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Silkscreens are used in some type of frame in order to print ink onto a printing surface, such as paper or fabric.
The flat back of the screen in the frame sits on the printing surface and is called the "paper side" because it rests on the material to be printed on. The side of the screen that is recessed under the frame is called the "squeegee side" because it is the side the emulsion and ink are squeegeed through. -
Silkscreen printing is a hands-on art process. It can be even more colorful than photocopying because it uses printmaking ink to make images.
Silkscreen printing is advantageous because you can reuse the screen several times for different prints as long as you wash the screen with a substance called stencil remover after you've made a print. -
There are many different mesh counts in silkscreens. The mesh count refers to how tight the fabric's weave is. The higher the mesh count, the tighter the weave, and vice versa. When printing on paper, you'll want a higher mesh count because a tight weave allows less ink through, reducing bleeding. When printing on fabric, you'll want a lower mesh count, which allows more ink to pass through, because fabric is more absorbent than paper.
You'll also want to pick out a frame for your silkscreen. Many frames are wooden because they are less expensive, but frames in lightweight metals, such as aluminum, last much longer. You can keep the frame and change the silkscreen when you need to. -
Ultimately, silkscreens help an image to be transferred onto a surface. An image (highly contrasted black and white artwork) on transparency paper serves as the printmaking stencil.
The most important part of printmaking with silkscreen is the emulsion process. Emulsion is a photosensitive chemical that hardens when exposed, making it impossible for ink to pass through the silkscreen. The squeegee side of the silkscreen is covered in emulsion in a darkroom so it won't expose and harden. It is then set up with the stencil on the squeegee side and allowed to be exposed. This process allows the emulsion to harden everywhere on the screen except for where the stencil has been.
Next, the silkscreen is put onto the surface to be printed on, and ink is put onto the squeegee side. This means that ink is transferred onto the printing surface only where the stencil had been. This is how a print is made using silkscreen. -
Silkscreen printing itself does not take very long. Perhaps the longest part of the process is allowing the emulsion to dry in the darkroom, which most artists suggest doing overnight. When you start forcing ink through the screen, the process only takes a few minutes.
As with most art forms, silkscreen printing takes practice. The most common mistakes that people who are new to silkscreen printing make include smudging the ink or not getting sharp lines. With practice, you should be a fast, efficient silkscreen printer in no time.
