5 Top Tips For Stencil Printing From Home
I hold my hands up and confess to you all that when I started stencil printing a few years ago I was shockingly bad at it. I had the naive notion that it could be learnt in an hour or two and I'd be selling them online by the end of the week. How wrong I was. It actually took me more like two and a half years of trial, error and the occasional scream-into-the void moments before I really started to see some good results.
There is that cliche saying that goes “no pain, no gain”, well, I’d like to help you take the pain out of stencil printing so you can enjoy the process without going through the process (and many sheets of paper) like I did. Here are my top tips for stencil printing from home.
Make yourself a secure hinged table top to attach your screen. My first attempts to print were on a flimsy, wonky table without any way of securing my screen to the table and, to cut a long story short, it didn’t work. I found a sheet of MDF in the street and screwed in some clamps which you can get from Hunt The Moon. Once I set this up my results were immediately better.
Make sure your screen is clean. This one sounds obvious but if you have an old screen with blocked areas from previous printing it’s going to annoy the hell out of you later down the line. If you’re using an old screen that needs a clean and you don’t have access to a studio I highly recommend Screenstretch who can put a new mesh on. You’ll be saving money and recycling as well.
Don’t try to walk before you can run. Start out with a simple shape or design with 2 colours max! Don’t try to prep for a 7 colour landscape because it will slowly become more of a nightmare if you don’t have a lot of experience. Take your time and get a feel for the process first.
4. Use the right paper. I started out printing with some heritage drawing paper and the finish was never quite right. As soon as I switched to a thicker, more absorbent paper my results were immediately better. I recommend Fabriano 5 Smooth for a super clean finish. I’ve been buying all my paper from John Purcell in Brixton since 2003 when I was doing my Masters and I can confidently say they’re one of the best paper suppliers in the UK.
5. When you come to cut your design out make sure that you have the sharpest craft knife you can get your hands on. And small rips or tears will come out in the print. Cut each line slowly and carefully, making sure corners and edges meet up. This will make a huge difference to the quality of the edges of your shapes.
There are still lots of things to consider and prepare for when stencil printing, but those 5 tips are a good place to start to make sure you get some excellent results.