FA+
Shop
screen printing tips.
15 years ago
Fen said you would like some tips on screen printing.
Inks: I would select inks that are water soluble. It's a very messy process and the non water soluble ones would probably never get off of anything. That being said, controlling the mess is the hardest thing to do at first. I've found that Fabric inks have a more staining power and seemingly more pigment. Make sure to get a Retarder or Transparent base, these will help the ink from drying in your screen which makes it near impossible to do fine line work, causes imperfections, and could permanently damage the screen. I usually use minimally 1 parts Transparent Base to 3 parts Ink. I would start w/ just the primaries, black, white, and transparent base to get all the colours you want through mixing. When applied the ink dries darker by 5-10% so I would make sure it's lighter than what you think you want. Color theory and how they react to each other can't really be taught through words. Experiment. More Transparent Base Extender the more transparent the color gets and the more mixing can occur. Some inks are transparent out of the containter so you have to add some opaque and possibly a tiny bit of opaque black to counter the lightening of the white. I would also use a digital proof of the piece you want it. This allows you to match the colors so that when mixing you can see if the colors are correct b/c all color is just relative to the colors around it.
Screens: I go w/ a 156 mesh count screen. It's much easier to use than a higher mesh count screen for beginners, doesn't dry nearly as fast, and puts more ink down which is good for fabrics. You can get really cheap aluminum ones here: http://www.victoryfactory.com/aluminum.htm
the ones in the special sections are very nice, the perfect all around sizes, and very cheap. I would buy an aluminum screen. I have both types and the huge problem w/ wood is that it warps. Mine slightly warped after only 2 uses, same w/ the rest of my class. Only big downside to an aluminum screen is that you cannot re-stretch the screen. On a wooden frame, one may remove the screen and staple on a new clean stretched one; where as an aluminum one is held by a glue that only manufacturers have access to. They are only $20-30 plus shipping so the price really doesn't matter if it's not going to warp.
When prepping the screen for printing, use a 2" roll of masking or artist's tape (NEVER GAFFERS/DUCT TAPE IT WILL RUIN THE SCREEN) and put it around the bottom side (the one that's completely flush) over the glue that holds the screen to the frame and onto the sides. This will help the screen last as the glue can degrade or the screen can start to shed from the edges. Also on the top side (the side the screen and frame are not flush) and put the tape along the sides where the aluminum and the screen meet (this prevents ink from getting under the frame which would both degrade the glue and also put pressure and loosen the screen. This tape should be removed after each time the screen is Reclaimed where as the other tape can stay on indefinately. Reclaiming means to make the screen blank again.
Squeegee: I would get the largest squeegee you can that will fit onto the screen (so about 2 inches less than the printable surface of the screen) you can find them here online: http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/
Designs on the screen:I would always keep at least a 3in from the edges of the screen surface. If too close to the edge it's near impossible to make consistent strokes w/ the squeegee to get good prints
Stencil method is the cheapest but by far the most frustrating. Making a stencil takes time, it's undetailed, it's limiting, and if the stencil degrades that's the end of the printing. To make a stencil i would make a design on paper. Spray the back of the paper w/ Easy Tack adhesive and put it onto some mylar or thicker transparency. Then cut out. Spray easy tack again onto the front of the mylar and then stick it to the bottom of the screen. I don't suggest you do this method or any one do it. It's really only used if one doesn't have the chemicals for better techniques
Screen Filler (typically a redish liquid) method has it's plus and minuses. One can paint this on w/ a brush to give a painterly/handmade effect. It prints the negative of the image painted. DO NOT GOOP IT ON. This is non water soluble and requires Greased Lightning (a cleaning solution) and a lot of elbow grease to get off when reclaiming the screen. If you want to paint what is going to be printed, you could use Drawing Fluid (typically a blue/green liquid). After it's dry, with a raised screen (so the exposed screen is not touching anything underneath you pour a small bead of Screen Filler and with a squeegee spread a thin even layer over the surface. Don't worry if not everything is covered. If there are missing spaces, you can use artist or masking tape to cover up the spaces you don't want to be printed. I would apply the tape underneath the screen so that during printing the squeegee stroke won't be affected and won't affect the tape. You can greatly speed up the drying time for the Screen Filler w/ a hair dryer. After it dries, spray water against the screen, the water based Drawing Fluid will dissolve leaving the red Screen Filler. Let dry again and ready for print. To reclaim the screen apply Greased Lightning and let it soak for 5 min, come back and work it w/ a lot of elbow grease w/ a hand brush found at dollar stores. Then use a power washer or the highest pressure water you can get and spray it like hell.
