Stencils

Stencils offer great flexibility, allowing for temporary images on the screen. No permanent stencil techniques required.

MATERIALS

Stencils can be cut from a variety of substrates such as clear or frosted film (really any plastic film), contact paper (which stays in place really well but is a one-time use), or even paper. Using film or plastic allows you to clean and/or reuse the stencil indefinitely, paper and contact paper will have a limited lifespan.
The thinner the stencil substrate, the more accurate the image. Thick films and paper will leave a blank space around the image.
Stencils can be small or large. If you want to protect your paper from getting ink where it doesn’t belong, make your stencil as big as or even bigger than your paper.

PROCESS

Place the stencil between the screen and your paper. If using contact paper, adhere it to the underside of the screen (pay attention to reversal issues when cutting out your image). For a large stencil, tape it to the table. For a small floating stencil, place a bit of not too sticky tape to the underside of the stencil so it adheres to the paper surface.
Flood the screen with ink.
Print the screen with normal pressure.
Lift the screen and remove the stencil from your paper.

ADVANCED MOVES

Ghost prints of the stencil can be quite interesting. There will be a slight line of ink around the edges of the stencil left on the screen. The thicker the stencil material, the heavier that line/edge. You can print it dry (excess ink removed from screen and squeegee blade clean), or flood the image with transparent base (clear or tinted) and then print.
Large, very detailed stencils can become unwieldy.

1/4 This was made using a stencil cut from contact paper and adhered to the screen. The image on the right is a ghost print taken using transparent base.
2/4 This was made using loose acetate stencils. The image on the left is the ghost print. The image on the right is a second ghost print taken using red tinted transparent base.
3/4 This print uses multiple stencil techniques.
4/4 The ghost printed with transparent base