Yes. The aluminum screens arrive pre-stretched to production tension. Degrease the mesh, let it dry, then coat with emulsion and expose; no stretching equipment needed.

They are pre-tensioned Murakami mesh panels that snap into Shur-Loc E-Z Endurance retensionable frames. When mesh wears out you replace the panel, not the frame, and you can re-tension between jobs for consistent registration at a lower cost per print.

Most halftone and simulated process work runs 230 to 305 mesh, matched to your line count: coarser halftones print well at 230, while 55 to 65 LPI detail wants 280 to 305. Super-fine graphic work moves up to 355 and 420.

Same day on our metro routes. Four stocked delivery vans run daily across Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert and the greater Valley, and will-call pickup is available at the Tempe warehouse Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Orders over $250 ship nationwide with shipping included.

It depends on run lengths, reclaim habits and mesh count; fine mesh is more delicate than workhorse counts. Signs it is time: registration drift, falling tension and pinholing that outpaces your reclaim routine. Static frames get re-meshed or replaced; Shur-Loc Endurance frames just take a fresh snap-in panel.