Changing Line Thickness
Sometimes, the process of silk screen reproduction breaks down lines contained in a vector image because they are too thin.
Degradation happens at each stage of the printing process:
Degradation happens at each stage of the printing process:
- from artwork to photographic positive
- from photographic positive to screen
- from screen to printed image
The minimum line thickness required for artwork supplied for silk screen printing is 0.17mm or 0.5pt. When the line is a used in a negative image (ie. a white line within a coloured area as shown in the example) the minimum line thickness is 0.35mm or 1pt.
For the purposes of this tutorial we have used thicker lines for clarity. There are two vector shapes in our artwork. We are going to set them at different stroke weights to illustrate varying thicknesses.
We have selected the vector shape on the left using the Select Tool from the Tool Palette - the bounding box is highlighted in light blue. Click on the drop-down menu beside Weight on the Stroke Palette and choose 1pt.
We have selected the vector shape on the left using the Select Tool from the Tool Palette - the bounding box is highlighted in light blue. Click on the drop-down menu beside Weight on the Stroke Palette and choose 1pt.
Repeat the same process on the vector shape on the right and choose 3pt. The results can be seen in the example below.