Screenprinting at LE RACLET in Berlin-Kreuzberg

Screen printing at LE RACLET in Berlin-Kreuzberg

I had a wonderful day with my friend Bera at her screenprint-studio LE RACLET in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Bera printed a Poster for my upcoming Exhibition in Essen (Ruhr-Area) starting on the 11th of December 2014. Organised by WE ARE FRIENDS.

Please check LE RACLET´s Website and INSTAGRAM:
– http://leraclet.com
– http://instagram.com/leraclet

SCREENPRINT: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Limited to 25 (signed & numbered)
50x70cm on 300g/m2 paper

You can get it for 75EUR at the Exhibition in Essen or via this BIGCARTEL-Shop (non-german orders pls drop a Mail to: wearefriends@imkiosk.de).
You can also buy it as a PREMIUM 6-COLOUR PIGMENT PRINT ON HAHNEMÜHLE via OPENWALLS-Gallery in Berlin.

I took the Photo we printed during the Riots on May 1st 2011 in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

And here are some more Photos
taken during the printing-process with Bera at LE RACLET.

All images are resized to 1200px-width. I recommend switching to full-screen-mode:

Windows: F11 OR command-shift-F
Mac: ⌘-shift-F

Enjoy:

Screen printing is..

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material.

Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. As the screen rebounds away from the substrate the ink remains on the substrate. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design. – Wikipedia.

Welcome to LE RACLET,
Bera´s screenprint-Studio in Berlin-Kreuzberg:

Le Raclet is a screenprint studio, located in the heart of Berlin Kreuzberg, specializing in fine art and high end silkscreen onto paper, textiles and many other materials. The studio was founded in 2006 in Milan, and started its activity in Berlin in 2010. Since the first steps our aim is to produce works of a consistently high standard, working along side our customers from the initial idea to the finished print. – LE RACLET on the deep fried web.

The 3 things i´ve learned about screen printing:

Lesson #1:
Screen printing is all about preparation

First you print every layer of your design on transparent paper. On the first pic, Bera is double-checking if the design will fit on the paper it will be printed on later. Next Photos: Most importantly, you have to prepare the screen. Bera is applying a thin film of a special emulsion to the mesh. While the design is being taped onto the screen, a heavy UV-light helps harden the emulsion. The emulsion hardens everywhere on the screen wich wasn´t covered by our design. The emulsion that not hardened needs to be cleaned out using a high pressure cleaner. Last Pics: Preparing the colors.

Lesson #2:
Screen printing is all about constantly fixing Stuff and being fucking precise

The actual printing-process is rather quick (if nothing needs to be fixed).
Screen #1 is blue and Screen #2 is black:

Lesson #3:
Screen printing is all about cleaning up and being tidy

THANKS BERA (LE RACLET)
& MORITZ (WE ARE FRIENDS)

If u enjoyed the Photo-Story you might consider buying a print, or donate a fraction of a Bitcoin ( : 17gUNYjb27Ni7ZxFQhfQ8t7d84Axrutka9).
Drop me a Mail if u like to have photos taken or if u like to have a page designed like this: hey@1just.de

As usual, all Photos under Creative Commons BY NC ND 3.0. by Boris Niehaus (www.1just.de)