Screen-me up Scotty!

December 21, 2005 8:10 PM

CraftFilter: I want to start screening graphics onto tshirts, patches, hoodies, etc....

My roomie has done it before but I'd rather not pester her and learn by myself, so I would like some basic 'getting off your feet' type info.. I tried some basic googling but only came across this. which was okay.. Really I want to know:

1) Are there any basic screeners out there for $150 or so?
2) Any good websites/forums dedicated to this kind of thing?
3) What inks better than others?
4) Just a basic FAQ/HowTo guide for this?

posted by whatitis to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

wow, this is an extremely broad topic. congratulations on your desire to venture into the wonderful world of textile screen printing.

'How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit!' by Scott Fresener is a great book for reference and also it is a great starting point for your screen printing experience.

www.screenprinters.net has a large forum section that is geared pretty much towards the "pro" textile printers. some great basic information there.

if you want to do clothing that with hold up to normal washing, you can go with either waterbased or plastisol, both are heat set. plastisol is typically more messy and much more of a pain to deal with; however, it is the norm in production shops.

speedball makes a hobby ink that will be suitable for clothing, but will not standup like the higher end inks. they are a great starting point though.

good luck and be ready for some serious frustration, just remember...it's all worth it.
posted by ibechase at 8:29 PM on December 21, 2005

I'm looking into doing the same thing.

Here is advice on making your own screen printing kit.

As always, craftster has tons of advice.

Good luck.
posted by Alison at 8:47 PM on December 21, 2005

Craftster.org has many forums devoted to such DIY projects. Try the screen printing completed products forum and screen printing discussion forum.
posted by superfem at 8:47 PM on December 21, 2005

Screen printing can be a very expensive and time consuming hooby. many people get the same or comparable results from simply stenciling, which is much easier and way less expensive. There are full forums on stenciling at Craftster as well, including how-tos and tips.
posted by Brittanie at 8:49 PM on December 21, 2005

The first time I silkscreened, I had a speedball kit (which I know is less than $50, but I'm not sure exactly how much) and much more than the included instructions, I found A Guide to Reproduction to be quite helpful. This was before Craftster.

Free tip: never forego taping around the rim of the frame. The emulsion will glue the `silk' to the frame and you won't be able to re-use the frame. (Speedball frames heep the screen anchored in by a long strip of plastic in a gutter in the frame).
posted by xueexueg at 7:50 AM on December 22, 2005

The tutorials at Stencil Revolution might be of some use to you.
posted by d-no at 2:41 PM on December 22, 2005