In a screen printing method of bringing a mask plate into contact with a
substrate to print solder cream through a pattern hole on the substrate, a
plate separating operation of separating the substrate from the mask plate
after a squeegeeing step in which the solder cream is filled into the
pattern hole comprises an operation pattern in which acceleration and
deceleration pattern in which a descending speed is accelerated up to an
upper limit speed and thereafter decelerated up to a lower limit speed is
repeated plural times. Further, an initial upper limit speed in start of
the plate separating operation is set higher than the succeeding upper
limit speeds, whereby viscosity of the solder cream into the pattern hole
in start of the plate separating operation is lowered, and the mask plate
can be separated with a high accuracy throughout the entire range of the
substrate.
