What is a screen print?
A screen print is made by pushing ink through a fine mesh screen onto paper, one colour at a time. Every colour in the picture is its own stencil, so a three-colour print goes through the press three times and has to line up each time. There is no printer involved. The ink sits on the paper rather than in it, which is why the colours are flat, bright and slightly raised when you run a finger over them.
How I make mine
I draw the picture first, then paint a stencil for each colour by hand. At Sonsoles Print Studio in Peckham, I expose each stencil onto a screen, mix water-based inks, and pull every print myself with a squeegee. Each colour has to dry before the next goes on, so an edition takes a few days. I print on archival, acid-free paper: 300gsm for most editions and 240gsm for a few of the A2s (each listing says which). Kept out of direct sun, a print holds its colour for decades.
Why no two are the same
Because each layer is pulled by hand, the registration shifts by a hair from print to print and the ink lays down a little differently every time. That is the point: you are buying one of a small number of originals, not a copy. I sign, title and number each print in pencil on the front, for example 4/12.
Screen print or art print?
| Screen print | Art print | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's made | Pulled by hand, one colour at a time | Printed digitally from a scan of my drawing |
| Edition | Limited, usually 10–25, signed and numbered | Open edition, not signed |
| Paper | 300gsm (a few A2 editions on 240gsm) | 200gsm premium matte, FSC-certified |
| Framing | Sold unframed | Unframed, or ready to hang in a black metal frame |
| Where it's made | My studio in South London | Printed on demand near you |
| Price | From £30 | From £20 |
| Delivery | Free in the UK, rolled in a tube or flat in a box | Free worldwide |
If you want the original, hand-made thing, choose a screen print. If you want the picture on your wall at the lowest price with free delivery anywhere, or ready to hang in a frame, choose an art print.
Looking after your print
Frame it behind glass, out of direct sunlight, and it will last a lifetime. See the size and framing guide for which frame fits which size, and Delivery for how each kind of print is sent.