More than 40 Swedish screen-printing experts gathered at an open house held by Thieme GmbH & Co. KG to learn about current technological innovations in screen-printing equipment and related equipment. The two-day program featured lectures and machine demonstrations of various screen-printing machines, including the Thieme 3020, 5020, 5070, 500, and 1000 models, as well as the Thieme TSC squeegee-cutting machine. The event also covered colors, screen preparation, and specifics on the printing process. For this portion of the program, Thieme invited several partner companies to participate, including Marabu/Spacio, Sefar, Grünig, and KIWO.
The Swedish screen-printing market is reportedly characterized by many small, family, and mid-sized companies with three to 50 employees. The companies specialize in certain niche applications in the technical sector. Nadine Gabrysch, sales representative in the Graphic Printing Systems div. at Thieme, says, “As a rule, smaller companies cannot afford a complete multicolor line, but would still like to utilize the productivity gain of these machines in order to increase their competitiveness. A Thieme 5000 print station or rather one of our semi or three-quarter automatic machines would bring them to the desired level of productivity.”
Karl Erik Asp, president of the Swedish Screen Printing Association, remarks on the trend away from graphic toward technical screen-printing applications. “Since the early 1990s, the focus has shifted more and more to specialized applications, while standard products have been adopted by digital and offset printing.” He sees the potential of screen printing today above all in the printing of special materials, such as plastic, metal, glass, or wood as well as with special-effects and electronic applications. “Who would have thought that foils for bicycle helmets or photovoltaic modules can be manufactured as screen prints?” he asks.