The History of Screen Printing

In the 19th century it remained a simple process using fabrics like organdy stretched over wooden frames as a means to hold stencils in place during printing. Only in the twentieth century did the process become mechanized, usually for printing flat posters or packaging and fabrics. Initially, although it was not a well known process, screen printing bridged the gap between hand fed production and automated printing, which was far more expensive. It quickly transitioned from handcraft to mass production, particularly in the US, and in doing so opened up a completely new area of print capabilities and transformed the advertising industry. Today it has become a very sophisticated process, using advanced fabrics and inks combined with computer technology. Often screen printing is used a substitute for other processes such as offset litho. As a printing technique it can print an image onto almost any surface such as paper, card, wood, glass, plastic, leather or any fabric. The iPhone, the solar cell, and the hydrogen fuel cell are all screen printed products – and they would not exist without this printing process.