STENCIL

PRINTING
Class room teaching By Zankhana Jadhav
STENCIL
PRINTING
Class room teaching By Zankhana
Jadhav
Introduction

■ Stencil making involves cutting a design through a thin sheet and then transferring
colour on to the surface to be printed through the cut out of the design. Printing with the
help of stencils is one of the basic fabric ornamentation techniques.
■ This is an art through which designing, printing and decoration can be experimented on
different materials apart from fabrics. In this chapter, you will learn about the technique
of making stencils and equipment's required for it.
Historical Background

■ Stenciling technique is an ancient art which is said to have started in China and Japan,
and was one of the widely used methods of printing.
■ North Americans were amongst the first to start ways by which the stencils could be
used in home decoration.
■ In the 18th century, American wallpaper was considered to be a luxury which only the
wealthy could afford. However, the people soon found out that with a little imagination
and patience, and by repeating the same motif again and again they could achieve a
uniform overall pattern just as good as the one produced by fine printing techniques.
Historical Background Cont.

■ The origin of this technique in India can be traced to the Gupta period (6th to 8th
century ) though even before the Gupta period, this process was used in the execution of
paintings.
■ During the Mughal and Rajput periods the use of stencils for the decoration of textile
material was very popular.
Materials and Tools Required

■ The Stencil
■ Devices for cutting stencils
■ Colours for printing with stencils
■ Tools for applying paint – Cotton Pads
■ Other materials
The stencil

■ The material for making a stencil ■ Cartridge sheet

should be thin and easy to cut. The
■ Ivory sheet
following materials may be used for
this purpose: ■ Bond paper
■ Discarded photographic film
negatives
■ Discarded X-Ray film
■ Plastic sheets
Devices for cutting stencils

■ Paper cutter
■ Stencil cutting knife
■ Scissors
■ Razor blades
■ Metal ruler (for cutting straight lines)
Colours for printing with stencils

■ Poster colours: These are water soluble colours which are available in a wide range of shades in liquid form.
They are best used undiluted. If they are used on wood, the application of several coats of polyurethane clear
varnish, after the paint is quite dry, will render it waterproof and hard wearing as well as increasing the brilliance
of the colours.
■ Acrylic colours: These are also water soluble and quick drying colours which are available in a wide range of
shades in liquid form They also are best used undiluted and maybe used to decorate wood using the same
procedure as for poster colours.
■ Fabric colours: They are usually water soluble and are fixed by ironing the printed fabric from the backside with
a hot iron. Fabric colours can also be sprayed and can be used on fabrics for stenciling and they produce a very
subtle shade.
■ Glass colours: These colours are available in a wide variety, ranging from water soluble to gels, which produce a
frosted or etched glass effect.
■ Acramin pigment colours: Acramin pigment colours are not soluble in water and are used along with SLN
binder and other ingredients to form a printing paste. They are extensively used for creating coloured designs
using blocks and screen
Tools for applying paint – Cotton Pads
■ Stencil brushes
■ These are made by enclosing a small ■ A stiff bristle brush (with trimmed
cotton ball in a white, coarse cotton bristles)
rag and then tying it with a knot. This
cotton pad helps in applying paint
through the openings in the stencil
while printing .
■ It is advisable to have a different pad
for each colour to be painted.
Other materials

A sheet of glass to act

as a surface for keeping
Pencils Thumb pins Adhesive tapes
the stencil paper while
it is being cut.

Clean rags Old newspapers Drawing papers Carbon paper

A cleaning solvent like

Graphite paper Tracing paper
water, spirit etc.
The Stencil Making and Printing
Processes
■ Selection of an appropriate design.
■ Transfer of the design on to the stencil material.
■ Cutting of the stencil.
■ Painting through the stencil on to the fabric.
■ Cleaning up of the stencil and brushes.
Selection of a design

■ An appropriate design suitable for the purpose of

decoration in a particular context is first selected.
■ The design can be taken from nature or from the
surroundings or it may be based on some
geometric pattern, Flowers, leaves, plants, birds or
animals ,cartoons, magazine illustrations, a piece
of art or craft, or one’s own drawings, or
alphabetical letters etc., all these are appropriate.
■ A bold type of design is good for an efficient
stencil printing output.
■ Some bold types of symmetrical designs are
shown in figure Good, clear alphabetical
letters can also be produced easily and
quickly using a standard alphabe
■ A photocopier may be used to enlarge or
reduce the size of the design according to
the area of the surface.
Transfer of the design

■ The next step is to transfer this design onto a

stencil card using a tracing paper or a carbon
paper.
■ A stencil card can be a suitable paper or plastic
material.
■ The stencil material may be fastened on to a
glass sheet or a hard cardboard.
■ The design outline is then transferred onto the
stencil material using a carbon paper.
Cutting out the design on the stencil

■ After transferring the design on to

stencil card, the next step is to cut out
the stencil carefully leaving the
‘Ties’, (explained in Lesson 8) and a
thick border around the outline.
■ Keep the stencil sheet on a hard
surface, like glass or a hard board, for
easy cutting. Cut the entire design
through the stencil board, using a
stencil-cutting knife or razor blade or
a paper cutter . Try to make clean
sharp cuts.
Printing with the stencil

■ The final and the most interesting part is to use the stencil to print a fabric.
■ This is done by first securing the fabric on a rigid support (like a table) in a tight
stretched state and then applying the colour with the help of cotton padding or stencil
brush or a painting brush or even a tooth brush.
■ Using any of these devices, the colour is applied evenly through the openings in the
stencil onto wood, plastic, glass etc.
Cleaning the stencil

■ Finally the stencil should be cleaned immediately before the paint left on it dries up and
becomes difficult to remove.
■ For cleaning, place the stencil on a newspaper and wipe it with a rag moistened with
water.
■ Care should be taken that small bridges on the stencil are not broken while cleaning.
Brushes should be cleaned thoroughly in solvent and then washed with warm soapy
water.
■ After stencil printing a design on a cloth, some
embroidery work on it can produce remarkable results, if
done with panache for colour and creativity.
■ A single stenciled motif such as a sailing ship or a palm
tree, for example, is easy to cut out and can be stenciled
onto a T-shirt or a table mat, the pocket of a shirt or the
front of a laundry bag, along with some extra
ornamentation done over the print.
■ Nowadays stencil printing techniques are being used in
design houses for sampling of designs, so as to cut down
the time for getting the end product of a sample.
Stencil Printing on Different Objects

■ Stenciled motifs can be repeated over and over again to make a border or an allover
design.
■ Delicate flower borders on sheets and pillow-cases or on a child's dress can be very
effective, while all-over patterns can be used on a number of items,
■ such as tablecloths, scarves and shirts. Straw hats and baskets, satin shoes and canvas
items can all be stenciled.
EXAMPLE
S
 the method is simple to operate and does not
required elaborate or equipment, the cost of
production is low.

the stencil plates can be cut rapidly and can be

used many times.

Advantages a great variety of graded colors and effects can

be obtained from one stencil by blending
different colours on different parts.

any kind of color can be used in stencil

printing.
Disadvantages

■ complete rings or circles as well as unbroken lines cannot be obtained by this method;
the designer’s freedom is, therefore ,limited.
■ the method is not suitable for large-scale production.
END