Quote:
Originally Posted by ooo-ribay
Question for Kyle or anyone else with an informed opinion: how many pennants could be produced from a single screen before the screen wore out? I’m aware multi colored pennants used separate screens for each color (right?) but my same question applies. Also, were there improvements in screens over the years that would allow them to last longer?
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They really shouldn't wear out. A well made screen/stencil can last forever. You can get hundreds of runs out of one, no problem.
I think they made and re-made stencils from time to time for a variety of reasons. The most common is to re-purpose the screen for another project. That's called "reclaiming the screen." I have to do this all the time because I only own a half dozen or so screens.
Even for a commercial screen printer, you have to do this occasionally. For example, you might print a few hundred Giants pennants in the spring on a few screens ... then, come summer, you might reclaim them and create a 49ers stencil on the same screens. 2-3 years later, when your supply of Giants pennants needs replenishing, you might reclaim them again and re-burn the original Giants stencils on them.
Yes, one pennant might require
multiple screens--one for each color. You might also need multiple screen printing presses if you were trying to make a high volume of pennants in short order, e.g., league championship pennant.
Afterwards, you'd reclaim all these screens and use them for other projects.
Every screen can differ ever so slightly from its clones. Which may account for the differences seen in your Giants pennants, which I believe were made by ... ADFLAG?
Honestly, other variables make more sense. Another variable is the substrate used. Woven cloths are easier to print on than felt. Even with felt, the composition varied considerably throughout the 20th century, and generally, the smoother ones printed better than the more coarse ones.
Finally, time. Time is another variable. Simply put: some makers cared about quality more than others. Some of those Giants pennants look like they could have used a bit more ink. If they were in a hurry to crank out 1,000 pennants by lunch, they might have run the squeegee only 2-3 times (when 4-6 was needed). That's clearly what happened there because orange ink on black felt is a really tough combo for a screen printer.
In short, lots of variables come into play when screening pennants. The mesh count of the screens used. Temperature/humidity. Presence of lead in your ink.
It's a fun hobby for me ... but it can be frustrating as hell when things don't turn out like you expect.
