Home › Screen Printing › Screen Printing Registration: Marks, Setup & Multi-Color Printing
| Tool | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Vastex VRS Lite Universal (VRS-L-UR) | Jig/pinboard combo for manual rear-clamp presses, 14"–17" pallets | $712.00 |
| Vastex VRST Universal (VRST-RM14-17) | VRS pin registration for manual rear-clamp presses, 14"–17" pallets (without drawers) | $1,191.00 |
| VRS registration pins & tabs | Replacement pins and tabs for VRS systems | $15.00 |
| VRS grid sticker | Grid sticker for VRS film placement | $43.69 |
| Waterproof inkjet film | Dense, accurate film positives with registration marks | $69.95 |
With a pin system, film and screen are positioned on the same pins before exposure, so each screen is already in register when it goes on the press — most of the setup above becomes a quick final tweak. Ask us which VRS model matches your press.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Colors line up in the center but not at the edges | Shirt stretched or shifted on the pallet; flash shrinkage | Use pallet adhesive, load shirts the same way every time, shorten flash time |
| A color is off on every print by the same amount | Screen not locked or micro-registration slipped | Re-register and tighten the clamps and screen holders |
| Registration drifts during the run | Screens or pallets loosening; frames heating under the flash | Check clamps and pallet arms; keep frames away from the flash |
| Gaps between colors | No trap in the art | Add a small trap/choke (overlap) to the separations |
| Can't get two screens to match at all | Films placed differently on each screen | Re-burn with the films aligned to marks or a pin system |
You can print multiple colors on a single-station press by printing and flashing one color at a time, but every color change means re-registering. A 4-color press like the Vastex V-2000HD 4-color 4-station manual press ($5,587.00) keeps every screen mounted and in register for the whole run, and a Vastex F-100 flash cure unit ($1,007.00) sets colors between screens. Compare options in our 4 color screen printing press guide and rear clamp vs side clamp guide.
Registration marks are small crosshairs or targets placed in the same position on every color separation, outside the artwork. When the marks on every screen print exactly on top of each other, the colors of the design line up.
Print the first (key) color, then bring down each next screen and use the press micro-registration to move it until its registration marks sit exactly on the key color's marks. Check with a test print, adjust, lock down and tape the marks off before production.
Separate the art into one film per color with matching registration marks, burn one screen per color, register each screen to the first color, and print each color in order, flashing between colors when printing wet-on-dry or on dark shirts.
Yes, by printing one color, flashing or letting it set, then swapping screens and re-registering for the next color. It is slow and harder to keep in register, which is why multi-color jobs are usually done on a 4-color or larger press.
A pre-registration template or system (such as Vastex VRS) positions the film and screen the same way every time before exposure, so screens go onto the press already close to perfect registration.
Related guides: How to screen print · Simulated process screen printing · How to make a screen · 4 color screen printing press · Vastex equipment · Tapes & adhesives
