CommTech 2.0

My aim for this module was to learn the ins and outs of screen-printing. I wanted to learn the technical process from scratch and incorporate my artwork in to it from there. Through a variety of ways I have learned what I consider to be the entire basis of screen printing. I now have a more than component knowledge and understanding of what goes in to the process as well as what I can get out of it, both personally and professionally. I have also learned a lot about the way in which I work as a creative. I realized throughout the duration of the module that I work better when I have taken the time to research what it is I want to do and what I am aiming to achieve. From that, I can go in to learning a new technique or process much more comfortably and much more confidently.

My reasoning behind wanting to learn screen-printing is that I feel I am now at the stage with my graphic design skill where I am becoming complacent. I seem to get bored very quickly with doing the same kind of briefs for the same kind of client and I am slowly becoming less inspired to do that sort of work. Instead of constantly designing work for print and sending it to a printers or client, I would now like to take a step in that direction myself and really learn the process. I think by doing this it will only improve the quality of my work as my understanding will be much broader and I will be more aware and careful in my practice. I think by learning the process, it could inspire a new style of work from me and in turn it will give me a whole new medium to begin exploring.

I found the best way for me to learn the process was to research the techniques and processes involved first and foremost. Then with this general understanding, take that forward in to the print room as oppose to diving in there head first and trying to absorb all the information at once, as I am so used to doing. By doing it this way round, I found that what I was learning stayed with me much easier. Following this method up with further research also helped as I could apply what I had been learning directly to artists and designer I have admired previously, but perhaps not fully understood. Unusually for me, I found reading articles and interviews of use too. Reading for long periods of time is difficult for me but I realized that I was much more inclined to try because I was so excited about the subject matter.

At first, I found approaching tutors and technicians uncomfortable and sought the help and advice of fellow students instead. I believe this is because I felt more at ease discussing matters with them. However, once I had developed a solid comprehension of what I was doing, I found talking to technicians much easier. I think this is because I felt like I was being less of a burden to them, although I now know they are primarily there to help. I found comfort in researching online and in magazines to begin with and I felt by doing this first, it gave me the confidence to overlook this issue and in turn I got a lot more from it. I found Roger to be a rather intimidating character at first and I felt uncomfortable when I first met him, but after consulting another student about it, who has already formed a relationship with him, they explained its nothing personal and he just likes to get things done in his own way. Once I actually stopped worrying and listened to what he had to say, I learned a lot. He has a very direct and no nonsense approach to work and I think this worked well with me, as I was being too hesitant at first. It gave me a kick in the right direction and helped improve my attitude and approach.

I think I struggled with my confidence during this module and it in turn hindered the speed of my development. I am initially hesitant to learn new things in fear that I will be no good at it. My ability to ask for help was none existent at first and I’m still unsure if that is down to me enjoying learning it for my self or simply a self-confidence issue. Either way, once I got over that, I saw a dramatic improvement in my development. I think I was struggling personally throughout the course of the module with matters such as my current living arrangements and finances causing distractions. I think I balanced the work well with this though considering the circumstances. I still cannot see much improvement in my time management skills and seem to be stuck in a damaging way of working, leaving things until the last minute and inflicting more stress on myself in the process. I seemed to also have some difficulty when it came to the more complicated printing processes. There was a lot to consider and I was so focused on not making a mistake, I inevitably did, as I was not thinking about what I was actually doing at the time. I think I made some mindless mistakes at times because of this.

If I had more time to practice this module, the main area I would continue to work on is my time management skills. I think because I lack in this ability, it inflicts upon the quantity and quality of work I know deep, down I am able to produce. If I could go back and start again, I would still work in the same way I did, except I would make it much more concise in order to give myself more time to practice my newly acquired skills. I felt like I was rushing myself through the processes so I could ultimately try and fit more things in but I just became stuck, until I had to rush something else.

This afternoon I had to go in to the Digital Print Room to print out some final images for my Digital Photography Elective. While I was printing my images, I got talking to the technician in there who is called James. I was talking to him about the different printers in the suite and the vinyl printer/plotter caught my attention.

