According to a Report: there are 5,800 commercial screen printing shops in the US – a 30% increase from 2010 and the only non-digital printing process to show growth.

The US survey shows that 74% of commercial screen printing companies employ 1-9 employees, but we don’t seem to be that analytical when collecting data of the industry.

Only 12% of screen printing shops in the US employ more than 20 employees. This “mom and pop” mode tends to indicate that there is an easier path to learning the skills and entering the screen printing industry, and that it requires a lower capital investment.

Many of the companies surveyed were screen&digital shops with a wide format digital printer or DTG printer on the floor. However, screen printing has proven itself time and again for applying permanent, vivid and good hand-feeling to a variety of materials from plastics to glass and metal to textiles.

Screen printing shops seem to be “flying under the radar”. On the supply side, however, companies such as GJS, Leapfrog, Australian Screen Printing Supplies, S&S Wholesale and even art suppliers such as Eckersley”s and ArtShed offer a wide range of materials and equipment for screen printing.

Fujifilm remains a world leader in providing a wide range of solvent ink and UV curable inks for screen printing applications such as signage, POP displays and different types of plastics. It is no surprise that Fujifilm has owned Sericol UK, the inventor of UV printing, since 2005, and its screen printing gave birth to UV flatbed digital printing, and Fujifilm excels in both printing machine and inkjet inks.

Driving the growth of the screen printing business is of course the ubiquitous T-shirts and related apparel such as baseball caps, tote bags and other textiles. However, specialty products such as promotional products and industrial applications also play an important role. Hybrid screen&digital businesses can handle both short runs (even one-offs) and long runs.

Digital inkjet printing: Once the ink is dry, it will stay on the paper and won’t fade after a few washes and days at the beach. This is the biggest advantage of screen printing, it can permanently print ink onto almost anything.

Digital printing: Digital inkjet printing is flexible and convenient. It can print on demand and reduce inventory, so it is suitable for fast fashion and customized product industries.

Both screen printing and digital inkjet printing have their own unique advantages and irreplaceable disadvantages. Therefore, in the short term, digital printing cannot replace screen printing. Users can choose the printing method that suits them according to their own situation.