OBITUARY: Honouring Michel Caza: Global Fine-art Screen Printing Guru

25 June 2026: Devang N. Sheth, Editor and Publisher, SPI Magazine Pays Tribute to the ‘Master of Serigraphy’ who had a Strong Connection with India.

It is with a sad heart that we share the sad news that industry veteran Michel Caza is no more (1935-2026). He passed away in France on 23 May 2026, after a lifetime dedicated to the advancement of screen printing. May his soul rest in peace. His wife, Thérèse Caza, is also connected to his artistic and professional work. The screen printing industry will always remember him as well as his contributions and service to uplift the Industry.

It is well-known to everyone connected with the screen printing industry that Michel Caza was a French master printer and one of the most important figures in serigraphy, meaning fine-art screen printing. He was known worldwide as a master of ultra-fine screenprints, pushing screen printing from a craft process into a highly refined art and industrial technology.

Michel Caza was different because he combined the eye of an artist, the precision of an engineer, and the skill of a master printer. He made screen printing more detailed, more artistic, more technical, and more respected around the world.

In 1962, he became one of the founding fathers of FESPA, contributing to FESPA as a former president, educator, and global ambassador of screen printing. He helped build FESPA on the values of knowledge-sharing, collaboration, technical innovation, and education, influencing the growth of the international screen and digital printing community.

He helped educate generations of screen printers around the world and received more than 350 awards, including the Howard Parmele Award in 2010.

Michel Caza contributed to the global development of fine art serigraphy by mastering ultra-fine screen-printing techniques, collaborating with leading contemporary artists, and advancing screen printing as both an artistic and industrial discipline.

Graphicaza was the screen-printing company associated with Michel Caza. In 1994, Graphicaza absorbed his earlier fine art workshop, Atelier d’Art Michel Caza. Through Graphicaza, Caza continued producing high-quality serigraphy, art reproductions, posters, postcards and prints for artists, galleries, publishers and clients.

He mastered ultra-fine screen printing. He was known worldwide as a master of extremely detailed, high-quality screenprints, helping turn serigraphy into a serious fine-art medium. His own archive describes him as ‘the master of ultra-fine screenprints.’

He conducted hundreds of presentations, workshops and seminars worldwide, sharing practical knowledge with printers and helping raise international standards in screen printing.

The India Connection …..

Michel Caza had great attachment for India. He visited India several times and contributed to the growth of advanced screen-printing education.

It was my privilege to bring international screen-printing knowledge to India by connecting Indian printers with global experts like him. On August 3, 2002, Michel Caza conducted ‘The Fine Line Halftone Screen Printing’ (Screen Printing of Very Fine Line Halftones: 120 Parameters to Masterise) full day seminar at Nehru Centre, Mumbai. It was attended by 150+ printers coming from all over India. This was perhaps the first time an international renowned personality of his stature conducted a seminar on this topic. The seminar was conducted during the Screen Print India 2002 Expo where he was the chief guest at the inauguration and also presented ‘Screen Print India Award 2002’ to the winners.

Two years later, Michel Caza was one of the chief guests at Screen Print India expo held from August 20-22, 2004 again at Nehru Centre, Mumbai, along with Michael Roberston, who as then President, SGIA.

He has written many technical articles in Screen Print India magazine over the years. His editorial support was immense and he always ready to share his knowledge and with the screen printing community.

Michel Caza and Bhargav Mistry shared a strong ‘guru-disciple’ or ‘mentor-student’ relationship in the world of screen printing. Michel Caza had been an important technical influence on Bhargav Mistry, who was then the Managing Director of Grafica Flextronica and Director of Dhirubhai Mistry Institute (DMI) for Print Education, Research & Training. In December 2006, Michel Caza inaugurated the DMI and conducted workshops, including one focused on serigraphy / art screen printing.

Through his seminars on four-colour halftone screen printing, Michel Caza helped promote advanced screen-printing methods and encouraged printers to move beyond flat-colour printing toward finer tonal gradations and photographic-quality results and improve advanced screen-printing methods such as UV curing inks, fine halftone screen rulings, colour separation, and precise ink control.

Michel Caza contributed greatly to the control of the moiré effect in screen printing by developing practical methods for managing halftone angles, colour sequence, and ink deposit in four-colour screen printing. His knowledge helped improve the quality and precision of fine art serigraphy and photographic screen printing.

The Chameleon of Contemporary Art ….

Michel Caza was a French master printer, serigrapher, author, teacher, and one of the most important global figures in screen printing. He is especially remembered for his contribution to fine art serigraphy, where he helped transform screen printing from a craft-based process into a highly refined artistic and industrial printing technology.

Michel Caza, born in Lyon, France, later lived and worked in Champagne-sur-Oise, where he continued his screen-printing, art-edition and consulting.

Over a career of around 55 years, he produced and documented thousands of fine art screenprints, art posters, catalogues and editions, collaborating with more than 700 artists, including Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Victor Vasarely, Pierre Soulages, Taro Okamoto, Leonor Fini and others.

Because he could adapt his printing style to different artists and artworks, he was often called ‘The Chameleon of Contemporary Art.’ He worked like a translator of the artist’s idea, adapting his printing method to the artwork instead of forcing every artwork into one standard process.

One of his strongest social media spaces was Facebook. A public group called ‘Screen Printing Technique & Art – the friends of Michel Caza’ has been used by screen-printing professionals and followers interested in technique, art and print knowledge over the years.

Michel Caza’s contribution to the world of print will continue to inspire artists, printers, and students for generations.

In the last years of his life, Michel Caza focused on preserving and sharing his lifetime knowledge of screen printing. He published his major legacy book, continued to inspire printers through interviews and technical discussions.

Michel Caza wrote important books and technical publications on screen printing. Through these works, he shared his knowledge of fine art serigraphy with printers, artists and students around the world.