There are a number of ways of making a silkscreen stencil. Once stretched, the fabric resembles a fine screen, and the entire assembly is so named. Now there are excellent synthetic fibers that are most commonly used. The fibers of the fabric must be strong as well as fine, so silk was the obvious choice. Serigraphs are sometimes called screenprints.Ī piece of fine and evenly woven fabric is stretched over a wooden frame and fastened securely all around. The term Silkscreen well suggested the medium, but the term Serigraphy was coined to make a distinction between fine art printing and commercial reproduction in that medium, an issue which is a continuing thorn in the side of printmakers. Return to top of page Silkcreen or Serigraphy
Laser computer prints will also work, but inkjet printers using water-soluble ink will not. These plates can be direct drawings as if on a regular lithographic stone or plate, but they can also be toner photocopies, so that the process is known as xerox lithography. In monoprinting, many artists will employ paper plates, which can be printed on an etching press. And new substances and ways of putting images and textures onto the plate or stone have been developed, such as the use of transfer papers. The etch and rolling up are repeated and then a proof or test print may be taken.Ī piece of lightly damp paper is laid over the stone, and both are put through a lithography press, which drags a leather-covered “scraper bar” across a protective cover placed over the paper and thus transfers the image, which is, of course, the reverse of that on the stone.Įxperimentation has found new materials to substitute for heavy, expensive stones, most commonly, specially prepared thin aluminum plates. There are a number of steps, which vary according to the type of plate, but for a stone, the general procedure involves washing the original drawing out with solvent, then rubbing another greasy substance over it to fortify the grease content, removing the dried gum etch, and working the image up again by rolling over it repeatedly ink on a leather roller (called “rolling up” the stone) while the rest of the stone is kept moist with a sponge to keep the greasy ink from adhering where it is not wanted. The etch fixes the image onto the stone and also enables the areas with no drawing to better hold water during the inking process. Gum arabic solution with a little acid mixed in is then spread over the stone to etch it.
The design would be drawn with a lithographic crayon, or with a greasy black ink called tusche, with which washes can be made. Lithographs were originally printed from smooth pieces of limestone. It uses instead the chemical principle that greasy substances like lithographic crayon or printing ink do not mix with water or gum arabic. Lithography does not involve cutting or changing the levels of a plate in order to make a print. Intaglio plates, woodblocks, linoleum blocks, collagraphs, and of course, rubbers stamps can all be printed in relief. When the paper is lifted off the print shows the uncut, inked areas of the block in reverse. Brushes are sometimes used instead, especially in Japanese woodblock printing, but this requires great skill.Ī piece of paper is placed on top of the inked block, and pressure is applied to it, either with a printing press or by rubbing gently with a smooth object such as the back of a spoon, or a baren, a tool made for this purpose. The smaller rollers used with one hand are known as brayers. Ink is then spread on the uncut surface, usually with a roller with a rubbery surface. The design is then cut around with a knife or one of several differently-shaped gouges until only the design remains on the surface: all unwanted areas have been cut away. To use a rubber stamp is to make a relief print.Ī smooth block of wood is chosen and the desired image drawn on its upper surface. Relief prints are made from the surface of the plate or block.
Thanks to Kit Pike for providing the text that follows, and Chris Beneman for providing the photo at right, as well as those Peregrine Press members who have contributed examples, photos and to Kit's text. This display was created in conjunction with the Peregrine Press show at the Saco Museum in the fall of 2008. The photo to the right illustrates many of the tools of the trade along with some examples of both final prints, and stages, including the actual plate and/or block used to create the prints in the case. Below you will find information describing several printmaking processes (alongside examples from some Peregrine Press members) as well as a glossary of terms. Welcome to what we hope will be an ever evolving Techniques page.
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