You must forgive this post. This mostly-digital designer can’t help but fetishize and photograph her printed work; it happens so infrequently that designs are put to actual physical, tangible paper. 🙂
And ahh, what paper. I just love paper. I spent an hour at Kelly Paper before I settled on this one, which I special-ordered from the manufacturer in a thicker stock. And I squealed when it arrived. I know. I’m a dork.
After much designing and ordering and general ado, the invitations are under way. It looks a lot cleaner a process than the reality! There’s just not enough time to stop and take a photo when the ink is on the screen, or there’s a risk the ink will dry and clog up the tiny mesh.
Silk screens are basically highly controlled stencils. While I’ve done the emulsion process at home myself before, I knew this time I’d need them done professionally, so I took my design to Anthem Printing here in SF and they took care of “burning” the images into the screens – one screen for each color. The result is a waterproof stencil where the red areas are blocked out and the yellow are porous, allowing an ink to be squeegeed through onto paper beneath.
I suppose I could have Ben take a photo of the actual process, but he’s already going a little nuts about the painty art project that’s invaded our beautiful kitchen!
Even after just one color application, I got pretty excited by the results. There’s nothing quite like seeing something start to manifest just as you’d envisioned.. and hoping hoping it will continue to turn out as expected!
First one color was applied, then the sheets were hung to dry, then the next color got layered on top of that, lined up with registration marks through the slightly transparent screen…a fairly arduous process with screens as large as these.
After several sessions (three colors, front and back is a lot to print!) I must say, I am entirely pleased with the results! Hand-printing 60 invitations in three colors was an ambitious, possibly foolish, goal, which seemed to take precious weeks we don’t feel like we have to spare to accomplish. But in the end I am so glad to have been able to touch each invitation in a special and personal way. And it’s also been so lovely to have a hands-on project that got me away from the computer.
Each sheet here has all the parts for two invitations. Once they’re cut apart and assembled, they’ll be on their way to you! We hope you enjoy this little piece of hand-crafted art. xo B&T
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