Silk-screen printing

Silk-screen printing, method of printing derived from the stencil process. A stencil is attached to a silk screen, or fine wire mesh, or formed on it by a photographic process or by drawing the design in tusche (a greasy ink). The screen is sealed with glue and then the tusche and its covering glue are washed out with an organic solvent. The framed screen is placed on the surface to be printed, and viscous ink is pressed through by a rubber squeegee. Each color requires a different screen. The process, which may be mechanized, is used for printing labels, posters, and fabrics, and on bottles and other curved surfaces. Since 1938 it has been used by painters, who call it serigraphy.