Mastering Screen Printing

Two thousand years old - and still one of the most versatile ways to put a design on almost anything.

Screen printing lets you print on fabric, paper, wood, glass, plastic, metal, and ceramics with nothing more than a screen, a squeegee, and ink. In Mastering Screen Printing, veteran printer Franco Ratto hands you forty years of hard-won workshop experience - organized, step by step, and stripped of guesswork.

Whether you're pulling your first print in a spare room or setting up a professional studio, this practical guide walks you through the entire process, from artwork to finished print.

• Prepare print-ready films and artwork in Photoshop and Illustrator, including color separation and halftones
• Choose, coat, and develop your screens - and nail your exposure time every single time
• Understand mesh counts, off-contact, and the tools that actually make a difference
• Master the four main ink families - water-based, plastisol, solvent, and UV - and know exactly when to use each
• Print single-color and multi-color jobs on flat surfaces and on textiles and apparel
• Troubleshoot the problems that trip up every beginner - and fix them fast
• Design and build your own efficient workshop, with real, ergonomic floor plans for studios of every size

Written in the warm, no-nonsense voice of a mentor who has spent four decades at the squeegee, this book gives you both the theory that keeps you out of trouble and the shop-floor tricks that save you time, money, and wasted materials.

• A beginner or hobbyist who wants a reliable, complete roadmap
• An artist or maker ready to print your own work
• An apparel or t-shirt entrepreneur bringing production in-house
• Anyone building a home or small-business print studio

Franco Ratto is the owner of CPL Fabbrika, a reference point for screen printing supplies across Italy and Europe for over forty years. This book is the distillation of those forty years of trials, errors, and experience.

Screen printing rewards curiosity and a steady hand more than any diploma. Pick up your screen, your squeegee, and this guide - and start printing.