Wildcard Week¶
Assignment:
- Design and produce something with a digital process (incorporating computer-aided design and manufacturing) not covered in another assignment, documenting the requirements that your assignment meets, and including everything necessary to reproduce it. Possibilities include (but are not limited to):
Learning Outcomes:¶
- Demonstrate workflows used in the chosen process.
- Select and apply suitable processes (and materials) to do your assignment.
For this week, I decided to do screen printing!!
So here is the hero shot:
Screen Printing¶
Screen printing is a method where ink is pushed through a mesh screen with a stenciled design to create prints. It’s used in many industries because it’s a great way to make cool canvases, posters, and artwork. Plus, it’s perfect for creating custom clothing and textiles.
The process is sometimes called ‘silk screening’ or ‘silk screen printing’ and while the actual printing process is always fairly similar, the way the stencil is created can vary, depending on the materials used. Different stencilling techniques include:
- Using masking tape or vinyl to cover the desired areas of the screen
- Painting the stencil onto the mesh using ‘screen blockers’ such as glue or lacquer.
- Using masking tape or vinyl to cover the desired areas of the screen.
- Painting the stencil onto the mesh using ‘screen blockers’ such as glue or lacquer.Making a stencil with a light-sensitive emulsion and developing it similarly to how a photograph is produce.
- One or more ink shades may be used in designs created with the screen printing technique. When applying color to multicolored materials, use different stencils for each ink and apply the color in separate layers.
Why is SCREEN PRINTING USED??
One of the reasons screen printing is so popular is because it produces bright, vivid colors, even on dark fabrics. The ink or paint sits on the surface of the fabric or paper, giving the print a nice, tactile feel.
Screen printing is also great because it lets you easily make the same design many times. Since you can use the same stencil repeatedly, it’s perfect for making multiple copies of the same garment or accessory. This makes it very efficient for creating large batches of custom clothing, like sports team uniforms or work uniforms.
With professional equipment and an experienced printer, you can create detailed, multicolored designs. Although the process limits the number of colors you can use, it results in more intense colors than digital printing alone can achieve.
Now let’s get started!!
Testing!
Before printing my own design, we did a sample test on a a piece of cloth that was not of use!
Applying and spreading the paint:
After that, we lifted the silkscreen and this is how it turned out:
Designing¶
For this week, I wanted to do something fun so I will be printing a funny logo. I used Fusion 360 for designing my logo!
So firstly, I inserted a canvas of my choice:
Then outlined it:
After that I excruded the design like this:
Finally, this is how it looks:
After that, I saved the design as a dxf file and then used inkscape to trace the bitmap and to export an vector image.
I used the Vinyl cutter to cut the sticker. (To view how to use the Vinyl Cutter, view my week 3’s documentation).
Cutting the sticker:
After printing the sticker, paste the sticker on mesh screen of the silkscreen and paste masking tape in order to have a clean print:
Taking the sticker out:
So the silkscreen in silk screen printing is a metal or wooden frame with a fine mesh fabric stretched over the top. Traditionally, this mesh was crafted from silk thread, but nowadays this has been superseded by polyester fabrics, which offer the same performance for a lower price. The thickness and thread count of the mesh can be chosen to suit the texture of the surface or fabric being printed, with smaller spaces between threads allowing for greater detail in the print. Once the screen has been coated in emulsion and exposed, it is ready to be used as a stencil.
The silkscreen that I used for this week was pre-made and available in the fablab.
After the screen printing process has finished, it can be washed and re-used.
Let us now spread the paint after you firmly sercure your cloth underneath!
Now using the silk screen printing press squeegee, press the ink and evenly spread it around the design. This is the Press Squeegee:
Now carefully lift the silkscreen from the cloth and this is how my design turned out!!!
Reflection¶
For my wildcard week assignment, I decided to try out screen printing. It’s a cool method where you use a mesh screen with a design cut out of it to push ink through and create designs on things like T-shirts or posters. I started by designing a funny logo using a computer program called Inkscape. Then, I used a vinyl cutter to make a pattern out of sticky vinyl. After sticking the pattern onto the screen, I spread ink over it with a special tool called a squeegee. Finally, I lifted the screen to reveal my printed design on fabric. It was a fun project that taught me how to create custom prints and see how screen printing works step-by-step.
Files¶
THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK!!
HAVE A GOOD DAY!