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This document and its contents are for personal use only, not for commercial use.
by Michelle SaintOnge
for printcutsew.com
printcutsew.com SCREEN PRINT : THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
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Welcome to printcutsews guide to Screen Printing: The Cheap and Easy Way. This
guide is everything you need to know to get started screen printing without an expensive
set-up and costly material investments. This is the guide I wished was around when I
started my screen printing business seven years ago. It would have saved me thousands of
dollars and gotten my business off the ground much faster. So, I decided to share
everything I have learned about the screen printing business with you so you can learn this
great craft and get started building your own income right now for less than $50.00!
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Getting Started
3. The Printing Screen
4. Making Your Own Screen
5. Stencil Types and Techniques
6. Making a Film Positive
7. Shooting a Screen
8. Washing Out A Screen
9. How to Register a Print
10. Printing Inks
11. One and MultI Colour Printing
12. Printing Paper
13. Printing Fabric
14. Printing T-Shirts
15. CMYK Printing
16. Heat Setting Your Work
17. Reclaiming Your Screen
18. Appendix A: terms and definitions
19. Appendix B: materials sourcing
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 11
Page 17
Page 23
Page 27
Page 28
Page 36
Page 40
Page 41
Page 45
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 54
Page 54
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Silkscreening is a printing technique thats hundreds of years old yet still mystifies lots of
people. The truth is, with just a few simple rules, tools and some practice even the most
novice of designers can be printing professional quality prints in no time.
Its arguably the most versatile of all printing processes. You can print onto almost any
surface; fabric, paper, metal, ceramic, wood, leather, walls- you can let your imagination run
wild. Its really exciting to be a silkscreen printer and so I'm happy to share everything I
know about it with you!
Its easy to get started printing; all you need is some basic equipment, a design, a few
supplies and a bit of instruction.
Introduction
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Getting Started
The first things you need to get are the supplies and equipment for printing. Dont let this
step intimidate you, the supplies are readily available and Ill tell where and what to ask for
when you have to source some of it outside your home. And Ill show you how to make or
build your own if its possible. For those of you who would like get all your supplies at once,
Blick Art Materials makes a great screen printing kit if you want to order all your supplies
at once.
If you want to build your own screen print kit heres what youll need:
A printing screen
A light source for exposing the screen (task light and a 150-250 watt photo flood bulb or
the sun!)
A table to print on- the printing surface differs if you print onto fabric or onto paper. You'll
need a flat smooth table for paper printing and one with some felt padding for fabric
printing.
A piece of glass to fit the inside dimension of your screen less 1/2 or photo spray
adhesive
A film positive (made from your artwork)
Silk screen inks (I recommend Permaset Fabric Inks)
Scoop coater
Rubber gloves
Dishwashing soap
Photo emulsion or other stencil system
A water source with a garden hose attachment or a sprayer attachment and a sink or tub
large enough to wash out your screen
A rubber spatula
A squeegee
Black bristol board, or black cloth or black felt
A timer
Masking Tape
Optional
fan (not heated)
photo emulsion remover (to clean your screen of an old stencil and start over)
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The Printing Screen
You need to have a screen printing frame. This is the foundation of all the work you
will do in the future whether you use paper cut-out stencils, found objects, drawing fluids or
photo-sensitive emulsion stencils- you still need to attach the stencil to a frame. The screen
print frame allows you to apply ink or any other suitable liquid to the surface smoothly and
evenly- thats what makes it look so professional.
You can buy a screen print frame often at a craft or art
supply store or you can see if there is a sign and graphics
supply store in your area; they will sell screen print frames
as well. But you dont have to buy a frame. You can make
one yourself and its not that hard at all. I have built many
frames using just curtain sheer fabric and old picture frames
Ive bought at a local Salvation Army. (I even showed Martha
Stewart how to build one on her show). Or if youre handy
with a saw you can build one from wood with scratch. (Tutorials for both these options are in
Chapter 3)
Personally, I would buy one, they arent expensive ($25- 45$) and theyll save you lots of
time. Blick Art Materials has some screen print frames online you can buy and have
delivered to your house!
No matter where you buy your screen, online or at your local screen printing supply store or
even at your local arts and craft store, there are a few things you need to look for when you
are searching out a screen that will be right for the project you wish to undertake.
The screen size: Likely youll start out with a small screen that is ideal for t-shirt making
and other small projects, approximately 20x24 (outside dimensions). If youre going to buy
a large screen (over 24x24) youll want to make sure the frame is at least 1.5- 2 thick
around otherwise it will warp too easily.
The screen mesh: Different mesh sizes are used for different applications in the screen
printing process. If you plan on printing on fabric I would recommend a 110 mesh count and
if you are working with paper you could start with 160 mesh count. Try to buy a screen with
white monofilament polyester mesh (this is generally standard with most pre-made
screens). If you are going to make your own screen with curtain sheers the thread count
should not be too low, in other words the weave of the sheer should be fairly tight.
The Frame Type: Youll want to purchase either a wood screen frame or an aluminum
frame. I use aluminum frames which are more stable and wont warp like wood frames- If
you buy large frames they should be stored flat. Larger frames will not maintain their
straight edges either if they are stored upright instead of horizontally.
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Making Your Own Screen Option #1:
Old Picture Frame + Curtain Sheers= Your Very Own Screen Print Frame!
You can build your very own silkscreen printing frame with just a few simple items from your
own home. I have built a lot of frames this way. It will cost you less than $5.00 for all your
materials!
Here's what you'll need to get started.
1. a picture frame with the glass and backing
removed
2. old curtain sheers
3. utility duct tape or solvent resistant tape for
silkscreening
4. acrylic varnish sealer and paint brush
an electric staple gun
Step 1- Find a picture frame
It needs to be sturdy without any wobble to it.
Step 2- Remove hardware from the back of the
frame
If there is any hardware on the back of the frame
remove it now and sand off any raised or rough bits so
that back of the frame sits nicely on a at surface.
Step 3- Cut Curtain Sheers
Pick out an old pair of curtain sheers or buy a small bit of new sheers from the fabric store.
You should make certain that the sheers do not have too much of an open weave. Then
trim the sheer so that it is about 2-3 inches larger than the frame!s outside dimensions.
You can buy the curtain sheers at fabric.com (up to 70% off retail.)
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Step 4- Stapling the Fabric to the Screen
You are going to want to use an electric staple gun or a power assist staple gun- a manual
stapler is just too difcult to use while holding down your sheer fabric. And it!s a good idea that
you use one that has a safety built in so you don!t accidentally staple your ngers! The size of
staple that I use is 3/8. I don!t recommend anything longer than that because if you make a
mistake they are too hard to get back out. You might even try a 1/4 staple.
And for goodness sake don!t forget to use safety goggles!
Step 5- How to properly staple your sheers to the frame
Turn over your frame so the front is on a at surface. I like
to put down a non-slip mat too. Lay your sheer piece on top
of it so it looks fairly square. Put in your rst staple- it should
be placed in the center of the frame bar and about 1/3 from
the outside edge. (too close to the inside or the outside
edge you risk stapling off a whole chunk of frame!) Your
second staple should go directly across from your rst and
you should pull the sheer enough so that you can!t pull it
much more- but not so much that your sheer starts to rip on
the other side. This step may take some practice- but I
promise you!ll get better at knowing how much is too much
or too little the more you do this. Essentially you are going
to want a screen that is rm to the touch where you could
rest something light on it without the sheer dipping.
