How to Care for Screen Printed Textiles and Prints

Quick answer

Wash screen printed textiles inside out in cold water on a gentle cycle, skip fabric softener and bleach, and air dry away from direct sun. For screen printed paper, keep pieces out of damp rooms and strong daylight. Handle prints with clean, dry hands and store them flat.

Screen printed ink sits on top of the surface rather than soaking through it, which is exactly why it looks so rich and opaque. It also means the print is the most vulnerable part of the item, whether that's a cotton tea towel or a sheet of Southbank Smooth paper.

The good news is that most damage is preventable. A few consistent habits around heat, abrasion, and light will do more for screen print longevity than any specialty product. Below is the order I'd follow, from the first wash to long-term storage.

Why screen printed ink behaves differently

In screen printing, ink is pushed through a mesh stencil and cured onto the surface. On fabric, that cured layer sits slightly proud of the weave, which is why a screen printed tea towel feels different from a digitally printed one. On paper, the ink film is thin but still surface-bound, so it can scuff or crack if it's bent repeatedly.

That structure explains the three main threats: heat softens and eventually breaks down the ink film, abrasion rubs it away, and UV light fades the pigments. Cold water, low friction, and shade address all three at once. None of this requires special equipment, just a change in routine.

• Heat, friction, and direct sunlight are the three things to manage.
• Cured ink is durable but not indestructible, so treat the printed area as the delicate part.

Washing screen printed fabric without wrecking the print

Turn the item inside out before it goes anywhere near the machine. This puts the fabric, not the ink, against the drum and other items. Wash at 30 degrees on a gentle or delicate cycle with a mild detergent, and keep the load loose so nothing scrubs against the print. If you're washing a single tea towel, add a couple of similar-coloured items to cushion it.

Skip fabric softener and bleach entirely. Softener leaves a residue that dulls the ink's finish, and bleach attacks pigments directly. If the item is heavily soiled, treat the stain from the back of the fabric with a little detergent and cool water, then wash as normal rather than reaching for a stronger chemical.

• Cold or 30 degrees, gentle cycle, mild detergent, loose load.
• No softener, no bleach, no hot wash, no tumble drying.

Drying and ironing

Air dry whenever you can, ideally indoors or in shade. Direct sun is the fastest route to screen print fading, and a hot tumble dryer does the same damage from the other direction by softening the cured ink. Hang or lay the item flat, reshape it while damp, and let it dry naturally.

If you need to iron, do it from the reverse with a low-to-medium setting and no steam blasting directly onto the print. Never press a hot iron onto the inked side. For paper prints, don't iron at all; if a sheet has curled, lay it flat under a clean board and a light weight for a day or two instead.

• Air dry in shade, never in a hot tumble dryer.
• Iron the reverse only, on a low setting, with the print face down or covered.

Storing and displaying screen printed paper

Paper prints want stable, dry, dark conditions. Keep them out of kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere with fluctuating humidity, since moisture causes cockling and can encourage foxing. Store flat in an acid-free folder or between sheets of clean board rather than rolling them tightly, which stresses the ink film along the curve.

When framing, use a mat or spacer so the glass never touches the printed surface. If you're hanging a piece in a bright room, consider UV-filtering glazing or rotate the piece periodically so no single area takes all the light. Even a good frame won't stop fading forever, but it buys you years.

• Flat, acid-free storage beats tight rolling for anything you plan to keep.
• Keep glass off the print surface and rotate pieces in bright rooms.

Your screen print care routine, in order

1. 1. Read the maker's wash guidance first: Check the label or product page before the first wash. The Tea Towel Set, for example, states it will happily be washed at 30 degrees, which tells you the safe ceiling for that cotton and ink combination. If no temperature is given, default to cold and gentle rather than guessing upward.
2. 2. Turn fabric inside out and wash cold: Inside out, 30 degrees or cooler, gentle cycle, mild detergent, loose load. Keep softener and bleach out of the machine entirely. One hot wash with softener can dull a print that would otherwise have lasted years.
3. 3. Air dry in shade, never tumble: Hang or lay flat away from direct sun. Reshape while damp. If you must iron, do it on the reverse at low heat with the print face down. Heat is the single fastest way to break down cured screen printing ink.
4. 4. Store paper prints flat and dry: Use an acid-free folder or clean board, keep pieces out of damp rooms, and avoid tight rolling. Frame with a mat or spacer so glass never touches the ink. Flat storage protects the ink film; tight rolls and humid rooms are what cause cracking and cockling.
5. 5. Manage light where the piece hangs: Keep screen prints out of direct sun and rotate pieces in very bright rooms. UV-filtering glazing helps but doesn't make a print fade-proof. Screen print fading is cumulative, so every month out of direct light counts.

What this looks like in practice

• A2 Fruit Basket Silk Screen Print: Hand printed onto Southbank Smooth paper using four inks: Pastel Neon Pink, Chartreuse, Mint Green and Teal, in a limited edition of 50, printed in East London. Four separate ink layers mean four chances for UV damage, so this is a piece to hang away from direct sun and store flat rather than rolled.
• A2 slim Make Lemonade: Silk screen printed by hand in East London using a cloudy lemonade tone with bright lemon yellow, mint and racing green on 310gsm Southbank paper. Heavier 310gsm stock resists cockling better than thin paper, but the bright yellow and green inks are the most fade-prone, so shade matters more than weight here.
• Tea Towel Set: Made in the UK using water based inks on ethical cotton sourced from the US, measures W 50cm x H 75cm, and will happily be washed at 30 degrees. This is the benchmark for screen printed fabric care: inside out, 30 degrees, gentle cycle, air dry. The maker's own guidance matches the method above.

Screen print care comes down to three habits: keep heat away, keep friction low, and keep strong light off the ink. Do that and a hand-pulled print or a screen printed tea towel will hold its colour and crispness far longer than one that gets tossed in a hot wash and left on a sunny windowsill.