Screen Print a Poster with Multiple Colors

I have become completely enamored of screen printing ever since I took the basic class at TechShop San Jose.

I've gotten pretty good at printing single color projects, but I thought I would challenge myself and learn to not only print on paper (which is slightly different than fabric) but also learn to use registration marks to print in multiple colors.

Since the silk screen stations at TechShop are set up for 4 colors, I decided to print a 4 color poster.

You will need:
4 Screens
4 Vinyl cut outs (1 of each color you want to print)
A squeegee
An ink spatula
4 colors of ink
Registration tabs
Paper
Blue painter's tape
A wooden or cardboard spacer (will explain further in a future step)

Step 1:

First step may or may not already be done for you.

TechShops come with a standard 4 screen printing station, which are usually set up for printing shirts rather than posters, so you may need to make a new printing platform.

I ordered a bracket that fits on our screening station and simply attached it to a scrap piece of plywood that is bigger than my paper.

Comments

[Preft1986]

I loved the italian portrait, thanks for sharing

[lafnbear]

Excellent work! A tip to make it a little easier next time: create registration marks in the blank margins of your digital art (just draw or type a simple cross or plus sign) that you allow to output on each color separation (the separate outputs you show for each color in Step 2). How you then use those: get your first screen lined up, and print a few extra of that first screen with the reg marks showing, then tape off the reg marks and print your intended quantity. Then use some of those extras (retaining a few for each color you're printing) to set up the next color screen. As you test print the second color onto the extras of the first color, you'll be overprinting the reg marks in the second color onto the reg marks from the first color. Once they lineup "perfectly", tape off the second color's reg marks & do your full run. Repeat for each color. For a video tutorial on how to add reg marks in Photoshop, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAvaeMDjnjU

[MikeCicc]

This is sweet! I just took the vinyl cutting class at Tech Shop SF and wanted to make my own posters! Thanks for the inspiration.