Follow the same steps until each of the four sides is
completed. Make sure that you have kept the grain of the
fabric fairly straight (I have only done a so-so job on that as
you can see). The straighter the fabric the better your
results in the end.
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Now staple the corners. Again, keeping the fabric pulled tightly and in this case towards
the corner. Do each subsequent corner- always stapling the opposite side from the staple
you just nished. Make certain to keep the fabric from being pulled too much to one side
or the other.
Now ll in between those staples, pulling the fabric tightly until the staples are only about
1/4 apart. The number of total staples will depend on the size of your frame.
If you have some staples that are a bit raised from the frame it!s a good idea to hammer
then down gently to make them ush with the edge.
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Step 6- Sealing the frame and sheers
This great acrylic varnish sealer is sold at most craft and art stores. We!ll use it to keep ink
and water from getting under the staples when printing and washing. Paint it on and cover
the entire edge of the frame. Be mindful not to get any onto the printing area of your
screen- it will act as a resist for the inks and you may have to redo your screen. If you do
get some on your printing area you can try to wash it off right away with some soap and
water- since it!s a water-based varnish. If that happens let you screen dry completely and
then nish the sealing. Once you nish let the frame dry for at least 30 minutes.
Step 7- Taping off the frame
Now you want to tape off the underside of the frame-
which is often referred to as the substrate side. The
tape will help to keep ink from squishing out onto your
work as you print and will also act as a way of
protecting your work from the staples and raw edges of
the fabric which become hard with the sealant.
I like to put the tape on so that the corners meet and I
can trim the excess off and have a neat and tidy frame.
Step 8- LAST STEP! Wash the frame
You are almost nished. You just need to wash the fabric of
your screen. This will ensure that any sizing, detergents or
fabric softener is washed away; they can really interfere with
your printing projects. I just use dish soap. Once you are
nished you can let your screen dry and then it!s ready for your
silkscreen printing projects!
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Making Your Own Screen Option #2:
Get Handy! Make you Own Screen Print Frame for $10.00.
To make your own screen print frame from scratch you'll first need wood- hardwood is the
best option. You should use wood at least 1 inch thick, and about 1 1/2 inches wide with no
major knots and it should be very straight without warps or bows.
Cut the pieces to the size of the frame you want to make. If you want a 22! x 18! frame, cut
two pieces to 22! long, and two pieces to 18! long.
Now you want to make the half-lap joints. Using a
table saw or a router table, set the cutting height to
half the thickness of the wood. If the wood is 1!
thick, set the cutting height to 1/2!. Now set the
fence on your table saw to cut to the width of the
wood. If the wood you are using 1 1/2! wide, set the
fence to 1 1/2!. Now lay one of the boards with the
end against the fence. Make repeated cuts in the
board until you have completely cut away the wood
1/2! deep from 1 1/2! in to to the end of the board.
Flip the board around, and do the same thing on
the other end of the board on the same side. Do
this with all of the boards.
Using a square, make sure the pieces are square. Clamp the pieces together using one or
two c-clamps. Put together the rest of the the frame in the same way. Put the frame aside
for the glue to cure. Later when the glue has cured, remove the clamps. Clean up the joints
with some sandpaper if needed.
Then follow steps 3-8 in Making Your Own Screen Option #1. You can use monofilament
polyester mesh for screen print frames instead of the curtain sheers. That mesh can be
bought at a sign and graphics supply store or you can buy the screen mesh online.
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Stencil Types and Techniques
In order to screen print your image onto anything you need to create a stencil of your
image that will be afxed to your frame. You can make that stencil a lot of different ways.
They all have their own benets and advantages and I!ll explain a few of them here from
the most simple to the most advanced techniques.
Paper Cut Stencils
This happens to be one of my favorite ways to make a
stencil. Simply cutting paper into shapes and sticking the
paper to the screen print frame couldn!t be easier. It can
as simple or as complicated as you wish. The thing to
remember when you are making a paper stencil is that
you ideally want the stencil to be one piece. Of course
you can stick multiple pieces onto the screen with
double sided tape but you!ll make your job harder and
increase your #oops factor! with the number of pieces
your stencil is in.
*One of the best things you can do if you are interested in making paper stencils that you
can reuse is to cut them out of map making paper. This paper allows you to wash and dry
your stencil so you can use it over and over again. I cut mine from this paper and store my
stencils in plastic sleeves to reuse them another time.*
A short list of the kinds of screen print stencils might include:
Paper cut stencil
Found object stencil
Drawing uid and block out emulsion
Direct stencil with photographic emulsion
My top three tips for making a successful paper cut stencil are:
1. Use tools like hole punches and stamp punches to create details that
would otherwise be too hard to cut by hand.
2. Place scotch tape over small delicate sections of the stencil to add
reinforcement.
3. Cut out all the small delicate parts of your stencil rst then the larger
pieces.
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Here!s an example of a very simple paper stencil I made to make a broccolI shaped
hangtag for a handbag I use to take to the market. It!s made with two over-lapping colours
and I used a 1/16th hole punch and a 1/4 hole punch to create the top edge of the broccoli.
I have made other more complicated stencils. Like my stencil called Do Not Disturb that
can be downloaded on my site for your personal use. It!s the stencil I used to create the t-
shirts for Martha Stewart's French bulldogs and as the silkscreen demo on her show. If
you are going to cut out detailed stencils like this then I would denitely use a reusable
paper such as National Geographic Adventure Paper.
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Found Object Stencils
Equally as fun as paper stencils and maybe even easier are #found object! stencils. Simply
put, this technique involves taking objects and taping or spray adhering them to the screen
and printing. The objects act as a resist to the ink and creates the pattern or shape. I often
use doilies or lace as found objects and I have written a complete DIY tutorial on
printcutsew.com on the subject.
Tips for Great Found Object Printing
Use objects that are relatively thin and at, bulky objects won!t allow the ink to
pass over smoothly.
Layer objects with different patterns to produce unique results.
If you want to reuse your object but it is very porous and would break down
when washed then spray it rst with a sealant or varnish to make it more
water resistant.
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Drawing Fluid Stencils with Screen Filler
Drawing uid is a 2 part process that doesn!t involve any special equipment but still
creates a semI permanent stencil that can used over and over again. You don!t
necessarily need to be a great painter but some skill here helps as you will be painting
your image directly onto the screen with the uid.
Materials Needed:
A silk screen
Drawing Fluid
Screen Filler
Squeegee
Thin Brush
Gloves
Newspaper or craft paper
First thing you!ll do is paint the drawing uid on all areas you want to print and let them dry
completely. I have put a few pieces of cardboard under the corners of my screen so that it
is elevated off the print surface. This gives me some room to place the image I want to
silkscreen underneath. You can, of course, paint the uid on free-hand but I would like to
stay as close to my original drawing as possible.
Since I am going to do a two colour print I will have to do two separate drawings with the
uid. Luckily, I have enough space on my screen to t them both.
