Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a silk or nylon mesh stretched over a frame to transfer ink onto a surface.
A technique, incidentally, used for the nuée d'amour collection.
It is not digital printing. As a result, the finish varies depending on the surface, making each piece unique.
The screen printing steps are as follows:
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Printing the design: First, we must print the design onto a transparent film. We separate the design by color, with each color printed on a different film. If our design is made up of 3 colors, we will have 3 films to print.
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Preparing the screen - exposure stage: First, a screen is created by stretching a fine mesh (silk or nylon) over a frame. The screen is then coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. The transparent film with the desired image or design is placed on the screen, and the whole thing is exposed to a UV light source. Where the light hits the screen, the light-sensitive emulsion hardens, thus forming the stencil of the film. This step is called exposure.
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Alignment: Once the screen is prepared and the design has hardened, the screen is positioned over the material to be printed. The frames must be positioned in the right place so that each color of the design interlocks during printing.
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Printing: Ink is placed on the screen, and then a squeegee is used to push the ink through the frame, thereby transferring the design onto the textile.
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Drying: Once the design is transferred, the printed garment is passed through a tunnel at 200°C to set the ink and ensure long-lasting adhesion.
