Screen Printing Supplies
History
Screen printing began as an industrial technology. It was adopted by American graphic artists in the 1930s, and further popularized during the Pop Art movement of the 1960s. Many of pop icon Andy Warhol's most famous works were created using this technique. Screen printing is popular in both fine arts and small-scale commercial printing. It is commonly used to put images on T-shirts, hats, ceramics, glass, polyethylene, polypropylene, paper, metals, and wood.
Technique
A screen is made of a piece of porous, finely woven fabric. The fabric formerly in use was silk; but since the 1940s, it has been typically made of polyester or nylon. The fabric is stretched over a wood or aluminum frame. Areas of the screen are blocked off with a non-permeable stencil. The stencil forms a negative of the image to be printed; that is, the open spaces are placed where the ink will appear.
The screen is then placed on top of a piece of dry paper or fabric. Ink is placed on top of the screen, and a squeegee, or rubber blade, is used to spread it evenly across the screen. The ink passes through the open spaces in the screen onto the paper or fabric below; then the screen is lifted away. The screen can be re-used after cleaning. If more than one color is being printed on the same surface, the ink is allowed to dry and then the process is repeated with another screen and different color of ink.
Supplies
The stenciling technique can be accomplished using paper or through a photographic emulsion. A style closer to that of painters is achieved by the use of a drawing fluid. The most popular and flexible technique is that of transferring a pre-drawn or printed image onto a screen, using a type of photographic emulsion. Screen-printing is a versatile printmaking technique. Photographic screens can reproduce images with a high level of detail, and can be reused for thousands of copies. Pre-assembled kits can be ordered from supply houses. They contain screens, frames, emulsion, and lights that can also be separately purchased once the artist becomes familiar with the technique. Kits are also especially useful in printing small items like greeting cards. Supplies and equipment for all skill levels are readily available.
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