Printing 1: screen printing, block printing and photocopying

There are many different printing techniques used in graphics production. Some of these can only be done using expensive industrial machines, but others - such as screen printing, block printing and photocopying - can easily be done in school.

Screen printing

This is a way of making multiple copies of a 2D design on a wide range of materials including fabrics, plastics, paper and card. The screen is made from a fine mesh material fixed to a wooden frame. A stencil [stencil: a sheet of paper, celluloid, or other material in which a design has been cut, so that when ink is passed over the sheet the design is reproduced on the surface below ] is laid on the mesh and ink forced through the cut-out shapes onto the paper below.

Screen printing is not very good for fine detail, and normally only one colour is used. It is suitable for small print runs (less than a few hundred copies) and is ideal for printing posters, T-shirts, display boards, fabric, wallpaper and control panels of electronic products.

Block printing

This technique is appropriate for small- and medium-sized runs, and printing on paper or card. Blocks can be made from wood, metal or linoleum. A shape is cut into the block and ink applied. The block is then pressed onto the paper to make the print.

Block prints can be quite detailed if the block is well made, but are normally in only one colour. The process is good for making positive and negative images and repeating patterns. Block printing is popular for designs on greetings cards, wallpaper, paper tablecloths and similar products.

Photocopying

A photocopier is a useful graphic design tool. Colour photocopiers are now common and give good results, but the copies are more expensive.

Most copiers can enlarge and reduce and process a range of different paper sizes (A5 to A3), as well as card and clear acetate [acetate: a type of transparent plastic film ]. They can also do back-to-back copying and collate multiple copies.

Photocopiers can assist with the following graphic design tasks:

• arranging multiple small drawings on a page
• making multiple versions of the same drawing to make a pattern, or explore different treatments (eg different colours or textures)
• enlarging or reducing drawings to fit a space
• copying reference material (if copyrightcopyright: gives the creator of an original piece of work control over its publication, distribution and adaptation allows)
• copying artwork sheets to maintain a consistent style in a project folder