Screen printing, also known as silkscreen printing or serigraphy, is a versatile and impactful printing technique that has been embraced by artists, designers, and industries alike. At its heart, screen printing is a stencil method where ink is pressed through a fine mesh screen onto a substrate, except in areas blocked by a stencil. This process allows for bold colors, durable prints, and application on a wide array of materials, making it a cornerstone of both fine art printmaking and commercial applications.
To understand screen printing, it’s essential to grasp the core components. The screen itself is a crucial element, traditionally crafted from silk but now more commonly made from synthetic fabrics stretched tightly over a frame, usually aluminum or wood. This mesh screen acts as the carrier for the stencil and the support through which ink is forced. The stencil is what defines the image; it blocks ink from passing through certain areas of the screen, allowing it to pass through only where the design is intended.
Creating a stencil for screen printing is a multi-step process, with modern techniques often utilizing photo-sensitive emulsion. Initially, a design is prepared on a transparent film. This design can be hand-drawn with opaque ink, printed, or cut from specialized films like rubylith. The screen is then coated with a liquid photo emulsion in a darkroom setting using a scoop coater, ensuring an even layer.
Once the emulsion is dry, the transparency with the design is placed directly onto the emulsion-coated screen. This setup is then placed in an exposure unit emitting ultraviolet (UV) light. The areas of the design on the transparency block the UV light, preventing the emulsion underneath from hardening. The surrounding emulsion, exposed to the UV light, hardens and becomes durable.
After exposure, the screen is washed with water. The unexposed emulsion, which was protected by the design on the transparency, is washed away, leaving open mesh areas that correspond exactly to the design. The hardened emulsion surrounding these areas forms the stencil, blocking ink from passing through.
With the stencil prepared, the screen is mounted onto a printing press or hinged frame above the printing surface. Ink is then applied to the screen, and a squeegee, a rubber blade tool, is used to pull the ink across the screen. This action forces the ink through the open mesh areas of the stencil and onto the material beneath, creating the print.
For multi-colored designs in screen printing, each color is applied in separate layers, requiring a different screen and stencil for each color. Precise registration, or alignment, is crucial to ensure that the colors overlap correctly and create the intended image. This meticulous layering is what gives screen printing its characteristic depth and vibrancy in color.
Screen printing’s adaptability allows it to be used on a wide range of substrates, including paper, textiles, plastic, glass, and wood. From creating fine art prints and posters to printing designs on t-shirts and industrial products, screen printing remains a powerful and versatile technique. Its ability to lay down thick layers of ink ensures vibrant and long-lasting images, making “Screen Printing What Is It” a question answered by its enduring presence in art and industry.
