SILK SCREEN History 4 Screen Print Famous Artists How to Silkscreen Screen Printing Materials Printing Technique
CONTENTS
History 4 Screen Print Famous Artists How to silkscreen Screen printing materials Printing technique
History
Screen printing is a form of stencilling that first
appeared in a recognizable form in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). It was then adapted by other Asian countries like Japan, and was furthered by creating newer methods. Screen printing was largely introduced to Western Europe from Asia sometime in the late 18th century, but did not gain large acceptance or use in Europe until silk mesh was more available for trade from the east and a profitable outlet for the medium discovered. Early in the 1910s, several printers experimenting with photo-reactive chemicals used the well-known actinic light–activated cross linking or hardening traits of potassium, sodium or ammonium chromate and dichromate chemicals with glues and gelatin compounds. Roy Beck, Charles Peter and Edward Owens studied and experimented with chromic acid salt sensitized emulsions for photo-reactive stencils. This trio of developers would prove to revolutionize the commercial screen printing industry by introducing photo-imaged stencils to the industry, though the acceptance of this method would take many years. Commercial screen printing now uses sensitizers far safer and less toxic than bichromates. Currently there are large selections of pre-sensitized and "user mixed" sensitized emulsion chemicals for creating photo-reactive stencils.
5 Blexbolex
Screen Print Famous Artists
Blexbolex is a multi-award winning graphic artist and illustrator based in Berlin. Born in Douai, France as Bernard Granger, he finished his degree in screen printing and has been working in prints for over three decades. His visual storytellings, which are commonly found in children books and graphic novels, illustrate his experimental approach to blending characteristic hand-drawn illustration with commercial printing techniques and book production.
Ben Rider
Benjamin Rider, a renowned print technician at Print Club London, is a London-based illustrator and graphic designer who specialises in various print techniques including an unconventional process such as Cyanotype printing which is regularly used by engineers and architects to create blueprints. His timeserved expertise in print together with his sense of humour then results in a memorable series of eye-catchy prints.
Broken Fingaz
Broken Fingaz is a collective of very original street artists from Haifa City who do wall paintings, graffitis and T-shirt designs. Founded over a decade ago by Unga, Broken Fingaz has been painting streets and walls of the world’s major cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Beijing and many others.
Dan Mather
Dan Mather is a London-based screen printer and graphic designer based in London. An independent artist who has collaborated with many London’s creative forefronts including Mash Creative and also this year’s earlier exhibition, Glory Glory, Dan Mather, promises to be a graphic artist who has pushed past the boundary between computer graphic design and hand-made screen printing.
French Fourch
French Fourch is a studio and an independent publishing house led by two art enthusiasts Alexander Centazzo and Tristan Pernet in Paris. Their main project, Bastonnade, literally means as ‘beating’, aims to showcase flourishing talents by exhibiting their creative projects.
How to silkscreen
Silk screen printing is a bit intimidating at first, but it's easier than it looks and it's possible to set up a printing area in your own home for cheap. We'll show you how you can do it with a minimum amount of materials. The basic idea behind silk screening is pretty simple and works similar to a stencil. Instead of cutting out shapes individually, you coat a screen in photo emulsion, then cut an image out using a bright light. The video above walks you through the process, but let's go into more detail, starting with the supplies you need.
Set Up a Silk Screen Shop in Your Home Step 0: Get Your Supplies
First things , you need to get your supplies in order. Here's what you need: - Screen and frame (you can purchase these separately at a local arts store - or purchase a frame and screen like this one for $14). - Photo emulsion and sensitizer ($20). - A 250 watt bulb ($4) - Latex gloves. - A pitch black room (closets work fine). - A t-shirt. - Squeegee ($14). - Silk Screen Fabric Ink ($5). - Small piece of cardboard (that can fit inside the shirt).
Step 1: Create Your Image
Step 2: Coat the Screen in Emulsion
The emulsion comes in two parts: the sensitizer and the emulsion. Mix them together according to the directions on the bottle. Lay down your screen on a garbage bag. Pour a little of the emulsion mixture on the screen and spread it out on the screen with the squeegee. The emulsion should cover a slightly larger area than the image you want to print. If you need to, repeat the process until the screen is coated and you can't see through it. You want a thin, even layer across the whole screen. Leave the screen in a pitch black room for two hours until it's completely dry.
