Screen Printing

I have prepared a stencil by painting on a transparent foil. I will transfer this image to a screen with the help of a light-sensitive emulsion.

In this case, I will print a shade of blue on top of an already printed drypoint intaglio.

The screen is a metal frame holding a fabric with fine meshes. Here I laminate the screen with the light-sensitive emulsion.

The coated screen

The screen is placed on top of the stencil in a vacuum frame. The exposure is more exact if there is no space between stencil and screen.

If the frame is closed and evacuated, stencil and screen are pressed closely to each other.

Now, the screen is exposed to UV light. The photosensitive film on the screen hardens where it is not covered by the image.

Where the image covered the screen and so prevented the light-sensitive film from hardening, the film can be washed out..

The exposed screen

The screen is adjusted on a table with hinges and the position of the paper is marked.

Iink is poured onto the lower edge of the screen and spread over the screen to the upper edge.

By pulling a squeegee over the screen, the ink is pressed through the screens meshes.

I printed this screen print in 1999 in the Druckwerkstatt of the BBK at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin-Kreuzberg. You could also work there.