screen printing for dummies.

[deth502 39]

thanks for some more great tips, mforsman 

i thought of just searching youtube, but the problem there is you get a lot of ppl who have no clue pretending theyre experts, and i dont want to be lead down the wrong path.

im prob about 1 1/2 hrs from allentown. a class would eb great, but nothing i know of anywhere close to here. and again, im going for bare bones minimum for this trial, which is why i didnt/dont want to do a big order on a lot of high end equipment. so far im ready to go when ever i get the time, and i only have $65 into this. i havent seen any all inclusive "starter kits" that i can have shipped to my house and still be under that, and thats including 4 cheap undershirts to practice on.

[screenprintr 319]

You don't have to do Half of the Ink. I didn't explain that right.

You want to pull ink toward you with the squeege Straight Up and Down. When you do this some ink will fill the image and you'll still have a good amount that you pulled over.

Push that ink back with the squeege still straight up and down.

Then put the press down on the t-shirt, tilt the squeege a little bit, and pull ink toward you. Straighten the squeege and push the ink you pulled back away from you.

Left the press or screen off the t-shirt. When you push that last bit of ink back to the squeege resting area, you're done when using a press. When you only have a screen and use my previous instructions, you'll still have ink in the image.

In order to register your screen again for a second coat or a new color, when pushing the squeege back after your pull, keep the squeege at a tilt in the other direction and no ink will stay in the image. Maybe a little.

This way, if you need a second coat you can see through the screen and it'll make it easier to register or line up your image.

Since you only have one screen, you'll have to expose two images. I recommend putting one image on each side. Don't forget the image or stencil goes upside down on the Flat side of the screen.

Coat the Screen with the Emulstion once on each side. Try to Leave it real thin cause it will drip.

[screenprintr 319]

No, stretching a shirt on a board doesn't hold it down. They're usually on a board to lay them flat. You still need an adhesive.

You can probably buy it at wal-mart too.

If you make a mistake the ink is there to stay with water base ink. It stains. With Plastisol it's easier to get the smudge out with a stain remover. But it has to be done before you start curing.

Also, remember that when exposing the screen or coating it. You can't have any UV light. No Flouresent Lights, at all. I bought 3 round shop lights that use incandecent bulbs. They're the silver bowl looking things. I bought them at wal-mart for about $8.00 each. Maybe less.

Where in PA do you live. I live in Toms River NJ and would be willing to have you down for some training.

I also have a great vendor that makes their own equipment in the USA. They have four flavors. 1/1, 4/1, 4/2 and 6/2 manual screen printing presses.

My 4/1 (four color 1 station) cost about $400 shipped. The 1/1 about $150.

[deth502 39]

i do have some crappy spray adhesive around. i was doing some upholstering on some gun cabinets we were making, and i told the guy to get the automotove stuff, he came back woth this hobby stuff that aint gonna anchor heavy suede, but it will prob work great for this. if id does leave any residue, i know it will wash right out.

and, yes, i know about the uv thing, i didnt, however, think incandescent bulbs were ok, i was going to get one of those red darkroom lights, i KNOW theres one around here somewhere.....

im further from jersey than allentown. im just right of the center of the state. halfway between harrisburg and scranton.

not sure yet about the differences between "colors" and "stations", and, although i havent tried anything yet, the more i lok at this, the simpler its seeming, and i think its not gona be too bad. if not, ill likely be looking for some kind of setup, and $400 dosent sound too bad. especially if its domestically made 

[screenprintr 319]

I thought the same thing when I started. Screwed up the first few t-shirts. Then I went back and read some more, and went back to it.

I was really successful the next time. So the third time I went in a little cocky, and had to humble myself or should I say, was humbled.

It takes time, and you have to just keep practicing until you get it.

Also, the classes from Vastex are $500 each. They have one Nov. 12, 13, and 14th. All one class. However, it's worth it to learn and than be able to screen print and bring in what you paid. Two or three orders and you've made your money back.

You can still learn from here and a little trial and error. We totally learned to use a cutter from two websites, and youtube.

