Photo-emulsion Screen Printing

Step 7 Changing inks, cleanup, and heat-setting your prints.

Changing inks:
If your prints have started smudging because there's ink on the bottom of the screen, or your ink has started to dry on the screen, or if you're just ready for a new color, it's time to rinse out the screen. Remove any masking tape on the screen. Hold it under a spray of warm water until the ink is all washed out, then set it out to dry. Pointing a fan at the screen or setting it out where it gets a bit of breeze makes this go much faster. Once it's dry, you're ready to put masking tape back over the areas you don't want printed, then get back to printing!

Cleaning up:
Again, make sure to rinse all of the ink out of the screen when you're done. Ink that dries on the screen will clog it and prevent ink from going through next time you print. Also wash out any dishes or paint brushes you've used before the ink dries on them. Close your ink containers tightly. If you have any photo emulsion left, make sure it's stored in a cool, dark place.

If you're done with your screen and know you aren't going to be printing anything more with it in the future, you can strip off the emulsion with the Speedball emulsion remover. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Wear gloves, and be aware that it'll take a lot of hot water and scrubbing to get your screen clean.

Heat setting your prints:
After the ink has dried completely on the fabric, set an iron on the highest dry heat that the fabric will take. Place a light piece of cloth between the iron and the printed fabric, then iron on each side for 3 to 5 minutes. (I've found that if the ink is entirely dry, I don't really need the extra piece of cloth. I also tend to iron my prints for at least 5 minutes or longer, just in case.)

Finishing:
For patches, I'll usually run a quick zigzag or overlock stitch around the edge of the patch, to keep it from fraying. Check out the "How to Patch Your Clothes" instructable for instructions on putting your patch securely on your clothes/bag/whatever.

If you've printed onto a t-shirt or other piece of clothing, you're ready to go.

Enjoy your totally unique wearable art...and, depending on what you've screenprinted, make a statement at the same time!

Comments

[honeycomb]

Can you use this method to print designs which are very colorful? or will the designs made with this method always be one solid color?

[stepandknee]

you can overlay a print of one color with another, or you can just cover some areas with masking tape and print with one color, and then vice versa and print with another color

[assassinazz]

I used to work at a screen printing shop and we didn't use liquid photo emulsion, we had big rolls of emulsion sheets that were stuck onto the screens with water and left to dry in a dark cupboard. I would cut the huge sheets into 12" x 14" squares which would be put in a drawer away from light, while the huge sheets were essentially a roll stuck in a big black tube (to block the light). The emulsion sheets were pretty much just a plastic sheet with emulsion on it that would stick to the screens with water and when the emulsion dried you would peel off the plastic sheet before "burning" the logo on the screen. When the "burning" was done (on a vacuum sealed light table with timer) I would "blow out" the design with a pressure sprayer, then dry the screen, tape the edges and fill any defective holes with liquid emulsion.

[acidaleh]

In junior high my shop class did silk screen printing with that kind of emulsion on plastic - only we would put our piece of emulsion plastic-side down and cut and remove the emulsion with an exacto knife. When the cutting was done we would attach the emulsion to the screen with water, let it dry over night with pressure on the screen, peel off the plastic and then print. The teacher had basically been printing that way for 25 years, with very good results.

[stepandknee]

you did silk screening in JUNIOR HIGH!? i'm jealous!

[assassinazz]

I see. Well yes I did cut the emulsion while it was still on the plastic, its the same as you have done here but we did not put pressure on it during drying off. The shop i worked at was run by an old couple in their 70's who've been doing it for nearly 40 years. I'm still really proud of that job. How many people get to say "I was a graphic designer at my first job when I was 15." lol

[w1n5t0n]

Neat, I'd love to have the chance to play with that kind of equipment sometime. And I'd imagine that the sheets are a whole lot easier to work with (and less hugely messy) than the liquid emulsion. Envy!

[acidaleh]

Check out Ulano products, Ulano StaSharp is a really good easy to cut film and you can get smaller pieces online, instead of the huuuge rolls haha.

[sxe-monty]

The only problem with that technique is your design is limited by your xacto skills and it was easy to mess it up, I found

[nappilyevrafter]

easy alternative:  make or find your design on the computer, then print it out onto a transparency.  twice, so you can double-up when it's being burned into the emulsion and get a better screen.

[satyr2k2]

I am having an issue with blowing out my screen once it has been burned. Twice now, certain sections of the exposed emulsion are washing away along with my design. I suspected the first time that my water was too hot even though it was quite tepid. This last try I used cold water and still I had a whole section of my art simply wash away.

For the record- both screens were set to dry overnight after the emulsion was applied to the screen. Is my emulsion coat too thin? What am I doing wrong?

[stepandknee]

you might try exposing it for a little bit longer. also something that helps is to blast water on the side of the screen that your design WASN'T laying on. (the backside). if you need to you can even try scrubbing on the back side to release the emulsion. this won't damage your design at all since it's on the opposite side. good luck!

[carrieonwithit]

Very nice and thorough, thank you!

[jjnfresnoza]

i want learn this to apply it in electronics....PCB lay-outing.....hope it works for me

[jengky]

very nice!!! i learn a lot about instructables!!! now its time for me to try

[cnacatac]

Great Instructable!!!

[s_ams]

What a great instructable!! Nice work!

[eversionclothing]

very nice instructible... only one thing i would change. ive been doing prints on the side for about 2 yrs now with a 4 head press and a convyer dyrer. something that helps a lot in the process is an emulsion scoop... its usually made of aluminum or some sort of metal/steel and you pour a bit of emulsion in there and then ride it up the screen... you will get a perfect coat 100% of the time and there is no mess at all (unless you have trouble pouring the liquid into the scoop...lol) Also, another GREAT help is to print the design on a transparent paper (like 'overhead paper' used in highschools) then put that paper on the screen when burning. that will eliminate the 'cutting' and allow an incredible amount of detail on your screens and prints. it works very very well and will save you A LOT of time.

[youshouldknow]

thank you so much! im using the speedball system and ive never tried the photo emulsion process before. the insturctions they gave are confusing, but this cleared it up!