GUIDE

Glossary

Brief summary of terms used in screen printing.

A

Adhesive	A glue-like substance used for transferring foil and flock sheets.

B

Binder	A colorless screen printing medium that can be mixed with watercolor pigment ink.

C

Cleaner	A liquid solution for cleaning residue on a made screen. Cleaning makes the ink pass through the screen smoother.
Clogging	Ink being stuck in the holes of the screen. If the screen gets clogged, ink cannot pass through.
Cutlery	Spoons and forks. They can be printed with electrolytic marking.

D

Digital Screen Making	A method of making screens directly from digital files, without the use of photo-emulsion or exposure units.
Drying Rack	A rack for drying prints.

E

Electrolytic Marking	A method of printing on metal using screens as a stencil and by combining current and electrolyte.
Embossing Heater	High-temperature heater, used to activate TSUYAPURI powder.

F

Flocking	The process of applying many small fiber particles (called flock) onto a surface. It adds a velour texture.
Frame	A frame to hold a screen (mesh).

H

Hair Dryer	Use it to dry printed surfaces. Warm setting works better.
Heat Gun	A device that emits a stream of hot air, usually at temperatures between 100 °C and 550 °C (200-1000 °F).
Heat Press Method	The process of fixing adhesives with pressure and heat to transfer foils and flock sheets onto materials.
Holder	A holder to mount a frame with a screen on a table. It makes it easier to align when printing multiple layers.

I

Iron	Use it to dry prints. Set to middle to high heat (150°C / 300°F) for cotton materials.

J

JAM LAB	Blog posts where we experiment with RETRO INSATSU and SURIMACCA to explore their potentials.

K

KOTTERI	A series of SURIMACCA ink that focuses on color vibrancy. It has good coverage even on dark materials.

M

MAZE MAZE Ink	"Maze" means "mix" in Japanese. You can mix ink yourself at JAM's studios and we call it Maze Maze Ink.
Mesh Count	Indicates the fineness of a screen mesh. The bigger the number is, the finer the mesh is.
Metallic Foil	Sheets of shiny foil that can be transferred onto materials by using adhesive and a heat press method. A distinctive look that can be achieved only with foil.
MOKE MOKE Mix	Puff ink co-developed by JAM and TURNER COLOUR WORKS. It gives a fuzzy and puffy finish.
MOKO MOKO Ink	How we call puff ink at JAM. Moko Moko is an onomatopoeia referring to puffy and fluffy texture.

O

Spacer	Parts that create a gap between the screen and material being printed. It makes it easier for the ink to be pushed out onto the materials.
Open Access Studio	A place where anyone can come in and work. At JAM, you can work on screen printing.
Order of printing	The order of printing. When you have multiple colors and layers to print, the order affects the final result.
Overlay	The mixing of colors acheived by overlapping inks.

P

Photo-emulsion Screen Printing	A way of making screens with photosensitive emulsion on the mesh and exposing them to light. Not available at JAM.
Pinhole	Tiny, unwanted holes on a screen.
Press Cloth	Cover printed area with it when ironing. Parchment paper is preferred over cloth.
Press Iron	Press ironing can give the printed surface a flat finish.
Puff Ink	Ink that rises up by applying heat. The color turns white-ish after puffing up.

S

Screen Making	Making a screen. SURIMACCA uses a digital screen making method, which outputs the screen directly from digital files.
Screen Print Table	Table for screen printing. We have ones for T-shirts in our studios.
Screen Printing	One of the stencil printing methods. It prints by squeezing ink out of holes on a screen.
Screen Tension	How tight the screen is stretched onto the frame.
Squeegee	A flat, smooth rubber blade for printing.
Stencil Printing	A printing method that squeezes ink out from holes on a screen: silk screen printing and mimeograph printing.
SURIMACCA	JAM's original assemblable frame kit for screen printing.
SURIMACCA+	JAM's project to open more screen printing studios throughout Japan.

T

Teflon Sheet	An alternative choice for press cloth when ironing.
Tenasen	Japanese traditional screen printing.
TSUYAPURI Powder	Powder for thermographic glossy printing. Sprinkle over freshly-printed surface and heat up to get a shiny and plump finish.

V

Viscosity	How fluid the ink is. Same as ink consistency. Low = Soft, High = Thick/Sticky.

W

Waste Cloth	Use it when you wipe off ink and screens. 100% cotton is prefered.