Screen printing, sometimes referred to as silkscreen printing, primarily uses a hand or electronically-prepared stencil which is contained inside a frame. The part of the image that is to be printed is made up of silk, nylon or a stainless-steel mesh. Ink can pass through this area but not through the other part of the stencil. The surface to be printed is placed under the frame on a flat base. The image is transferred from the stencil to the printing surface by forcing the ink through the screen area with a rubber squeegee.
The requirements of the process for a coarse halftone screen and for a heavy ink consistency tend to restrict reproduction quality. On the other hand, this process offers high-opacity and brilliant colour possibilities. Screen printing can be effectively used for banners, T-shirts, posters and many other media. In business terms, it is not a highly automated process and is limited in the amount of detail achievable.
