Split-fountain is a term used for a unique printing technique that dates back as early as the 1870s. It is often used in silkscreen printing, where two or more inks are placed next to each other at the edge of the screen. With each successive pull of the squeegee, the inks will gradually start to blend with one another, forming new colours. For example, if you place a yellow ink next to a red ink, the area where they touch will become orange and the width of that colour transition will increase with each print produced. No two prints made this way are exactly the same. From its inception, split-fountain has always been considered an inexpensive and effective way of creating a colourful print.
Split-fountain printing in the 1950s and 1960s became synonymous with the promotion of music concerts. In many ways, this printing process became the visual expression of the blossoming music scene of the sixties. These eye-catching posters, with their rainbow stripping, proved to be effective and highly desirable forms of advertising. Popular names of the time, like Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix sat in bold fonts atop these multi-coloured backgrounds. The technique was soon elevated to an art form by artists like Peter Max, whose psychedelic and pop art posters came to define the days of Free Love and Flower Power.
