Answer: Nylon or Metal!
Originally this process was called “silk screening” because the actual screens were made of…yep, silk.
But today’s screens are usually made of nylon or metal, so the term “screen printing” is now more appropriate.
Speaking of the screen, it’s made of a piece of porous material and stretched tightly over a frame. Areas are blocked off with a non-permeable material, creating a stencil —a positive of the image to be printed. In other words, the open spaces are where the ink will appear.
With the frame placed on top of the print surface, ink is then pushed through the open areas in the screen using a squeegee (rubber blade) and onto the paper or fabric below. And voila – instant screen print!
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