DEMO
6
MASK THE PAPER
Once the screen is in place, it is
a good idea to mask off areas where
ink may get through, like the edges
of the screen or other parts of the
design that you don’t want to print.
To ready the screen for printing,
apply a large amount of ink to one
end of the screen and use the
squeegee to pull it across the screen.7
REGISTER YOUR PRINT
To make sure the paper goes
exactly where you want it, it is useful
to make a register. I print this onto a
semi-transparent sheet (one that can
be wiped down and reused many
times) to see where the ink is going to
come through the screen. One side of
this sheet should be taped to the
surface of the print bed.
Once you can see where the first
layer of ink is going to come through
the screen, slide a piece of paper
underneath the registering sheet and
place marker tabs for subsequent
sheets of paper. This ensures the ink
will always come out aligned on the
sheet of paper, exactly where you
want it to be.8
PROOF YOUR PRINT
A professional print needs
“proofing” – in other words, making a
few prints to test the colours. Once
you are happy with the balance, you
can print a whole edition. Repeat the
process of pulling ink through the
screen with the squeegee for each
colour layer. It is important to get the
pressure right – not enough pressure
and the ink will look “dry”; too much
and it can become claggy.9
CLEAN UP
Leave your finished prints on
a rack to dry. Scrape up any excess
ink and return it to the pot. Rinse
the screen to get rid of the rest of
the ink. Apply a solution to clean the
photosensitive coating and rinse the
screen again, before a final clean with
a high-powered jet wash hose. Once
dry, the screen is ready to use again.
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