The Science Behind PCB Silkscreen Inks and Printing Techniques

Have you ever wondered what type of processes are used in PCB fabrication so that they have permanent silkscreen? How does this ink not erase even if under very harsh conditions? By the way, silkscreen is the top-most layer of a PCB, the white legends that consist of component labels, logos, and polarity marks. Today, we will see the chemistry behind all this and know what type of printing technology is required to make them work. Behind these clean white lines lies a fascinating combination of materials science, chemistry, and precision printing technology. In this article, we'll break down:

⦁ What PCB silkscreen is and why it matters.

⦁ The types of inks used in PCB manufacturing.

⦁ Printing techniques for applying silkscreen.

⦁ The curing process, how the ink becomes permanent.

⦁ Common chemicals and agents are used in the process.

1.    The Inks: Chemistry of PCB Silkscreen

PCB silkscreen inks are not the same as your office printer's ink. They're specialized, high-performance coatings designed to survive soldering heat and years of environmental exposure. Three common factors are:

1.  Base Material

In most PCBs, silkscreen inks are based on epoxy resin systems. They can withstand high soldering temperatures (~260°C during reflow), can resist PCB cleaning solvents and flux residues. Some high-performance applications use UV-curable acrylic inks, which offer fast curing and detail resolution for high-density PCBs.

2. Pigments

Pigments provide color, opacity, and contrast. The most common pigment for white silkscreen is titanium dioxide (TiO₂). This is highly opaque and offers excellent UV resistance; it maintains brightness over time. For black or other colors, carbon black or organic pigments are used.

3. Additives

To improve performance, inks may contain:

⦁ Flow agents: To prevent clogging and ensure smooth deposition.

⦁ Thixotropic agents: To control viscosity so the ink stays where it’s printed.

⦁ Adhesion promoters: They help the ink bond to the cured solder mask.

⦁ Heat stabilizers: They maintain print integrity during soldering.

2.    Silkscreen Printing Techniques

The term “silkscreen” comes from screen printing. But PCB manufacturers now use several methods to apply the legend layer. Traditionally, the Ink is pushed through a fine mesh stencil onto the PCB surface. It is pretty low cost but limited in resolution (~0.15 mm line width). The smaller the line width less area the printing will take, so it is very slow for small features.

1) Liquid Photo-Imageable (LPI) Silkscreen:

In this process, the board is coated with a photosensitive epoxy ink. Then exposed through a film and the excess is developed. It is widely used nowadays because of its high precision, but it is quite a complex process and needs UV exposure equipment.

2) Direct Legend Printing (DLP):

It uses inkjet printing to directly deposit UV-curable ink onto the PCB. So, in this method no need for stencils, and it still provides very good resolution. The industry is nowadays moving towards DLP because of lower fabrication costs.

3.    Curing the Silkscreen Ink

Once the silkscreen ink is applied, it must be cured to harden it and ensure durability.

1)  Thermal Curing:

In this method, the boards are baked in an oven at ~150°C for 30–60 minutes. Usually, this treatment is used for epoxy-based inks. This method has strong chemical resistance and stable adhesion.

2) UV Curing:

In this method, the intense UV light triggers polymerization of the ink. This method is used for UV-curable acrylic inks and LPI methods. It is fast (~seconds), with low thermal stress on the PCB, but requires precise UV dose; shadows can prevent curing in some spots.

4.    Silkscreen: Step-by-Step Process

Here's how silkscreen printing typically works in a PCB factory:

⦁ Surface Preparation: PCB solder mask surface is cleaned and lightly abraded to improve adhesion, and if it contains any impurity is removed in this step.

⦁ Ink Application: Chosen method (screen printing, LPI, or DLP) applies the ink; the same method decides the following steps.

⦁ Curing: It is based on the ink we are using; the two methods, thermal or UV curing, have already been discussed above.

⦁ Inspection: After all the process boards undergo automated optical inspection that checks alignment with the actual design.

⦁ Final Touches: Boards are cleaned of any stray ink particles before packing.

Conclusion:

PCB silkscreen is not just a visual aid; it is a type of printing engineering. A lot of factors are involved in this, which make it chemical-resistant and thermally robust for the marking layer. The choice of ink, printing technique, and curing method all influence durability. For most modern boards, UV-curable inks with direct legend printing offer unmatched resolution and speed. Traditional screen printing still serves well in cost-sensitive, large-scale manufacturing.Whether you’re prototyping or running small batches, you can order PCBs with professional silkscreen directly from JLCPCB. Upload your Gerber files, choose your silkscreen color, and get fast global delivery—making it easy to test and scale your designs.