Screen printing

Screen printing (stencil printing) is a technique of applying an image to fabric, in which ink is pushed through a fine mesh stencil where the unneeded areas are blocked and the pattern stays open. A separate stencil is made for each colour, so the ink lies in a dense, saturated and durable layer. Historically the technique descends from ancient stencil printing (silk screens), and in the 20th century it was made famous by pop art (recall Andy Warhol). Screen printing is the basis of the mass production of T-shirts, hoodies and printed clothing: it gives a bright, wash-resistant result and is cost-effective in large runs. For complex multicoloured images, precision in registering the stencils is needed. Screen printing is a technique of dense, saturated printing, in which pushing ink through a stencil creates bright, durable images on fabric that combine graphic expressiveness with suitability for mass production.