Screen printing plate for use in screen printing method, screen printing apparatus, and screen printing method

The invention relates to a screen printing plate (1, 1 ') for use in a screen printing method, in particular for producing metal contact structures for photovoltaic solar cells, comprising a screen printing plate (1b) and a template (1c) arranged on the screen printing plate (1b), the invention relates to a stencil for a screen printing screen having a plurality of elongated screen elements arranged in a first element direction and in a second element direction perpendicular to the first element direction, said stencil having at least one opening in the form of a linear channel having a channel width BK, the screen elements in the first element direction having a distance AF, the mesh elements in the second element direction have a pitch that differs from AF by less than 5%, and the mesh elements in the first element direction have a diameter DG, and the mesh elements in the second element direction have a diameter that differs from DG by less than 5%. The invention also relates to a screen printing device an