SILK SCREEN PRINTING FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN

BY MATHILDA & JAMES SCHWALBACH

Screen-process printing possesses amazing versatility.  It is simple enough to be used by a child.  It requires no elaborate workshop, no expensive presses, no unavailable inks or tools.  In its rudimentary forms it can be easily and quickly mastered by anyone.

Favourite printing process of experienced artists and crafts people.  It allows for a wide range of creative possibilities.  It is less inhibiting than other printing processes.  And does not require the user to make the mental translations of a reversed image.

The extreme versatility of the medium has opened completely new possibilities for design and expression in both art prints and textile design.  The book clearly explains how to employ silk screen printing in both of these areas:

producing a serigraph and making a fabric print.

It also sets down all of the steps involved in constructing a printing board and frame, keying the screen, preparing inks or dyes and printing the color runs - plus a list of various problems that might turn up and their solutions.

Other facets discussed include different resists - paper, blockout, washout, photo-emulsion.

There is even a special print project for the beginner, using a cardboard frame and school tempera paint.

Nearly 200 diagrams and photos including 19 in full color make a clear text even clearer and offer examples of completed prints.

The book is fairly old and the cover has a sticker on it.  Corners of cover a bit worn and pages are not sparkling white anymore.  But no pen marks, no tears, no missing pages.