This past week, I learned how to screen print on paper. Although this is far from my final iteration, I think it is a very good starting point. It let me figure out the process, the timeline and the limitations of screen printing. I really like the imperfection that comes along with creating prints by hand. This experiment showed me that screen printing thin and small objects is very hard. I now know that I have to be very careful while washing the emulsion off of the screen in order to not get rid of any of the delicate lines. I also realize that weaknesses of have small negative space areas (like the runners). Some of the ink bleed through the emulsion into the runners and distorted them. This showed me the issues with the process and my initial design. I now hope to solve these problems as I continue designing the poster. This time I printed with Acrylic Screen Printing Ink and found it to be a little opaque for my intentions and has the texture of acrylic paint. I am now wondering if there is an ink I can use that will be more transparent with the ability to soak into the paper without much of a texture. I will continue to do research on this topic in hopes of finding a better solution. All in all, I am happy with the outcome of this process and these initial prints and look forward to continuing down this road.
My next step this week will be adding the buildings to the background. This will show me the strengths and weaknesses of adding a second layer to the prints.
Below are some images of the different steps I took to screen print on paper:
Print on Vinyl
Silk-Screen
Practice Prints
I think your most recent typeface selection works more successfully! I understand you're still refining your screen printing process, but are these the colors you had in mind?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see more layered iterations!
These are definitely not the colors I had in mind but because I am just beginning to understand the process of screen printing I figure that it is a relatively good starting point. I would like to the colors to look more muted and faded in order to accomplish a vintage aesthetic but I am not sure of the best way to do that yet. I plan on experimenting much more with the color in the next set of iterations.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any thoughts on the current color?
The red and blue you used in the screen print seems really loud and I think this was, due in part, to the opaqueness. You said that your next iterations would experiment with layering and varying opacities?
ReplyDeleteYou may find some interest in Scott Hansen's print work:
http://www.iso50.com/iso50.html
There is a poster entitled "LED" that may inspire you.
Yes, in the next iterations, I plan on experimenting with the use of water and/or extender in order to create a more translucent look.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, those will be great references!