A screen is a stencil that contains a portion of the image to be printed. The stencil is placed on the substrate and ink is applied to the screen. The ink passes through the openings in the stencil and is deposited on the substrate, creating the image.
A screen is a device for controlling the passage of light, especially as a covering for a window or as a projecting surface for a picture or film. Screens are also used as a medium for displaying images, usually as a temporary replacement for conventional artwork.
The term screen originates from the old French word escreen, meaning “a protective covering.” The earliest known use of the word in English was in 1377, in the sense of “a protective covering for a window.” The word was also used in 1481 to mean “a projection surface for a picture or film.”
The first known use of the word screen in the printing industry was in 1584, in the sense of “a fine mesh used to separate the fiber from the pulp in the papermaking process.” The word was also used in 1613 to refer to the wooden frame that held the screen in place.
Screens are used in a variety of printing applications, including t-shirt printing, poster printing, and sign printing. Screen printing is a versatile printing method that can be used on a variety of materials, including paper, fabric, metal, and glass.
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas.