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| 'Mai (Afterlife)' by Elizabeth Peyton, 2023. Aimée working on a 15 colour silkscreen on Somerset paper for Elizabeth Peyton in collaboration with The National Portrait Gallery, David Zwirner, Avant Arte, and Avant Arte. One of two original silkscreen print editions produced to raise funds for the refurbishment of the National Portrait Gallery. |
Most works are published via Avant Arte or institutions like the Tate and Studio Voltaire, showcasing Make‑Ready’s role within major contemporary art networks.
Silk screen printing, also known as screen printing, is a printing technique where ink is pushed through a fine mesh screen (originally silk) onto a surface - like paper, fabric, or wood - using a stencil to block out areas where the ink shouldn't go. It allows for bold, vibrant layers of colour and is widely used in fine art, textiles, commercial printing and industrial component manufacturing.
Make-Ready’s Founder + Creative & Technical Director, Thomas Murphy, tells us about their screen printing and why St Cuthberts Mill Somerset printmaking paper is their paper of choice.
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| 'Portrait and Head' by George Condo. 33 colour silkscreen print on Somerset paper for George Condo. 1 of a series of 3 complex silkscreen prints produced for the artist, released by Avant Arte in support of Dia Foundation. Image courtesy of Avant Arte. |
Please tell us about Make-Ready’s journey, and your ethos of combining the creativity and history of silkscreen printing with modern innovation?
Make-Ready started in 2016 in my garage in South East London. A year later, in June 2017, I moved into a small unit in Kentish Town, and more recently we’ve scaled up to where we are now – a 25,000 sq ft studio in Tottenham.
Today, we’re the largest silkscreen printmaker dedicated to fine art in the world, working in close creative partnership with artists.
Today, we’re the largest silkscreen printmaker dedicated to fine art in the world, working in close creative partnership with artists.
The name Make-Ready refers to the process of making ready a printing press, it felt like a right fit as it was very a matter-of-fact, and the graphic designer in me found the word-form pleasing.
From the very beginning, I wanted to approach fine art screen printing in a fundamentally different way and grow our product from a solid foundation of understanding of the screen printing process.
Your studio specialises in combining silkscreen with digital printing and unique finishes like varnish, metallic dust, or glitter. How do you integrate these techniques - especially silkscreen over digital pigment prints?
Silkscreen printing is still the best way to apply a surface coating to a substrate. When you think of it in these terms you can be free to utilise the process to coat any surface. It’s crucial to remember that this is an industrial process that we usurp to produce art with.
I would also say the trick is in the artworking and prep, you’ve got to have silkscreen overprints work in harmony with the image otherwise it can feel a bit stuck on.
Naturally, there are lots of trade secrets in terms of how we get certain finishes with things like glitter and sparkles, but the key is just try everything and see what work, that creative vision is hard to replicate.
Make-Ready has grown very organically over the years and today, the studio is unparalleled in its ability to deliver exceptional prints at scale for artists and museums as we continue on our joint mission with Avant Arte to make art radically more accessible to a new generation of collectors.
We’ve created screen prints for over 200 artists, including George Condo, Ai Weiwei, Elizabeth Peyton, Sir Anish Kapoor, Mickalene Thomas, Peter Halley, Grayson Perry, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, Ed Ruscha and Harland Miller.
We see our role as having strong opinions based on our years of experience and being a trusted partner in translating artists' work into a printed reality. We’re here to support our artists and provide them with our expertise to help them create the best prints of their work. I often like to think of us as the record producers to their music.
We often have artists visiting Make-Ready, and it’s a truly collaborative process discussing the project, our recommendations on how to approach it and what printing method will be the most suitable to bring the artwork to life.
You use St Cuthberts Mill’s Somerset paper for silkscreen prints. Can you share what advantages you find in this paper for screenprinting?
The dimensional stability of the Tub Sized is a huge benefit to us. Especially when we coat the paper with many layers of ink. The finish and quality of the paper has also become a core part of our product, it’s in the DNA of our prints.
After visiting the mill this year in Wells, it compounded our love for the paper. I always say to people that ‘the paper is a work of art before it becomes a work of art’.
What are the benefits to using Somerset paper when working with large editions?
There is an incredible uniformity to using Somerset. From physically large sheets that are perfectly form and even to the piece of mind we get when working with large numbers of prints, knowing that the paper demonstrates high levels of consistency across the run.
From the very beginning, I wanted to approach fine art screen printing in a fundamentally different way and grow our product from a solid foundation of understanding of the screen printing process.
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| 'Frederick Douglass, 1850' by Elizabeth Peyton 2023. 29 colour silkscreen on Somerset paper for artist, Elizabeth Peyton. This stunning silkscreen print captures every detail of the original and interprets it into an edition of a truly unique print. Released by The National Portrait Gallery, David Zwirner and Avant Arte. |
Silkscreen printing is still the best way to apply a surface coating to a substrate. When you think of it in these terms you can be free to utilise the process to coat any surface. It’s crucial to remember that this is an industrial process that we usurp to produce art with.
I would also say the trick is in the artworking and prep, you’ve got to have silkscreen overprints work in harmony with the image otherwise it can feel a bit stuck on.
Naturally, there are lots of trade secrets in terms of how we get certain finishes with things like glitter and sparkles, but the key is just try everything and see what work, that creative vision is hard to replicate.
When working with high-profile artists and galleries, how do you approach the consultation, proofing, registration, and edition-sizing process? How many drafts or test prints are typically involved before the final run?
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| 'Magical Thinking' by Grayson Perry, 2024. Silkscreen print for Grayson Perry and Contemporary Art Society on Somerset Tub Sized (Rough) Textured MR paper,a specially made paper by St Cuthberts Mill. |
We’ve created screen prints for over 200 artists, including George Condo, Ai Weiwei, Elizabeth Peyton, Sir Anish Kapoor, Mickalene Thomas, Peter Halley, Grayson Perry, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, Ed Ruscha and Harland Miller.
We see our role as having strong opinions based on our years of experience and being a trusted partner in translating artists' work into a printed reality. We’re here to support our artists and provide them with our expertise to help them create the best prints of their work. I often like to think of us as the record producers to their music.
We often have artists visiting Make-Ready, and it’s a truly collaborative process discussing the project, our recommendations on how to approach it and what printing method will be the most suitable to bring the artwork to life.
 |
| Elizabeth inspecting and finishing a silkscreen for Anish Kapoor on Somerset paper. |
The dimensional stability of the Tub Sized is a huge benefit to us. Especially when we coat the paper with many layers of ink. The finish and quality of the paper has also become a core part of our product, it’s in the DNA of our prints.
After visiting the mill this year in Wells, it compounded our love for the paper. I always say to people that ‘the paper is a work of art before it becomes a work of art’.
What are the benefits to using Somerset paper when working with large editions?
There is an incredible uniformity to using Somerset. From physically large sheets that are perfectly form and even to the piece of mind we get when working with large numbers of prints, knowing that the paper demonstrates high levels of consistency across the run.
To learn more about Make-Ready visit their links:
Website: www.make-ready.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/make__ready
For details about our Somerset paper range please visit our website.
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