How does screen printing work?


Screen printing is also referred to as silk screen printing. It is essentially the process of printing an image or artwork onto a surface by pushing ink through a screen. The screens are pulled tight and held in a metal or wood frame. Much like a picture frame. Depending on the detail of the artwork, the screens can have different size weave. The weave is essentially how tight the screen is woven and how large the holes in the screen are. For more detailed designs, the screen used will be woven very close and tight so the holes are very small and let less ink through. This allows for very thin lines and detail. Each screen can print 1 color at a time. So, to print a design with multiple colors, there needs to be multiple screens. 1 screen per color. Many screen printing presses have large rotating arms that hold the screens. The arms rotate for each color to be printed individually.