How to Use Computer-Generated Art for Silk Screen Exposure

Now that you've got the scanner and all that great software, you can play with photos to your heart's content. Here's how to use laser-printer output as the basis for a silk screen.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Silk Screens Coated With Photo Emulsion
• Laser Printers
• Scanners
• Clear Tapes
• Photographs
• Laser Printer Paper Or Transparencies
• Computers
• Adobe Photoshop (or Other Image Manipulation Software)
• Photographs

To Use a Black-and-White Image

1. Choose a photograph.
2. Scan it into the computer in gray-scale mode at 300 dpi.
3. Manipulate and adjust it as desired, using Adobe Photoshop. (If you're using another graphics program, you'll need to translate these instructions.)
4. Change your mode from gray-scale to bitmap. A pop-up menu will appear.
5. Click on "diffusion dither" and drop the resolution to 100 dpi.
6. Print one copy on bond paper or two copies on transparency film. (On transparency film, the toner is not dense enough for a single copy to work. You have to double up - line up the images exactly, and tape the edges with clear tape.)

Transfer the Image to the Silk Screen

7. Wet images on bond paper with baby oil - this makes the paper translucent. (If you already have transparencies, you're ready to go.)
8. Place the paper or transparency over the silk screen.
9. Sandwich the image between the glass and the silk screen.
10. Wheel outside into the sun to expose. See "How to Expose Photo Emulsion for Silk Screen Printing."

To Use a Color Image

11. Choose a photograph.
12. Scan it into the computer in CMYK mode at 300 dpi.
13. Manipulate and adjust it as desired, using Photoshop. (If you're using another graphics program you'll need to translate these instructions.)
14. Note that each of the separate colors will be represented as a separate layer in the "layers" pop-up menu.
15. Choose the channel pop-up menu.
16. Click on the arrow to call up the sub-menu.
17. Scroll down to choose "split channels." The different color layers will automatically split into separate, independent images.
18. Change your mode from gray-scale to bitmap. A pop-up menu will appear.
19. Click on "diffusion dither" and drop the resolution to 100 dpi.
20. Print one copy of each color layer on bond paper or two copies of each color layer on transparency film. (On transparency film, the toner is not dense enough for a single copy to work. You have to double up - line up the images exactly, and tape the edges with clear tape.)

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use an ink-jet printer - a laser printer works much better.