The printer was a Mimaki CG-60 SR. As well as printing and cutting vinyl, it also had a feature where you could place a drawing implement into the machine and send it any image, in which it will recreate to the closest detail. James took an image his friend had done to show me as an example. I watched in awe as the vinyl printer recreated the vector image straight from Illustrator onto a piece of paper he loaded in the machine. It was uncanny.

The prints I did I was not actually to disappointed with. I think the way the colours had come out sort of complimented the image in a strange sort of way. I was struggling to align the screens at one point when printing the Magenta and could not figure out why because the paper was in place and I was printing each one correctly. I soon realized that I hadn’t fitted the screen on to the bed properly and it was the screen moving out of place. Once I tightened the screen back up and realigned it with my tape markers and paper, I managed to get it bang on centre with the previous two colours.

Today I got in to Vernon Street Print Room and did some CMYK printing. The print room was rather busy which meant I only got a very brief run through by Roger. As there were fellow VisCom and print elective students there, I was not short of assistance when I needed it. 

Having researched CMYK printing previously, I had a good idea of what I had to do, my main concern was doing it correctly. I started by loading my image on to the computer and prepared the image for CMYK printing. Roger explained the quickly how to go about preparing the image and that was alot more simple than I anticiapted. I was under the impression I would have to separate the image into Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key myself in CMYK Mode, but instead it could all be done in the print settings. In the print settings, I was able to create a halftone on my image and using the settings provided by Roger proceeded to change the screen angles which ultimately improve the quality of the print. Each screen for each of the four colours had individual and specific angles and frequencies. Once they were all entered and double checked, I printed the four images on separate paper.

After I had done this I had to prepare my screens. Roger advised me to prepare two screens. This was so I could print the screens alternatively instead of printing one colour and having to wait for it to dry before I used it again. This ultimately cut down on time but in turn cost more money. Following my induction a few weeks back, I was perfectly comfortable cleaning my screens and knew exactly what I had to do. Once both my screens were clean and dry, I had to lay on the emulsion. The print technician, Sarah, kindly helped me with this and I didn't even ask. She ensured the emulsion was added properly and I left my screens to dry once again.

Now the emulsion was dry, the screen was ready to be exposed. Because I was doing CMYK printing, there is a very specific method when it comes to printing. The colours have to be printed in the order of Cyan, Yellow, Magenta then Black in order for the image to come out properly. This meant I had to expose the screens in a specific way too. I exposed the Cyan and Magenta images on one screen and the Yellow and Black images on the other. This meant I could print the Cyan and then wash it and leave to dry, in the mean time printing the Yellow. By the time the Yellow was printed and cleaned, the Cyan and Magenta screen was ready again. I exposed the screens correctly and proceeded to wash the screen, allowing the image to come through the emulsion.

Now I have got my elective out the way and I have a little free time again, I decided to try and get some printing done in Vernon Street. Roger explained in my induction that I need to come with my images on a memory stick as there computer/printer is not on the college system. So with all the images I have developed and experimented with already, I approached Roger in hope of doing some CMYK/Halftone printing.

I followed the tutorial exactly and it proved to be very simple and very effective in my opinion. Once I had made the marks, which was interesting in itself, and I had scanned them in, I did a simple edit and Live Traced them. When it came to applying them to my design, which in this case is a refined version of my first design 'Santa Is An Anagram of Satan', the tutorial stated subtlety was key. Trying not to overwhelm the image with the effect, I carefully selected sections of the marks with the Direct Selection Tool. This gave me all the control I needed to subtly add the effect over my design. The end result is a screen print style image, produced quickly, cheaply and effortlessly.

Today I came across a really interesting tutorial courtesy, once again, of Computer Arts Projects. After searching 'screen printing' on the site, I noticed a tutorial named 'Achieve Screen-Print Effects in Illustrator' by Anna Wray. On reading the description, it sounded like a very viable option to help develop my work quicker.

I love screen prints and so do many of my clients.

When I have the luxury of time, there is nothing better than getting my hands dirty in a screen-printing studio and transforming my illustrations or designs into something tangible and textural.

