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Ink is placed on the top of the screen, and a squeegee is used to pull the ink across the screen, pressing it through the mesh and onto the substrate.

Once the design is ready, a mesh screen is coated with a photosensitive emulsion. This screen will later be exposed to light to create the stencil for the design.

The screen is exposed to bright light. The light hardens the emulsion not covered by the design on the acetate, leaving a clear imprint of the design in the screen where the emulsion remains soft and can be washed away.

After exposure to light, the screen is washed with a hose or in a washout booth. The areas of soft emulsion dissolve and wash away, leaving a negative space of the design on the mesh screen where ink can pass through.

The screen needs to be dried completely after washing. Then, the imperfections or pinholes in the stencil can be blocked out with tape or emulsion to prevent ink from leaking through.

After the ink is applied, it must be cured or dried. This can be accomplished with the use of a flash dryer, a curing unit, or by allowing the ink to air dry if the ink type allows.

Once printing is completed, the screens are cleaned with a solvent to remove any remaining ink. The emulsion is also removed from the screens so they can be reused for new designs.

The first step in the screen printing process is to create a design. This is typically done using graphic design software. The design must be simplified into different layers for each color to be used in the print.

The design is printed onto a transparent acetate film which is then placed on the prepared screen. This will be used to block out the light in the next step, creating the stencil.