By Zara Lane

What is it? A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with

letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material
Advantages: The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to repeatedly and

rapidly produce the same letters or design.

Disadvantages: The major disadvantage of the stencil method is that, although any

open design can easily be cut in a stencil, a design enclosing another is impracticable because the middle design drops out
Where is it used? Stencils are frequently used by official organizations, including the

military, utility companies and governments, to quickly and clearly label objects, vehicles and locations, they were also popular as a method of book illustration in the 1920s

 Who used it? French artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest's stencilled silhouette of a nuclear bomb

victim was spray painted in the south of France in 1966 Blek le Rat's first spray painted stencils were seen in Paris in 1981. He was influenced by the graffiti artists of New York City Skills and knowledge needed: Stencil printing is very simple and does not require much skill or knowledge at all. Stencils are often used by young children. Cost? Depending on materials and how you are using the stencil, they can be very cheap to make/use. Stencils can be made from scratch meaning the only costs are key materials e.g. card, scissors, pen etc. Equipment: Pen/pencil to draw design. Pieces of card. Scissors. Pan/colouring pens/pencils. Speed of process. A stencil can be completed from start to finish in a matter of minutes. Time may be needed for the stencil to dry after. How many can you make: Stencils are reusable but depending on the material used, they can become flimsy.

How to make a stencil:

 What is it? Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of

linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a press.
Advantages and disadvantages: The design can be reused and added to as much or

as often as you like, however, the image is opposite to the design.

Where is it used? / who has used it? Artist Christine McCarthy uses linocutting to

create large and detailed pictures. She also creates commission pieces which sell for several hundred a piece.

 What skills and knowledge are needed? A lino print is slightly more complicated. The

main skills needed are being able to use a scalpel and a printing press.
Cost: the cost of lino cutting is slightly higher than a normal stencil print. Scalpels are

fairly cheap and are usually bought in bulk so it is difficult to find a price. The same also goes for the mats used underneath the linoleum. A printing press costs hundreds of pounds,
Speed of process: The whole process takes 20-30 minutes How many can you make: This process is repeatable. The design can be added to

but if you add too much detail you will not realise until the process is complete and then you will have to start again.

 What is it? 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. Advantages and disadvantages: The screen printing process affords one the opportunity to print images and text on a variety of promotional items. Unlike other printmaking techniques, such as intaglio or relief, screen printing allows many prints to be created before a re-application of ink is necessary, which makes screen printing very useful commercially. However, images for screen printing have to be simple in design and reduced to definite lines or shapes that will print well. While screen frames are durable, and can be reused many times, they can eventually become warped and uneven. Most hand-stencils are very fragile and break down faster than emulsion-based processes.

 Who uses it/why is it used? Sarah B. Smith is an Artist and Illustrator based in the UK.

Her work combines screen printing, stencil and illustrations with tonal backgrounds.
What skills and knowledge are needed: Clear vision, correct colour perception and

hand-eye coordination are crucial also being willing to handle and mix the chemicals used in screen printing ink.
Cost: On average, plan on spending around $8 to $15 per t-shirt to have done. Larger

items such as sweatshirts and hooded sweatshirts can cost anywhere from $18 to $29 each.
Equipment needed: Emulsion, emulsion remover, ink solvents, haze remover, mesh

prep, plastisol inks, spray tracks, masking tape, clear scotch tape, inkjet or laser film, spot cleaning fluid, scorch out
You can reuse a screen print after use.

 What is it? Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing using a printing press. A

worker composes and locks movable type into the bed of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper.
Advantages and disadvantages: Letterpress printers create crisp, clean lines and bold

images; also, prints are printed with high-pigment-level ink, making the images and typography sharp , however, colour can be applied in letterpress printing, but each colour has to dry before the next colour is applied from a different set of letters placed on the press.
When is it used? Letterpress was the first printing method on the planet--the method

that Gutenberg invented in 1450.

Equipment needed: letter press, letters on blocks, ink This method can be repeated as needed

 What is it? A photocopier (also known as a copier or copy machine) is a machine that

makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply.
Advantages and disadvantages: There are both advantages and disadvantages of the

photocopier. An advantage is that a paper or document can be easily copied and a disadvantage is that it can aid in fraudulent document creation
Where is it used: Photocopying is used in every day life by millions of people,

especially in offices, schools etc. for copying official documents etc.

Skills and knowledge needed: There are no particular skills needed to operate a

photocopier other than basic ICT knowledge

 Cost: Photocopying is very cheap, using your own machine requires you to also buy

the ink and paper but otherwise the cost is pennies per piece.
Equipment needed: a photocopier, computer but in modern cases, just a phone or

memory card can be easily connected straight to the copier, ink, paper
Speed of process: the process of photocopying takes seconds How many can you make: You can make as many as you need until ink or paper runs

out, which can be replaced easily

 What is it? Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process that rapidly produces

high quality text and graphics by passing a laser beam over a charged drum to define a differentially charged image. The drum then selectively collects charged toner and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated to permanently fix the image. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction printers (MFPs), laser printers employ a xerographic printing process, but differ from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of the medium across the printer's photoreceptor. Hence, it proves to be a much faster process compared to the latter.
Advantages and disadvantages: The main benefit behind these printers is probably its

efficiency and speed at printing. Laser printers are also known as 'page printers' as they print documents a page at a time, and performs it at a very fast rate. However, With the extra benefits in comparison with other printers, they are a lot more costly.
Where is it used? Use a laser printer for mass production. Laser prints come out of the

printer dry. Some inkjets come out wet and if one does not allow the paper to dry, the page will smear or "bleed through," ruining the print product.