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Stencil printing was one of the oldest methods of printing developed by Japanese. A stencil is prepared by cutting out a design from a flat sheet of card board, sheets of paper coated with oil, wax or varnish or from thin sheets of metal. Stencils made from thin sheets of metal are costly and less easy to cut with accuracy and more difficult to handle than those made from cartridge paper and cardboard. Metal stencils are durable but liable to damage during working because of their thinness. The stencils may have a fine, delicate design or may be large spaces through which a great amount of colour can be applied.
The stencils must be planned so they register a fit together properly to result in a perfect print. Usually a separate stencil is cut for each colour.
A difficulty with stencil prints is that the design areas must be connected properly to prevent parts of the stencil from falling out.
To offset this problem Japanese stencil artists developed a method of tying the various sections together with silk filament or human hair.
Types of Stencils:
Method:
In actual practice the stencil is laid perfectly flat on the fabric to be printed and the colour paste is then brushed through its perforations with a brush. The plate is then lifted when the design appears on the required fabric. In patterns with two or more colours, a separate stencil is required for each colour as in block printing. Every repeat can be coloured differently if desired.
The colour can be brushed, dabbed, sponged by means of a spray gun through the stencil to obtain different effects. Different colours can be applied on different parts of the stencil and then blended together with a sweep of brush before the stencil is removed.
Suitable designs:
Application:
This method is mainly confined to printing of wall hangings, decorative panels, curtains, bed spreads, table covers, cushion covers etc. Any kind of colour can be used for the pattern in this method. Oil colours are often used for heavy woollen goods, velvets, jute cloth, buckram etc.
Merits and demerits:
Merits:
- This method is simple to operate and does not require elaborate or expensive equipment.
- Cost of the production is low.
- Any kinds of colours can be used in this type of printing including oil colours and water colours.
- The stencil plate can be cut rapidly with less cost when compared to the expense of block cutting.
- A great variety of graded colour effects can be obtained from one stencil by blending different colours.
Demerits:
- Designer’s freedom is limited in designing the stencils as unbroken lines or complete rings cannot be obtained by this method.
- The process involves manual work and is laborious.
- This method is not suitable for large-scale production.
- This method is used for limited yardage, scarves, and similar products.
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