Screen printing

The artwork is drawn onto a sheet of translucent material with inks or paint that will block light. Photographic images may be achieved by printing onto inkjet acetate. A separate sheet is done for each colour in the final image.

A stretched silkscreen, which consists of a very fine mesh, is coated with light sensitive emulsion and left in the dark to dry.

The drawn sheet is placed on an exposure unit, which contains a strong light source such as ultraviolet.

The screen is placed on top of the image. The opaque marks will shield those areas of the screen from the light source below. The lid is closed and the light source is switched for a predetermined time to expose the image onto the screen.

The photo-emulsion hardens where the light has reached it and stays soft in the protected areas. Once exposed, the screen is hosed with water to wash out the soft emulsion and create the stencil.

The screen is mounted onto a screen printing press and the printing paper positioned below. Ink is placed along one end of the screen.

The screen is lowered onto the bed of the press and the ink is drawn across the screen using a hard rubber blade called a squeegee. This squeezes the ink through the open areas of the mesh and onto the paper below.

The print is removed from the table and inspected. If the print is good to go, the process is repeated until the entire edition is printed. The ink is allowed to dry and process is repeated for each colour in the print.