hackaday.com: Silkscreening isn’t as hard as it might seem. For instance, it’s easier than block printing because you don’t have to reverse the image. [Jimmy DiResta] shows how easy it is to put a silkscreening setup together and print on wood, metal, and, of course, t-shirts.
8 comments:
I've always found screen printing to be a fascinating art that is sometimes overlook. I guess I associate with the people described in the article as perceiving the art as a difficult time consuming process, but after reading the article it seems to be much easier. The video is a nice step-by-step process from start to finish to create your own silkscreen design. I would love to experiment with this technique with fabric and design some fun button down shirts. Silkscreening can be used for much more than strictly fabric. Like the article was indicating, silkscreening can be applying to wood, metal, and a variety of other surfaces for various purposes. Overall, this process is very universal and has many applications besides fabric application.
As it happens I follow Jimmy on Youtube and thus I had already seen his video. I've been meaning to try out silk screening for years but I have never actually gotten around to it. It is a very simple process, but there are a few steps that take some time and that always makes me avoid trying it out. This article (and video) have rekindled the my interest in trying silk screening, once I find a little time I'm going to give it a try.
Jimmy DiResta’s video of the silkscreen process is fantastic! Informative and well-edited. I have two favorite parts: The first is watching him use a jig to create perfectly sized notches in the corners of each of four lengths of wood to create the frame. When I made my own frames a couple of years ago, I used biscuit joins, and one of the frames came out a bit, um, warped. I do not think I would have this problem with DiResta’s technique. He makes the stapling part look really easy, but I found I required a second person to hold the silk taut while I stapled. Hmmm… My second favorite part of the video is realizing that it is possible to get great exposure by simply using fluorescent lights, and that a fancy machine (like we have in the School of Art) is not required. That rocked my world in a wee way. Another part I found useful is the way DiResta initially applies the photo emulsion to the screen. At first I did not understand why he did not attempt to apply the emulsion all the way to the edges. This is something I struggled with a bit on my first go with emulsion application. The stuff dries very fast, so you have to be quick. DiResta only applies as much as he needs to accommodate the image, and then later goes back to reapply the areas he missed.
For a long time I’ve wondered how I could make a silkscreen myself, especially after visiting the Warhol a few times. I know there is sophisticated equipment that is used professionally but I figured there had to be a way to do it low-tech. This video was fascinating and I really loved the way it was edited. Tutorial videos with monotonous talking can be tedious but it was fun watching him work “quickly” with the quirky sounds. The written description was helpful as well though, without it I may not have understood some of the finer points of the video. I’m glad to have this technique in back pocket for future projects.
This was such a neat video! I've never silkscreened before, but it has looked like a lot of fun. This seemed like an easy and fun way to make your own device, and all with things (except the silkscreening stuff) that I know how to use. The frame seems easy to make and after that, the steps are very easy to follow. I like how versatile the process is, making it say to reproduce the same image many times on different items of different materials. I may want to try this sometime this summer.
I've always wanted to try silkscreening, and I've looked up tutorials for how to do it in the past. This is the simplest one that I've read so far, and it makes it seem like something that I could possibly do without spending a lot of money. Maybe over the summer I'll try it out, and maybe next year we can have a darkroom in our house [Emily]. It seems like once I start and nail down the process, it's the kind of thing that will become a really useful tool in the future.
Silkscreening has always been something that has caused me some intrigue. I never really got the chance to think about how its done or how I could possibly do it myself. This video lays out a relatively quick and simple way to achieve this type of replicating. Like Thomas said, I hope that at some point when I get some time I could try this process because it really does look like one could have a lot of fun with it.
Silkscreen isn’t a technique I have personally seen used in the theatre world very often (outside of the costume shop). I wonder what potential uses it could have for a scenic artist, or even a carpenter. There seem to be so many higher tech options for most of the things we do, but silkscreen might be a viable approach to certain layout and stenciling challenges we sometimes face in the scenic construction world.
I think i’m going to attempt this type of layout on a piece of steel plate next time I have to make a lot of parts, when a jig is not practical.
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