Extending Screen Life While Protecting Print Consistency

Screen stripping: A hidden influencer of print performance

Screens that are the heart of the textile rotary printing process in textiles are used multiple times to save cost and enhance sustainability. Rotary printing quality relies heavily on-screen accuracy. Yet over time, repeated exposure to chemicals, coatings, engraving, stripping and washing processes leaves screens strained. Residual photoresist and slight surface distortions can quietly undermine even the most advanced printing lines.

For textile printers balancing productivity, cost control, and sustainability, the question becomes: How can rotary screens be reused without compromising precision and quality?

The challenges in conventional screen maintenance

Traditional screen stripping methods often present several persistent challenges:

Zimmer Austria’s integrated stripping and ironing approach

Zimmer Austria’s high‑pressure rotary screen stripping and ironing machine is designed to deliver supreme results while remaining easy to use, eco‑friendly and aligned with green technology objectives.

The system enables efficient and gentle removal of photoresist using a controlled high‑pressure water process, allowing screen sleeves to be reused up to 20 times for recoating and re‑designing. This alone significantly extends screen life and reduces replacement costs.

What sets the solution apart is the integrated ironing function. After stripping, the ironing process equalises slight to medium wrinkles and creases in the screen sleeve surface. This restores geometric accuracy and surface uniformity—both critical for consistent coating thickness and precise engraving. After treatment, screen sleeves are returned to a near‑new condition, ready for high‑quality printing applications.

The machine is available in STR26 and STR35 variants, supporting all usual repeats, and is powered by a robust high‑pressure pumping unit made in Germany, offering long‑term reliability and consistent performance.

More than maintenance—a process upgrade

As part of Zimmer Austria’s screen and coating systems portfolio, developed with Wenk SRL, this solution helps textile printers reduce waste, stabilise quality, and extract more value from existing screen assets.

In a competitive textile market, intelligent screen preparation is no longer optional—it’s strategic.