With its origins in Japanese stenciling, today's Silk Screen Printing was patented by Samuel Simon of Manchester, England and later by John Pilsworth of San Francisco according to the website Custom T-shirts Now. Simon stretched silk onto frames as a support for hand painted stenciling also used by William Morris.
History
Dating back to the Song Dynasty in 1279 AD China, silk screen history chiefly appeared in Asian countries also including Japan according to imageuniforms.com. Not until the 1700s did silk screen printing make its way to Western Europe. In 1907, Simon was the first to actually patent the process which was used primarily to print expensive wall paper with either silk or linen as a base.
Popularity
Even though the art of silk screening dates back to early times, and the actual process used today has changed, the end result remains the same according to the Image Uniforms website. Spanning into the early 1910s printers began experimenting with a chemical known as actinic light. Charles Peter, Roy Beck and Edward Owens commercialized screen printing at that time making it more well-known and popular throughout the world.
Art
Silkscreen printing has been used by artists throughout history as an expression of art according to imageuniforms.com. Even though it is widely commercialized silkscreen printing was also used as an art form to tell stories. Possessing a rich history silkscreen printing as it appears on clothing, the most common form today, can be appreciated and valued as a true art form.
Process
A fine nylon mesh is stretched over an aluminum or wooden frame according to Custom T-shirts Now. A light sensitive emulsion or film is applied onto the mesh to block the holes. Either by image-setter or camera the printed image is outputted to the film on the screen, and sandwiched together. Using a device called a poly cop frame the positive film and the mesh are exposed to ultra-violet light. A jet of water is sprayed onto the screen, washing away all the light sensitive emulsion not hardened by the ultra-violet light. The result is an open stencil corresponding exactly to the film image.
Finishing
The stenciled screen is fitted onto the press, hinged in order to be raised and lowered and ink is placed on the top side of the screen according to Custom T-shirts Now. A squeegee, a rubber blade with either a metal or wooden handle, is pulled across the top of the screen transferring ink onto the substrate (the material or substance on which an enzyme acts) through the mesh of the screen. This process is repeated until a finished product emerges.