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You!ll then pour a bead of the ller across the top of the screen (which is still elevated off the
print table) and with a squeegee you!ll pull the ller across the screen- that way it!s an even
and smooth application.
Once you nish your rst drawing with the uid you can slide the image underneath to the
other area of the screen and then complete your second colour for the image.
Nice thing is if you don!t like your design you can just wash it out and start again when your
screen has dried. So there!s no pressure to get it right the rst time.
You!ll want to wait until your screen ller has dried completely before you wash out the
drawing uid.
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Once dry, spray cold water onto the top of the screen to wash out the areas covered by
drawing uid. Let the screen dry completely again and then hold it up to a window or light.
This will allow you to check for any small holes that weren!t covered with the ller. I
simply paint on the ller with a small brush.
Once your touch-ups are dry you can tape off one of your drawings and get ready to print
the other.
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Direct Stencil Method Using Photosensitive Emulsion
The direct stencil method is what most professional printers will use. It!s a semI permanent
stencil that has very few limitations for the types of images it can reproduce as a stencil. It!s
use of photosensitive emulsion allows even the smallest of dots to expose. With this type of
stencil you can create an image that has large open ares of colour or small micro dots that
give the illusion of shading and gradients.
Your artwork needs to be transformed into a lm positive which is used in the direct
stencil method to re-create a replica of your artwork on the screen.
The lm positive represents one colour layer of your image and is usually on a piece of
transparency lm. Therefore, for each colour in your design, a separate positive will need
to be made. You can create the positive by computer or by hand.
There are four main steps involved in making a stencil with this method.
Turning your artwork into the lm positive
Coating Your Screen
Exposing your screen
Washing Out Your Screen
1. Artwork to Film Positive
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Making a Positive by Computer
If you are designing your image on the computer then you should keep each colour you
use on a separate layer. To print out a lm positive, turn on the layer you wish to print and
select all elements on that layer, adjust the hue saturation values so that what you have
selected is completely opaque and black. Now print that layer onto transparency paper
for your printer type. Make certain to use a high quality setting so that the black prints out
opaque. Continue this way with all subsequent layers of colours, if you have any. It!s a
great idea to print registration marks with each page. It will help you greatly when it
comes time to matching up the colours when printing.
Making a Positive by Hand
You have a wide variety of options when you make your positive by hand. But the same
rule remains; you need to produce a separate positive for each layer of colour in your
print.
You can photocopy each colour layer onto transparency paper or draw each color onto
transparency paper with an opaque black marker. It!s also possible to paint each colour
layer with black acrylic ink, cut the image out of masking lm, rub dry transfer lettering or
even cut the image out of heavy card-stock or cardboard.
If you are making a multicolor print then it!s a good idea to use a registration mark- either
drawn by you or one that you purchase on each transparency to match up each of the
layers.
Regardless of what technique you use, your film positive should be on translucent
or transparent paper/ film (vellum, mylar, transparency paper) and the image
should be opaque. When you hold your film positive up to the light, the light
should pass through (or mostly) the clear areas of the positive and none should
pass through the black areas.
When this image is used to expose your screen the black areas will absorb the light from
your exposure unit and the clear areas will let the light pass through effectively hardening
the photosensitive emulsion where it is clear.
Computer print-out positives on paper Using opaque markers to draw a positive
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The next step in the direct stencil method is coating your screen with the photosensitive
emulsion. You need to properly do a few things here to make the rest of the process go
smoothly.
2. Coating Your Screen
Step 1
In a dark room mix the sensitizer into the emulsion as per the directions to activate it. Let it
sit in a cool dark room for at least two hours with the lid closed. You!ll want to use a dual
cure emulsion which works well with both solvent inks and water-based inks. Also, mix this
in a well ventilated area of your house. The safety instructions do no indicate you have to
wear a vapor mask when using it but if you are sensitive to odors then I would advise you
to wear one.
Step 2
Set up your screen, make sure it's clean and completely dry. Lean your screen against a
wall and put a piece of 2x4 behind it on the ground. this will keep the screen at an angle
and it will keep it from moving as you press the scoop coater against it.
Troubleshooting Tip For Screen Coating:
If you have a lot of pin-holes in your screen once it!s been exposed- there may
have been air bubbles in the emulsion when you coated it. Let your emulsion sit
for two hours undisturbed with the lid on and then retry on a clean screen.
Do not over mix the emulsion- just gently stir it before pouring.
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Step 3
Pour the emulsion into the scoop coater. Fill the scoop coater 3/4 full. If you!re scoop
coater has two different edges to it then use the side with the sharper edge. Your
emulsion will go on thinner- which is better for most cases.
Step 4
Hold the scoop coater from the bottom centered, making sure that it is level so that the
emulsion does not run out from the sides of each end. Firmly push into the screen and
angle the scoop at against the screen, press against the screen and pull upward to the
top and end your stroke by quickly angling the scoop coater back to the centered position.
Step 5
Turn the screen to the inside (where the ink goes) and turn it upside down. Repeat coating
this side of the screen. (tip: If you coat your screens too thick they may not wash out. This
can be tricky because it mimics over exposure, when in fact the emulsion is just too thick
and is really under exposed, parts of the image may wash out and ner parts may not rinse
out altogether. So, rule of thumb is one coat for each side.)
And often I will run the scoop coater over each side without angling it so it actually will skim
off excess emulsion.
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6. Lay your screen flat to dry with the ink side of the screen facing up. Put some sort of
spacer under each of the corners of the screen to keep the bottom of the screen off the
floor if you don't have a drying rack. (I use bottle caps or slim pieces of wood). Turn off
the safety light and let your screen dry in complete darkness. It is important that its not hot
in the room where you dry your screen- that can cause problems with exposing your
screen later. You can use a fan to dry your screens more quickly but again use a fan
without heat.
7. Your screen is dry when the emulsion is no
longer tacky.
3. Exposing Your Screens
There are a few different ways you can expose your direct emulsion stencil and they all
have their benefits and drawbacks. You can build your own exposure unit or you can buy
one. Each type involves varying levels of time and difficulty. Using sunshine costs nothing
but is unreliable and buying one obviously requires money but can be more reliable and
give you more flexibility. If you have time and less money you can make one for very little
and in my experience have high quality stencils nonetheless. Owning both a $10,000.00
unit and a $30.00 homemade unit I can say that I am pleasantly surprised (and to my
dismay) to see my homemade version expose screens just as well as my expensive larger
unit. Of course my larger unit exposes my very large screens and can achieve a very high
quality stencil with intricate images but its also so big it needs a room of its own and my
$30.00 unit is portable and I can use it almost anywhere.
Top Down Light Sources
Outdoor Sun- The fastest and Easiest
Task lamps- Cheap and Easy to Set-up
Bottom Up Light Sources
Bank of UV Fluorescent lights
Single Point light Source
Types of Exposure Light Sources
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If your exposure light source comes from the top then youll place the film positive on the
print side of the screen. If the light comes from the bottom, place the film positive on the
substrate side of the screen and place it on backwards.
I also strongly advise you take the time to run a test for the right exposure time for your
light source and your emulsion. Each one is different.
Heres a great way to test which time will work best for you.
