The history of screen printing

September 22, 2025

Screen printing

originated in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties in my country, the method of clip printing appeared. The picture scrolls unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha are the screen printing products of the Western Han Dynasty, and the Jiajie wax dyeing products of the Eastern Han Dynasty became popular. During the period of Daye (605-611) of the Sui Dynasty, the

silk mesh

was stretched onto a frame to make a perforated pattern for printing, which made this printing method take a leap in technology and developed into an early silk screen. printing method. The dresses used in the Tang Dynasty court also used this method to print exquisite patterns for decoration. Later, this method was spread to Japan, and Japan used this method to print and dye clothes in the Nado era. This stencil printing and dyeing method was the most advanced in the world at that time.
In the Song Dynasty, screen printing developed again. Starch rubber powder was added to the dye used for screen printing, and it was mixed into paste for printing. Using paste printing to improve the oil-based paint originally used, this paste was used. Printed prints appear more colorful. Many foreign scholars who study screen printing have to admit that screen printing is an invention of China. An editorial article in an American screen printing magazine introduced Chinese screen printing as follows: “There is evidence that the Chinese used horsehair and stencils before 2000. The clothing of the early Ming Dynasty proved their competitive spirit and processing skills. Obviously They had the market at that time and researched the technical knowledge, because they switched to silk and improved the printing level.” Unfortunately, the long-term feudal society in China has hampered productivity and limited the development of screen printing technology, especially in the use of photosensitive adhesives. In modern screen printing, marked by screen-making, we are lagging behind.
In Europe, around the 18th century, the stencil-empty version was widely used in the production of wall paper. In 1905, the British Sam Elu · Siwen developed the use of silk screen printing method, and obtained a patent. This method was later introduced to the United States, and a man named Joan Bruce Wass improved it and developed a method of multi-color printing with a silk screen for printing signs. Since then,

screen printing technology

has developed rapidly. It is also heavily used in commercial printing.
There is a Japanese painter named Wan Shishi, who is the founder of modern Japanese screen printing. He went to the United States to study at the age of 16. After returning to China in 1918, he introduced this new screen printing technology from the United States to Japan. Polymerization plate making method” and obtained a patent. In 1923, in Shibaenbashi, Tokyo, he established a color printing technology company jointly operated by -. The industrialist Morian Ryuyama bought the patent and invested 400,000 yen. Wan Shi is responsible for the technical guidance of the company and strives to improve,
Using Japanese printing and dyeing stencil technology, another varnish paper engraving and plate-making method was completed. This method was later imported into the United States.
Photolithography for screen printing was officially completed in 1925. It is exactly the same as the current direct photosensitive platemaking method. However, this method was not patented because it had already obtained a patent in 1918 as a printing and dyeing model making method. Photoengraving screen printing, like other printing methods, uses the principle of invention and application of French L.J.M. Takaro in 1837. After this, the British W ● H.F. Tarobo proposed further reform methods. The results of these studies have changed the scope of application of screen printing. From 1914 to 1915, C M Peter and A. Imery and others in the United States successively invented the addition of potassium dichromate and ammonium dichromate to basic emulsions such as gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, kraft glue, and gum arabic. Photosensitive emulsion (photosensitive glue) composed of photosensitive substances.
The Second World War greatly promoted the development of

screen printing

. European and American countries, especially in the United States, initially applied photosensitive emulsion to screen printing around 1914-1915. Of course, the photosensitive emulsion at that time was still in a very simple, primitive and unstable state. Around 1940, due to the development of industry, a major research topic of printed circuit boards was proposed. In order to achieve this purpose, the research on photoengraving developed rapidly. After the start of the Second World War, the military industry became very important, and this industry increased greatly, especially in the research department of radio remote control and rockets] is giving birth to this new photoengraving and screen printing technology. The circuit board printing method invented in order to install a stable and firm circuit board in a small space requires the use of a very high-precision screen printing method. After the end of World War II, the research and application of new screen printing technology have been strengthened in rockets, artificial satellites, weak current industries and many other non-civilian industrial sectors. By 1950, screen printing had been widely used in the civilian industry, but it was only the initial stage of the development of screen printing technology.
The development period of modern silk screen printing is no more than 40 years at most, and it is only in the last three decades that it has reached a period of technologically decisive maturity. In this period, even though there are still some defects in rationalized production, the production of screen printing has been significantly improved. For screen printing, the coexistence of different stages of rationalized production does not need to be changed, so some people It is one-sided to think that only fully automatic screen printing production can draw technically and economically important conclusions. In fact, the variety of screen printing techniques and equipment provided today is not only applied and requires fully

automatic screen printing machines

. On the contrary, a large number of semi-automatic and 3/4-automatic printing presses are now used in screen printing production equipment, and in the various printing tasks undertaken by screen printing, these equipments have shown to be suitable for production conditions. Features. Therefore, in actual production, it can be seen that not only semi-automatic and 1/4 automatic screen printing machines are used, but also manual screen printing machines, the number of which is as large as that of automatic screen printing machines. But at the same time, it should not be overlooked that today’s modern screen printing plants are always faced with the necessity of ensuring increased productivity and the need to compete and therefore it is necessary to add appropriate automated production equipment.
Years ago, screen printing was considered incapable of producing fine-grained prints, but now it has the potential to go hand in hand with flexographic printing. In terms of printing capacity, the new web-based screen presses have shown the potential to compete with smaller offset presses in both speed and quality. This kind of small screen printing machine with simple and light structure has the advantage of being cheaper than the small offset printing machine. The printing speed is from 30 to 240 sheets per minute. It is convenient to change the plate on the machine, and the manual color change can be completed within half a minute. It takes at least 25 minutes for color changes and pads to be completed on a small offset press. Screen printing and screen reproduction resolution can reach 150 lines (60 lines/cm). Screen printing does not have technical problems such as offset ink balance, replacement of blanket, ink emulsification and adjustment of ink fountain keys, so its operation is relatively simple. At present, there are two basic problems in screen printing that have not been solved, that is, the dryness of screen printing products.
Dry and improve the quality of screen printing plate. A common trend in the development of screen printing is the application of electronic computing technology to promote further automation of the process. Manufacture and use of new plates that will simplify the plate making process and improve the resolution of print runs and plates. Manufacture of high-efficiency screen printing machines that can ensure accurate double-sided overprinting, shorten the drying time of printed products and expand the past features of large printing size.