Screen printing workshop

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Contents

Who, when and where?

  • Facilitator: Robert Carter (cell 021 421129)
  • Workshop phone: +64 (0) 22 069 2047
  • Date: Sunday 23 January 2011. 10am
  • Tangleball, 27 Edinburgh St, Newton.
  • Numbers: Group of 8

What is screen printing?

Screen printing is a fun and versatile way of printing artwork onto fabrics, wood, paper and a range of other materials. Also known as silk screen printing, silk screening, seriography, or serigraph, the process uses a fine mesh held under tension by a wood or aluminium frame. Historically the mesh was actually made from silk, but these days it's made from nylon monofilament. A rubber blade attached to a wooden handle, called a squeegee, is used to drag a pool of paint or ink across the screen.

The core concept of screen printing is the idea of a stencil. A stencil is a way of preventing paint from being able to pass through the screen mesh. A simple stencil could be a sheet of paper with a design cut out of it, taped to the down side of the screen. Where the paper has been cut out, the paint will pass through the screen and onto the work you are printing on. More sophisticated stencils can be made photographically using photo emulsion and a film positive.

How much will it cost?

  • Base cost is $35 ($20 to Tangleball or Tumeke Cycle Space financial members). This amount is payable in advance to secure a place at the workshop.
  • A limited number of screens will be available on the day at a $5 per screen.
  • Add $5 if you want a screen already coated with photo emulsion - you need to tell me in advance if you want make a photo stencil. If you aren't sure or don't know please call or email.

Sounds great! How do I take part?

  • First email me (rob@mintmedia.co.nz) with your info
    • Name and contact details
  • Make a direct debit payment to secure a place at the workshop, you can also take your chances and pay on the day.
  • Account details: Mint Media, ANZ Bank, Ponsonby Branch, 010249-0081889-00
  • Please note: We don't have EFTPOS facilities and we don't accept cheques or credit cards.

Subjects covered

I estimate the workshop would take half a day and covers these areas.

  • Safety - Risks and personal protection. Chemicals involved. Environmental management.
  • Applications of screen printing in commercial and graphic art and a bit of history
  • Materials - Screens. Squeegee. Paint. Emulsion. Emulsion remover. Degreaser.
  • Practical experiments - Qualities of paints. Screen meshes. Kinds of stencils. Printing on what?
  • Paper, plastic, photo stencils
  • Screen preparation - degreasing, mixing and coating with photo emulsion, exposure and washing.
  • Practical printing techniques - In pairs. Tests. Printing an edition.
  • From here on depends on what the people want to know about / experiment with
  • Project idea: Create a poster for Tangleball #2

What to bring

  • Clothes that can get paint on them
  • Craft knife
  • Things for drawing or sketching: Pens, pencils, markers.
  • Source material: Sketches, books, posters, artwork you find interesting or inspiring.
  • Transparencies (film positives) with your artwork photocopied or laser printed onto - bring two identical copies.
  • Garments, paper or wood to print on.
  • TWO transparencies with your design photocopied or laser printed onto them (not essential as we do hand cut stencils also)

Things to print on

I will be providing some brown paper for tests and for paper printing. There will be a small range of garments available for purchase at $10 per item ($5 for members). These include tops and t-shirts in mens and womens styles in a few sizes. I strongly recommend that you bring some garments, fabric items or sheets of paper as it's much nicer to print on something you've chosen yourself. You could also bring wood or MDF.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I bring my own design and have it put on a screen and print it?

Yes, BUT. You must do these things:

  • Your design must be A3 size or less.
  • You must bring two transparencies with your design photocopied (darkest setting) or laser printed onto. When backed up together and held up to the light you should see no light through the dark areas of the design.
  • You must tell me in advance you want to do this so I can coat a screen with photo emulsion for you. You also need to pay $5 extra to cover the the cost of the emulsion.
  • You must purchase the screen on the day

How about bring your own screen or use existing designs

..for folks that are happy to have the experience and a t-shirt printed with an existing design?

Yes, we have a range of existing screens you can use to print with. You don't have to purchase a screen as part of the workshop.

What can be printed on?

Hats, denim, automobiles?

We'll be providing assorted colours of fabric paint to print with. This will make nice prints on most fabrics, also paper and wood. You won't be able to print on your car, but you could print on the canvas spare-wheel cover of a 4WD for example. Hats are tricky as the print area is small and you would usually use a special small screen and a rig to do this. The screens we have are probably too big to print on hats, but people are welcome to try (provide your own hat).

Can we play around a bit with the pricing? I'm thinking about buying an extra screen or two

I hope to have 10 screens available for purchase at the workshop. See the pricing schedule for details.

Can I print photographic designs in multiple colours like on that Barak Obama / 50 Cent / Iron Maiden T-Shirt?

No. We won't be using screen printing machines, just people and benches. It's best to leave that kind of work to the professionals.

Do you have EFT-POS?

No, cash only.

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