Print a transparency with numbers from 10 to 90 in increments of 5. With the light set up,
place the screen under the light to be exposed. After 10 minutes, cover the 5 with an
opaque piece of paper. After another 10 minutes passes, cover the 10. Do this until all of
the numbers are covered. Then wash out the screen. The lowest numbers that are
distinctly printed will give you your correct exposure time.
If your image is not exposing properly here are some quick troubleshooting checks:
Emulsion wont wash out:
emulsion is too old
film positive was not opaque
screen was exposed to light before exposing
emulsion was too think
Image washes away:
emulsion is underexposed
screen was not properly washed and dried prior to coating
image and screen are too far away from the light source
Lines of the image are blurry:
contact between film positive and screen not sufficient
film positive not opaque enough
You also need to take care to attach your lm positive properly to your screen. As a
general rule you would want to make certain that your image is centered with 2-3 inches of
space from the bottom of your image to the bottom inside edge of the screen. We call this
area #the well. Use a clear tape to attach it- anything else will impede that area of
exposing.
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Exposing With the Outdoor Sunshine.
Top Down Light Sources
Using the sun is a very fast and easy
way to expose your screens. All you
need to do is to prepare your screen
in your dark room by placing the
screen on top of a piece of black foam
core board then place the film positive
on the print side of the screen and
laying a piece of glass that fits within
the inside dimensions of your screen
overtop. The black board underneath
absorbs any light that passes through
the screen so that it does not bounce
and create a blurred line and shadow
on the underside of the screen.
You need to test out how long the sun will take to expose your screens. Since its the UV
light that exposes your screen not the actual sunshine you can expose even on a cloudy
day. Generally mid-day sun takes only 60-90 seconds to expose a screen, but that may
change with the time of year and amount of cloud cover.
Top down light source = black cloth<screen<film positive<glass<light source
Exposing With Task Lamps
Ta s k l a mp s a r e a n o t h e r
inexpensive way to expose your
screens. I have used a 75Watt
fluorescent flood reflector bulb
that I bought at a home hardware
store. It was more expensive than
the average bulb but it uses only
the equivalent of a 20Watt bulb
so its a greener choice and its
$12. 00 pr i c e t ag i s v er y
affordable. The bulb is fitted into
a $15.00 desk lamp and attaches
to a black table top.
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I use two lamps but one would suffice if your screen was smaller than 21x23. Since mine
is slightly larger I need to evenly expose all areas and two bulbs is the best way to do that.
You want to position the light high enough that the whole frame gets equally exposed,
probably about 12-15. Once you have the light and placement figured out youll want to
figure out some rough times. For a 150W clear incandescent bulb the following times
might apply:
Screen size, bulb height, exposure time
8"10, 12 inches, 45 minutes
10"14, 12 inches, 45 minutes
12"18, 15 inches, 74 minutes
16"20, 17 inches, 92 minutes
18"20, 17 inches, 92 minutes
The higher the bulb is above the screen, the longer it needs to be exposed. If the wattage
of the bulb is lower, you need to exposure it longer. I generally need to expose my screens
for 75 minutes. Its a very long time compared to the sun or my metal halide light but I
manage by planning my exposures so that I do other work until its finished.
Exposing With A Bank Of Fluorescent Bulbs
Bottom Up Light Sources
Bottom up light source = light source<film positive<screen<glass<cover
Exposing with a bank of fluorescent bulbs
is another way to expose your screens.
You can buy an exposure unit like this or
you can make one. The benefit is that you
can make a very large unit just by
increasing the number of bulbs and the
size of the glass.
This type of exposure unit is available in
many sizes and in many different brands
and is fairly affordable. But you can make
your own as well.
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Youre dimensions will depend on what size lights you can buy and how big your exposure
unit needs to be. Once you determine your dimensions, you can build the box from 2x4
lengths of wood for the sides and plywood for the bottom. You should be able to set the
lights down inside the box. Remember to drill a hole in the side of the box for your wiring
or cords. Have a pane of glass made the same size as the top of your box- tempered
glass is best and then get some sort of black cover, foam core, felt or painted board to put
over top. Your top cover will have to be weighted down to achieve close contact with your
image.
You will want to buy 40 watt black light bulbs, these bulbs look just like regular fluorescent,
but do not have the 'visible light' filters that make black lights that deep violet color.
Sometimes they are carried at home building stores or at lighting supply stores. You can
likely buy the fixtures for the bulbs at the same store. If you are not handy at electrical
wiring I recommend you buy fixtures that you can plug into a wall socket.
The drawback with fluorescent exposure units is that the lamps tend to scatter the light in
all directions and can produce undercutting of the image, which will destroy fine lines and
other details. They may, however, be fine for large images such as signs and athletic
lettering or big graphic details.
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Single Point Light Source- Metal Halide Light
A single source metal halide light is the cadillac of exposure units. It uses a single
1000watt metal halide bulb to cast a shadow from your film positive onto your screen to
create the image; a heavy rubber blanket is vacuum suctioned to your screen to eliminate
any light bounce that could happen. These machines are known for precise exposures
and short exposure times but their price tag is often $4,000-$15,000 although they tend to
last for 20-30 years.
I bought mine when I started my business but now since I have moved to a new studio its
too big and wont fit through my door- it sits in storage. Thats how I came to build my own
smaller unit which works really well. If I had known I could get great results with a
homemade unit when I started I would have skipped spending thousands on this unit.
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Continue to rinse on one side only, the side that had been
directly exposed to the light source, until all the image has
been removed. You can hold your screen up to the light to
see if there is any emulsion remaining in the image area.
Its not necessary but some people wish to do this, you can
turn your screen around and quickly wash the opposite
side of the screen. Once all the emulsion is removed set
your screen aside to dry completely.
*If you have small spots of emulsion that are hard to
remove you can use the pad of your finger to rub them a
bit while you are spraying. This friction is generally enough
to help remove stubborn spots.
Immediately after you have finished exposing your screens you should bring your screen
to your wash out area and remove the film positive from the screen. You will notice that
there will be a slight change in the colour of the emulsion where it has hardened. With
warm water rinse quickly each side of your screen and let it sit for 30 seconds. Youll notice
that the emulsion starts to soften and fall away from the screen. This will soften up the
image areas that were not exposed. Next, use a sprayer attachment from your shower
head, sink, garden hose or pressure washer to gently washout the image emulsion on the
side that was facing the light source. Concentrate spraying the areas where the image is.
Washing Out Your Newly Exposed Screens
If you use a pressure washer you must use it on the least powerful setting- less than
650psI otherwise you risk removing parts of the stencil that you shouldnt, and use it on
the widest spray setting available.
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Once dry, you should check your screen for pin-holes. These are tiny 1 mm. holes the
size of a pin head that will allow small specs of ink to pass through them when printing.
You can check your screen by holding it over a light table or by holding it up to a window
or light source. If there are any, then you can take some emulsion and a small paint brush
and paint in the hole. You can do this in fully lit conditions since you want the emulsion to
harden anyhow. Let the spots dry once again and expose your screen for at least 1/4 of
the full exposure time to harden the small spots or leave your screen in the sun for 2
minutes.
Print Registration
Print registration happens at two levels; at the image level and the print surface level. And
it could quite easily be the least enjoyable part of the entire printing process. Well, I think
so. But its more important than anything else you do when printing and if you can do it
well, then the entire process will be easier- much much easier.
