Screen Printing - New Fun With Old Trees

The Exposure Table- At the heart of screen printing is the creation of the screen. One of the earlier techniques, drawing fluid and filler,  featured artwork created directly on the surface of the screen .  When the printing is complete, the artwork is removed from the screen and lost during screen reclamation.  Exposing a master image to a photosensitive emulsion on a screen allows the reclamation of screens without loss of the artwork.  Now the screens are simply tools of the craft rather than artwork originals. Exposure tables are a nice tool to have although screens can certainly be "burned" using halogen shop lights and a watch.  Screens can even be exposed using the sun!  At it's core, an exposure table consists of a bright, non-point light source and a way to hold the artwork master tightly to the emulsion on the screen.  A tight fit reduces light bleed and allows detail to be transferred to the emulsion.  Several types of masters can ...

If any product does the bulk of the work in printmaking it's photosensitive emulsion.  It's a plasticized coating that is applied in a wet state and allowed to dry on the screen.  When it's exposed an intense light source, the exposed areas will wash out of the mesh of the screen.  Where it has not been exposed to light, will stick tight to the mesh, providing a mask to block ink from flowing through the screen and onto the work.  Of course, like most things in printmaking, it arrives in a bucket.  To use it, the emulsion will need to be applied in a thin, even layer to the screen mesh. After this has been applied and dried you have , essentially, a type of unexposed photographic film.  Like photographic film you'll need to work in a light protected area.  The lamps in this section of the print lab are safe for unexposed emulsion and a nice feature. What if you want to screen print at home and don't have a dedicated light safe room?  Us...

As it works out, 95 percent of screen printing work is about cleaning stuff up.  That a lot of products are water clean up is helpful.  Here are some tips on getting your expensive screens ready for another project.  The hardest part about screen reclamation is letting go of your work. Cleaning out screens after using the drawing fluid and screen filler process usually takes just a few minutes.  Get a good place to spray a lot of water.  A sharp angle hose nozzle, or better yet, a power washer will make short work screen reclamation.  Usually there is a chemical of some sort to help things along, things are no different here.  In this case spray Strip-e-Doo on the screen and let is work for a few minutes.  Then have at it with the sprayer nozzle.  Screen filler is tough stuff and usually takes some effort with a sprayer and a scrub brush to clear the screen.  When putting screen filler on a screen, try to apply just enough to full the ...