Special Report
himself in for by trying to teach me to screen print. Screen Print World regularly holds workshops and one-to-one training courses to enable experienced screen printers to perfect their trade and for novices like myself to learn the basics. Dave and his team have even produced a manual for attendees to take away so they can brush up on their newly learnt skills. Below is a brief overview of what I was taught during my workshop experience.
Screen and mesh Firstly, I was told that to make a good screen print, you must firstly have a good screen. This means using a new or reclaimed screen that has good tension. The best ʻstretch and glueʼ screens to use are aluminum screens because they hold a higher tension, last longer and donʼt warp. Dave said to make sure the screen is degreased before use to prevent poor emulsion adhesion, screen breakdown on a print run as well as produce a higher quality exposure.
Dave informed: “Different mesh counts are used for different applications in the screen printing process. The higher the mesh count, the finer the mesh, and the higher the detail you are able to expose and print with a screen.
“Having tension on your mesh is important during the printing process for registration, ink transfer, ink deposit, speed and consistency. Most stretch and glue screens have a tension somewhere between 15–25 Newtons. This tension in the mesh allows for a ʻsnap backʼ motion when you press down pushing the ink through the screen. The off-contact distance also plays a part here. The off-contact is the distance between the screen and the substrate youʼre printing on. The distance should be around a poundʼs thickness. Good tension and the correct off-contact allows for the mesh to ʻsnap backʼ when you push the squeegee over the print. It prevents smudging and allows for a higher quality print.”
Exposure
The next step in the process was exposing the screen. As with so many other aspects of textile screen printing, Dave explained that there are no rules or standards that spell out the right way to coat and process a screen. Many textile printers use the 2:1 coating method. This means that they coat the print side of the screen with emulsion twice and then finish with a third coat on the squeegee side of the screen.
I was told that a screen printing scoop coater will help here. I wait as the screen is exposed
Positive pressure between the screen and film is extremely important in creating a crisp image. If the film positive is not pressed extremely tight against the screen, light will work its way around the edge of the image and expose a soft line instead of a sharp line.
Once exposed, I rinsed both sides of the screen to wash out the soft emulsion. Dave watched carefully and advised that I made my final wash from the shirt side, as this was the side that received the most light and was slightly stronger.
A screen printing lesson learnt H
P&P editor Melanie Attlesey was invited to Screen Print World’s head quarters in Kidderminster to get hands on and learn how to screen print. As a complete novice a lesson was definitely learnt!
aving only held a squeegee once before in my life, I donʼt think Dave Roper, managing director of Screen Print World, quite knew what he was letting
Whatʼs that I asked? Well, it is an aluminum tool used to coat the screen. It holds the emulsion and has a sharp edge to apply the emulsion evenly.
Once my screen was coated, we let it dry. Once dried, Dave was then ready to show me how to expose my design. During the screen exposure, Dave explained: “Firstly, itʼs important that the design is printed onto the film as opaque as possible. Exposing involves placing your film positive directly on the screen and allowing light to hit the emulsion surrounding the dark black design. Where the light hasnʼt been able to get to your emulsion, because itʼs blocked by the design on the film, the emulsion will be soft and wash out. Leaving behind your design exposed onto the screen.”
I rinse the exposed screen Screen set-up
I apply the emulsion to the screen using a screen printing scoop coater
| 64 | June 2019
After getting slightly wet while rinsing my screen, Dave then showed me how to take my screen and tape it around the inside of the frame where the emulsion had not covered the mesh. He showed me how to ensure that all of my adjustments on the press were in the middle position and to place the screen in
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