A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL SCREEN PRINTING

A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL SCREEN PRINTING Sarvdeep Singh

FERNTREE PUBLISHING

First published in India in 2014 by: FERNTREE PUBLISHING SCO # 64 SF, Sector 32 C, Chandigarh (UT) 160 031 INDIA www.ferntree.in © copyright Sarvdeep Singh 2014 ISBN 978-81-925837-3-0 This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any brand names used if used anywhere in this book are for reference purposes only and the property of their owners. Printed and bound in India by Repro India Limited DISCLAIMER This book is sold as is, without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of book, the author and Ferntree Publishing assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information or instructions contained herein. It is further stated that the author and publisher are not responsible for any damage or loss to your data or equipment that results directly or indirectly from your use of this book.

Dedicated to The ever generous Almighty, whose Grace enabled me to write this book. To my parents, Shiv uncle, my wife who’s love has nourished and sustained me for longer, than I can remember. My thanks and love goes to my children Harnoor & Jaiveer, who forgave me for stealing so much time from them, to write this book. To my dear friend & publisher Hardeep Singh Chandpuri, who, actually inspired and pushed me to accomplish this humble, maiden attempt. His editorial suggestions, after reading the first draft of this book were most invaluable.

About author Sarvdeep Singh grew up in Delhi and studied in the prestigious Modern School and finished college from Delhi University. He is now settled in Chandigarh. His journey into the world of printing started while he was in college, which is actually more than 20 years ago. His family textile industry background gave him the shop floor knowledge in printing and this became his core competence and passion. He has written this book from his long and rich experience in printing. His deep, passionate knowledge in printing in all aspects, including the latest machinery is legendary.

Table of Contents Brief History of Screen Printing �������������������������������������������������������� 1 Stenciling to Screen Printing�������������������������������������������������������������� 3

History of T-Shirts�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Pre-Press/ Art Department���������������������������������������������������������� 11 Artwork Guidelines���������������������������������������������������������������������� 31 Choosing Correct Frames������������������������������������������������������������ 33 Frame Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ���������� 40 MESH���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46 Geometry of Screen Printing Mesh�������������������������������������������� 52 Colored Screen Printing Mesh���������������������������������������������������� 57 Mesh Selection Guide ������������������������������������������������������������������ 59 Coating Screens with Direct Emulsion and   Capillary Film���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 74 How to Get Perfectly Clean Screens ���������������������������������������� 105 Process of Screen Printing a Shirt �������������������������������������������� 112 All About Inks������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 113 Screen Printing Techniques ������������������������������������������������������ 135 Marketing and Selling���������������������������������������������������������������� 181 Glossary  207

Brief History of Screen Printing Screenprinting evolved from advanced forms of stencil printing. The earliest recorded examples of stencil are negative prints of human hand, found in Paleolithic cave paintings dated as early as 30000 bc. Primitive cultures used stencils made from common perishable materials such as leaves or animal skins. As civilization advanced, more sophisticated methods developed in ancient Egypt, the stencils were used to decorate tombs; the Greeks and the Romans employed the stencils to paint murals and outline mosaics. It was Chinese and Japanese cultures, however, that began to utilize the craft for production purposes. As early as a.d. 500, stenciling was used to reproduce images of Buddha throughout China and to decorate bulk amounts of fabric in Japan. Japanese legend credits the origin of stenciling to an elderly man who found inspiration in the intricate designs that an insect made in the leaves of a cherry tree. By the sixth century a.d. the Japanese became innovators who transformed the primitive practice of stenciling into high art, adding techniques to print the isolated parts of a design which allowed for greater detail in the final product. These early stencils were a marvel of intricate cuts, complex designs and technical achievements. The isolated parts of the designs were stabilized using an ingenious and almost invisible grid system. To hold these floating pieces in place, artisans developed a method by which individual strands of hair or silk fibers were set in 1

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place with glue and sandwiched between identical pieces of thin stencil paper. Registration marks were made by placing pinholes in precise locations. Used as a method for adorning textiles, the technique of katazome, an early form of Japanese stenciling, advanced the craft by developing more stable stencils. Using stacked sheets of thin mulberry bark cured in tannin rich persimmon juice, intricate images were carved, resulting in a series of near identical stencils. As paper became more readily available, up to 60 sheets of tissue thin paper could be carved at one time, allowing for even more intricacy of pattern and consistency in production. Thick rice paste was applied through the stencil, with the rice paste acting as a resist to indigo dye. When the paste washed clean, an image of stenciled pattern remained. Although the katazome technique diminished with the increased popularity of woven fabrics, it regained its significance in the late sixteenth century when ruling samurai class valued its fine craftsmanship. The grid of silk threads was eventually replaced by silk fabrics stretched over a wooden frame, which allowed for the development of modern screen printing.

Stenciling to Screen Printing The more advanced Japanese techniques influenced the ­Europeans after these methods spread to the West through trade routes. Soon, these inventive processes were being used in the rapidly advancing European textile industry. Stencils affixed to silk may have been used in Germany and France by the late nineteenth century. The evolution from stenciling to screenprinting was hastened in 1907, when Englishman Samuel Simon patented a screen based on the Japanese model of silk on a wooden frame. Just a few years later, American John Pilsworth patented multicolor screen process to be used in the high quantity production of advertising signs and point of sale materials. In expensive readily available bolting cloth supported the hand cut paper stencils. Technological advancements followed rapidly, as specialized stencil film and light sensitive photographic emulsion were introduced. The development of squeegee eliminated the need to use stiff brushes to push the ink through the stencil. Screenprinting thrived as a commercial process by the 1920’s and it was particularly well suited to the textile industry.

