The art of screen printing

A bit of history

Today we're talking about the art of screen printing. A true phenomenon in Europe and the United States, this trend first appeared in China during the Song Dynasty. It was in 960, so it's a time-honored technique that's not new. It arrived in the United States in the 19th century due to strong Chinese immigration. It gradually spread across the Atlantic.

First used during the Second World War, the technique traveled around the world. It achieved great success when the technique was used by great artists such as Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol.

By the end of the 1970s, screen printing was ubiquitous and used on all types of media such as signs, stickers, CDs, concert posters, clothing and industrial equipment.

But what is screen printing?

The art of screen printing is a direct printing technique. It allows ink to be deposited directly onto the textile through a screen (stencil). Originally, screens were made of silk, but today they are made of finely woven polyester or nylon.

To do this, the printer uses a screen, which will be coated with ink or a photosensitive emulsion. On top of this, he places a film whose role is to protect the part to be masked from ultraviolet rays. Subsequently, by reacting to light, the emulsion spread on the screen hardens and impregnates the support.

Modern screen printing uses a more powerful screen printing machine. The screen, which was originally a silk fabric, has been replaced by polyamide and polyester. While the frame, which was once made of wood, is now made of aluminum.

There are several types of industrial screen printing:

Flat screen printing: used for flat media
Rotary screen printing: used to print cylindrical objects
Screen printing on textiles is a more elaborate process, particularly for color printing.

Its many advantages

The art of screen printing brings together the advantages of several printing techniques . The quality of marking, the reproduction of colors, the prices, the flexibility and the numerous possibilities. This makes it today and for several decades the reference marking technique especially in textiles and it is not without reason. Most companies use the art of screen printing for their t-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, tote bags, the possibilities are almost endless . In short, resistant and flexible , screen printing allows a wide and varied choice of possible textile supports (organic cotton, polyester...), including for fine and light textiles. Indeed this type of printing is not very aggressive for the fabric fibers, hence the flexibility in the choice and maintenance of the fabric over time.

While screen printing is widely known for fabric printing, it can also be used on a variety of media, including:

Screen printing on glass
Screen printing on wood
Screen printing on plastic

The technique varies depending on the media but the results are the same: high quality, very durable, and almost infinite possibilities.

Artists who have created graffiti in series

The art of screen printing

By Andy Warhol

Screen printing experienced a major comeback in art during the 1960s. Among the most famous artists was Andy Warhol , who popularized this technique in the 1960s with his screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and many other celebrities from the world of stars and politics, whose portraits he made in series. These infinitely reproducible "icons" became consumer images. He reused an existing and popular image like Marilyn Monroe, a photo of a star published in the press, and multiplied it endlessly! From work to work, or on the same canvas, the image was repeated like on a stamp book. Patterned wallpaper or the label of a mass-produced can. Thus reproduced in series, it became more than ever a cliché... To the point of losing its meaning.

An artist who produced works in series, in different colors. For many critics of the time, Warhol was a sacrilege. With formidable ease, the American flouted the traditional idea that the value of a work depends on its uniqueness. A provocation he assumed to the end since his studio, which had employed numerous artists since 1963, was simply called "the Factory"!

The Gfeller + Hellsgard duo masters the art of screen printing with panache

In the 2000s, a French-Swedish duo, Gfeller + Hellsgard, emerged, practicing various activities using screen printing as an experimental medium. This dynamic duo was born from a meeting between Anna Hellsgård, a Swedish woman, and Christian Meeloo Gfeller, a French photographer and graphic designer at the time. The chemistry quickly worked between them, and they set up a screen printing studio together. This would be the starting point for a rich and varied body of work ranging from artist books to monographs, from installations to paintings.

Unlike artists like Andy Warhol, who used large-scale screen printing as a medium, popularizing the mass production of art itself, Gfeller + Hellsgard design each print as unique. They seek to push boundaries and constantly experiment, which is easily seen in their work, which plays with imperfections, shifts, and other unforeseen events that screen printing offers. Screen printing is an accessible medium and does not require a state-of-the-art facility to produce high-quality prints: Gfeller + Hellsgard are a case in point.

The art of screen printing in fashion

The emerging punk culture quickly adopted this economical and effective method. English designer Vivienne Westwood was quickly captivated by the art of screen printing. Punk fashion was characterized by a global lifestyle of recovery, modification, and criticism of the society in which young people felt trapped. A desire to personalize one's identity, even down to their clothing, was more than present. In the 1980s, Vivienne Westwood drew inspiration from these "handmade" garments to create her first collection. To maintain the rawness of the designs, she used the screen printing technique. Whether on pre-made garments or on textiles, printed all over and then reassembled.

During the same period, Yohji Yamamoto, a Japanese stylist who conceived these projects as works of art, resonated with punk culture and the art of screen printing in a different way. Like the collaboration with Levi's, where he "parasitized" the brand's flagship models to insert verses of poetry.

Today, some designers work like the latter, using the screen printing technique to parasitize and recycle textiles.

More recently, we see fashion designers like Virgil Abloh, who collaborated on a limited edition T-shirt with artist Takashi Murakami. A DIY screen printing kit was released, with a ready-to-use, insulated frame.

The art of screen printing for everyone

Screen printing is so popular because, unlike other printing techniques, such as lithography, woodcuts, and engraving, which require more complex installations and more expensive materials that must be used with care, you can easily build a small screen printing laboratory at home. So if screen printing appeals to you and you want to try it at home, it's possible! Here's a short beginner's guide to help you get started:

The stencil technique seems ideal to me to begin with, you will need to equip yourself with:

of a screen , or a wooden or aluminum frame on which a polyester canvas is stretched
a squeegee, a tool with a metal or wooden handle and a rubber “blade” for printing
a coating scraper to distribute the emulsion
of a photosensitive emulsion
of a solvent for photosensitive emulsion
ink ; classic acrylic colors are also suitable for screen printing
an ink retarder ; a liquid to be mixed with the colors in order to delay their drying and suitable for use on the screen
a screen printing exposure lamp or a simple spotlight
of a sponge
and adhesive tape

We've put together a little tutorial that will explain it better than we can ;)

Start screen printing! Print clothes

For the beginners among you and even for children, we offer a very simple kit accessible to all to make dinosaurs in series.

Become a killer screen printer by Aire

At Aire, we're also interested in screen printing and we want to diversify to please as many people as possible. So we've released a small, easy-to-use kit that's perfectly suited for children!

And yes, we're not leaving them on the floor! It's true that screen printing is a technique that can be complicated for our little ones, but don't panic, Aire is here to the rescue. Here's our little guide to successfully screen printing at home: