Does digital printing look like rotary or screen printing?
Yes and no. The quality of each is different in certain aspects, including what ink colors are used and how they are mixed. Digital can print with unlimited colors and photo images, graphic details and color combinations not possible with silkscreen or rotary, but cannot print with opaque white (over another color) or metallic colors. However, new software and file manipulation allows digital to “dummy down” and copy screen or rotary, important if a client is using digital to start the sample process but will ultimately go overseas to rotary or screen printing for production. It’s not helpful to make samples that don’t end up looking like the production. Screen and rotary use a limited amount of color, each being a layer and costing quite a bit of money per screen or engraving. Digital frees design from this restriction, but if you design a digital type image with complex attributes, you will have to stay digital to produce your fabric. Your end product should be known before starting