However, in the real world we illustrators and designers are often commissioned with tight deadlines and fast turnaround times, so it just isn't practical to spend the time and money organizing work to be screen-printed. I never want work to suffer in terms of quality or feel, no matter how quickly it has been produced, so I have devised a brilliant way to give your work that screen-printed feel at a fraction of the cost and time, using Illustrator's Live Trace tool. It's a technique you can use time and time again when you need to turn work around quickly.

Being in Manchester and only having half my equipment available to me, I have had to improvise. As I have no access to a scanner, I am having to photograph my sketches and upload them to my computer. This means more work is required in Photoshop and Illustrator than I would have preferred, but its still doable.

I have had to crop down the photos and using the Curves, Levels and Brightness/Contrast Tools, alter the photo to make it possible to work on. In terms of the 'Santa is an anagram of Satan' piece, I have decided to just rework the image I have already created as I think it works better as a graphically produced image. As for the others, I have had to alter the sketches directly in Photoshop and take them in to Illustrator to vector them. Although time consuming, I like the effect Live Trace has on a hand rendered design and it should work well as a screen print. Using Live Paint after Live Trace creates outlines and gives me the option to split the image how I wish, although for this, single colour black print should work best.

With the deadline for the LCA Pop Up Shop a little over a week away, I need some more examples of the stuff I am planning to do for it. I don't usually work this way, but today i've done some sketches of ideas. Usually I work directly in Photoshop or Illustrator but I think by working this way and refining the designs digitally, it will add that hand drawn feel to the screen print, similar to the style of Emil Kozak who's work I previously blogged.

The sketches play on some different views I have in regards to certain aspects of Christmas and what I think someone with a cynical view might be drawn to. The first image is a rework of my first design, just making the message clearer by adding the type 'Santa is an anagram of Satan'. The thought behind the second design is to take the well known Scrouge quote 'Bar Hum Bug' and make that little bit more bitter by adding an obscenity. The last two images play on the idea of commercialism and consumerism that is so blatantly evident in Christmas today. Some feedback I got in one of my recent crits was to think just as much about the message behind the design as I do about the aesthetics. This is something I am trying out here and by doing so, feel like I am putting more of myself into the work.

Just been reading through the application for the LCA Pop Up Shop, a came across a little problem. In order to apply for a position on the stall an admin fee of £10 needs to be paid, whether your application is successful or not. Annoyingly, I can't afford to spare £10 at this moment in time. My finances are not great. Having been working towards this for a month now, its a bit frustrating to realize this now.

I have come up with one potential solution however. I have asked another student I know has applied for the Pop Up Shop if I could present my work alongside theirs if they are successful. They said that this would be fine and I offered to pay them half the admin fee which embarrassingly, I can just about spring to. So is still temporarily going ahead to get some designs ready for the Pop Up Shop.

Back to Manchester AGAIN. Seriously struggling to get on with things due to the state of my current living situation. Trying to get some motivation I have done a bit more research into screen print techniques and found a good tutorial on the Computer Arts Projects website.

Although the tutorial is almost 4 years out of date, the skills are still transferable. The tutorial uses an early version of Photoshop as well as the now dated and discontinued Adobe software, Streamline and Freehand, which have now been cleverly integrated in to Adobe Illustrator. The skills taught in the tutorial are bitmap to vector conversion, Photoshop colour range and screen printing. As I am very familiar with Adobe Illustrator, I was confident in transferring the skills discussed myself. Illustrator now uses Live Trace, which automatically turns images into vectors. I decided to use this on a stock image I found online of a sadistic look Santa Claus. I then took this image in to Photoshop and Illustrator and began to play around with halftone, bitmap and vectoring techniques.

Today I attended a Quark and InDesign tutorial, ran by Graham Tansley. The idea behind the workshop was to give a basic introduction for working in the software. Quark and InDesign are used for the same purpose but very different in terms of their interface. Quark came before InDesign and its seen that Adobe InDesign is a 'rip off' of Quark.

Although both the software are not directly related to screen print, they are key in terms of editorial print. This is an area that could interest me in to future and is something that I could always try and tie in to screen print, in the form of a book perhaps.