From Warhol's Marilyn to band T-shirts, screenprinting is the most versatile stencil method—works on paper, fabric, glass, anything flat.
You push ink through a fine mesh screen, but block out the parts you don't want printed.
- ▸The screen is like a stencil stretched over a frame.
- ▸A rubber blade (squeegee) pulls ink across — it goes through the open mesh and stops at the blocked areas.
- ▸Great for flat, bold colors on paper, fabric, almost anything.
History
Stencil printing dates to ancient China, but the silk-mesh screen emerged in Europe and was patented by Samuel Simon in 1907. The Pop Art movement adopted it in the 1960s; today it's ubiquitous in posters and apparel.
Process
- 01
Coat a tensioned mesh screen with photo emulsion.
- 02
Expose through a film positive under UV light.
- 03
Wash out unexposed emulsion to reveal the stencil.
- 04
Flood the screen with ink and pull a squeegee across.
- 05
Repeat for each colour layer with registration marks.
Strengths
- +Vivid opaque colours
- +Works on any substrate
- +Great for editions
Limitations
- −Solid blocks of colour favoured over halftones
- −Cleanup messy
- −Each colour = new screen
Sources & citations
References for the history and process described above.
- 01Screenprint — Tate
- 02Andy Warhol and Screenprinting — MoMA Learning