Screenprinting and letterpress printing are totally different animals than offset printing, which relies heavily on expedience and efficiency. No, no, no, not here. On Caroline's wedding invitation, for example, the type was letterpressed first using a magnesium plate (see Part I, below). I chose a polymer plate for the Japanese lantern outlines, printed on the letterpress in a separate pass. Polymer is easily moved on the base, meaning no lockup and I could adjust the position just so. 

Finally, the lantern interiors were screenprinted. Since the registration was critical, I needed to use the mylar flap system. Each invitation is lined up under the mylar. The first try in my basement studio was a disaster:

Thank my lucky stars for Pyramid Atlantic and the intern who built a vacuum table. This handy but loud contraption sucks the paper to the table, keeping it from shifting. And voila! Perfect registration. 

To make matters even more complicated (why not?), I printed with a "split fountain" or "rainbow roll". Different colors are placed on the screen and mix during the printing process, creating a gradating tonal variation.

The final wedding suite, in beautiful autumnal colors.

And Voila! Our experiments in photoshop lead us to the "dither" pattern which looked best on the nubby and sometimes pesky bookcloth. The real surpise was the lower right image, which seemed a problem in the plate stage, printed the best. Screenprinting by hand is an unpredictable "experiment" as cheerful and optimistic Kelly would say. This is where I leave the project, but I can't wait to see these beauties bound up into photographer's portfolios. Stay tuned!

It is true: when you teach, you learn. A group of test images on different bookcloths brought clarity but no clear winner. Student Kelly O'Brien chose the bright green cloth and we will try again next week to get a good printing image. One cant help but think of Warhol—who exploited the sometimes frustrating variations of the screenprint.