Screen printing is an art form, as well as a commercial printing process. A single stencil can be used to reproduce hundreds—even thousands—of copies, making it a great technique for creating custom apparel like t-shirts. It’s also an ancient printmaking technique, with records of it dating back to AD 950 in China.

In this article, we’ll use Adobe Illustrator to create a three-color screen print using a fictional company logo and demonstrate how to properly prepare your artwork for the screen-printing process. This will help ensure that the printer’s output process doesn’t introduce any errors. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to send your completed artwork to a printer and feel confident that it will print as expected.

The first step in screen-printing is to create a stencil for the desired design. This can be done in a number of ways, including drawing it directly on the fabric (called direct painting) or by using adhesive film and paper. The non-printing areas of the fabric are blocked out by the stencil, and ink or paint is forced through those open areas with a rubber blade called a squeegee.

Next, the stencil is coated with an emulsion—a combination of light-sensitive chemicals. This emulsion is then exposed to a light box for a set amount of time, at which point the areas covered by the design on the stencil will harden, allowing the ink to pass through those parts of the screen. The unhardened emulsion will wash away, leaving the screen ready for printing.

Once the emulsion has washed out, the screen can be used to print on whatever substrate—typically paper or fabric, but artists have been known to print on wood, metal, glass, and other materials as well. When the printed item is complete, plastisol inks or water-based paints are squeegeed across the surface of the print, and then cured under an ultraviolet light to seal in the colors and protect the ink from wear.

The process of screen-printing is highly skilled, and the success of a print depends on how well the stencil is created, the color separations are printed and the screen is lined up perfectly. This is why it’s important to work with a Salt Lake City screen printer you can trust and understand their process. If you have questions or concerns, be sure to communicate with your printer and ask for their advice; they’ll be able to spot any potential problems before they lead to a wasteful batch of t-shirts. It’s also a good idea to visit your printer’s shop when possible, as they can give you a tour of their process and let you know what to expect from their output. They’ll also be able to answer any questions you may have about their equipment, and can give you helpful tips for preparing your own artwork for the best results. By taking the time to prepare your files properly, you can save yourself a lot of headaches down the road.