Formatting and Printing Transparency Film for Screen Printing Artwork

In this tutorial, I will explain how to create the perfect artwork for you to use with EZScreen silk screen stencils. In order to have a good stencil, you will need to have a good transparency.

EZScreen's are a fun and easy way to create custom silk screen stencils at home, without any heavy equipment or nasty chemicals. Check out the website: www.ezscreenprint.com

Step 1: What You Will Need:

1 - EZScreenPrint standard or HiDef DIY screen print stencils

2 - Transparency film for your design

3 - A printer that is able to print on transparency film

Step 2: Formatting

When you have picked your design (or created one yourself) you will need to convert it to black & white. Black and white photographs will not work as your design. The image can literally only have TWO colors, black and white. No gray scale or color. Halftones will also work as long as the dots are not too small.

I am using Jasc Paint Shop Pro to edit my image. The image itself was already black and white, but you want to check to make sure it is the blackest it can be and whitest it can be. Click the ink blot icon and place the cursor over the black part of your design. R, G, and B should all be 0. Then place your cursor over a white area, and the R, G, and B should all be 255. This image is now ready to be printed.

Step 3: WILL NOT WORK

An actual black and white photograph will NOT work as your design.

Step 4: Word Doc

Insert your image onto a Word Doc and resize it according to how large or small you want the design to be. I stretched mine out to fit an 8.5"x11" with a minimum of .5 inch border around all 4 sides. Make sure you're working with an image large enough to stretch this big before it gets pixelated. If you can see pixelation then it will appear on your stencil as well.

Step 5: Load the Printer

Transparency film will have a smooth glossy side, and a rough milky side. Make sure when you load the transparency into your printer, it will be printed on the rough side. The smooth side of the transparency will prevent the printer ink from drying and will smear.

Remove any printer paper if necessary.

Step 6: Printer Settings

Always make sure to set your printer setting on "Best" or "Highest DPI." My Brother printer settings is under Resolution, and I set it HQ 1200. Most times, you can print the transparency under regular paper, but in some cases you will need to select "Specialty Paper" or some printers have a "Transparency" setting.