Although various forms of screen printing had been used for many years, it was not until 1907 that a patent describing a particular process was awarded. That year, Samuel Simon of Manchester, England developed a fabric printing method in which a pattern was created from stencils that were drawn upon silk bolting cloth. The bolting cloth with the stencil attached was stretched tightly across a frame and then the ink or dye was brushed through the mesh. Today, the same basic process is often used for printing on signs and fabric, although metals and plastics have generally replaced bolting cloth as the favored screening material.