Many piezoelectric applications require materials with a thickness less than 100 mum. As the manufacturing of bulk ceramics of this thickness is not very easy, thick films were deposited by screen-printing on Ag-Pd-coated alumina substrates. Deposits were about 80 mum thick. Thick films were prepared from a PZT powder and an organic vehicle. The following studies on preparation of the layers were carried out: (1) influence of the powder preparation process (dry or wet route) upon the ink quality and piezoelectric characteristics of thick films; (2) part played by two different dispersing agents in the improvement of ink composition and (3) flux addition as PbO-PbF2 and Bi2O3-B2O3-CdO, to lower sintering temperatures while maintaining good piezoelectric coefficients. A comparison of d(31) and d(h) coefficients for bulk and thick films is given.