Serigraph Prints

A serigraph, also called a silkscreen or screen print, is the process of forcing ink through a screen to a surface underneath, which can be paper or textile, to create an image. The print is created by using a series of tightly stretched mesh screens and a stencil, or by using a chemical to make some areas of the screen nonporous so the ink cannot pass through.

Ink is “squeegeed” through the mesh material, the stencil blocking out the areas that should not receive the ink. Multiple screens and multiple stencils are used and applied one at a time to the paper or textile surface below the screen to create areas of different color.

A serigraph can be created manually or by an automated process, though artists today typically prefer a “hands-on” approach to creating an edition.

Quick Facts

• Although the techniques are the same, in the 1930s, a group of artists formed The National Serigraphic Society, championing the term "serigraph" to differentiate their fine art prints from commercial screen printing, and to encourage galleries to show their work
• Serigraphy became popular during the 1960s and 1970s pop art movements, as the process allowed artists to reproduce their work in vivid, bright colors
• However, as pop artists were interested in commercialism, they did not seek to differentiate their work using the term "serigraph" over the more industrial terms "silkscreen" or "screenprint"