Introduction to Screen Printing
Screen printing is a printing technique where ink is pressed through a stenciled mesh screen to create a printed design. It’s used to create custom clothing, posters, artwork, and more across industries globally. Screen printing effectively creates bold canvases, posters and prints fabrics and textiles for custom clothing and products.
Silkscreen Printing Origins and Techniques
Silkscreen printing is a stenciling method that prints ink through stencils supported by a porous fabric mesh screen. It’s ideally suited for bold, graphic designs. Screen printing originated in China (around 221 AD) as a way to transfer designs onto fabrics.
Industrial and Crafting Aspects of Screen Printing
Screen printing produces thicker prints than most methods. An industrial screen printing sector has grown more accessible to various clients. Silkscreen printing can also work on other materials like ceramic and glass. Flat screen printing, a craft method, involves manually putting screens on a fixed fabric.
Challenges and Equipment in Screen Printing
Factors like the design complexity, number of colors, and skill level affect the difficulty of screen printing. Investing in a large automatic screen printing machine can be pricey, often costing tens of thousands of dollars. A typical starting point is a manual machine.