It All Starts with the Ink's Attitude
Think about the difference between watercolour and oil paint. One soaks in and becomes part of the paper, the other sits proudly on top of the canvas. That’s the difference between digital printing and screen printing.
The ink I use is thick. It’s got body, viscosity. It’s not some watery dye designed to be absorbed. When I pull a layer of colour, that ink is forced through a fine mesh screen and deposited as a distinct, tangible layer *on top* of the paper. Run your finger over one of my prints (gently!) and you can actually feel the slight raise of the ink. It’s a separate entity from the paper, not just a stain on it. This is what gives screen prints their incredible colour vibrancy and opacity. The colour isn't diluted by the paper tone underneath; it’s a solid, powerful statement.
The Squeegee Is Not a Windscreen Wiper
If the ink is the lifeblood, the squeegee is the heart. It’s a simple tool—a rubber blade in a handle—but everything depends on it. This is where the ‘human’ part really comes in. There’s no dialogue box to set ‘pressure’ to 85% or ‘speed’ to 110mm/second. It’s all done by feel.
The angle of the squeegee determines how much ink is pushed through the mesh. Too steep, and you get a thin, weak layer. Too shallow, and the ink can smudge and bleed. The pressure I apply with my hands, learned over thousands of pulls, ensures the ink deposits evenly from one side of the image to the other. Pull too fast, and the ink won’t clear the screen properly. Too slow, and you risk oversaturating the paper. Every single print in an edition from Oli Fowler Art has passed through my hands, with every pull of the squeegee being a conscious, physical action. It's a dance of pressure and speed that a machine just can't replicate with the same soul.
That 'Snap': The Secret to a Perfect Edge
Here’s a detail that separates the pros from the amateurs. The screen doesn't actually lie flat on the paper when I print. It’s raised by just a few millimetres—a space we call the 'off-contact' gap.
As the squeegee blade moves across the screen, it presses the mesh down to make momentary contact with the paper, depositing the ink. The crucial part is what happens right behind the blade: the screen tension makes it immediately 'snap' back up and away from the paper. This tiny, instantaneous peeling action is what creates an incredibly sharp, crisp edge. It's the reason a well-made screen print has such defined lines and clean shapes. Without that snap-off, you’d just get a blurry mess. It’s a simple bit of physics, but it is absolutely fundamental to a high-quality finish.
So, when you look at a screen print, you’re not just seeing an image. You’re seeing a collection of deliberate, physical decisions. You’re seeing the rich layer of ink sitting on the surface, the result of a perfectly angled squeegee pull, and the razor-sharp edges created by the snap of the screen. It’s a craft. It’s a piece of art built with intention, not just reproduced.
See the difference for yourself. Have a look at the detail in the prints over in the shop and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.