Step 3: Expose the Image on the Screen
It's time to expose the screen to the light. In that same pitch black room (don't turn on the light yet), lay down a black cloth or board. Lay down the screen and frame with the screen side down on top of the black surface. Then lay the transparency with your image on it on the screen where the photo emulsion is. Tape the transparancy down with scotch tape or lay a piece of glass over it. Move your lamp so it's about one to two feet above from the screen. Angle a lamp with the 250 watt bulb at the transparency with your image on it and leave the room. A desk lamp works best for this, but if you don't have one, create a reflector out of tin foil and place it above the lamp to reflect the light down. Do not turn on any other lights. Wait for about 10-15 minutes. Return to the room and carefully pull up the transparency. You should see faint blue lines where the image is burned into the screen. If it looks good, it's time to clean it off. If not, leave it a few more minutes and check back. Overexposure will make the image bleed, so be careful.
vStep 4: Clean the Screen
Spray your screen down with cold water from a hose, sink, or shower head. Notice how the section where your image is starts to flake off? Continue spraying it until you can see through your image clearly. Hold the screen up to the light to make sure it looks exactly like your transparency. Let the screen dry. Once it's dry, cover any exposed parts of the screen (where there is no photo emulsion or your image) with tape.
Step 5: Print!
Lay your shirt out on a flat surface. Stuff a square piece of cardboard inside the shirt underneath the area you want to print on. Lay the screen over the shirt with the design where you want to print it. Pour a small amount of ink horizontally across the top of the screen. Take your squeegee and make one smooth movement down the screen, exerting strong pressure (if this is your first time, it's a good idea to try this on a scrap paper before printing on your shirt). Run the squeegee up, down, left, and right a couple times to push all the ink through onto the shirt. Lift the screen up, pull the cardboard out (carefully), and you're done. If you want to make sure the image sticks on the shirt for a long time, throw the shirt in the oven on 400 degree for about 30 seconds.
Step 6: Clean-up
Screen printing ink dries really quick, so as soon as you're done printing shirts, wash the ink off the screen so you can use it again in the future. If you want to print a completely different image, you can use an emulsion remover like this to wipe the screen clean so you can reuse the fabric and frame. Screen printing can take a little while to get used to. As you practice you learn the exact timing for exposure, the amount of pressure needed to push the ink through, and other little quirks. Once you get used to how it works, bumping your designs up to two or three colors isn't difficult. While most shops have large machines that handle screen printing, it's just as easy to do in your home as long as you're willing to be patient. Have some tips of your own you'd like to share? Sound off in the comments.
Screen printing materials Caviar beads A caviar bead is a glue that is printed in the shape of the design, to which small plastic beads are then applied – works well with solid block areas creating an interesting tactile surface.
Cracking ink Cracking ink effect is when the ink produces an intentional cracked surface after drying.
Discharge inks Discharge ink is used to print lighter colours onto dark background fabrics, they work by removing the dye of the garment – this means they leave a much softer texture. The cons with this process is that they are less graphic in nature than plastisol inks, and exact colours are difficult to control. One of the pros of using this process is they are especially good for distressed prints and under-basing on dark garments that are to be printed with additional layers of plastisol. It adds variety to the design or gives it that natural soft feel.
Expanding ink (puff) Expanding ink, or puff, is an additive to plastisol inks which raises the print off the garment, creating a 3D feel and look to the design. Mostly used when printing on apparel.
Flocking Flocking consists of a glue printed onto the fabric and then flock material is applied for a velvet touch.
Foil Foil is much like flock, but instead of a velvet touch and look it has a reflective/mirror look to it. Although foil is finished with a heat press process it needs the screen printing process in order to add the adhesive glue onto the material for the desired logo or design.
Four-colour process Four-colour process is when the artwork is created and then separated into four colours (CMYK) which combine to create the full spectrum of colours needed for photographic prints. This means a large number of colours can be simulated using only 4 screens, reducing costs, time, and set-up. The inks are required to blend and are more translucent, meaning a compromise with vibrancy of colour.
