CONTEXT OF PRACTICE 3 - PHYSICAL OUTCOME - PRINT PROCESS

The physical production of the outcome was completed over the course of three days due to the multitude of problems that were encountered during the print process. Luckily, due to some effective time management, I had time to rectify most of the problems that arose. 

The print method chosen to produce the newspaper  is screen printing, a technique that was chosen for its low impact, low cost and ability to produce large print runs. To ensure that the environmental impact of the production process was kept to a minimum, the eight double page exposures were arranges on to two large A1 screens, removing the need to coat and expose eight smaller individual screens.  

As it was previously outlined, the acrylics usually used when screen printing contain VOC's and an assortment of other harmful chemicals. Therefore, to ensure the outcome adheres to the strict principles of sustainability, the outcome was printed using vegetable based acrylic paint.

Additional decisions made to reduce the environmental impact of the print process entailed placing the different aspects of the illustrations featured in the outcome onto one large screen, removing the need to expose a number of individual ones. 

When printing the illustrations, parts of the screen were masked off so the individual aspect of the image could be printed. On images that contained a number of visual elements, this process was repeated creating aesthetically engaging layered images.

PROBLEMS 

The first problem was encountered when trying to print the black layer of the outcome which contained the body copy and titles. Due to the large size of the screens and small size of the text, it was hard to apply enough pressure when printing the pages to ensure the exposure printed correctly. A consequence of which resulted in information being hard define or not printing at all. 

This was a big problem, as the content is an extremely important aspect of the outcome. Therefore, to overcome the issue, I had to clean and expose eight individual screens that were much smaller in size and would allow me to apply enough pressure to print the text correctly. Unfortunately this was a very time consuming process which used up valuable time.  

Due to the form selected for the newspaper, the page exposures where slightly smaller than an A3 sheet of paper. Therefore, eight individual A3 screens were exposed to print the bodycopy of the outcome. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to use more chemicals and energy to produce rectify the misprint, however, it was an unavoidable process to achieve the high standard of outcome desired.  

Unfortunately, after exposing the eight individual screens I discovered that despite the application of increased pressure, some spreads still were not printing correctly. Two reasons for this was the dens viscosity of the ink used, which clogged the screen prohibiting a clean print, and, the existence of unexposed emulsion which would not wash from the screen after exposure, also prohibiting a clean print.

The problem was overcome by watering down the ink and changing its viscosity, a decision which allowed me to print the majority of the spreads problem free. However, there was one spread that still would not print. To solve the problem I tried cleaning and re-exposed the screen, a process which was completed three times, but unfortunately the text still would not print. Due to impending deadline, to my dismay, this was a problem I unfortunately could not rectify.