IDFuel, the Industrial Design Weblog - Post details: Silk (Screen) Merchants

Silk (Screen) Merchants

10/01/04

In this age of digital everything, printing giant photo-realistic posters is almost easier than falling off a log. But, despite the uber-accessibility of this technology (and perhaps because of it) silk screening is enjoying a renaissance. From wallpaper to posters, T-shirts to sneakers, silk screened is the new black.
Screen Printing

Maybe it's the modern contemporary aesthetic that loves bold, flat colors so much. Or, maybe the flash graphic revolution is responsible. Whatever caused it, silkscreened art is rocking at an all time high. Witness the hotness of Threadless, Christopher, and Nic Fecteau, and the notness of mass produced Cafepress printouts.

One area that silkscreening is really taking off in is poster making. While screen printing has always been a popular way to make posters -- The Swiss poster tradition has been working with it since the 1930s -- in recent years, developments like adobe illustrator, and the proliferation of cheap photoreal printing have caused designers to look for other media which have a higher apparent quality. Screen printing does, but unlike other high quality methods like letterpress or lithography, it allows output of computer designs without large investments of time or resources.

The impact of a well executed screen printing is awesome. Seripop is a Canadian company, who's style is probably best described as pop art. They produce posters for gigs all over Canada and the east coast. From the central U.S., Delicious is a rather cryptically named artist living in Chicago. Also from Chicago are the folks at The Bird Machine. All three artists focus on rock concert posters. In fact, you can find some amazing examples of screen-print-art by browsing Gigposters.com

Also, printing isn't limited to 2d media. Recently, screen printed leather has become the material of choice for high end kicks like those at JB Classics.

If you're interested in getting into the screen printing game, you can find a great getting started tutorial here, and some tips and tricks at Screen Printing Web

Or, try:
Silk-Screen Printing for Artists and Craftsmen or Screen Printing at Amazon.

And, if you know of awesome silk-screen artists in your area, tell everyone about them.

Permalink

Previous post: Design By Punchline

Next post: Update: Pods are Coming to Britain

Silk (Screen) Merchants

10/01/04

Search

Categories

Archives