Screen Printing - History of T-shirt Printing

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History of T-shirt Printing

How on earth did t-shirt printing started?

T-shirt printing, which is popularly known as silk screening and screen printing, has its roots from Ancient China and Japan. The concept of silk screening came alive as early as 960-1280 AD. Historians also found out that the same essential processes of screen printing can be traced in Polynesian Island natives who cut banana leaves and insert ink through the design holes found in these banana leaves. Who would have thought that such "innovative" concept is not actually new but was practiced by ancient people? There are some people who argue that the idea of screen printing came from Japanese stenciling alone. But wherever T-shirt printing came from, the only certain thing is that T-shirt printing is here to stay.

Before, ancient Chinese and Japanese used human hair for their screen while they used vegetation and berries as their screen ink. Human hair for screens are called ties since it binds together all the design, without hindering the flow of ink. The only problem with ties or hair is that using it takes arduous process and eats up a lot of time. Likewise, 17th century upper class men from England also made use of ties for wallpapers. The Englishmen used silk material in exchange for hair since the latter wasn't strong enough to hold the ink and to make detailed designs possible. It was discovered that silk is much stronger than hair and creats a very intricate design for people to enjoy. In United States, people who have a knowledge on stenciling were traveling teachers. These teachers sold their knowledge to printmakers for a huge sum of money. During those times, the process of stenciling information is a secret that only a few people know.

It was in 1907 when the concept of screen printing was materialized by an Englishman named Samuel Simon. Simon first thought of using patents for screen printing. His concept of screen printing was then known as tieless stencil. Here, a woven silk fabric is used and pasted on the material to be printed. The ink passes through the silk fabric design but does not cover up the entire material. Samuel Simon is the man who gave birth to modern day screen printing.

Over the years, the industry of silk industry grew. In fact, it reached its pinnacle during World War I where it was used mainly for posters, signs and banners. Americans also made use of screen printing for sales and advertising. Screen printing continues to flourish along with technology and since then, screen printing has given quality image printing some life.