Towards a Better Understanding of Screen Print Thickness Control

Abstract

In recent years, a more scientific approach to the age-old craft of silk screen printing has resulted in the evolution of complex precision-built printing machines for use in the electronics micro-circuit industry. Even so, our knowledge of the physical processes involved in screen printing is still far from complete. An attempt is made here to provide a better understanding of the screen printing mechanism and more specifically of print thickness control. Two different printing modes are described and the effect of and interaction between some of the more important machine parameters in this respect are discussed. A simple pillar theory is offered which allows a prediction to be made of the quantity of ink fundamentally deposited by a given screen. © 1974, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers Ltd.