In-House Silkscreening
The screen is placed on top of a piece of dry paper or fabric. Ink is placed on top of thescreen, and a squeegee (rubber blade) is used to push the ink evenly into the screen openings and onto the substrate. The ink passes through the open spaces in the screen onto the paper or fabric below; then the screen is lifted away. The screen can be re-used after cleaning. If more than one color is being printed on the same surface, the ink is allowed to dry and then the process is repeated with another screen and different color of ink.

While the public thinks of garments in conjunction with screen printing today there are tens of thousands of items being screenprinted, including birthday cake designs, decals, clock and watch faces, the electromagnetic faces of Palm Pilots and so much more. The vast majority of silk-screening printings are monochromatic.

Since there are more than 500 variables in the screenprinting process it has beome quite common to hire consultants in the screenprinting industry. There are only a handful of screnprint consultants and only five or so who are doing the bulk of the consulting.

Screenprinting is more versatile than traditional printing tehniques. The surface does not have to be printed under pressure, unlike etching or lithography, and it does not have to be planar. Screenprinting inks can be used to work with a variety of materials, such as textiles, ceramics, metal, wood, paper, glass, and plastic. As a result, screen printing is used in many different industries, from clothing to product labels to circuit board printing.