Stencil Films
In this article we will explore some of the more common stencil materials that are readily available from craft and art supply stores. If you are going to embark on a wall mural or fabric painting, you may want to use each stencil many times over. The stencils will be constantly sprayed with glue, painted over, washed and occasionally walked on. Its makes sense to have a stencil material that is flexible, durable, waterproof and generally able to take some punishment without falling apart.
The last thing you want, is to be cutting a new stencil to replace a broken one, when you are right in the middle of a painting project. There are a variety of stencil materials that are readily available online and offline. Each type of material will have its advantages and disadvantages for a particular type of use.
1. Drafting film
Double sided matt drafting film is my personal favorite stencil material, that's why it gets the number one position in this article. Drafting film is made from a material called "polyester". It's tough, flexible, cuts beautifully, and has been electro statically treated on both sides which gives drafting film it's matt surface. It also has very good transparency. There more than a few advantages to using this type of film. Drafting film is tear resistant, totally water proof and solvent proof.
You can draw on it with pencils, pens and felt tip markers. It cuts easily with a sharp knife and can be printed with a common ink jet printer. Nothing comes close to the durability of drafting film. Double sided Matt drafting film can be purchased from many art supplies in convenient sizes from A4 and upwards, or on the roll.
Although you can find many other materials that would make acceptable stencil material, none have all of the advantages of drafting film. Wall stencils made with drafting film can last for years and this good news if you do stuff like fabric painting runs or repeat border designs on your walls.
Typical thickness of drafting film range from .003" (3mil), .004" (4mil) .005" (5 mil) and .007" (7mil). The most common thicknesses that are available in art shops are 3mil and 4 mil. I have successfully used both sizes for many years and do not really have a preference.
There is another variety of drafting film, that is available from some architects or drafting suppliers. It is called PPC film (PPC Drafting Film). This type of drafting film is very stable stable and wont distort under the high temperatures generated by laser printers and plan printers. PPC drafting film can be printed with a plan printer in large sizes such as A1, A0 and larger. This is great if you have really big stencils you want to cut. I have a pet theory that this is how Banksy and other street artists might transfer large stencil designs onto their stencil material. Its only a theory but its how I would do it. In this way there is no messing around with separate physical artwork that need to be transferred to film.
1. Freezer paper
Freezer paper stencils are mainly used for stenciling images onto fabric. In most cases these stencils are single use, although I have heard that they can be used up to four or five times
Freezer paper has been around for a long time and is readily available from many supermarkets and online. One side of the paper, the waxed side, is shiny, the other side is dull and can be drawn on with pencil pen or felt tip marker. You can transfer your image directly onto the freezer paper by putting it through an ordinary inkjet printer (wax side down).
When printing onto fabrics, you typically adhere the freezer paper stencil to the fabric with a hot iron. Freezer paper stencils are not all that suitable for wall stenciling because the wax side will not stick to the wall. You simply cannot spray reposition able adhesive to the wax side of this type of stencil. Secondly, if you want to be able to reuse your stencils dozens or even hundreds of times, freezer paper is not the best choice for a stencil material.
On the other hand if you want to do some small print runs on t-shirts or other fabrics and you have a limited budget freezer paper may be just the thing.
2. Acetate
Acetate can be purchased in both rolls and sheets, in a variety of sizes. There is clear acetate and a Matt variety that accepts pencil pen and ink which allows you to trace your design directly to the stencil. Printing ordinary clear acetate in an ink jet printer is not easy. The ink tends to sit in the surface and smears easily. You can however purchase transparency films (acetate that has been specially treated) that are suitable for use in ink jet printers.
Acetate cuts well and is reasonably durable and inexpensive. On the downside, acetate can cause a few headaches. It does degrade to an unusable state after constant exposure to moister, acids and heat. Acetate comes in different thicknesses.
For stenciling purposes a thickness of 5 mil works well. Acetate can be cut by simply scoring the surface with a sharp blade. Do don't need to cut clean through. It will snap easily by bending at the score marks. This can occasionally be a disadvantage.
3. Card
Stencil material is were you find it and in an emergency a piece of ordinary card stock may be just the ticket. I have occasionally resorted to cutting a stencil from card. But, if you are going to spend time cutting a good stencil, you want to know that it will last more than a couple of impressions.