Goal

The goal of this exer­cise is to develop the proper tech­nique for tap­ing  a screen for print­ing and set­ting reg­is­tra­tion guides. 

Objective

The objec­tive of this exer­cise is to tape the edges of a screen, cre­ate sim­ple art­work with tape, and set reg­is­tra­tion guides.

Background Reading

• Mac­Dougall, Chap­ter 7, p 86–93
• Tap­ing Video demo (TBA) 
• Reg­is­tra­tion Video demo (TBA) 

Exercise

Tap­ing the edges, unused and unwanted spaces of a screen with clear pack­ing tape  will con­trol ink flow, pre­vent dam­age and keep a cleaner work area. 

Part One

Using the assigned screen, load the screen in the assigned press. Tighten the hinge clamps and the reg­is­tra­tion wing nuts. Once tight­ened, do not move the screen. Start­ing with the edge clos­est to you, tear a sec­tion of pack­ing tape the width of the frame, plus about 4–5 inches. With both hands, afix the tape in a right angle to the mesh and the frame so ink can­not get into the crack. Use the remain­ing end of the tape to cre­ate a fold over tab for eas­ier removal later. Con­tinue in a counter clock­wise man­ner until all four edges are sealed. 

Part Two

Using the grid on the print table, apply a tape mask around a 5 x 7 in cen­ter area of the screen. Pre­ci­sion is not essen­tial, but the loca­tion is crit­i­cal. Leave a min­i­mum of 3–4 inches on all sides. Con­tinue to place tape on the edges until only the cen­ter remains open. Finally, using the pack­ing tape, cre­ate a basic set of ver­ti­cal lines in the open space. Again, pre­ci­sion is not nec­es­sary, but the tape should extend well past the 5 x 7 in area. 

Part Three

Appox­i­mately align a piece of print­ing nor­mal paper under the open­ing in the screen. Raise the screen and apply scrap paper to any open holes of the press sur­face and around the edges as needed. Align the print­ing paper to the grid and turn on the vac­uum. With the vac on, peel and place two reg­is­tra­tion tabs on press sur­face, near the bot­tom edge of the paper, but aligned to the grid. Align the third guide to the upper left edge of the paper in a sim­i­lar man­ner. Turn off the vac­uum and remove the paper. 

Now prac­tice plac­ing the paper. With the paper in both hands, slide the paper left on the bot­tom guides as a hor­i­zon­tal rail. Slide the paper until it hits the third guide. Turn on the vac­uum with the foot switch to hold the paper. 

Finally, loosen the adjust­ment knobs (wing nuts) and cen­ter the screen on the paper. Pre­ci­sion is not needed. Once sat­is­fied with the loca­tion, tighten the adjust­ment knobs and turn off the vac­uum. Attach the weighted clamp to the side of the screen and check the balance. 

Technical Specifications

• 5 x 7 in. (land­scape) art­work area cen­tered on an 9 x 12 in. sheet of paper. 
• One color 

Assessment

• The fol­low­ing rubric posted on D2L will deter­mine assign­ment score: Exer­cise Grading

Techniques

Tap­ing, reg­is­tra­tion, press adjustments

Supplies

Screen, tape, paper, press 

Deadlines

Monday/Wednesday, Jan­u­ary ²³⁄₂₅, 2017.  Exer­cise given. 
Monday/Wednesday, Jan­u­ary ²³⁄₂₅, 2017. Observed by instruc­tor as part of group demonstration.