Print registration for fabric and paper are two different techniques. Registration for paper
is much simpler, mostly because paper is printed with the screen staying in the same
place and the newly printed paper being moved in and out while fabric is pinned or
adhered to a table and the screen is moved. Also, fabric printing on a table usually
involves a repeating pattern that must seamlessly fit together when its done- this can only
be achieved my proper registration.
Print Registration for Paper
Check for Pin-Holes
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Your screen should be secured into hinge
clamps that are attached to your print
surface. The screen is not removed from
these clamps until you have printed your
entire run of prints.
Paper Registration Step 1
Paper Registration Step 2
Lay a large piece of clear acetate
on your print surface and tape it
securely into place with masking
tape on one side only so it can be
flipped out of the way.
Paper Registration Step 3
With your screen lowered onto the
acetate print one pass of your image.
This image on the acetate now lets you
know where your screen will print each
time.
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Paper Registration Step 4
Slide a piece of the paper you will be
printing underneath the acetate until the
paper is in the position you want it to
be. Then flip the acetate out of the way
of your printing.
Paper Registration Step 5
Take two pieces of masking tape
and line them up with the bottom of
the paper and the side of the paper-
these are your registration tabs.
When you remove the paper to print
the next piece you will line up the
same edge with your tape and thats
how your image prints consistently
in the same place with each piece
of paper.
If your print has multiple colours then youll
follow the same technique to print the second
colour and so on. When your first colour is
printed, remove the paper print and flip the
acetate back onto the print surface. Wash off
the first colour and place the second screen
into the hinge clamps and print the second
colour. Now youll line up one of your printed
pieces underneath the acetate and move it until
t he col ours l i ne up. Then move your
registration tabs so they line up with the new
position for the paper.
Paper Registration Step 6
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Print Registration for Fabric and Repeating Patterns
Print registration for fabric is crucial. And you need to do two registrations; once with your
image on the screen before you expose it then a second calculation for the screens on
the table when you are about the print. The reason for this is because printing fabric on a
long table, printing a repeating pattern, involves printing every second print and then
waiting for the first series to dry then printing the in between prints to fill in the entire fabric
with a seamless print. If you didnt do it this way and printed every successive print, the
frame of the screen would mark up the wet ink on the print before it- effectively ruining
your print.
So if you wanted to print a long repeating pattern of
hearts, like in this example, you would design your
film positive so that each screen fits with the next
like a puzzle piece. You would never want to make
a repeat that fit with the next with a straight edge.
While this may be more simple, if you are off in
your registration by even the slightest amount it will
be glaringly obvious when its all printed. Having
pieces fit like a puzzle will make registration
mistakes less noticeable.
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Fabric Registration Step 1
Your first step in proper registration for fabric starts when you make your
film positives. You need to include a registration mark or a crop mark that is
in the same place on every colour separation for your print; so that when
you place your film positives on top of one another all the registration marks
will line up. Youll use these marks to register your screens later- so you
need to be confident that they will align when printed on top of one another.
You need to have at least three registration points on your film positive. A registration dot
usually is a circle with an x inside it. You can draw one or they can be bought (but are hard
to find) or your can print them out from a computer. Generally you can find them in your
work processors character palette (where you would find symbols and accented letters).
Fabric Registration Step 2
Once you have developed your film positive with the registration marks then youll place
your film positive on the surface where you will shoot your screens or you can place the
film positive directly on your unexposed screens and register it there (work under a safe
light though). You make a measurement from a single point to see how far the registration
mark is from that (I use the edge of the table- or the edge of the screen) and record that.
Then take a second measurement of how far away you second point is (I try to make them
the same distance from the edge) and youll record that. Tape your positive in place. Use
these same measurements for each positive- that way youll know they are all on the
exactly same spot for each screen.
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Its a good idea to record on paper what
your measurements are as well. If you
registered your film positive on your
print surface you will also have to
record where your screen is when you
placed it on top of the film positive so
you can place the next screens in the
same place. I use tape to mark the
screen position.
Fabric Registration Step 3
Now that you have exposed your screens and are relatively sure that each image has
been properly registered you can set up your table registration. You are going to make
certain two things: that the images will print straight and that the repeat distance is
properly measured out. Since you first print only repeat 1, 3, 5 and so on you will have to
make sure that you leave the right amount of space in between for repeat 2, 4, 6 and so
on.
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Once you have pinned or adhered your fabric to your print table you will want to use a T-
bar to mark the registration points along the tables edge.
Fabric Registration Step 4
A T-bar is a tool which you can make yourself that you will slide along your table to each
registration point. Your screen will lay flush with its edges so the screen stays consistently
straight along the entire table.
To make a T-bar, all you need is two pieces of very straight 2x4 pine. Attach them as you
see in this image so that one piece fits flush with the side edge of the table and the other
spans to width of the table. Put a handle on it so its easy to lift and move to the next
registration position.
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Measure the repeat of the print which is
the distance between the first and
second repeats. Note: This is not the
same as the width of the image. It is the
width of the image plus the space until
the new repeat starts.
I will make a mark on a ruler or tape measure and use that as a guide and mark off each
registration point. Ill first mark it on the table then Ill place my T-bar at that line, draw a
line along the edge of the T-bar and name the mark. I generally write RR1 or RR2 etc.
which stands for right registration position 1 so I know that this is the first registration point
and it should be on the right side of the T-bar.
Fabric Registration Step 5
Once you have marked the tabl e
registration, you will mark the the vertical
position of the screen for each print
repeat. As I butt up the screen to the T-
bar I note where I want the print to be
placed on the fabric and I tape the bottom
edge of the screen where it meets the t-
bar. Ill use the mark so that I place the
screen in the same place each time I
move it to the new repeat registration
point.
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Printing Inks
Printing onto paper allows you a lot of flexibility with what you use to print. If the
substance is not too thin or too dense you can likely print paper with it. But with fabric you
need to print with a printing ink that has the necessary chemicals in it so the ink adheres
to the fabric so it can be washed and dried.
For fabric you can use either pigments or dyes to print. Pigment inks are colours that
need a binder agent to attach them to the surface of the cloth. While dye actually forms a
bond with the fiber.
Pigments can be used on just about any type of fabric whether its a natural fibre or a
synthetic fibre. So for that reason pigment inks are a very popular choice. The draw back
with pigments is that you can feel them on the surface of the garment; which is called the
hand feel. Higher quality pigment inks will have a softer hand feel to them, like the
Permaset Ink brand. Pigment inks can be water based or solvent based. I choose to use
water based inks because they are less toxic to be around, easier on the environment and
can be heat cured with regular heat or will self cure on their own in about a month.
Pigment inks
The alternative to water based inks are solvent inks which are very popular (but not
necessary) for commercial t-shirt printing. Solvent inks require the use of a UV curing lamp
or a UV flash dryer for them to dry. They will remain wet forever unless you use a UV
lamp. Solvent inks come in a large range of colours and specialty applications, like gel ink
and sparkle inks. But the solvents that they are made from are harmful to the environment.
And the cleaners that are used to clean the screens are even more toxic. Lately, there
have been some soy based cleaners for solvent inks that have been introduced to the
marketplace that are much friendlier to the environment. Even so I continue to use water-
based inks which now come in glow, puff, phosphorescent and opaque colours and still
only require conventional heat for curing.
