Silk-Screen Printing for Artists and Craftsmen by Schwalbach Mathilda V. & James A.; Schwalbach James A. ;

Author:Schwalbach, Mathilda V. & James A.; Schwalbach, James A. ;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1909245
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2012-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Fig. 6-13. A photographic negative exposed in a camera can be projected or enlarged on Kodalith film to produce a positive transparency with high contrast.

Fig. 6-14. Kodalith positive transparencies to which the hand script was added were exposed on presensitized screen-process film for this print. (“Through the Countryside,” by Caroline Hunkel Kitelinger)

There are a number of light-sensitive photo-emulsion screen films produced by commercial companies that are fast enough to be used directly in a copy camera or an enlarger. For the serigrapher and the fabric designer, using these speedier films with an enlarger presents many opportunities. Being able to change the scale, size, and focus of the image makes for great design flexibility. In addition, objects can be distorted by varying the distance of the printing surface from the enlarging lens. The possibility of using only a very small section of a much larger image also opens new doors. Photographic positives can be used in the enlarger, as can small bits of actual objects like the wings of insects, leaves, tissue paper, and textured cloth. Slides, negatives, and objects can be enlarged and projected on to either Kodalith film or the high-speed photo-emulsion sensitized screen film.

As a graduate student in related art at the University of Wisconsin, Patricia K. Mansfield produced interesting textile patterns using photo-emulsion film resists and an enlarger. She found that exposure factors, developing procedures, and manipulative inventiveness are part of the necessary experimentation before satisfactory results can be achieved. The process offers endless challenges to the serious designer. Mrs. Mansfield advocates the use of the enlarger as a tool for designing. Familiarity with its mechanical advantages and limitations is necessary. However, such familiarity can be gained by using and manipulating it in the search for design statements. It is one of the tools of our century, and contemporary designers need to become sensitive to and selective of the potentials lying within this photographic experience.

The range of decorative detail possible with the photo-emulsion resist can be easily seen in(Fig. 6-15). On the left side of the picture is a detail from a photograph of a found texture that was exposed on presensitized film with the enlarger. In the center is a bamboo fly swatter that was laid down directly on the gelatin film resist with the enlarger as the light source. At the right, a piece of metal lathe for wall construction was placed on the screen photo film and exposed, then printed over a background texture.

Probably the simplest, most direct way to produce a photo-emulsion screen resist is with transfer films. These can be used either for single transfer or double transfer. They vary in speed and in the amount of detail they give. There are many more available from screen-process supply houses than we could cover adequately, and each comes with descriptions and directions for use. You will need to choose and to experiment. While most large suppliers are geared to the needs of the screen-process industry, many will send sample kits if you want to try out a material.

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