Screen Printing Equipment

There are several items that are needed to complete a screen printing project. First of all, you will need to create a screen. This porous fabric stencil, typically made of polyester, can be created in several different ways. An artist can paint the stencil with non-porous material where they do not want ink to flow through, by painting a reverse image. Or, the artist can paint the screen in a pattern with a drawing medium, and then cover the entire screen with screen filler. The artist then rinses the screen, and only the areas where the drawing medium was painted will be porous. There are special types of screens that can be run through laser printers and other equipment, so that a precise image can be rendered onto them. Other screen printing equipment that is needed includes a frame on which to stretch the silk screen, inks or paints that are meant to be colorfast on the material you're working with, and a squeegee to push the ink onto the material below. Finally, you will need material (such as fabric, or a ceramic mug) on which to screen the image.