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Gloss Gloss ink is when a clear base laid over previously printed inks to create a shiny finish.
Metallic Metallic ink is similar to glitter, but smaller particles suspended in the ink. A glue is printed onto the fabric, then nano-scale fibers applied on it. This is often purchased already made.
Mirrored silver Mirrored silver is a highly reflective, solvent-based ink.
Nylobond Nylobond is a special ink additive for printing onto technical or waterproof fabrics.
Plastisol Plastisol is the most common ink used in commercial garment decoration. Good colour opacity onto dark garments and clear graphic detail with, as the name suggests, a more plasticized texture. This print can be made softer with special additives or heavier by adding extra layers of ink. Plastisol inks require heat (approx. 150 째C (300 째F) for many inks) to cure the print.
PVC and Phthalate Free PVC and Phthalate Free is relatively new breed of ink and printing with the benefits of plastisol but without the two main toxic components. It also has a soft texture.
Suede Ink Suede ink is a milky coloured additive that is added to plastisol. With suede additive you can make any color of plastisol have a suede feel. It is actually a puff blowing agent that does not bubble as much as regular puff ink. The directions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but generally up to 50% suede can be added to normal plastisol.
Water-Based inks these penetrate the fabric more than the plastisol inks and create a much softer feel. Ideal for printing darker inks onto lighter coloured garments. Also useful for larger area prints where texture is important. Some inks require heat or an added catalyst to make the print permanent.
High Build High Build is a process which uses a type of varnish against a lower mesh count with many coats of emulsion or a thicker grade of emulsion (e.g., Capillex速). After the varnish passes through to the substrate, an embossed-appearing,raised area of varnish is created. When cured at the end of the process, the varnish yields a Braille effect, hence the term 'High Build'.
Printing technique
A screen is made of a piece of mesh stretched over a frame. A stencil is formed by blocking off parts of the screen in the negative image of the design to be printed; that is, the open spaces are where the ink will appear on the substrate. Before printing occurs, the frame and screen must undergo the pre-press process, in which an emulsion is 'scooped' across the mesh and the 'exposure unit' burns away the unnecessary emulsion leaving behind a clean area in the mesh with the identical shape as the desired image. The surface to be printed (commonly referred to as a pallet) is coated with a wide 'pallet tape'. This serves to protect the 'pallet' from any unwanted ink leaking through the screen and potentially staining the 'pallet' or transferring unwanted ink onto the next substrate. Next, the screen and frame are lined with a tape.
The screen is placed atop a substrate. Ink is placed on top of the screen, and a floodbar is used to push the ink through the holes in the mesh. The operator begins with the fill bar at the rear of the screen and behind a reservoir of ink. The operator lifts the screen to prevent contact with the substrate and then using a slight amount of downward force pulls the fill bar to the front of the screen. This effectively fills the mesh openings with ink and moves the ink reservoir to the front of the screen. The operator then uses a squeegee (rubber blade) to move the mesh down to the substrate and pushes the squeegee to the rear of the screen. The ink that is in the mesh opening is pumped or squeezed by capillary action to the substrate in a controlled and prescribed amount, i.e. the wet ink deposit is proportional to the thickness of the mesh and or stencil. As the squeegee moves toward the rear of the screen the tension of the mesh pulls the mesh up away from the substrate (called snap-off ) leaving the ink upon the substrate surface. Textile items printed with multicoloured designs often use a wet on wet technique, or colours dried while on the press, while graphic items are allowed to dry between colours that are then printed with another screen and often in a different colour after the product is re-aligned on the press. Most screens are ready for re-coating at this stage, but sometimes screens will have to undergo a further step in the reclaiming process called dehazing. This additional step removes haze or "ghost images" left behind in the screen once the emulsion has been removed. While the public thinks of garments in conjunction with screen printing, the technique is used on tens of thousands of items, including decals, clock and watch faces, balloons, and many other products. The technique has even been adapted for more advanced uses, such as laying down conductors and resistors in multi-layer circuits using thin ceramic layers as the substrate.