00:01From t-shirts and sweatshirts to neon pop art, this is a style that stands apart.
00:07What better way to live with heart than using screen printing to make some art?
00:13Graphic images like the ones you see on clothes such as t-shirts and sweatshirts are made through a process
00:18known as screen printing.
00:20While screen printing dates back all the way to ancient China, it wasn't until the mid-1900s that it gained
00:25popularity in the West.
00:27We've all seen the multicolored prints by Andy Warhol, there's the one with Marilyn Monroe, and we can't forget the
00:33infamous Campbell's soup can.
00:34But did you know that those are actually screen prints?
00:37Warhol single-handedly revolutionized screen printing and made it something trendy.
00:42Ever wonder how screen printing is actually done? We got you.
00:46First, the design is created on a computer. It's easy to see why we're partial to this one.
00:51Created for our art experience, 29 rooms.
00:54Once it's ready, the design is printed on a piece of film and taped to a piece of mesh called
00:59a silk screen.
01:03A light-sensitive solution is poured on the screen.
01:08When exposed to high UV light, this solution allows the image to be burned into the mesh.
01:15Afterwards, the screen is washed of the light-sensitive solution, and the areas not exposed to the light dissolve and
01:20wash away, leaving a negative stencil of the image on the mesh.
01:26Next comes the actual printing.
01:29The silk screen is taped down and placed into position on the automated printer plate.
01:38Sweatshirts are loaded onto a platform ready for printing.
01:42Ink is then poured into the plate, and a flood bar is used to push the ink through the mesh
01:47holes.
01:49The press operator uses a squeegee to move the ink around, making sure the entire image is even.
01:56As the operator moves the squeegee towards the rear of the screen, the silk screen pulls away from the sweatshirt.
02:04The design is almost complete.
02:08After the first round of ink is printed, the machine rotates and quickly dries the sweatshirts for about 30 seconds
02:14at 350 degrees.
02:16It's so hot that it actually glows red.
02:20Groovy.
02:24Now it's back to the press for more definition.
02:27Whether or not an image is just one color, multiple rounds of pressing are done to ensure a defined image.
02:33Once the printing is fully complete, the item goes into a large dryer to finish the process.
02:38With a smooth system, a screen printer can process about 400 shirts per hour.
02:45You can screen print anything.
02:48Clothes, accessories, artwork, banners, paper.
02:52The possibilities are endless.
02:56You can see the manufacturers and drawings are very simple.
02:57The image with the mask.
