Silk Screening: How to's?

[ivca]

I've checked around for some information on the step by step's of silk screening, but come up empty. Can someone suggest some URLs or even books on this subject.

TIA, Wayne

[ivca]

I've checked around for some information on the step by step's of silk screening, but come up empty. Can someone suggest some URLs or even books on this subject.

TIA, Wayne

[gwpriester]

Wayne

Are you planning to do manual silk screening, i.e. stretch your own silk and create your own screen, and apply messy ink with a squeege (no matter how I spell that it looks wrong)?

Or are you preparing files to be output via the silk screen process?

I did some silkscreening in high school back in the early 50s. I'm sure things have changed a lot since then.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Either So Humble...

[ivca]

Her comes the wind again,..

I was picking up my daughter from her friend's place last week and noticed that her mother had a small silk screening system set up in her garage. I asked her for more info. She actually got a little defensive and basically told me how much she had invested in it and wasn't eager to impart any secrets. She wasn't rude mind you, but I sort of stood there looking over her shoulder thinking to myself, "Oh yeah lady, fair enough, you ain't getting my secrets either, and her name is Xara [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]" I managed to get a few looks at her samples and thought they looked a little flat and simple... sort of one or 2 color simple and no oberlapping or bleeding into each other (sorry for not making techie sense here) .. then I wondered if silk screening was capable of applying ink down into gradients like some nifty concert T-shirts where you can compose freely. Am I correct in assuming that's silk screening as well? I'd like to know of Xara's potential in this area.

Regards, Wayne

[tad]

Silkscreen printing can be amazing. A guy named Lory Arellanes was doing fine art silkscreening in San Rafael, but he has since disappeared. He had a ten foot square motor driven screen and could produce work that rivaled iris prints.
In fact, since you are not limited to 4 (or 6) colors, he would often do over 50 pulls on a work. They were a sight to behold. Plus the inks would last about 200 years.
You can do the same thing by hand if you can stand to clean the screen.
Regards..........Tad... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Sean Sedwards]

Silk screening is usually done with blocks of colour because it's difficult to get the accurate registration you need for blends. I suppose if you make the 'pixels' large enough and take sufficient care it might be possible.

Regards - Sean

[ivca]

So, i can lay down some complicated gradients and airbrush effects? But, the catch is, I have to make a screen for every subtle hue change, correct?

Thanks for all the help here BTW.

Wayne

[gwpriester]

Wayne

Basically you create a stencil on the silk. Some do it with a kind of glue that is painted on the silk. Another method is to cut the image out of a piece of laquer-based film that is then bonded to the silk. (It can be removed with laquer thinner so the silk can be reused--not recommended in closed rooms with no ventilation).

There is a process whereby an image that is created on a computer can be transferred to this laquer-based film. So it is possible to create an image on the computer, and to break each color into layers, and then to make a separate screen from each color layer.

The ink is placed to one side and applied with a squeege by dragging the squeege across the silk. Is is possible to create a fountain fill by adding small dabs of different colored inks which blend together when applied with the squeege.

I have seen prints by some of the accomplished silk screen artisans where the registration is very tight and exact. But as each color and screen is applied by and, and the same sheets of paper have to be continuously placed in the same place on the board under the silk,, getting tight registration can be a task.

Your local art store must have books on silk screening and have the materials. I would also guess if you visit some of the one line art supply resources you can find supplies andn

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Even So Humble...

[smorg]

"squeegee" is correct [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Erik Heyninck]

we made silkscreens... (posters and stickers with slogans like: BIG BROTHER, WE'RE WATCHING YOU. This was looong before the telly people overtook the theme. Ours was a real social engagement. hum.)
I remember that you need the finest nylon "silk" to get subtle colour changes, but the problem is that the ink dries very quickly and gets stuck in the little holes. You must clean them with trichlorine aethylene which is quite unhealthy. (gave me always severe headaches: proof that I do have brains).
You also need a darkroom. There is a photosensitive gelatine that you can squeege unto the screen and then you put your film on and lighten with a mercurygas lamp (litteral translation from flemish). NEVER LOOK INTO THIS LAMP. The film from which you started -with your design on- protects the penetration of the light in some parts. Then you rinse with water if I'm not mistaken, and the gelly comes of where the ink should be penetrating the screen to adhere to the paper. This is the principle. of course, because black ink is never grey, you need screening, and, if you want to work in colours, you need perfect adjustment and a sound technique on giving every colourscreen the necessary angle to avoid moiré.
You also need a vacuum system to suck the screen unto the paper, but you can make this yourself with an old vacuum cleaner if you're into "artistic" printing.
You can do it professionally too, but that's a different and far more expensive story. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Meanwhile I found this book on Lithography and Silkscreen in my library:

"Lithography and Silkscreen" by Fritz Eichenberg
Harry N.Abrams Inc. NY
ISBN 0-8109-2095-6

There are only a few pages on Silkscreen, and I can mail you the essence if you'd like. Just send me a mail at

castalianvisions@pandora.be