Silk Screen Designs Make Fast Work of Creativity

A silk screen is a type of printing design that allows for artistic innovation that can be done quickly and effectively. A woven mesh literally becomes a stencil, allowing ink to transfer through it at specific places creating a picture or other desired outcome. Many colors can be applied in this manner, one at a time, helping to add to the overall design and look of a creation.

Relief Drawing: Positive Is Negative

Creating a piece of art that transfers shape and design onto another surface opposite from it requires great skill. Artists of old mastered the art of relief stamping using different materials. They would carve out a picture into wooden blocks so that the places without color would be removed, leaving behind the shape that is desired. Soon, etching metals became a more permanent method for printing. A metal slate would be covered with wax that is resistant to acid. An artist would carve out the picture that he wanted and then dip the metal into the acid. The exposed metal where the wax had been scraped away would be eaten, leaving a depression in the metal, or lines that had been sunken into the slate. Once the wax could be removed, ink could be pressed onto it and wiped off, leaving ink only in the depressed lines. Once stamped, it would leave the appropriate impression on the printed paper or cloth material.

Over time, printing methods improved in their effectiveness. However, one difficult task has remained a fact—the picture being created is always drawn opposite from the actual print, otherwise the print would always be backwards. This technique requires great skill, and the concept of drawing negative in place of positive space can be mind-boggling to someone who does not possess that talent. Also, all word type must be set backwards in order for it to be read correctly once printed.

Computer-Generated Assistance

In today’s modern world, computers make fast work of designing silk screen prints. A design can be drawn in the way that a person wants the print to look like and the computer can turn it around backwards for them. In fact, a person can sit down with an original design, it can be input into the computer, and the computer can print it out on mesh material immediately. The image can be inked and dried in a matter of minutes, and it is extremely accurate thanks to the designing and mathematical abilities of a computer.

Hugs & Kisses,

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