Both foiling and flocking require the use of a screen printed glue, which instantly blocks a silk screen. The advantage to a fabric screen is larger holes in the mesh, meaning the glue can fit through the holes. One disadvantage is a slight quality in detail, with edges of the print not looking as sharp.
Foiling
The Process
Similarly to silk screen printing, the same process is gone through in terms of cleaning a screen, and applying emulsion.
1. Once emulsion is applied and dried, exposure your screen. Due to the difference in mesh with fabric screens, a different exposure time is needed.
2. Just like silk screen printing, you have to rinse and clean the screen after exposure.
3. The next step is to use screen print glue through the fabric screen. It's key to work quickly, as the glue can often dry quickly and block the screen. You can add a slight bit of water to the mix, but too much will stop the foil /flock from sticking properly.
It is VITAL that you do NOT use a vacuum bed. If the glue is printed onto the vacuum bed, it can block the holes which cause the vacuum, ruining the bed.
As you can see below, I used a non vacuum bed when working with glue:
It is VITAL that you do NOT use a vacuum bed. If the glue is printed onto the vacuum bed, it can block the holes which cause the vacuum, ruining the bed.
As you can see below, I used a non vacuum bed when working with glue:
Just like with the other prints I produced, I printed on true grain, and then set registration marks so I knew where to set the paper. This allows consistency, and also allowed me to work quicker, vital when printing glue.
The prints drying:
I produced 20 different prints, as the use of glue when printing can be unpredictable. I also maintained the same stock I have used throughout, in order to hold consistency.
I experimented with printing the glue twice on some of the sheets, to see how I could work with different colour foils.
Here I wanted to see how foiling would work with normal acrylic ink mixed with binder.
4. The next step is to overlay the foiling sheets. These are relatively cheap, with 1/2 a metre costing roughly £2. I bought a range of colours (which will be shown in a later post) but below you can see the use of red onto brown stock.
5. For both flocking and foiling, a different temperate and time is needed when using the heat press. A table shows this below:
(Below) The heat press. For foiling, the press needs to be heated to 160 Degrees, and pressed for 12 seconds. It takes a while to heat up. If the press isn't turned on, it will take roughly 10 minutes for it to heat up.
The handle is used to press the top plate down, applying heat. When the machine beeps (if you have set the timer right), you should lift the plate again.
6. Removing the foil after using the press. This is something which can make or break the final result. It's best to wait for the foil to cool down before removing, and remove slowly. You can see this process below:
Flocking
Essentially the same process, however a 'furry' sheet (flock) is used instead of a foil.
The heat press is still used, but at 170 degrees, and for 20 seconds. You place the sheet furry side down before using the press.
The result is an area of furry texture, wherever the glue has previously been set. You can see images of flocking on a later post.
