The History of Screen Printing

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History

First appearing in its recognizable form in China during the Song Dynasty years of 960–1279 CE. Asian countries such as Japan would adopt this method of printing and advance the craft using it in conjunction with block printing and had applied paints.

Screen Printing would be introduced to Western Europe from Asia sometime in the the late 1700's, but would not gain large acceptance or use in Europe until silk mesh was more available for trade from the east and a profitable outlet for the medium discovered.

Screen printing was first patented in England by Samuel Simon in 1907. Originally a popular method to print expensive wall paper. Higher grades of wall paper were actually printed on linen, silk, and other fine fabrics. Jealously guarded as a valuable trade secret, western screen printers developed reclusive, defensive, and exclusionary business policies focused on secreting workshop knowledge and techniques.

Screen printing was eventually adopted by artists as an expressive and conveniently repeatable medium for duplication well before the 1900s. It is currently popular both in fine arts and in commercial printing, where it is commonly used to print images on T-shirts, hats, CDs, DVDs, ceramics, glass, polyethylene, polypropylene, paper, metals, and wood.

A group of artist who later formed the National Serigraphic Society coined the word Serigraphy in the 1930's to differentiate the artistic application of screen printing from the industrial use of the process. "Serigraphy" is a combination word from the Latin word "Seri" (silk) and the Greek word "graphein" (to write or draw).

The Printer's National Environmental Assistance Center says "Screenprinting is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes."

History 1960's to present

Credit is generally given to the artist Andy Warhol for popularizing screen printing identified as serigraphy, in the United States. Mr. Warhol is particularly identified with his 1962 depiction of actress Marilyn Monroe screen printed in garish colours.

American entrepreneur, artist and inventor Michael Vasilantone would develop and patent a rotary multicolour garment screen printing machine in 1960. The original rotary machine was manufactured to print logos and team information on bowling garments but soon directed to the new fad of printing on t-shirts. The Vasilantone patent was soon licensed by multiple manufacturers, the resulting production and boom in printed t-shirts made the rotary garment screen printing machine the most popular device for screen printing in the industry. Screen printing on garments currently accounts for over half of the screen printing activity in the United States.

Graphic screenprinting is widely used today to create many mass or large batch produced graphics, such as posters or display stands. Full colour prints can be created by printing in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Screenprinting is often preferred over other processes such as dye sublimation or inkjet printing because of its low cost and ability to print on many types of media.

Versatility

Screenprinting is more versatile than traditional printing techniques. The surface does not have to be printed under pressure, unlike etching or lithography, and it does not have to be planar. Screenprinting inks can be used to work with a variety of materials, such as textiles, ceramics, wood, paper, glass, metal, and plastic. As a result, screenprinting is used in many different industries, from clothing to product labels to circuit board printing.