Tuesday 14 July 2009

Positively Fishy

You are probably wondering what this is unless you are familiar with screen-printing. It is a peek at my film positive for a new fish fabric design.



The design was done to scale in Adobe Photoshop and then digitally printed onto film. The film is required for permanently exposing the image onto the screen using a photo-emulsion process. The area that is now black will correspond to what is screen-printed. As I am using a large screen for this print, I have had to cut and very precisely tape together my digitally printed films that were not big enough otherwise.

It is unusual to have such a vast screen-printed area but as I am choosing to print onto undyed, organic cotton fabrics, it will allow me to produce printed eco fabrics in any colour I choose. It also means that interior designers will be able to have custom-printed colours. To keep the fabrics environmentally-friendly, we use
Permaset Aqua inks that are solvent-free and water-based.

I am mixing and testing ink colours today and will have the screen ready to print by the end of the week. It's always exciting when we have a new design to screen-print!


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8 comments:

Boutique Markets said...

Gorgeous Thea,
It's always so interesting to discover the process behind and artwork...

Rachael

Unni Strand said...

Interesting to see, Thea! I find it very difficult to print large areas. How big is your largest screens?

Thea said...

The screen frame is about 170cm x 90cm if I remember correctly. I usually make the design 140cm across the fabric and the repeat will be about 72cm. It is quicker to print yardage with large screens but you do need 2 people to do it.

Lyssy May said...

So great to see you are moving ahead with your new designs and homewares. The range just gets better every time I look! x

Anonymous said...

You are so clever!! Living by the beach I think this is one of my fav's of yours!! well done - I look fwd to seeing it in store!!

Thea said...

Thanks ladies. I don't live by the beach but I sure wish I did.

Katy said...

Very Nice Thea, can't wait to see it printed! Would love to come and take photos....

Thea said...

No worries Katy. Call me.

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