Computer-to-Screen (CTS): The Definitive Screen Engraving Guide
What is computer-to-screen (CTS)?
CTS (Computer-to-Screen) writes the screen image directly onto an emulsion-coated mesh using a digital optical head — typically a DLP or laser engine — instead of burning a film and exposing it by hand. The artwork goes from RIP to screen in one digital step, with no film, no capillary film lamination and no manual mask alignment.
It is the standard prepress step for textile, ceramic, glass and industrial screen printing, and it is the natural successor to film-based screen making wherever repeatability and fast setup matter.
The CTS workflow
The pipeline is short and fully digital: artwork (vector or raster) is prepared and color-separated in the RIP, then the optical head scans the coated screen and polymerizes or ablates the emulsion according to the file. After exposure the screen is washed/developed and dried — ready to print.
- Artwork → RIP → 1-bit screen file
- Digital optical head exposes the coated mesh directly
- Wash/develop → dry → print-ready screen
Resolution and line width
Addressability on CTS systems is commonly in the 15–40 µm range, which comfortably covers textile and industrial graphics as well as finer decorative work. Real-world achievable line width also depends on mesh count, emulsion thickness and the coating quality — the optical engine sets the ceiling, but the screen build sets the floor.
For halftone and fine-line industrial printing, choose a mesh and emulsion combination that the engine’s addressability can actually resolve; otherwise the extra optical precision is wasted.
Substrates and applications
CTS serves any process that starts from a stencil screen: garment and textile printing, ceramic and glass decoration, membrane switches, graphic and industrial screen printing. Because there is no film to handle, color consistency between reorders improves dramatically — the same file always makes the same screen.
- Textile / garment printing
- Ceramic, glass and decorative printing
- Industrial graphics and functional prints
CTS vs traditional screen making
Traditional screen making laminates a capillary film or coats emulsion, then exposes through a film positive under a vacuum frame — a manual, film-dependent process. CTS removes the film and the manual exposure step, which removes a whole class of alignment and handling errors and shortens setup from minutes to seconds.
- No film cost or storage
- Better registration and reorder consistency
- Faster setup, less waste
How to specify a CTS system
Match the engine to your finest required detail, then size the bed to your largest frame. Confirm the RIP and file workflow (common formats such as TIFF/PDF) and the supported mesh/emulsion range, and validate throughput against your daily screen count. McLantis CTS systems share the same modular Laser MEMS / DLP engine used across the prepress line, so capacity can scale with your shop.