Screen printing is a fine art that is great fun to learn and quite difficult to master. One of its most common applications is in creating and applying tee shirts designs. Screen printing has roots that led it back to copper etching printing that was founded hundred of years beforehand. An artisan would use a sharp tool to scratch a picture into the metal that they would then coat with ink and then press onto paper. You could think of it as a more elaborate metal stamp of sorts. It allowed the artisan to create multiple copies of the same piece of artwork without having to draw it by hand over and over again. Screen printing also requires that the artwork be completed before you start to print. The artist cuts out a stencil that they will later use a screen printing squeegee blade to push ink through. They are still in essence creating a large stamp that they can reuse again and again. One of the major differences between metal plate printing and screen printing is found in the name itself, the screen. You apply the finished artwork to the screen itself and they lay it on top of the medium you wish to apply it to. You then use the screen printing squeegee blade to wipe the ink through the screen and onto the artwork. Share