[Rodger 527]

Deth says " not sure yet about the differences between "colors" and "stations", "

The 4 color - 1 station means there is 4 screenholders that rotate ( 1 screen for each color ) & 1 station that holds the T-shirt etc where the operator sqeezees the ink .

I have watched the process at sign shows & I did stay at a Holiday Express some time ago . If you can find a sign show near you , go & i'm sure there will be screen printing equipment there also .You can call & make sure there is somebody displaying SP stuff .

[deth502 39]

so the 4/2 would mean you could have 2 shirts set up at once?

im guessing the advantage of this would be one could be drying/curing between colors while doing the other?

[Conquestgraphics 4]

i started with a ranar six color one station now i use a 4 color 4 station vastex with a dual heater 8 foot conveyor all you need to start is a 4 color 1 station http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/screen-printing-press have like 300 screens if you want some u can have some for 9.oo per screen plus shipping

[Conquestgraphics 4]

yes with a 2 station if your quick you can flash dry while you pint the other shirt

[deth502 39]

conquest, i am very interested in getting some screens, prob around 10-12, i just want to get this trial done first to make sure it dosent aggravate me too much. ive been known to completely abandon projects that give me enough trouble.

finally got some time.didnt really do much, 15 min work. cut up some scrap 2x2's laying around,screwed them together, and stretched the fabric over and stapled. 

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/deth502/screens/IMAGE_163.jpg[/img]

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/deth502/screens/IMAGE_164.jpg[/img]

next is to apply the photo stuff (sorry for the technical terms ) but first i need to read the direction on it, as i know theres some kind of mixing involved. i may even get on the brake and bend and weld up one of those applier apparatuses, if it looks like its going to make the job easier/more foolproof.

[Conquestgraphics 4]

hpw tight were you able to get your screen

[deth502 39]

its pretty tight. only bad part, imo, is that are.... theyre not ripples, but a few "stripes" where its not quite as tight. next time, i think, the staples are going to have to be closer together to keep the fabric tight all the way across.

[screenprintr 319]

Try googling: How to make a Screen Printing Stretcher.

I saw one where a guy used four Wood/wife hangers, and some eye bolts. After it's all stretched out you glue the screen to the frame.

No staples.

[deth502 39]

im used to stretching and stapling from  upholstering, but its never anything this thin. never tried it any other way.

anyhows...

the directions said to wash the screen first. it said to used powdered dish detergent. well, i use liquid dish detergent, so, guess what?  after that, the screen became VERY loose. i was thinking id have to re-stretch it, but after it dried, it tightened back up.

that was last night. this morning i mixed up some of the photoemulsion and spread it on the screen. it is now drying under my sink. after i get back from the dentist, ill check my stock to see if i have any glass left thats over 10x18. i had an issue where someone who was careless with placing a pallet of osb smashed most of my glass stock.

this whole project, although very slowly, is moving along quite well, so far, imo. im still anxious to see how the final screen turns out. even if my application is a failure, ill consider geting a good screen a huge sucess at this point, but i think if i do get the screen, the application should be the easy part. i am also doing some "wrong" things there, but youll get to see that fiasco when i get there 

[screenprintr 319]

What are the Eye bolts for? Are you planning on hanging the screen to dry?

BTW, the screen is the easy part. It's the screen printing with the ink drying. In my opinion, Plastisol is easier to screen, but messy to clean up.

Waterbase is a pain to screen and maintain while screening, but real easy to clean up, and better for the environment.

[deth502 39]

didnt know what you were talking about at first. no, the eye bolts were left over from installing a kiddie gate on the stairway of one of the fathers rentals, and the rest of them went into the bag of miscellaneous screws i keep in the drill box. i had to dump them all out to get to the 2 1/2-3" screws i needed.

the screening part looks easy.lol. from watching it done anyway. the making of the screen was worrying me a bit. i bouthgt a pack of 4 cheap undershirts to try it on, if i can get one of those (only 25%!!) to come out well, ill be more than happy.

and i got a lot of tips here that i never would have known trying it to help me out with that too!

didnt get to look for the glass today. stuck my hand in the cupboard, and the screen felt dry after about 2 hrs. directions said i have up to 4 weeks, so im not worried about the time frame. that reminds me, gotta find that halogen light too......

