Screen printing is a very old artisan technique along with block and hand printing. Screen, block and hand printing are all very labour-intense processes. With screen printing you can design more intricate patterns, whereas block printing is commonly used for large prints. Screen printing is used on different kind of fabrics, such as silk and cotton. This technique is commonly used to print designs onto sarees across India.
The design is drawn onto paper and then transferred to an acetate film which is used to create a stencil. There are various types of mesh and the appropriate mesh is selected for the design. A light reactive emulsion is spread across the mesh. The acetate film is then placed on the emulsion under very bright light. This hardens the emulsion, apart from the part of the screen that is covered by the design, which stays in liquid form. The liquid emulsion is then rinsed off leaving you with the clear design. The screen is then dried.
The raw fabric gets cut into lengths. If colouring is needed, then the fabric is sent to the dyeing factory. The pigment colours used to dye our raw fabric are azo-friendly dyes. If colouring is not needed, the raw fabric is set out on the table ready for screen printing.
In a manual screen printing process, the craftsmen pass the ink through the screen mesh pores with a squeegee or sponge. The ink is spread evenly all over the screen and so the design get imprinted onto the fabric. The fabric is then left to dry. The fabric is then washed, rinsed, dried and then sent on for stitching.