Screen Printing To Serigraphy Artists began experimenting with the expressive qualities of medium in the 1930’s. in Europe, there was an exciting period of collaboration between artists and textile 3

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manufacturers that continued throughout the century. In the United States many artists were exposed to the screenprinting in the federally sponsored arts projects established during the Great Depression. The term serigraphy entered the lexicon at time artists were investigating the potential of crating fine art through screenprinting. Despite some years of serious pursuit by artists, it was not until pop art movement of the 1960’s that serigraphy was firmly established as an art form. Stenciling, screenprinting’s precursor, is still a popular method of artistic expression.

History of T-Shirts It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the first T-shirt was produced. It is documented that as early as 1913 the United States Navy adopted the crew-necked, short-sleeved, white cotton undershirt, to be worn under a jumper to cover sailor’s chest hairs. At that point, the T-shirt was definitely an undergarment. Even then, however, the T-shirt was not the undergarment for the average working man. He was still wearing a sleeveless undershirt called a “singlet”, or a single-piece “union suit” almost into the forties. It wasn’t until the late thirties that companies such as Hanes, Sears Roebuck, and Fruit of the Loom earnestly started to market the T-shirt. (Fruit of the Loom didn’t actually start to knit shirts until 1938). It is reported that the T-shirt (and union suit) received a major setback in 1934, when Clark Gable took off his dress shirt to reveal a bare torso in the movie It Happened One Night. Although his costar, Claudette Colbert, was not impressed, American women liked the bare-chest look and men followed Gable’s lead. A 1937 Consumer’s Union Report lists “cotton undershirts” and “cotton union suits” as separate categories and shows undershirts with names like “Skivvies” and “jimshirts.” They were only 1.5 to 2 ounces back then — a far cry from today’s heavy- weight T-shirt that can weigh as much as 8 ounces. By 1940, the Consumer’s Union Report had dropped the “cotton union suit” category. In 1938, Sears introduced a T-shirt for only 24 cents apiece. It was 5

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called a “gob” shirt (a gob is a sailor) and was proclaimed to be either an outer garment or an undershirt — “It’s practical, correct either way.” While it is widely recounted that the army had T-shirts early in the war, it was really the marines who first issued the navy T-type shirt. It didn’t take the marines long to realize that white was an easy target, however, so the early white navy T type shirts were dyed in the field with coffee grounds! Later the men were issued sage-green shirts. The army didn’t actually get their own navy T type shirts until late in the war and after. A 1944 study from the Quartermaster of Clothing and Equipment for the Tropics shows that the army was still field-testing Tshirts and sleeveless undershirts to see which the men preferred. In the field test, the men preferred the navy T-type shirt because it had a better appearance, was more comfortable due to greater absorption under the arms, was more comfortable when worn with backpacks, and provided greater protection from sunburn. When the servicemen returned from war, the shirts came home with them- and the Skivvies, jimshirt, and gob shirt were here to stay. During World War II, the T-shirt was more for function than fashion. The early-issue military shirts had a much wider neck and shorter sleeve than today’s full-cut shirt and they were a much tighter fit. This tight-fitting style remained much the same from the early 1900’s through the sixties. The late forties saw the first printed T-shirts. The Smithsonian Institute’s oldest printed shirt reads Dew-it-with-Dewey from New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s 1948 presidential campaign. The T-shirt got a real boost from underwear to outerwear when Marlon Brando Showed his form in a tightfitting T-shirt in the 1951 movie A Streetcar Named Desire.

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Thanks, Stanley Kowalksi, for giving the T-shirt sex appeal! Brando again set the stage with his T-shirt and -jeans rebel in the 1954 movie The Wild One, and his cultural partner James Dean continued the look in 1955 with the classic movie Rebel without a Cause. OK, Elvis just happened along then also and showed the world how hip a T-shirt and leather jacket could be. About that time, the T-shirt style also changed a little - the neck opening became smaller. The fit was still tight though and the sleeves were still short enough to show off a man’s physique. T-shirts were still a very male piece of clothing. That’s when clever marketers such as Walt Disney and Roy ­Rogers saw the possibilities of the printed T-shirt as a souvenir. Just think — it’s a useful piece of clothing, it’s inexpensive, and it has a short life span. Perfect! In the early 1950s such innovators as Ed Roth (aka “Big Daddy Roth”) and Carl Smith (aka “Big Daddy Rat”) started to screen print and airbrush shirts with car designs. Back then the “ink” used was house paint and spray paint. In the fifties most college shirts and sports shirts were decorated with cloth letters or with “flocking” — a process through which thin fibers of rayon/ acrylic/ Polyamide/ Polyester/ Cotton were electrostatically embedded in an adhesive printed on the shirt. This was a very slow and messy process that was just waiting to be automated for higher production levels. These days multi-colored flock printing is also possible. In 1959 a new ink called “plastisol” was invented. This ink was more durable and stretchable- and brought about the birth of T-shirt printing as we know it today. The sixties provided the background for statement shirts, tie-dyed shirts and freedom of speech. The British rock-’n’-roll invasion and Vietnam were the perfect partners for a newfound culture and the printed T-shirt was the perfect ve-