the true diyers screen printing

Step 7 Final step... printing

the final step is printing. I use nothing but a car squeegee used for cars, found at walmart for $1.80 and works just as well as the expensive squeegees people will say you "need" place a strip of ink above the design, burnt into the screen. then with little force pull the ink towards you. then go back up top and use a little more force then before.now carefully pull the screen off the fabric. This should now reveal your new DIY cheap screen printing.

Comments

[beanco]

hi,

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

[finch]

...or, for about $2, you could buy a tile squeegee from Home Depot...they are EXACTLY the same as screen printing squeegees

[slimguy379]

really? thanks for the heads up

[naw duder]

in a pinch you can make a squeegee out of a piece of wood about 1/2" thick wrapped a couple of times in packing tape. also, regular printer paper brushed with veggie oil works as well as transparency paper.

[CrystalDyes]

I've been using the really neat plastic thingees that Bondo makes for applying their product to cars. They come in 3 sizes at any auto parts store. However, I am using thickened dye, not paint and we tend to "scrub" the dye in, back & forth several times, not just one pull. I have also used defunct credit cards as a squeegee and even some plastic applicators for applying sheetrock mud. I did have to scrape the corners of them once or two on the concrete floor to slightly round the corners so they wouldn't snag or tear the screens.

[hivoltage]

huh i may have to try that. the vellum i bought prints terribly with the printer i have for some reason. it was marketed as laser printable but the toner just doesnt adhere to it well at all. it prints well to another brand of vellum i had lying around but i dont have much of it left...

[slimguy379]

wow cool thanks, never thought of the olive oil thing, again thanks

[blfr]

I am a screen printer, and use the professional equipment... When I print, if I have just a small amount of a mistake, the clients notice and will not buy the shirts, but doing it this way is probably still fun, and your friends might think you're awesome, and buy your shirts =P I might actually try this out sometime

I have 2 questions though...
1. how do you cure your ink? (I'm assuming it is fabric ink you are using, such as plastisol)

2. after you have printed your design, with your homemade emulsion, how do you go about reclaiming the screen, or in other words, removing the emulsion off the screen?

[slimguy379]

1. I use an iron, as directed on the label of my speed ball paints. 2.. bleach. put it on the screen and let it sit, then spray it with a hose. works %100. btw, i am yet to nail the right amount of everything to make my screens %100, but soon I should NOT have mistakes.... but thanks for posting

[slimguy379]

also I haven't mad shirts for anyone (as a customer) so I really haven't been denied etc...

[HuggyBear]

Actually there is a difference between a car squeegee and the screen printing squeegee. The professional ones are much much firmer, and force the ink through the screen for a cleaner print. When I first tried to use a car squeegee, my prints kept turning out with smudges... Then I used our shower squeegee which is much harder than the car one, and it worked way better.

[slimguy379]

screw that for the price I'll use my car squeegee over a "pro" squeegee any day. but whatever...