by Angelo Barzaghi

Life is made of unexpected events, hitches, encounters, experiences and, above all, values passed between people, also belonging to different generations. I have always been convinced that, in life, you must never give up and that everything that happens, every unexpected event, hitch and opportunity help you make you reach your scope, especially if, at a certain point, you learn to plan it and if you really believe in it as, at the end of the day, you are the only one that can decide your destination. A few years ago I discovered that I liked writing or, at least, trying to do this, in particular when I literally “wrote down” my first manual on serigraphy; a 200-page book, 100% self-published, full of practical advice, ready to be used, simple and at the same time useful to those who wanted to start from scratch and becoming familiar with the world of serigraphy. The book entitled “Serigrafia” (“serigraphy”) is an unavoidable manual explaining, in every detail, everything you need to know on serigraphy to make state of the art works and turn a passion into a profession rich in perspectives. The volume explains the graphics, the loom, the inks, the fifth wheels, the printing, the tricks of the trade, the problems along with their solutions.

Between experience and technique

It was 2004 and since then many things have changed: the market, the surrounding people, technologies: the digital world won an important share of the customisation sector, the way to spread information, the training concept (not yet clear to everyone) and, over these years, I have changed too. My job took a different turn and the responsibility for what I do has a different weight and meaning. This new book (and this time I can truly call it like this) developed from a need to check both the state of the art and my professionalism. It is the results of years invested in studying any kind of subject that could bring, in a way or the other, and duly translated and interpreted, something different and, I truly hope, characterised by quality, into the world of serigraphy and customisation. The title “Serigrafia” includes the concept of this activity and the willingness to make it known, explaining it in a simple yet detailed and technically correct way, understandable by everyone; and this is also a small provocation, addressed to those operators that have a bit perverted this world, making it too often even a bit grotesque and scenographic. Serigraphy is, still today, one of the most powerful and efficient communication and printing systems to spread messages and technology and we often don’t realise how its presence is familiar even on daily used objects.
Sharing and growing has always been my mantra, since I was a child. In this book I wanted to express all my passion for this work, a true and sincere passion, something that I can’t help from sharing every day in what I do: I like to think that, from this work, in the future someone who is more a dreamer than me can be born and that they will change the world for the better, why not, also thanks to serigraphy.

Who is the author of the book

Angelo Barzaghi, born 1958, has been a professional serigrapher since 1987 Over the years I have studied in depth, with an innovative experimental approach, the whole production cycle of serigraphy, from the creation of subjects, films and looms to the research on materials and products, obtaining the highest quality results on printing and customisation. His accomplishments at the service of big clothing brands, gifts and many other sectors, last but not least art printing, range from fabrics to plastic materials, from wood to glass, to the various raw or treated supports, with specific in-depth studies on letterpress and digital press combined to serigraphy He is the author of the “Manuale di Serigrafia” (“Manual of Serigraphy”) (2004) and of a number of technical articles published on sector magazines, advisor for primary manufacturing and distributing companies, trainer in events dedicated to serigraphic technologies and products. In 2008 he founded Accademia Serigrafica, organising courses addressed to serigraphic companies, printers, graphic designers and any other subject that wanted to approach the world of serigraphy to build a profession or open a business.