What is screen printing?
'Screen printing is the process of using a stencil to apply ink on to a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material.' Source
'Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and on to the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design.' Source
This impermeable substance Is also known as emulsion. The emulsion which fills the negative space of the design blocks any ink from travelling through the screen. Thus the only areas where ink will travel through once the screen is pressed by a squeegee are those sections that were black positive on the original design. Through using this process you are only able to print one colour at a time, unless creating a gradient print. However there is no limit to the amount of different layers you can do, on separate screens to receive a multi colour print.
Before I went to the studio to look at producing a screen print I researched into the subject a bit more online.
How to screen print?
I found this easy key word overview of how to screen print, and thought it was a useful way to direct information at Its audience without being over rated. However I also think that the information would only appeal to those whom have screen printed before and would therefore need a quick reminder of the steps needed to take.
Another more intricate graphic that I thought really communicated the key points about screen printing, including why its such a great print process to use, What you will need for the process, and how to do it.
What are the benefits of screen printing?
Unlike many other screen printing processes, screen printing allows its user to print on a variety of stock or material.
'The screen printing process affords one the opportunity to print images and text on a variety of promotional items.' source
Screen printing is a great process to use commercially as unlike other processes such as lino, or relief prints, there is no need to re-apply ink for every piece of work, therefore cutting down the time it takes to recover the stencil.
'Unlike other printmaking techniques, such as intaglio or relief, screen printing allows many prints to be created before a reapplication of ink is necessary, which makes screen printing very useful commercially.' source
I found a great websites below that simply identifies the advantages, disadvantages, environmental issues and history of screen printing.
Advantages of screen printing.
'There are many pros to using Screen Printing; however, the main advantage is the unique visual result it creates. The inks used are very durable, the colours are extremely vivid, particularly for outdoor uses, making this a unique reproduction technique. The fact that we can print on a very large variety of materials and objects, and that we can choose from a plethora of special inks , are all factors that have helped to establish Screen Printing as the optimal method for creating products with particular features. This is a very flexible printing technology, with no limitations on the thickness and nature of the material on which the printing will be carried out, and without a doubt, for a specific volume of production, it continues to be the most effective and economical printing methodology around.'
In reference to the colour of screen printing, its is a great process to use in order to mix custom colours, and also for the use of fluorescent ink as this cannot be attained through digital printing.
It is economical and cheap for short runs.
I also found this presentation that offered additional details about the advantages and disadvantages of screen printing in a simple and understandable format.
Disadvantages of screen printing.
'Every production process has pros and cons. The major disadvantage in Screen Printing is the amount of time it takes to set up a job. As is the case with every similar method of printing, this requires a sequence of actions before production can commence. Specifically, Screen Printing involves a great many parameters before the final result, so preparation times are particularly long, particularly in high quality applications. This means that, as a method, it is financially impractical for the production of a single item, particularly for colour printing advertising applications.
This weakness is in contrast to digital printing, which provides a solution to the production of even single item batches, at low cost, but has, of course, definite quality limitations.' source
No comments:
Post a Comment