Screen Printing
 process
of forcing ink
through a porous
fabric and the open
areas of a stencil to
produce an image.
 Known
as Serigraphy
in the field of fine arts

One of the oldest printing processes

Japanese used a stencil from two sheets of paper and
sandwiched hair or silk in between to make the screen

In 1929, Louis F. D’Autremont developed the 1st knife-cut
stencils, called Profilm, but they were difficult to cut and
adhere

Joe Ulano produced his own years later called Nufilm

D’Autremont won the patent rights, but Ulano’s film was
better and became industry standard
VERY diverse:
poster
plastic bottles
mirrors
wood
metal
textile
circuit boards …
Advantages:

Print on wide variety of substrates

Relatively easy

Can add decorative finishes
•
(glitter, flock, etc.)

Ink film is resilient
Disadvantages:
 Limited to flat thin substrates

Hand pull production is slow

Ink is expensive

Excessive drying times are needed

Details and fine line images may be
difficult to print
Screen Printing
Part Two

Squeegees

Inks

Frames

Screen Fabrics

Stencils

wooded or aluminum handle and a rubber blade used to force the
ink through the screen onto the substrate
There are 6
squeegee
blade shapes:
*Hand held and
machine squeegees
are similar
Machine squeegees
handles are
rectangular and are
thicker
Blade Shape
Uses
Squared
flat surfaces, general purpose
Rounded-edge
primarily for textile printing with
heavy ink
Double-sided beveled edge
w/flat point
printing on ceramics
Squared-edge with rounded
corners
light color on dark substrate
gives extra-heavy ink deposits
Single-sided beveled edge
printing on glass
Double-sided beveled edge
cylindrical objects like bottles
 Durometer
-Rated hardness of squeegee
blades
 60 is soft, 70 medium and 80 hard
1. Indirect stencils:
- exposed off the
screen
- used for short runs
- reproduce fine
details
2. Direct stencils:
- exposed after a light sensitive
emulsion has been applied to the screen
- favored for durability and long
runs
3. Direct-Indirect stencils:
- a combination of the two
Screen frame materials:
- wood
- aluminum
- steel
- plastic
Types of fabrics:
- silk
- organdy (cotton)
- polyester
- nylon
- metal mesh
- metalized polyester
Screen fabrics classification:
1. filaments
- types of threads used
(multi or monofilament)
2. mesh count
- number of threads per inch
3. strength
- related to thread diameter,
measured by X (smallest),
XX, and XXX (largest)
4. weave pattern
- determined by how the
threads are woven into the
fabric
Fabric To Frame
- stapling
- cord and groove
- mechanical clamping
- adhesive bonding
How do we know when the fabric is
properly stretched?
- by measuring its tension
How is tension measured?
1. by calculating the percent of
stretch
2. by using a tension meter