Saturday, October 17, 2009

Screen Printing

By Alicia Sung

Screen printing is one of the initial methods used in printing process. In this process, the ink or any other printing medium is passed through a screen or 'mesh' that has been fixed on a frame, and a stencil has been applied to it. The image that needs to be imprinted is determined from the stencil openings. For the different colors, different screens are prepared and the process is repeated.

The silk screen printing also known as serigraphy is a multiple printing technique that involves the use of stencils in order to transfer the design. The paint is applied on the silk screen and affects the areas that are not blocked by the stencil. Many colors can be applied by using several stencils in a single print. The serigraphy was developed as a commercial medium and is still used by modern artists. The silk screen has been replaced with a polyester material that is widely available and is also cheap as compared with silk material.

During the reign of Song dynasty in China, the screen printing appeared in the recognizable form. Japan and other Asian countries started using this printing method and advanced it further by using this in conjunction with paints and block printing. Asia introduced screen painting to the Western Europe in the late 1700s but screen painting was not used widely in the Europe due to unavailability of silk mesh here and it started gaining wider acceptance when silk mesh on trade with Asia became easily available and also, other mediums that could be used were developed.

In the United States, the screen printing was popularized by artist Andy Warhol, he screen printed actress Marilyn Monroe in 1962. A rotary machine was patented by Michael Vasilantone in 1960 to print logos and team information on bowling garments but shortly, started printing on t-shirts. It was soon licensed by many manufactures for screen printing of garments making the rotary garment printing machine as a popular device for screen printing. In the United States, screen printing on garments account for almost half of the screen printing activity.

The screen printing was developed as an industrial technology but it was adopted by the artist for expressing and as a repeating medium to duplicate their works before 1900s. This is a very popular in both the commercial printing and also by artists and it is used to print images on different mediums like CD and DVD covers, glassware, ceramics, hats, woodwork, metals, t-shirts and hats.

Screen printing is used extensively in the printing industry to mass create so many items specifically tshirts. It is excellent for both short and long-run printing. For large volumes the process can be set up on a printing drum but for small runs a simple manual setup can be used.

The Corporate give different types of gift items to their employees every year to their employees or clients in recognition of their work. There are many different gift items available that can be used as corporate gifts like screen printed mugs, t-shirts, folders, ties, and many more. The Corporate gifts are usually given during the time of holidays in order to reward their employees. There are different corporate gifts available online also from where you can select the best option that suits your requirement. Screen printed t-shirts are also the preferred one and these are usually given when corporate is hosting an event be it a conference or a sports meet or carnival of the corporate.

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