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Even if the colour is removable its rare that the colour underneath will be a bright white
colour. Often its a pale yellow, pale blue or grey colour.
Dark and medium colored fabrics are traditionally hard to print on whether you use water-
based or solvent inks. Opaque pigment inks offer some help but the best way to achieve
a superior print onto dark fabric is to use discharge paste. This is a printing chemical
paste that you print with that will actually remove the ink of your t-shirt fabric in the shape
of your image. Discharge paste doesnt always remove the ink completely and every
fabric needs to be tested to see if its colour is removable.
Discharge Printing Paste
The nice thing about discharge paste is that you can add a colour to it. So while taking
away the ground colour you can leave another in its place. This is referred to as pigment
discharge.
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Devor
Another fantastic printing technique is devor which creates a chemically achieved
embroidery look on mixed fibre cloth. The devor print paste dissolves or burns away the
image you print on your mixed fibre cloth. There are different print pastes for different kinds
of fabrics; youll want to check to see if the print paste you make or buy is the right one for
the cloth you are using. Most often there is no colour applied in the process. Strong odors
are emitted during the heating process of the cloth when the fibres are being dissolved, so
you want to be certain that you are in a very well ventilated room or are wearing a vapors
mask.
Printing With Dyes
You can also print with dyes just as you would pigments. Dyes are different from pigments
in that they form a bond with the fibres instead of simply bonding to the surface. Since
they become part of the cloth there is no hand feel to them, leaving the printed area very
soft. The reactive dye paste has two parts; an active part, the dye colour, and an inactive
part, the thickener which gives body to the dye so it can be applied with a screen. To set
the colour with dyes the fabric needs to be steamed after the print has dried. During the
steaming process the colour often brightens considerably so dont be disheartened when
your printed colour doesnt look as expected- it will once you steam wash and dry the
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Mixing your Ink
In my work I use exclusively fabric
printing inks and one brand in
particular, Permaset. Permaset is a
water-based ink that is 100% solvent
free. They can also be used on paper
but not all fabric ink brands can.
Permaset comes in ready mixed
bottles which can be combined to
make new colours.
You can print with almost anything that will pass through your screen mesh as long as it
has enough consistency that it wont leak or spill under the screen. The consistency of
runny pudding is about right. What you print with will be determined by what your end
product is and what you need from it. If its clothing, then pigments or dyes with binders for
fabric is needed, if its paper, then acrylic paint may do just fine. There are too many
printing inks to list them all. Its always a great idea to test out a few and see how they
Tips for Mixing and Storing Inks
Store your inks in a cool dry place. A refrigerator will keep them the longest.
Old inks can be strained through cheesecloth to remove old dried bits of ink.
Mix a new colour by adding a very small amount of colour and build up to a darker
colour- its easier than going too dark right away and adding more base to dilute the
colour.
If youre printing with acrylics you can thin and dilute the colours with wall paper paste
which is extremely affordable and prints really well.
You can print just adhesive mediums and apply other products once you lift off the
screen, like sparkles, faux flocking, or gold foil.
Another kind of system uses
pure pigments which are
added to a transparent
base. You can add them to
a quick curing base or an
opaque base as well.
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Multi- Colour Printing
Printing in more than one colour is an advanced
technique. Primarily because it requires knowledge
of print registration (which you now know how to
do) and the use of multiple screens. But having the
ability to play with many colours can add drama,
depth and dimension to your prints. The colours
can represent a story unto themselves. You can
switch colour positions and create photorealistic
using four screens with CMYK colours.
One Colour Printing
By now you have read and learned most everything you need to know to be able to print a
one colour print onto paper or fabric.
When someone refers to a one colour print it
generally means that the entire image is
comprised of just a single colour and can be
printed with just one screen. One colour prints can
be really wonderful. They have a very graphic
quality to them and can propose some interesting
play on positive and negative shapes. They are
also great because they are fast to print and very
inexpensive and with just one screen to worry
about youre less likely to make an error. Chances
are that if you go to any craft show youll likely see
one colour prints on stuff for the most part,
whether its t-shirts or clothes or cards. They are
so much more economical than multi-colored
prints. Its a smarter choice for the hand crafter if
they want to have a decent profit margin on the
product.
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Printing Onto Paper
The difference between printing onto paper and printing onto fabric is that fabric is
absorbent and paper is not. So when you pass a squeegee over fabric it will absorb the
ink but paper tends to let the ink sit on top of it. When the ink can not be absorbed or
penetrate the surface you wish to print, the design will blur/ smudge when printed. So
often paper printing is done off-contact. Sounds complicated, but it's not. Printing off-
contact means you slightly raise your screen (3-5mm or 1.4") off the print surface. That's
Printing onto paper is a very versatile skill to be able to do. You can create posters, cards,
art prints, to name a few. You can print over existing printed paper like maps or you can
print onto plastic like surfaces such as Con-Tac paper.
Wi t h p a p e r p r i n t i n g y o u
ABSOLUTELY need to have at least
3-4 inches of space between the
inside edge of the screen and the
image. Otherwise you won't have
enough room for the screen to
stretch down to the print surface as
the squeegee passes over that
area.
Another difference between fabric
printing and paper printing is that
with paper printing your screen will
be in hinge clamps and attached to
your print surface while you move in
and out new paper. The basic
technique for paper printing involves
raising the screen and flooding it,
propping the screen up, placing a
new piece of paper underneath and
lowering the screen and printing.
Generally, one pass can be sufficient
but up to three passes can work too.
The squeegee youll use for paper
printing should have a harder rubber
edge than your fabric squeegee (75
durometer or more).
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To achieve that slightly raised screen most people
tape a small square of cardboard box underneath the
two corners of their screen nearest them. The other
side of the screen is sitting in hinge clamps. Having
this small amount of space when you pass the
squeegee over the paper allows the screen to spring
back up once you have printed and avoids the blur
you would get otherwise.
Here are the steps to printing onto paper for one one or multi-color
designs:
Attache a pair of hinge clamps to your work surface. Make certain they are square and
straight when you screw them in.
Place your printing screen in the hinge clamps.
Tape two pieces of cardboard box to the underside corners of your printing screen
Lightly spray your print surface with repositionable photo adhesive or spread a tiny
amount of table adhesive or even white glue over the area so that it is slightly tacky.
Take a large piece of transparent paper and place it over your work surface; taping it on
one side only to your print table.
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Print one pass of your image onto the transparent paper.
Place your paper under the transparency so that your image will print where you want it
to.
Flip the transparency away from your print area.
Mark the bottom and side of the paper edge with masking tape. These will be your
registration marks so dont remove them.
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Raise the screen and flood it again. Prop up the screen with something (I use a roll of
tape) and switch in a new piece of paper. Print all pieces of paper with this screen and let
them dry.
Pour a bead of ink along the bottom of your screen area (the well).
Flood the screen with the screen in a raised position, then print with the screen down.
If printing a second colour, place that screen in your hinge clamps,
Flip your transparency paper back onto your print surface. And print the second colour
screen. Use that new print as a guide and place one of the printed pieces of paper so the
colours line up with the acetate print. then place new registration tabs for this piece of
paper.
