The Process

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The first step in preparing a screen for printing is degreasing the mesh. The mesh/screen is degreased to remove any oils or particles that could interfere with printing.

Once the screen is cleaned and dried, a green substance called emulsion is applied to the screen. Emulsion is what coats the screen in order to burn the artwork onto the screen. Once the emulsion is applied, this must also dry.

In the meantime, each piece of wood is cut down from 16 feet to the desired dimensions of the blocks. Once cut, each block is hand painted. After the block's paint is dry, it is then hand sanded, antiqued, and wiped clean for print.

Using a graphic design program the block's artwork is drawn on the computer and printed onto a piece of transparency film. From there the film will be burned onto the screen's dried emulsion which will essentially create a negative for the artwork to be printed onto the block.

Once the artwork has been burned and the blocks have been prepped it is time to print! The blocks are placed into a jig where they are lined up and centered with the artwork from the screen. After everything is lined up, using a squeegee the ink is pressed though the screen onto the block.