Serigraph is a rendition of an original art work created by the silk screen printing process.



In the past the silk screen printing process used a stencil to create the print of an image or a design. Stencils were used for centuries in the orient to make the fine art prints as well as craft items, fabrics, robes, scriptures and various decorative goods. In Europe, the stenciling technique was adopted by craftsman for mostly utilitarian purposes. Stencils were also used to add colors to playing cards and religious pictures printed with wood blocks. By 17th century, the technique was being used to print ornate wallpapers. And by the late 18th century, stencil printing had made its way to the new world but it was not until the early 20th century that screen printing was started to be used as an artistic medium.



The creation of serigraph is a very labour-intensive hands on artistic procedure that requires many weeks to be completed. Before the printing process is started, the artist who created the original image is consulted. Sometimes the artist likes to make changes when printing edition-treating the print as an original rather than a reproduction of an already existing image. At times, even a few changes in the image or the emphasizing of certain colors or design elements can create a dynamic new image.



Having made these decisions, the serigraphs printing begins with the breaking down of the images into separate colors that are to be printed one after the other until the print is finished. The process of color separation involves analyzing the original painting, selecting one color at a time and creating a black ink representation of that color. Colors separating were initially a process carried out by hand using paint brushes and black India ink on sheets of clear plastic film. Computers have gradually become a part of the process, which has made color separation less laborious and has increase the accuracy of the image as well. However, the eye and experience of the promised ( person who separates the colors) are as valuable as ever and add to the computer generated separations by bringing in the subtleties of color and texture.



Serigraphs are created by forcing ink through a series of fine meshed silk-screens. Each silk-screen is stretch tightly over a film wooden or aluminum frame and his most typically quoted with a photo-sensitive emulsion, although adhesive film is also used sometimes to create a mask. The promised creates a separation by painting an opaque medium onto a clear piece of mylar or acetate. This film is then transferred to a silk screen quoted with a photo-emulsion, and is then exposed to intense light. The emulsion exposed to a light becomes “cured” or hardened, and the areas block by the opaque separation on the mylar remain soft and uncured. The uncured area of the silk screen are then washed out using a high pressure spray gun.



After the screen has been exposed, washed, and dried, it is carefully hand touched to block out any specks or “pin holes” that may have resulted from stray dirt or over washed areas. The screen it then set up on a press, which is calibrated to move the screen up and down with consistent registration.



This allows the printer to feed a print in a set of guides, lay at the screen over the print, print the colors and then lift the screen up again to feed the next print into the guides.



Before printing a run, a color mixer carefully prepares the ink. The color mixer and chromist communicate over what is needed to create the desired effect. The transparency, viscosity, hue, and intensity are considered to receive the maximum mileage on each color separation or screen, transparent or translucent inks, for eg., can create a variety of colors and effects when printed over several different fields or colors. Opaque inks can cover unwanted areas or create a physical texture. The chromist considers all of these factors while separating the colors in order to keep the number of separations or screens at a minimum. In the same manner, the printer has a lot to consider as well, one important factor being the mesh of the screen.



Separations that require large fields of color and heavy texture requires with a course mesh to achieve greater coverage while separations with fine detail require screens with fine mesh. In addition to the screens, the printer can control the print quality with different types of squeegees. Squeegees come in different hardness and materials to adapt to a variety of technical situations. The angle, pressure and stroke also contribute to a number of effects.



The printing is then carried out-one color at a time, beginning with the base color and ending with the finishing coat. After each color run, prints are air-dried on racks before the next screen is set up. All colors runs are completed in this manner over a period of several weeks or months.



Once all of this is done the artists checks and verifies each print minutely and then signs and numbers the prints to be released to the galleries. The notation 1/100 means that this particular print is the first of 100 in edition. By signing and numbering the prints, the artist guarantees that there will be never be more then the originality designated serigraphs of this edition.



Serigraphs have a long and fascinating history as a printing art move versatile than any traditional printing technique. The use of silk screen as a modern artist medium began in 1938 when a group of New York artists, under the auspices of the Federal Art Project, experimenting with the silk screening. This group coined the term “serigraphy” and laer formed the nucleus of the National Serigraph Society, which actively promoted the graphic form.



As original fine art, serigraphs gained acceptance from both collectors as well as galleries in 1960s when the artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann and Robert Rauschenberg began creating major works in this medium by experimenting with colors and textures that were unavailable in other mediums. At Christie’s and sotheby’s art auctions, serigraphs have been sold for lakhs of rupees and have been accepted into prestigious art museums of the world as well.



In the earlier years, artists didn’t have at their disposal the sources and people who possessed the know-how and expertise that goes behind the printing process. But today , after screen printing has gained such wide acceptance, a number of studios specializing in the same are available to the artists.