Print your second colour.
Repeat these steps for each colour you have in your design.
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Secret Tips for Paper Printing
Dont buy new paper for every
project. Go green and use old or
reclaimed paper. Make it wrinkle
free and crisp like new by ironing it!
Extend your paints and pigments
with inexpensive wall paper paste
(called clear adhesive) for 1/5th the
cost of craft store paint extender.
Printing Onto Fabric
This section on fabric printing will focus mostly on
printing yardage and panels of fabric instead of
printing t-shirts which will be covered in the next
section. Printing yardage is very exciting but takes
a certain amount of patience and attention to
detail. Yardage is printed onto a long table that is
covered in 1/2 industrial wool felt, 2 layers of
heavy weight calico cotton and measures at least
12 feet long or 4 meters. Many large operations
use tables that are 20 meters long and Hermes in
France uses tables that are 150 meters long! The
longer the table the more efficient your operation
will be since you have to skip every second print
and then go back once theyve dried and fill in
between the spaces. once you get started printing
it goes relatively quickly- so the more you can
print at once the more cost effective and efficient
you will be.
Rosin Fagan of Bespoke Uprising printing yardage
for her childrens wear in our Halifax studio.
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Once you have designed your image so that it will repeat seamlessly you will register your
repeat distance on the print table. But before that youll want to pin down a drop cloth.
Ideally a drop cloth is made from medium weight calico so that the pigments or dyes wont
seep onto your table. The drop cloth should be pinned to the table taut and with t-pins.
Begin by pinning a few on the long side, stretching and pulling taut as you go. Place t-pins
every 3-4 inches. Then move to the opposite side of the table and place pins directly
opposite the first pins you put in. Then move to the ends and repeat the same procedure.
Always keeping the drop cloth pulled taut and fairly straight. Finish at the corners and pin
them down as well.
If you plan on using a table adhesive to adhere your fabric to the table you might want to
consider using a slightly plasticized or vinyl drop cloth since youll want to wash it off
between every few uses.
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Once your drop cloth is pinned you can register
your print. I generally draw with a pencil directly
onto the drop cloth but some people put down a
strip of masking tape then mark their registration
points.
Some tables have a metal guide rail that is
meant to be used instead of a T-bar. If you have
a table with a rail then mark your registration on
the rail instead of the table.
Next, youll want to pin your fabric onto the table. You will want to iron your fabric first and
use t-pins to pin the fabric to the table as you did with the drop cloth. The most important
thing is to make sure that you keep the grain of the fabric straight. If you pull too hard on
any direction, once you take your print off the table youll see that its distorted.
Next, tape off your screen and check for pin holes.
When you!re ready, print your rst run of prints;
printing every second one 1, 3, 5 etc. using the T-bar
to keep your screen straight.
When you print on fabric you will print on-contact- so
there is no need to have cardboard underneath the
screen while you print.
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SCREEN PRINT: CHEAP AND EASY!
When your rst run of prints is dry, place your screen at the second print registration point
and print in between the rst run of prints. If you have a second or third colour then follow
the same procedure until all of the colours have been printed. Wait for your fabric to dry
before you remove it to heat set it.
Pour a bead of ink into the well; the bottom 3 inches of the screen nearest you. Using a
medium to hard amount of pressure with the squeegee (65 durometer for the blade
hardness) and holding it at a 65 degree angle push the ink up the screen, place the
squeegee behind the ink and pull it towards you. Repeat the up and back motion once
more, this is referred to as #four pulls! of the squeegee. Once nished wash the screen and
squeegee before you begin the second run of prints.
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T-Shirt Printing
T-shirts have become a medium for self-expression and advertising, with any imaginable
combination of words, art or photographs, so I wanted to devote a small section just for t-
shirt printing.
Printing t-shirts easily and economically is best achieved when you use a printing press.
You can make one your self- for one colour printing, or buy one for multi-colour printing
(they start at about $400.00). They make printing tees so easy that you can do a hundred
in an afternoon.
A four colour press such as this allows you to have four spot colours or use CMYK
process screens to achieve full color prints. Each screen is clamped into one of the raised
hinges and the t-shirt is placed on the platen (the flat board with the neck shape). Each
screen is lowered, you print and then the next screen moves into place and so on.
You can easily build your own single
col our t-shi rt press j ust l i ke thi s
illustration.
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CMYK Printing and Process Colours
In silkscreen printing you need to have a solid black image on your film positive to properly
expose your stencil with photographic emulsion. If your image requires solid blocks of
colour and no gradients or shading then it's no problem. But if your image is more
photographic or has significant gradients and varying tone then you have a problem.
And thats when you might consider using the CMYK printing process which uses a series
of dots that vary in size and shape and spacing to create an optical illusion of varying
tones and gradients; called a halftone image. The dots are so small that the human eye
blends them together so they appear as smooth tones. The same image is split into the
four process colours, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These four colours comprised of
tiny dots combine together to create the illusion of a multitude of colours.
Each colour will be a separate screen. So you
need to produce four screens for any CMYK
project.
Creating your halftone image will require some
digital manipulation. Adobe photoshop has a
number of filters to reproduce your image in a
halftone pattern that you can use for your film
positive.
(filters<pixelate<color halftone,
filters<sketch<halftone pattern,
mode<grayscale<bitmap).
Heres a complete tutorial for creating CMYK
images.
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Heat Setting Your Printing
The nicest thing about water based pigments is that they will self cure in about a month.
But if you are selling product you want to make certain your print will be wash safe no
matter when a client buys it so heat setting is imperative. So once your print is dry you can
either:
A drying tunnel is what the professionals use.
Just hand iron. Initially must air dry. Results supposedly not as good as tunnel drying,
but there is no evidence of difference.
Again after air drying, fold piece, wrap in aluminum foil and bake at low heat (90C </
=190F) in an oven.
After THOROUGH air drying, place in tumble-dryer for say 30 minutes and test. I have
found two thirty minute cycles to be the best.
All these methods are dependent on your local conditions, moisture content of fabrics etc.
Best advice is to do a test piece (or better, multiple pieces). These can be cured with the
proper print, then taken out and evaluated at various stages of the curing or heat-set
process to test washability.
Water-based Inks
Solvent Inks
Solvent inks have one outstanding characteristic, they must be heated to a very high
temperature to dry. They will not dry, or cure, at normal temperatures. For a complete cure,
they must reach 290-330 F (143-166 C). Generally a UV lamp is required for those
elevated temperatures.
When solvent inks are heated, the resin particles absorb the surrounding liquid (plasticizer)
and swell, merge with each other and form a tough, elastic film. It is generally impossible
to over-cure because the over-cure temperature is above the scorching point of the
garment. However, it is not recommended that you heat the ink layer above 350 F (176
C).
Solvent inks can generally be fully cured with a flash cure unit if the heater is set to the
highest temperature and the unit is placed 2-3 inches (5-7.6 cm) over the garment for
20-30 seconds. For curing between colors where only a partial cure is required, the time
can be less.
Dyes
To be safe your print should air dry for 24 hours. Then the fabric must be steamed, rinsed
in cold water, then hot with a little soap (Synthrapol brand) and then in cool water until the
water runs clear.
