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Screen Printing
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-colored image or design.
There are various terms used for what is essentially the same technique. Traditionally, the process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because silk was used in the process. It is also known as serigraphy and serigraph printing. Currently, synthetic threads are commonly used in the screen printing process. The most popular mesh in general use is made of polyester. There are special-use mesh materials of nylon and stainless steel available to the screen printer. There are also different types of mesh sizes that will determine the outcome and look of the finished design on the material.
Screen printing first appeared in a recognizable form in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD).[1][2] It was then adapted by other Asian countries like Japan and was further created using 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,[when?] there are large selections of pre-sensitized and "user mixed" sensitized emulsion chemicals for creating photo-reactive stencils.
A group of artists who later formed the National Serigraph Society, including WPA artists Max Arthur Cohn and Anthony Velonis, coined the word "serigraphy" in the 1930s to differentiate the artistic application of screen printing from the industrial use of the process.[3] "Serigraphy" is a compound word formed from Latin "sēricum" (silk) and Greek "graphein" (to write or draw).[4]
The Printers' National Environmental Assistance Center says, "Screenprinting is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes. Since rudimentary screenprinting materials are so affordable and readily available, it has been used frequently in underground settings and subcultures, and the non-professional look of such DIY culture screenprints have become a significant cultural aesthetic seen on movie posters, record album covers, flyers, shirts, commercial fonts in advertising, in artwork and elsewhere.[verify]
The 1960s to present[edit]
Credit is given to the artist Andy Warhol for popularising screen printing as an artistic technique. Warhol's silkscreens include his 1962 Marilyn Diptych, which is a portrait of the actress Marilyn Monroe printed in bold colors. Warhol was supported in his production by master screen printer Michel Caza, a founding member of Fespa.[5][6]
Sister Mary Corita Kent gained international fame for her vibrant serigraphs during the 1960s and 1970s. Her works were rainbow-colored, contained words that were both political, and fostered peace and love, and caring.
American entrepreneur, artist, and inventor Michael Vasilantone started to use, develop, and sell a rotatable multicolor garment screen printing machine in 1960. Vasilantone later filed for a patent[7] on his invention in 1967 granted number 3,427,964 on February 18, 1969.[7] The original machine was manufactured to print logos and team information on bowling garments but was soon directed to the new fad of printing on T-shirts. The Vasilantone patent was licensed by multiple manufacturers and the resulting production and boom in printed T-shirts made this garment screen printing machine popular. Screen printing on garments currently[when?] accounts for over half of the screen printing activity in the United States.[8]
Graphic screen printing is widely used today to create mass- or large-batch-produced graphics, such as posters or display stands. Full-color prints can be created by printing in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black).
Screen printing lends itself well to printing on canvas. Andy Warhol, Arthur Okamura, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Harry Gottlieb, and many other artists have used screen printing as an expression of creativity and artistic vision.
Another variation, digital hybrid screen printing, is a union between analog screen printing and traditional digital direct to garment printing, two of the most common textile embellishment technologies in use today. Essentially, digital hybrid screen printing is an automatic screen-printing press with a CMYK digital enhancement located on one of the screen print stations. Digital hybrid screen printing is capable of variable data options, creating endless customizations, with the added ability of screen print specific techniques.
