Silkkipainannassa

Silkkipainannassa, often translated as silk screen printing or serigraphy, is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the mesh openings with ink, which is then transferred onto a substrate by the squeegee's pressure.

The process begins with preparing the screen. A stencil is created by blocking out areas of the mesh that should not receive ink. This can be achieved through various methods, including hand-cutting stencils, using photographic methods, or employing digital techniques. Once the stencil is in place, the screen is positioned over the substrate, which can be fabric, paper, plastic, metal, or glass.

Ink is then poured onto the screen, and a squeegee is used to draw the ink across the stencil. The ink passes through the open areas of the mesh and onto the substrate, creating the printed image. For multi-colored prints, different stencils and screens are used for each color, and the printing process is repeated for each layer.

Silkkipainannassa is known for its versatility and durability. It can produce vibrant and opaque colors, and the ink layers are typically thicker than those in other printing methods, leading to good lightfastness and washfastness. This makes it ideal for a wide range of applications, including textiles, posters, signage, packaging, and artistic prints. The technique has been used for centuries, evolving from simple stencil methods to sophisticated modern processes.