[deth502 39]

i done done it tonight.

final results:

well, it worked, it was pretty easy, results sucked.

i have pics of the whole process i used, to go with the instructional type thread i hae going so far, but heres a sneak peek at teh final product.

ill get posting the rest later tonight or tomorrow

[screenprintr 319]

Looks pretty good.

Are you using Waterbase, and did you use two screens?

I can see the far right lower red had some spots. If waterbase the ink probably dried in the screen. Keep a water bottle to spray that area on the screen, print faster, or off screen contact.

Look at some Bill Hood You Tube videos.

Also watch the one about one stroke no flash or something like that.

[deth502 39]

thanks, 2 screens? well, ill get to my little half-assed "tutorial" to get to that....

great video, a lot of that whole mesh micron part went over my head, but im gonna watch it a few more times till i get the hang of it. 

i have some other theories, but ill get to them too. have a look at what i did and see what you think...

[deth502 39]

now, my first order of business was to get the glass and halogen light. i dug out the old one and the bulb was shot. went to the hardware store to get a new one, and the bulbs were $6, a new light was $16, since this one was actually borrowed, i decided for the minimal price difference, ill jst buy a new one. i also put some masking tape around the glass edge to try to avoid the inevitable large bleeding gash on my hand. 

to make the image, i put the vinyl decal i cut right on the glass.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/deth502/screens/IMAGE_167.jpg[/img]

[deth502 39]

check out this setup!!  lol!!

i just put part of the halogen on the kitchen table, and held the other end by tying it off to the miniblind cord. 

then i just put the screen on the floor, and the glass over it, vinyl down, and let it go for about 15 min.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/deth502/screens/IMAGE_169.jpg[/img]

yeah, i know i need to vaccuum.

[deth502 39]

washing it was.....different?

it seemed that all the scrubbing i did was for naught. seemed that just letting it soak in some water in for a few minutes loosened it up just as much as the parts i was vigorously scrubbing.

in the end, the front got scrubbed a little too much

found a bottle of "screen filler" in the kit i got. i thought , hmmm, that sound just about like i was looking for!!

the "repaired" screen

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/deth502/screens/IMAGE_171.jpg[/img]

[deth502 39]

now heres where i got tricky.

since i had just the one screen, and really no way to align them if i did have 2, i ran a ridge down the middle with a piece of masking tape to keep the 2 inks separated.

soo....

at that point, i taped some cardboard on the bottom sides to act as a standoff. i had a piece of 3/4" plywood that was a leftover cutout from installing a sink in a contertop that i used to put the shirt on. it was unfinished plywood. i did use a tack spray on it.

it was not easy getting the shirt on over the rough edges of the plywood. the colors were then done in 2 swipes with 2 different squeeges. i think that may have caused the problem of the blotches of ink getting behind the screen.

now, the voids. i dont think that was from dry ink. i dont think the ink was really drying. from pouring the ink to finishing the 4th shirt, it was prob only 6-7 minutes, most of which was trying to get the shirt over the plywood. i have 2 theories on the voids.

1. wrinkles in the shirt/not held down with the tack spray enough. i think the shirt might have been bunching up and creating the folds where no ink hit.

2. less likely. imo, because of the sizes and shapes of the voids on one of the shirts, my 2nd theory is that they are the result of some voids in the plywood surface backing the shirt.

yes, btw, it was water based ink.

any way, i hit them for about 30 sec each with the heat gun and that was that.

[screenprintr 319]

Dude, you're a screen printer.

IMO, a real screen printer makes jigs just like that.

Of course your next step is to make your own 1, 2 or 4 color press. They wouldn't be hard just some wood, springs, screws, bolts, nuts, and a Lazy Suzy.

Or you can save your self some time and buy an already built one. I know  a very good price American made.

Who or what are you making these t-shirts for?

Did you do a wash test yet?

[helpinghand 1]

deth, you said you were "scrubbing" your screen. You shouldn't need to scrub it, like you said hit it with some water, give it a minute or so and then just hose out the design. Your scrubbing will take off emulsion that shouldn't be coming off. Good start for you. Just remember to back flood the screen between prints as the ink will dry rather quickly if you don't.