WHAT IS PRINTMAKING?

A print is any image that can be reproduced. Traditionally, prints are viewed as images produced from plates, blocks, screens, or stones. Plates, blocks, screens, and stones are intermediary surfaces. The picture, design, or message is carved, incised, or etched into these surfaces - and then different techniques are used to apply the design onto a surface. 

In screen printing, a large stencil within a screen is used to apply ink. The inked image is transferred to paper or fabric using the pressure of a squeegee. In other kinds of printmaking ,pressure is applied using a printing press or through hand burnishing. These basic printmaking processes can be repeated to produce nearly exact copies.

HISTORY OF SCREENPRINTING

The screen printing technique has been a vehicle for personal expression throughout history. Artists have used screen-printing to protest during times of social unrest. Early artists used screen-printing methods in China as early as 960 AD during the Song Dynasty; however, early forms of stenciling—a printing method required for screen-printing—were found in caves and date back to the prehistoric period. Screen printing requires the use of several tools, materials and techniques to create the varied and interesting visual results. Today, artists, uniformed services, and printing professionals use the screen-printing method to create posters, stencil graffiti, t-shirts and signs.

SCREEN PRINTING 1960s TO PRESENT

In the 1960s, the United States and other countries experienced a number of social movements, including the Civil Rights era, women’s rights and antiwar movements. Sharing the ideas that motivate movements requires media, and silkscreen printing provides a method to create stunning graphics. Students and artists alike learned how screen-printing techniques could help them produce strong, colorful images faster than other techniques, such as painting. Consequently, screen-printed posters, screen-printed t-shirts and other media became an important tool used for artistic expression.