What is silkscreen printing?
Silkscreen printing is a printmaking technique where you push ink through a screen to create a print. The screen is a synthetic silk attached to a metal frame, so: silkscreenprinting. Serigraphy and screenprinting refer to the same technique.

Every color is a layer you print seperately – so the more color, the more layers you have to print. This is why my single color prints are often a bit cheaper than my multicolor prints. I print in runs ranging from 5-50 prints, and they are all numbered and signed.

Handpulled prints
You print by pulling a squeegee across a frame. This can be done by machine or by hand. Handpulled literally means pulled (printed) by hand, instead of automated machines.

Advantages
If you look at a close-up of a screenprint you’ll see that the ink deposit of the various color layers creates a very specific effect. Digital prints are more flat; the entire image is printed at once. Working in different layers gives a unique texture to the final print. The range of color is broader than digital prints: I can easily print using fluorescent or metallic inks. There are some other artistic advantages for me as a maker, but those are some visual distinctions.

Pricing
Roughly pricing is determined by printing hours + raw materials + a profit margin. Screenprinting is more labor intensive for me than digital printing, the raw materials are more expensive and the process requires more set-up time. That’s why these products are often more expensive. Screens are cleaned and reused, inks are remixed, so that’s why I offer limited runs with no reprints.

Sustainability and waste in silkscreenprinting processes
You’re worried about the environment, and so am I! Here’s as much information as I can give on waste creation and disposal in the printing process.

Inks: All the inks I use for screenprinting are waterbased – no PVC inks here! Read about the pros and cons here. About 50% of them are sourced secondhand from brands like SICO and UNICO. All textile inks are from Permaset, a company whose policies I support. You can find their environmental policy here.
Paper: Misprints and paper waste happens! I save as much paper as I can to reuse for other purposes. Some products are specifically made from misprints to reduce the potential waste, such as bookmarks.
Cleaning process and chemicals: Generally I avoid using heavy chemicals to clean up the workplace. Thanks to recent investments I have a new filtration system for dirty water/ink leftovers to reduce the ammount of plastics getting in the sewer system. Towels and other textiles get washed and reused as much as possible. Zero-waste printing is not a realistic option right now, but I try my best where I can to reuse-reduce-recycle during the printing process.

Backorder options on sold-out prints
For screenprinted and blockprinted product sold out means sold out… most of the time. I print limited runs that I can’t or won’t repeat. On rare occasions I still have one or two copies stored away. You can always e-mail and check, but gone means gone. Screenprints are collector’s items for this reason!

What is blockprinting
blockprinting is a printmaking technique where you cut away parts on a block and the leftover/raised parts create the print surface. This surface is coated with ink and then the image is transferred to paper.

Blockprinting often requires a printing press, although it can be done by hand. The block is usually wood or lino, so relief printing, lino printing and woodblock printing refer to this technique. I mostly use lino, sometimes wood (the product page will mention this) and print by hand using a baren most of the time. Sometimes painted details are added later.

Advantages
Blockprints often result in a high contrast print. If you look at a close-up of a blockprint you’ll see that the ink deposit and pressure used creates a very specific effect. Digital prints are more flat; the entire image is printed at once. Blockprinting creates a unique texture to the final print. There are some other artistic advantages for me as a maker, but those are some visual distinctions.

Pricing
Roughly pricing is determined by printing hours + raw materials + a profit margin. Blockprinting is more labor intensive for me than digital printing, the raw materials are more expensive and preparing a block requires a lot of time. That’s why these products are often more expensive. 

Sustainability and waste in blockprinting processes
You’re worried about the environment, and so am I! Here’s as much information as I can give on waste creation and disposal in the printing process.

Inks: All the inks I use for blockprinting are waterbased. They are either secondhand, or from companies like Schminke or Speedball (for textile prints).
Paper: Misprints and paper waste happens! I save as much paper as I can to reuse for other purposes. Some products are specifically made from misprints to reduce the potential waste, such as bookmarks.
Cleaning process and chemicals: Generally I avoid using heavy chemicals to clean up the workplace. Thanks to recent investments I have a new filtration system for dirty water/ink leftovers to reduce the ammount of plastics getting in the sewer system. Towels and other textiles get washed and reused as much as possible. Zero-waste printing is not a realistic option right now, but I try my best where I can to reuse-reduce-recycle during the printing process.

Backorder options on sold-out prints
For screenprinted and blockprinted product sold out means sold out… most of the time. I print limited runs that I can’t or won’t repeat. On rare occasions I still have one or two copies stored away. You can always e-mail and check, but gone means gone. Blockprints are collector’s items for this reason!

What is digital printing
Digital printing is where I send an image file to a print shop and they use a laser or inkjet printer to print directly on paper. Basically, what your home printer also does, except a print shop provides better print quality. Although these print shops often provide an offset print option as well, that refers to a different printing process.

Advantages
Digital prints are relatively fast and cheap to make. I outsource the printing process to another company, and it’s very automated. I can offer print on demand options to keep the deadstock (and potential paper waste) low. On the artistic side I don’t have to account for seperate or limited color layers, which result in very different illustrations. For me, digital prints are a way to offer more affordable art prints.

Pricing
Roughly pricing is determined by design hours + printing costs + a profit margin. Print on demand is more expensive because I pay per print, instead of having a 100 prints in stock already.

Sustainability and waste in digital printing

Digital printing is a trade off; I outsource the work so I don’t have control over the waste process in these print shops. Read more about the environmental impact here.

Backorder options on sold-out prints
Digital printing is relatively cheap; the more copies I order to keep in stock, the cheaper the price per copy is. That’s why I don’t offer backorder on every digital print. The high cost of ordering 1 or 2 extra of a design would not work out for me. I do try to restock prints or other items that sell out. You can either check the shop to see if something’s back in stock or stay updated via my instagram.