Pixels vs. Pigment

Most of the art prints you see for sale today are Giclée prints. That’s a fancy term for a very high-quality inkjet print. A sophisticated machine sprays microscopic dots of ink onto paper to perfectly replicate a digital file. The goal is flawless reproduction. Every single print is an identical twin to the last.

Screen printing is a different beast entirely. It’s physical. We’re not dealing with pixels; we’re dealing with pigment. Thick, vibrant, glorious ink. Each colour in a design is separated and exposed onto a silk screen, creating a stencil. Then, using a squeegee, I manually pull that ink across the screen, forcing it through the mesh and onto the paper. One colour at a time. One layer at a time. One print at a time.

Think of it like music. A Giclée is like a perfect digital audio file—crystal clear and technically perfect. A screen print is like vinyl. It has a warmth, a depth, and a physical presence you can feel. The ink sits proudly on the surface of the paper, creating a texture that no digital printer can replicate.

The Artist's Hand and the 'Happy Accident'

Here’s the thing that really separates the two worlds: the human element. Digital printing is designed to eliminate imperfections. My job, as a screen printer, is to control them, but also to embrace them.

The pressure I put on the squeegee, the tiny, almost imperceptible shift in the paper's alignment, the way two colours overlap to create a third—these things make every single print in an edition unique. They carry the ghost of the process. You can see the artist's hand in the work. These aren't flaws; they are the character and lifeblood of the print. They're proof that a person, not a machine, stood there in a workshop and brought this thing to life. It’s the beautiful, tangible connection between you and the creator.

What You're Actually Buying

When you buy a mass-produced poster, you're buying an image. When you buy a hand-pulled screen print, you're buying an object. An original work of art.

You’re investing in the hours spent mixing the perfect shade of ink. The painstaking process of aligning each layer. The quality of the heavy, archival paper chosen specifically to hold that ink. Each print from my studio, and from any dedicated printmaker, is part of a numbered, limited edition. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. That scarcity and the labour involved is what gives it its value and its staying power.

It's the ethos behind all my work at Oli Fowler Art—to create something real and lasting, not just another disposable picture.

More Than Just a Picture

So next time you see a screen print, I hope you see more than just a cool design. See the layers. See the craft. See the time and the passion that went into pulling that squeegee. It’s not a copy of something else; it’s an original, tangible piece of art with a story to tell. And that, I reckon, is something worth hanging on your wall.

See the difference for yourself. Have a proper look at the texture and layers in the work I create—the soul is right there in the squeegee pull.

Browse the store here.