Today we put ourselves to the test, we tried screen printing with a stencil for the first time! Well more accurately, one of the guys did!
Screen printing in it's most simplest form is super easy, fun and is a great activity to do at home.
All we used was a screen, a squeegee and a tub of ink. The stencil we made out of freezer paper, but you could use paper / card.
We can break the process down in to some simple steps:
1. Make a stencil
In this case we're going to trace an image we printed off the computer. We're drawing on to freezer paper, which we'll then cut up and use as the stencil.
2. Cut out the stencil.
We're using a stanley knife, a craft knife is probably ideal, scissors will also work! In this case we're cutting out a really simple easter egg / bunny shape. It's a lot like folding a piece of paper and cutting it up to make snowflakes - this part can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
3. The stencil.
It's as simple as it looks. It's a shape cut out of paper. Make it as complex as you like, or don't. Start with a simple shape, the outline of an animal, a number, whatever!
We've kept it pretty rough, it's fast, it's simple, it's like a kid did it with some adult supervision!
4. Place the stencil over whatever you're printing on to, in this case card, then place the screen over the stencil.
You can tape the stencil in place if you like. You can tape up the edges of the screen if the stencil doesn't cover the area where the ink will go. In this case we're just going to leave it, keep it simple.
5. Add the ink!
Our waterbased screen printing ink is ideal for using at home. It's easy to clean up with warm soapy water and is drain safe. It also comes off your hands easily with a bit of soap!
6. Pull the squeegee towards you.
This will make the ink pass through the screen. Knowing how much pressure to use, wether to pull just once or repeat will take a few goes - this is the fun part!
7. Lift the screen off the card (or whatever you've printed on to).
There's the magic! One hand screen printed easter card!
In this case we didn't tape the stencil to the screen, the first pass of ink holds the stencil in place.
There we have it, a hand screen printed easter card.
Time to lay up a fresh card and repeat the process!
9. Clean up the screen and squeegee.
Bin the stencil and clean the squeegee and screen up with warm soapy water. You might find the mesh on the screen stays a bit stained, especially with black ink but that's ok, as long as they holes in the mesh are clear of ink the screen will be perfectly good to use time and time again.
10. Let your prints dry.
Lets your screen prints air dry before touching the ink / popping them in the post!
That's screen printing with stencils complete!
Hopefully that's busted a few myths! It is that it's easier than you might think, it isn't as messy as you might think and if it does get messy, it's easy to clean up!
We've got a more complex screen printing with stencils guide for those looking to print on fabric or tackle more complex stencils.
What did we use?
We used our Paper & Card - Screen printing at home stencil kit, which comes with the essentials you need to get screen printing at home!