Screen Printing

Overview

Screen printing is actually an ancient technique perfected over time and is still used today. The technology involves installing a porous mesh into a wooden or metal frame as to make a taught screen. This then is covered with a viscous liquid called emulsion which is water soluble depending on its exposure to UV light. Once exposed to UV light, the emulsion layer on the screen is no longer water soluble and can only be removed chemically with reclaimer.

Making a stencil is pretty easy, you simply use a transparency of the shape you wish to make a stencil for and lay it with the screen underneath UV light. This allows everything to become hardened while the shape underneath the transparency remains water soluble. One can then scrub the emulsion off to reveal a stencil!

Once the stencil is created, all you need to do is attach the screen to a screen print press and lay it down on your medium of choice (paper, t-shirt, etc). You then take ink of choice and pour a line of it above your shape. Lastly, with your squeegee, you swipe the ink with a firm grip across the stencil. Once the screen is lifted, the shape of the stencil has transferred, and that is the general process of screen printing!

Many changes have occurred in the screen printing’s development as a technology. Explore the tabs to learn more about more background and potential of screen printing.