Description
Prepare and use silk screens to apply resists or inks and create etched patterns, lettering, and designs on glass, metal, plastic, and other substrates. Set up screens, expose and develop stencils, operate presses, and control chemical or abrasive etching processes to produce accurate, high-quality results.
- • Adjust squeegee pressure, angle, flood speed, and off-contact to control coating or print thickness.
- • Coat screens with photo emulsion or apply acid resist, and dry under controlled conditions.
- • Position and clamp screens and substrates on manual or automatic presses.
- • Determine exposure times, mesh counts, stencil thickness, and press settings for each job.
- • Examine printed resists or designs for pinholes, coverage, registration, and edge quality.
- • Measure and compute dimensions, registration marks, and image placement on screens and substrates.
- • Start presses and run test prints to verify setup.
- • Clean, reclaim, and polish screens; remove emulsion, ghosting, and ink residues.
- • Review artwork, blueprints, or samples to plan screen preparation and etching steps.
- • Mix emulsion, inks, and etching chemicals to specified ratios; label and store materials safely.
- • Sandblast or chemically etch exposed areas after masking to produce designs on glass or metal.
- • Set RIP or reduction scales to achieve required image size and halftone parameters.
- • Neutralize etched parts and remove resists using water, solvents, or specialized equipment.
- • Inspect etched depth, uniformity, and defects using microscopes, gauges, or magnifiers.
- • Prepare substrates by cutting, sanding, degreasing, or applying adhesion promoters.
- • Install squeegees and flood bars; set durometer, edge, and alignment.
- • Print proofs or sample panels and adjust screens or press settings as needed.
- • Transfer images to screens using film positives, contact printers, or computer-to-screen systems.
- • Apply and verify registration marks and guides on screens and fixtures.
- • Load and unload workpieces; place printed or etched items in drying or curing racks.
- • Strip resists or tapes from substrates after etching.
- • Apply contrasting fills or inks to enhance legibility of etched characters when specified.
- • Apply or brush etchants or paste through masked areas where press application is not feasible.
- • Maintain equipment, change mesh, and keep records of job parameters.
- • Use design software to create or modify separations and patterns for screen making.
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
