I'll show all you cheap people how to screen print. I build or make %99 of my stuff. This is probably the cheapest way of doing screen printing. Only thing is, is that you will have to want to make many screens for it to pay off. But I've made many screens and truly love making people shirts, and even more.... saving money.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: The screens
the screen frames are pretty easy from scratch, I use 3/4 inch wood (lying around, so it doesn't truely cost me anything) and cut 1- 1 1/2" strips. I then make 45 degree cuts on the corners. My screen's dimensions are usually 18" X 17" for a regular design but for full shirt designs I use 21" X 18". but after the 45degree cuts have been done they should all set flesh with each other. now take out your pressurized staple gun and shoot each corner this should hold the frame together. Now its time to stretch your fabric.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
the best way to do it is side by side with a plier on the opposite side this step should really be done with a lot of care the tension is not supposed to be the same if it's a big or a small screen in the industrial world they mesure the force of tension in newtons of course one cannot always do that in it's own workshop/home…
then you are mixing it with PVA (poly vinyl acetate -- elmers) glue to work as the gooey gloppy stuff? so the combination of (water+potassium dichromate) + PVA glue = a photo sensitive emulsion that you can spread on your screen, just like the speedball etc stuff? then expose with a mask when you wash it, the un-exposed mixture washes out and you have your screen.
i'm in thailand at the moment, up country, and i'm not going to find speedball or other commercial products, but i *might* be able to find chemicals. thanks.
so, i have never silk screend with emulsion. We just use wood glue. it works great for simple designs, but not so well for intricate one.
also we have had budget cuts (i have been doing this with students at the hs i teach at-) so we have to start reusing screens.... so, if we switch to emulsion we can wash it out with bleach? i have no idea what vallum is and since i live in hungary i cannot stop off at the shops you mentioned.
Making our own emulsion and reusing the screens would save us a ton of money....
thanks
rob
so long as you're not reselling anything, you'll be ok
Check this out . Potassium dichromate
Martin and Pleasance Hayfever Relief - Oral Spray
Product Description
- 25ml oral spray
This homoeopathic medicine has been prepared by traditional methods for the temporary relief of symptoms associated with:
- Itchy eyes and nose
- Antihistamine reaction
- Runny eyes and nose
- Sneezing
- Catarrh (mucus blockage or discharge often caused by swelling of mucous membranes and by excess mucus)
Ingredients:
Potassium dichromate (Kali bich) 12X
Schoenocaulon officinale (Sabadila) 6X
Potassium Sulfate (Kali sulph) 6X
Sodium chloride (Nat mur) 6X
Phleum pratense 12X
Euphrasis officinalis 6X
Allium cepa 6X
Histamine dihydrochloride 60X
the author explains 150w incandescent no less.
so that ans the question i sought.
but not to shame, i could have never found a better stepping stone than your personal instructable. without it, i would have never found the bigger fish, so to speak. sorry i speak in eternal signs and metaphors. bear with my charades.
since I don't have a scale I am using cooking conversions to figure out how much potassium to mix with water and so on... so assuming the potassium has about the density of salt or sugar, I'm going to mix 1Tablespoon (level not heaping) of potassium with 4 oz of water. (http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm)
and because one bottle of elmers glue is 4 oz, I'm going to mix slightly less than 1 oz (should be .8 oz) of the potassium/water solution with two bottles of glue.
that should be enough to try with a few screens... if it doesnt work I havent wasted too much money and can adjust the emulsion stronger/weaker next round.
thanks for the great tutorial and info about this potassium mixture... I've been doing screen printing for about 6 years and the emulsion bit has always been an obstacle. and I've read tons of different diy/cheap tutorials and info online and this is the first time anyone has mentioned making your own emulsion like this.
cheers!
i read somewhere the best is using direct sunlight for approx 7 min will achieve the best results. this of-course seems to be the most environmentally friendly way, but this seems to be uncontrolled and possibly more left to the whim of nature and all its glorious mishaps (i.e. weather, clouds, rain). but then again, who's to say this is actually totally foolproof?? a full 7 minutes seems to be within one's own command, if all the business is attended to properly in a methodical sort of way. ok, enough of me thinking out loud. so, please, if you will. more details of the lighting you're using for your makeshift "darkroom." or, would "lightroom" fit more appropriately? idk, i'm sort of new to this "photo emulsion" technique. i'll need a little firelight to guide me through, until i'll be able to feel my way through the "dark," so to speak. --having found my own zen in the art of screen printing.
thanks much for this rather informative tidbit. power to the people!!!