Screen Printing: Giving Life To Art
Logos, designs and art are practically everywhere. They come out of the woodwork using a modernized version of one of the oldest technology --- screen printing. Screen printing is a helpful way to imprint a company name and/or logo to a canvass, like T-shirts. Screen printing originally started out using silk as a medium, but has since evolved over the years on to using stretched porous, finely woven nylon or polyester fabrics. With carefully stenciled designs and delightful creations, art takes form and come to life.
From many of Andy Warhol’s famous screen printed works, the practice of screen printing has created influential and marketable works of art. This inexpensive form of advertising creates a wide range of possibilities for any business to establish itself in the market, or for an already established company to gain great recognition.
With a great flexibility and range of uses across different platforms and materials, there is not much screen printing cannot accomplish. It remains apparent that screen printing is evident in all walks of life. Everything from T-shirts, to soda bottles, to coffee cups, and banners are all screen printed. With such a wide array of uses, screen printing also has many different techniques for being accomplished.
Photographic emulsion is the most common form of screen printing. It is a process whereby a photosensitive substance is hardened and subjected to ultraviolet light. Using stenciled design, the monochromatic design is transferred onto the surface of textiles, ceramics, metal, wood, paper, glass, t-shirt or plastic.The process is completed by rinsing away the excess emulsion that was not hardened by the light in either water, or solvent. It leaves only the desired screen printed image on the medium. Screen printing has grown into great popularity to brand household items, and a great medium to create custom t-shirts for self-expression.
Every time we put on a custom screen printed T-shirt, we are using a product of screen printing. Banners, logos, graphics, have all been created and replicated countless times as a result of this revised, and probably innovative technology. Since the development of screen printing and the evolution away from silk, the technology has improved to include photographic printing processes to create works of art. Screen printing continues to bring familiar household names into our lives and beautiful works of art into our everyday lives.