Some people make stencils out of acetate, vinyl, or even freezer paper that they apply to silkscreens and screen print that way. I don’t know how well they hold up over time, but if cleaning off the screen is as easy as just peeling off a plastic sticker, essentially, it probably doesn’t matter all that much – you could put a fresh stencil on the screen super fast. I’ve only seen the stencil technique with blocky graphic designs, not that halftone effect, but that’s probably more to do with needing to handcut the design rather than an inherent limitation.
I wonder if we could print our own screentone sheets and cut them perfectly and easily to fit artwork. I have laser printer printable vellum and transparency film. Would either of those be laser laserable? The vellum says it’s acid free, lignin free, and chlorine free, but the film only says acid free.
You bring up good points. Blasting tiny holes to imitate the openings in silk may prove unrealistic, and we may end up with more of a halftone effect. I had forgotten that the silk threads are so thin that they don’t show up when the ink oozes around them by the squeegee action.
But if the final effect is to be more photographic (or continuous tone), rather than the blocky shapes of hand-cut silkscreening, then the laser hole idea might be perfect.
That stuff might work as a semi-permanent screen if you heat-pressed it to the screen. I think I have a spare screen that I am willing to try it on. The adhesive is just for positioning before heat-pressing, it is not strong enough to handle being squeegee’d by itself.
I have used laminated printer paper, cut as a stencil, to make temporary screens in the past.stuck onto the screen with spray adhesive it works OK. Not great, and plenty of opportunity for ink to get under edges and bleed out.
Also for the Gorilla tape - keep an eye out when going to Michaels or Hobby lobby with the 40% off coupon (I think I picked up a roll at Harbor freight with a coupon as well). It really works !