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Reclaiming Your Screen
Once you have finished with your screen you will want to strip away the exposed emulsion
so that it can be used again. Reclaiming or stripping a screen uses chemicals that are best
used with very good ventilation or a vapors mask. The strippers for water based are
different from the solvent based ones. Water-based strippers are available in
environmentally friendly formulas. (they say they are friendly but I would take that with a
grain of salt). Solvent based ones are quite toxic but better soy based ones are now on the
market (but not widely in use). The following example is for water based reclaiming.
Reclaiming Your Screen (water based) Step 1
Remove all tape from your screen and then wet both sides with water.
Reclaiming Your Screen (water based) Step 2
Put on heavy duty gloves and safety goggles.
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Reclaiming Your Screen (water based) Step 3
Mix your emulsion remover according to manufacturers specs. The liquid is usually a
concentrate and needs to be diluted. Some people will pour the solution into a bucket and
use a brush to apply it but I use a spray bottle to spray it onto my screen. As I am spraying I
scrub the screen with a nylon bristle brush to loosen the emulsion (30 seconds/ side). It is
vitally important that you do not leave the remover on the screen for more than a minute or
two at the most. It will have the opposite effect of hardening your emulsion on
permanently!
I spray and scrub both sides. You should see the emulsion run off a bit at this point. Once I
have scrubbed both sides I use a pressure washer to remove the emulsion. If you dont
have a pressure washer you can use a sprayer attachment from a garden hose. I have
often used the sprayer head from my shower.
Reclaiming Your Screen (water based) Step 4
If there are stubborn bits of emulsion you
may want to spray and scrub again and
rinse off right away. Once your screen is
clear of emulsion then you can let it dry to
be used again!
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Appendix A
Terms and Definitions
Silkscreen printing is a great way to have fun, make some money and expand yourself as
the creative being you know you are! But it's hard to get started sometimes when you have
no idea what you're talking about. So this is my beginners guide to the meanings and uses
for all the terms silkscreen printing pros use to, well, sound like pros. Learn these and you
can walk into any supply store, art store or printing shop and get the respect you deserve-
and the products you'll need.
Silkscreen Printing: Other wise known as screen printing, silkscreening, silk screening
and serigraph. These are ALL the same things. The most common way to refer to the
process is 'screen print' mostly because there is significant confusion in the general public
about the 'silk' in the term silkscreen printing. Frankly, silk isn't really any part of the
process- not since the 60's at least. It was used as the mesh for the screen print frame but
has been replaced by polyester mesh which is vastly superior. Officially, screen printing is a
printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support some sort of stencil (we'll look at
stencil definitions in another post). That stencil can be made of a lot of different things but
each stencil system will act as a resist for ink, blocking out some areas and leaving others
open to the mesh. The printer passes a squeegee over the screen which forces the ink into
the open areas of the stencil and through the mesh onto your substrate.
Substrate: This is the term that screen
printers use when they talk about the
surface that they will be printing onto. So
'substrate' can represent just about anything
you can manage to print onto; paper, fabric,
plastic or glass just to name a few. (I'm sure
if you thought about it long enough you
could come up with a few novel substrate
surfaces to print onto.) The substrate doesn't
even have to be flat; silkscreen printing
machines often print onto round surfaces
like bottles. You'll notice that when screen
printers are referring to their screen print
frames they might refer to the squeegee
side and the substrate side. So it would
follow that when referring to the frame the
substrate side would be the side that
touches the surface to be printed. The
squeegee side is the side on which the
squeegee is used.
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Screen Mesh: The mesh is the fabric part of your silk screen frame. It is made from high
grade monofilament polyester. The mesh can be yellow or white and range in thread count
from 40 to 400. Fabric printers might use 80 or 110 thread/in. for applications where they
need to lay down white or light colored inks on dark fabrics. As the mesh count rises, the
amount of ink flow and deposit thickness decreases. In graphics applications on non-
porous materials like paper, less ink is required for coverage, and higher mesh counts
above 300 threads/in. allow finer images and details to be printed. I use a white 110 mesh
and sometimes a white 156 mesh most often because I print onto fabric and with water
based pigment inks. There are some inks that have specific characteristics that put
limitations on mesh counts. UV inks require thin ink deposits for proper curing and wont dry
in the screen, so mesh counts above 305 are used. When you get different fabrics in the
higher mesh counts, you will notice there are white meshes and yellow meshes, many in
the same counts. Generally, whites are less expensive than the dyed/colored mesh. When
exposing a positive on white mesh, especially halftones and fine lines, you may notice the
edge definition and the quality of the image is rougher than the positive. This is due to light
bounce. The white threads reflect light in different directions and produce soft edges on the
stencil. Yellow mesh minimizes this effect and produces sharper images. This is not so
critical on coarser meshes where details are bolder (i.e. for t-shirts or basic designs with flat
colors) But it does become critical in halftone or fine-detail printing. You can buy the screen
mesh here online.
Squeegee: A screen print squeegee is a longish rectangular tool often made from wood
with a rubber blade inserted into it. As you pass the squeegee over the silkscreen frame
mesh it squeezes the ink through the open areas of the mesh depositing it onto your
substrate surface. The squeegee comes in quite a few shapes and sizes. The handle part
of the component is of least importance. What you really need to know are the technical
specs on the blade- the rubber part. The squeegee blade can be square, rounded or pointy
and it can be hard or soft. Generally, flexible squeegees with rounded blade edges are
used for fabric printing, while hard, square edged squeegees are for printing on paper,
wood and other surfaces. The lower the durometer the softer the blade. I have always used
a 60 durometer square blade. (I print mainly on fabric and I like the sharper image that a
square blade gives me and the softness of the 60 durometer blade). 60 durometer is great
for high density printing because it allows a good amount of ink to roll through the stencil. It
can be a tough blade for thicker inks but I have always managed nevertheless. There are
many companies that sell a 70 durometer blade as their standard and that is OK too. And
there are some blades that have multiple durometers within a single blade. The triple
durometer squeegee is great for more difficult types of printing applications. Many screen
printers use it for process printing or printing of thicker inks (such as white or opaque inks).
75/90/75 durometer blade means that your blade has softer edges for smooth printing
application but a stiff center for a rigid blade angle. 80 Durometer squeegee is great for
more difficult types of printing applications and thicker inks.
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flood Stroke: Flooding ink across the entire image area before every print is necessary to
stop air-drying inks from drying in the screen. This is done with the screen raised.
Print Stroke: The screen is lowered, but is not actually touching the substrate (off-contact)
because the edges have been slightly built up. The print stroke requires slightly firmer
pressure on the squeegee than the flood stroke, to push the ink through the open mesh to
the substrate. As the squeegee passes over the screen moves down and then lifts, and is
again off-contact.
Happy Printing!
Michelle SaintOnge
www.printcutsew.com
www.michellesaintonge.com
Materials Sourcing List
Click to go directly to the Online Resource
Complete screen printing kit
Appendix B
Screen mesh
Permaset Fabric Inks
Scoop coater
Photo emulsion
Squeegee
Screen print frames
fabric.com (up to 70% off retail.)
Acrylic varnish
Power assist staple gun
Drawing Fluid
Exposure unit Hinge clamps
Table adhesive
UV flash dryer

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