Silk Screen Printing
Silk Screen Printing
Screen printing has been used for over 100 years, in both the commercial industry for printing images and designs on to clothing and accessories, and in the artistic sector to bring inspired designs to life. It is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil.
The basic method embroils creating a stencil on a fine mesh screen, and then pushing ink (or paint, in the case of artwork and posters) through to create an imprint of your design on the surface beneath.
The process is sometimes called ‘silk screening’ or ‘silk screen printing’ and while the actual printing process is always fairly similar, the way the stencil is created can vary, depending on the materials used. Different stenciling techniques include:
- Using masking tape or vinyl to cover the desired areas of the screen.
- Painting the stencil onto the mesh using ‘screen blockers’ such as glue or lacquer.
- Using a light-sensitive emulsion to create a stencil, which is then developed in a similar way to a photograph.
Designs made using the screen-printing technique may use just one shade of ink, or several. In the case of multicolored items, the colors must be applied in individual layers, using separate stencils for each ink.
Today it has become a very sophisticated process, using advanced fabrics and inks combined with computer technology. Screen Printing is most commonly associated with major way to create bulk amount of T-Shirts and other garments.
