Anyone here do silkscreening?
polycounter lvl 18
just looking for some info on silkscreens etc.. I'd like to be able to do 1 color shirts at first then move on from there. could anyone fill me in what i might need? i'm doing some research on my own but I know that you guys/gals dabble in a bit of everything around here so I threw up this post. thanks!!
Replies
these days it's a lot less complicated and rather cheap actually.
What you'll need:
1. black and white printer
2. screen transfer heater (about 200 ~ 500 dollars)
3. ink and screen holder, squeeji (cheap, 20 dollars or so for the lot)
4. T-Shirts.
5. extra screens. (these used to be made from silk and were tremendously expensive, now they are made from a type of plastic and are probably the same price as copier paper.)
Most if not all of this stuff can be picked up at your local art supplies shop, or online. Not aware of any websites or your location, but all of this stuff is at my local hardware store.
You'll want to build a little press out of a few pieces of plywood and the special screen hinges. it makes doing this stuff by hand much more manageable. the shirts we managed to make were pretty professional and clean because of it. i'm sure some small presses can be found or perhaps those hinges are still sold with the plans... i wish i had the press still or the plans. i left all of it behind with my college as they wanted to continue to use it.
i also had alot of luck with the photoemulsion paper methods. it comes on rolls and you just cut it and stick it into the screen. before that happens, you have to have printed your design onto a sheet of mylar. same stuff you use on overhead projectors. tape this frimly and tightly to the photopaper on the screen, you dont want gaps between the printed sections and screen, as it can cause light bleed and irregular screen cureing. now stick the whole thing out in the sun for as long as the papaer says it needs to cure. try to do it around noon so the sun is directly overhead. the sunlit areas go hard and block the screen. the other bits are soft and wash out. i had acess to a photo studio so i used some 500watt lights directly the screens. worked well too.
buy the wooden frames unless you are an excellant woodworker. they need to be strong. i wasnt a good woodworker, and they sucked ass. also always staple the nylon on the backs. if you do it on the front will make it stand off the surface.
make sure the inks you get are air cured. and get lots of hangers and line as you need to dry them alot at once. then run them thru the dryer after they are dry, just to make sure its nice and cured.
buy multiple squgees. one for each color. dont mix, the cured ink you dont manage to get off it will bleed into the next time you print white.
buy blue painters tape. you use it alot. its also useful tapeing inside the screen to double mask out areas you dont want to print on. but if you pull it up it'll rip the emulsion so its not to be lifted untill you are wipeing the screen. also get the little spot masking fluid. you'll have spots go soft on you and you can fix/maintain them with the pain on mask. You'll also tape the inside corners of the screen. this is to keep the ink from getting between the nylon the frames. the ink is pricey, dont want to waste it by letting it run all over and under.
watch your ink temps. they like a certain heat ranges during storage and printing and curing. follow them. most inks will storage for... maybe 6 months to a year depending on the seal after opening. you can mix inks to get more colors usually and still have it print and cure properly. but i wouldnt try that between different ink manufactures.
buy thick good shirts. yes it costs alot. i still have shirts 12 years old i printed that look and feel great. i think bearkub might as well...
good luck, and get some good automotive grease strength cleaning lotion and towels.... oh yes you'll want lots of towels, i suggest the blue coarse ones you use in a car garage. or job squad, they really do the trick. not bounty.
...you have to have printed your design onto a sheet of mylar
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We use vellum where I work at for this. Not as good as the mylar but it's probably cheaper. Also, you'll need a printer that prints very dark blacks as thick as possible. Some of the older HP Color Laserjets are good for this but they're expensive. The key isn't really how dark the black is, but how opaque it is. It needs to allow as little light as possible to pass through it. And you would want a printer that prints at least 11x17 size paper or larger.