Print Liberation: The Screen Printing Primer [Paperback]

Nick Paparone (Author), Jamie Dillon (Author), Luren Jenison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

You Can Learn to Screen Print

Print Liberation will teach you how to screen print with readily available materials and easy instruction. Even if you're starting out in a scary basement or in the tiny bathroom in your cramped apartment with a $40 budget, Print Liberation will show you everything you need to know to get started. And if you're already in a rented studio with a few bucks to spend, this book can help you turn screen printing into your personal art or business.

Seriously, this is a completely comprehensive how-to guide. You'll start by learning the history of the craft accompanied by graphic illustrations. Then, step-by-step photographs walk you through the ins and outs of all the main screen-printing techniques, including printing on dimensional surfaces, such as walls and goats (although the latter is not recommended). You'll even find advice about how to turn screen printing into a money-making venture, either by selling your work through galleries or by offering your services locally to make posters, T-shirts and anything else people might need.

You can do it. Your imagination is your only limitation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jamie Dillon and Nick Paparone met twelve years ago while skateboarding in front of a Subway restaurant in a suburban strip mall. Throughout the years they have collaborated on many diverse projects, including everything from printing wallpaper to re-constructing the peak of Mount Everest. In 1999 they founded the Print Liberation, a design and print studio dedicated to pounding the malleable nature of culture with typography, T-shirts and screen-printed objects. Currently the two live in Philadelphia where they can be found working hard every day to make new things for the world and its people.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600610722
• ISBN-13: 978-1600610721
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Arts & Photography > Graphic Design > Printmaking

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointingly basic, lacks insight. August 20, 2009

By A. Tubesing

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was a true disappointment. I was excited about the extra sections on the historical and societal context of screen pringing, and that's why I chose this book over the others because I thought I'd get help with the process along with some interesting history. That supplemental stuff is interesting enough, but as an instructional guide this book is severely lacking.

With very little more information than the basic Speedball instruction booklet (and in some cases much less), this book adds very little to my extremely limited knowledge of screen printing. What I wanted was a book that expanded upon the basic instruction booklet info. I need more information where the Speedball manual leaves off in depth, and this book fails to deliver that. This is especially disappointing for a book that claims to be "a comprehensive DIY guide to screen printing." It comes nowhere close to fulfilling that claim.

For example, one of the trickier parts of screen printing for me is getting the exposure time right for photo emulsion. This is where the insight of an experienced screen printer would be very helpful. The Speedball booklet gives a chart of exposure times for two kinds of light bulbs and it suggests sunlight as an option without offering any advice about it. That's just enough information to get started guessing, but not enough to understand the variables or do much besides trial and error. This Print Liberation book doesn't even give that much info. It merely says the following about exposing the photoemulsion: "Burn the screen for the predetermined amount of time. This might be something like 20 to 25 minutes for a 500-watt light, depending on what kind of bulb it is." Completely useless.

And the rest of the book is not much better.... A screen printer with any insight or experience at all should know that much more information than this is required for successful results, unless you want to waste a lot of time and (expensive) emulsion on trial and error--which I can do on my own without buying a book.

This book is only good for someone who wants to read the extra stuff and doesn't mind doing a lot of process experimentation on their own. My purpose for buying a book like this was to take advantage of the author's experience to save me the hassle of reinventing the wheel. Either these authors lack the experience or just didn't bother to communicate it--regardless, the result is a book that's useless as a how-to guide. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to get started August 22, 2009

By Conny

Format:Paperback

This is an excellent introduction to screen printing. The book covers the use of photographic emulsion stencils only - the use of paper stencils or drawing fluid and screen filler is not covered.

The book explains how to make your own screen, how to burn a screen, how to reclaim a screen, how to make a multi-colour print, registration, etc.

This is so far the best introduction I have seen to screen printing and I can recommend this book to anyone interested in how to get started.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative & Interesting - The Perfect Source for DIY Screen Printing July 30, 2008

By sarahstranded

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book includes all the information you need to try some basic screen printing. The instructions are detailed enough to lead a complete novice through the screen printing process without being redundant or uninteresting. The book also has some great graphics and covers some valuable information on screen printing history and important figures in its development.

Definitely the perfect source if you are just getting started with screen printing - this book has it all!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I've Been Liberated! July 6, 2008

By D. Edwards

Format:Paperback

This book is a great primer on screen printing! It is kind of like "T-shirts for Fun & Profit"-lite. This book is particularly useful for the weekend warrior or part-time entrepreneur. The step-by-step examples are terrific and clearly explained. As soon as I paged through it I came up with some ideas.

That said, if you are looking for more detailed information, you should also pick-up How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit. But get this one, too!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it! June 23, 2009

By D. Torres

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this book.. better than the other screen print books. Visual aid really helps me. I didn't regret buying this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had this when I learned screen printing years ago. May 6, 2010

By Jeff Claassen

Format:Paperback

I'm having a really hard time figuring out what body part I would have given up twelve years ago to have had this book when I taught myself to screen print. It's typical to say "arm" or "leg" or "left testicle", but I think if I really had to pick one I would ultimately have to go with something more major because that's just how awesome this book is. So, maybe the left hemisphere of my brain?

This is by far the BEST book I have ever come across on the art of screen printing. Before this the only books I had seen were all printed in the late seventies and were poorly written and the instructional illustrations left many things to be desired. Mostly, resolution, because the images were all big black Rorschach Test looking blots of pixels. The term "piss poor" comes to mind.

Print Liberation: The Screen Printing Primer, however, is chock full of high resolution color photos. It also provides the budding screen printer with a brief history of the art as well as a detailed list of tools you'll need and descriptions for what each tool will do for you. It's easily the most comprehensive how to screen print book on the market today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a good start December 7, 2009

By Tim Williams

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has just about everything you will need to know about screen printing, from the basic concept up to aand including how to run a business and make money from your artistic enterprises.
Well wworth the price, I have found few books better on the subject

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful August 3, 2009

By Nicholas J Huggins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Whether you're simply interested in the history of screen printing or would like to take the first steps in starting a screen printing business, this book is where to begin. Very enjoyable to read with excellent visuals. Highly recommended and definitely worth the money.