Tamas Sandor Frecska was born in 1939, Budapest, Hungary. In 1956 he participated in the Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation and escaped to the West. He’s lived in the US since 1957 and graduated from Beloit College (1961/ BA in industrial design) and LaSalle University (business management). Frecska is the author of many critical technical articles for the screenprinting industry. His book, Troubleshooting the Printed Image, has been a mainstay of screenmakers and printers for many years.

Tamas spent his adult life working directly or indirectly for companies producing screenprinted goods. He was a production- or department manager for American Decal, Chicago, IL, Stewart Warner, Chicago, IL, Fosco Fabricators, Dixon IL, and Pro Arts Co., Medina, OH. His fascination with screenprinting drove him to become a self-educated engineer, and he soon started designing equipment and production programs for his employers.

In 1974, he launched Technical Services and Fabrication, Inc. (Medina, OH) to design and fabricate custom printing/drying equipment and production consulting for many of his clients. In 1981, Tamas joined ST Publications (now ST Media Group) as editor of Screen Printing magazine. He continued his quest to improve the technology and image of the screenprinting printing process and used the magazine as an educational tool for printers. Over his years at ST Publications, he won 5 Swormstedt Awards for technical excellence, and his work became part of the foundation for the changing image of screenprinting. In 1985 he launched a new magazine for ST, Screen Imaging Technology in Electronics. SITE was the only magazine ever dedicated to screenprinting in electronic products. However, weakness in that market lead to its demise in 1988.

In 1989 Tamas started a consulting company (TSF Associates) engaged primarily in the in-house training of screenprinting employees. He continued writing for Screen Printing Magazine and published a monthly educational newsletter (Screen-Structor). In addition to his more than 150 techn

ical articles, he also wrote and published “Troubleshooting the Printed Image,” a guide for improving printed image quality. By 1992, Tamas started his third business, Encore Engineering Inc., a manufacturing company producing state-of-the-art squeegee-maintenance equipment. With two partners (including his wife, Susan Venell Frecska), he developed a line of squeegee sharpeners, a patented squeegee washer, and a range of cutting, polishing, and cleaning tools. In 2001 Encore Engineering was sold to Fimor, SA, a French squeegee blade-producing company.

Tamas always worked closely with the Screen Printing Association International (now SGIA) to promote the technology of screenprinting and pushed the Association to recognize the compelling need for a technical foundation to promote industry research and standardization. After the Screen Printing Technical Foundation (SPTF) was formed, Tamas served as Chairman of the Board to provide direction to the newly formed organization (1988). He also worked on the various committees of both the SGIA and SPTF.

Frecska is a 1985 inductee into the Academy of Screen and Digital Print Technologies (ASDPT).

Frecska is a 5-time recipient of The Dave Swormstedt, Sr. Memorial Award, presented annually by the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association during their Expo in October each year. The award is presented to the author(s) of an article written on any aspect of screenprinting or graphic imaging and published in the fiscal year.

1985 Tamas Frecska, “Screen Fabrics: A Question of the Right Parameters”
1990 Tamas Frecska, “Taming Microregistration”
1993 Tamas Frecska, “Screen Printing in the Year 2000”
1995 Tamas Frescka, “Becoming a Super Color Matcher”
1996 Tamas Frescka, “Floodbar Fundamentals”

Frecska retired in 2002 and spends most of his time learning about number theory, game theory, computer programming, and sculpture and watching his grandchildren grow. It was especially rewarding to see his son, Tom O. Frecska, at the helm of Screen Printing magazine for many years until Tom passed away on May 21, 2009, after suffering a sudden heart attack.

Troubleshooting the Printed Image is available from ScreenprintBooks.com online.