When going into this class, I had did not have high hopes for it as the previous time that I had learnt the process, the outcomes did not come out the best, and the actual screen would fall apart after a couple of prints. However, in this class, we learnt a new process for making our screens, which did work a lot quicker and easier, and the screen actually lasted longer and gave better quality prints.
In the previous year, with our illustrations, we had to make them digitally and set them up within illustrator so that the image would be formed up of paths, but would be together in a compound shape. This was so that the design could run through the vinyl cutter, and it would recognise the paths and cut where needed. Once printed, you would then have to sit and weed out the sections of your design that you would want to be printed. I did actually enjoy this process, however, for time purposes, it wasn’t the best. When you had all the colour sections removed, you would then have to apply the vinyl to your screen by hand, which would often take two people to do as the screen was so big, and you would have to be meticulous with the process, making sure that there would be no air bubbles between the screen and vinyl, as this would potentially lead to your design bleeding when inked. Once the process of making your screen was complete, you would then place the screen facing down onto your paper but would have to use heavy weights or another person to hold the screen in place so that it wouldn’t move and potentially resulting in a bleed or smudge of your design. By working with another person, this also made it more awkward when pulling the ink down over the design, as it wasn’t just a smooth pull down, you would have to move around the arms that were holding your screen down. After all this effort, the screen would only last a couple of prints, at least in my own experience, as the ink would loosen the adhesive of the vinyl, which lead to some of my details falling off. Shown below are my results from this experience, which I hope show why I did not enjoy this experience and was not looking forward to trying it again.
HOWEVER, when beginning and learning this new process, it was SO much easier! When initially making the design, although I still had to make a monochrome design, as shown in my previous blog post, click here to see, I did not have to faff around with illustrator files, paths and compound shapes, I just needed to save my design as an A4 Jpeg.
When it came to creating the screen, we were all given frames which would be our own for the year. This would mean that we could repeat this process whenever we needed, as in previous years they have had a limited amount of screens, which could get damaged or take a while to dry after cleaning, so this would eliminate those issues, and if ours went missing, it would be of our own doing. With this frame, we were given a sheet of instructions to follow. Starting with it positioned so that there were two holes on the right and one in the top left corner, using double-sided tape, you’d then line all four sides. We were then given a sheet of mesh, which we stuck down onto the tape, making sure it was the rougher side facing upwards. This sheet acts as our screen and would be replaced from print to print. Using green tape, we then lined each side of the fame once again. This would ensure that the screen would not move during the process. With a craft knife and a cutting matt, we then carefully cut out the holes, the two on the right and one in the top left corner. Our screen was then ready for the design to be printed onto.
Using a new machine which burns the design onto the mesh, you would slot your frame into it, using the holes, then it would feed through, burning your design into the screen as it goes. I believe you do need to use a specific program for this to work, but it seemed simple enough to upload your Jpeg image and have it work. A couple of the other students did have issues with this process as they found the printer would glitch halfway through, but we discovered that this was due to the screen not being stable through the feeding process, as it would sometimes fall when coming out on the opposite side.
Below are images from the process of creating the screen, apologies if some are unclear as to what is going on within them.
When it had come to printing the designs, as the frame and screen were a lot thinner and lighter than the ones used in the previous process, it was no longer a two-man job to hold it in place, a couple of weights would suffice, meaning that when squeegeeing the ink down the screen, the process was a lot smoother.
The printing medium we had used was one part paint in the colour you wanted, I chose black as it fits with the style of work that I wish to create for the project, then two parts of acrylic medium. I believe the medium helped thin down the paint, making it a lot easier to transfer through the screen. With a squeegee, you then put some of this medium in a line at the top of the screen, which should be faced downward on your page, then at a 45̊ angle, you then pull it down across your design. If you put too much medium, the print may bleed, but if you put too less, you may miss some details of your design. After a few runs, it is suggested that you wash your screen so that it does not get clogged, but once it is dry, you can go back to printing again.
This was unlike the previous process because if you were done with that screen, you would have to remove all of the vinyl, wash the screen, then you would not be able to print with the design again unless you went through the whole process of making your screen from vinyl once again.
Below are images of my results from this class, which as you can see I did experience a few learning curbs, using too much ink, or using the screen whilst it was still wet after cleaning, but I did get a few nice prints, and overall this class did give me a better perspective on the technique and process, and I do believe I will be using it again in the future. Potentially for final prints, but also for creating sellable products, as I believe it could be used to make good quality limited edition prints, bags, t-shirts, etc.
Melon.R 
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