This last method is by far the best. Photo Emulsion is highly accurate/detailed, a computer can be used to make the designs, how the professionals do it, and much easier to reclaim than screen Filler. The stuff is light sensitive and heat sensitive so just fyi don't apply it light (usually use a safe light or just a dim room) or use a blowdryer to dry it. The container of it should be kept in a fridge. We use a trough designed for the application of the emulsion, but one could also use a squeegee. W/ a squeegee one would hold the screen at a 70-80 degree angle w/ the bottom of the screen tilting to the ground. Hold the squeegee at about and inch or 2 from where the screen meets the aluminum frame at the bottom of the screen. Ten put a bead of the emulsion across the squeegee and run it up the screen. You will have to go over it a few times to scrape as much excess emulsion as you can. The thinner and more uniform the better. If it's too thick it could still be wet during exposure and may not get exposed enough to get a good image. Practice and good technique is essential. Put it in a completely dark room w/ a fan going on it for at least an hour and a half (depending on the brand of emulsion the drying times vary) or until the screen is COMPLETELY DRY. Using a computer, make what you want printed black. Remember that it's a binary process so if you want gradients or photo realism you have to convert it to a bitmap halftone which i would be glad to show you how to do, but it's demo in it of itself. Print it out on using a lazer printer if possible b/c it will give you the best dark blacks on the paper. If you don't have a lazer printer, you could go to kinko's and get it done there or better yet get them to print it on transparency (i've never tried it w/ inkjet printers and also transparency will speed up exposure time emensely) You'll have to look up peoples experiments on the emulsion or what they suggest for the approximate exposure time, but I think 30minutes in bright sunlight should be a good starting point for transparency, maybe an hour for paper. After exposure spray w/ water under till the image comes through where it didn't get that much exposure. Let dry and ready to print. If there are places where it didn't get exposed and there are holes in the emulsion apply either tape or Screen Filler to them to cover them up. The speedball version of it comes w/ a reclaiming agent that will let you reclaim your screen but also a thing called Dual-Strip works well. http://www.ehow.com/how_10855_expos.....-emulsion.html
Use: screens can be put directly onto a surface such as fabric, the wall, an object, or etc, but it requires that another person holds the frame down in place while printing. Usually the set up I use for flat prints is to to put hinged clamps as seen here: http://www.ryanrss.com/2HingedClamps.html , onto a thick board. Home Depot has some good .5 inch think composite plywood boards (just make sure the surface is completely smooth or you will get indention in the paper). I would always tape a piece of newsprint down first under the screen. Then put down a piece of transparency down, taping one edge of it to the plywood or table (this will be used as registration to make sure you know where it's going to print). Apply ink liberally in a bead at top of screen. Take squeegee and with your body weight pull the squeegee towards you at and angle. The more pressure one puts the more ink that will get through or in a thinner more even layer, as well as, the more at an angle (the more parallel to the screen) a squeegee is the more ink will get through or the thinner and more uniform it will be. Don't be afraid of muscling it like the bitch it is.
Finally wash everything and reclaim the screen. Hold it against a back light or the sky to see if there are any of the holes being blocked (YOU MUST GET RID OF THEM ASAP OR THEY WILL BECOME PERMANENT) Dry and you are done. Sometimes too much pigment used will cause Hazing which is the pigment particles stuck in/on the fibers of the screen. It shouldn't effect later uses, but raises the chances of that those holes will clog and then become useless. It's a binary process, so ink either goes through it or it doesn't.
Have fun!
Inks: I would select inks that are water soluble. It's a very messy process and the non water soluble ones would probably never get off of anything. That being said, controlling the mess is the hardest thing to do at first. I've found that Fabric inks have a more staining power and seemingly more pigment. Make sure to get a Retarder or Transparent base, these will help the ink from drying in your screen which makes it near impossible to do fine line work, causes imperfections, and could permanently damage the screen. I usually use minimally 1 parts Transparent Base to 3 parts Ink. I would start w/ just the primaries, black, white, and transparent base to get all the colours you want through mixing. When applied the ink dries darker by 5-10% so I would make sure it's lighter than what you think you want. Color theory and how they react to each other can't really be taught through words. Experiment. More Transparent Base Extender the more transparent the color gets and the more mixing can occur. Some inks are transparent out of the containter so you have to add some opaque and possibly a tiny bit of opaque black to counter the lightening of the white. I would also use a digital proof of the piece you want it. This allows you to match the colors so that when mixing you can see if the colors are correct b/c all color is just relative to the colors around it.
Screens: I go w/ a 156 mesh count screen. It's much easier to use than a higher mesh count screen for beginners, doesn't dry nearly as fast, and puts more ink down which is good for fabrics. You can get really cheap aluminum ones here: http://www.victoryfactory.com/aluminum.htm
the ones in the special sections are very nice, the perfect all around sizes, and very cheap. I would buy an aluminum screen. I have both types and the huge problem w/ wood is that it warps. Mine slightly warped after only 2 uses, same w/ the rest of my class. Only big downside to an aluminum screen is that you cannot re-stretch the screen. On a wooden frame, one may remove the screen and staple on a new clean stretched one; where as an aluminum one is held by a glue that only manufacturers have access to. They are only $20-30 plus shipping so the price really doesn't matter if it's not going to warp.
When prepping the screen for printing, use a 2" roll of masking or artist's tape (NEVER GAFFERS/DUCT TAPE IT WILL RUIN THE SCREEN) and put it around the bottom side (the one that's completely flush) over the glue that holds the screen to the frame and onto the sides. This will help the screen last as the glue can degrade or the screen can start to shed from the edges. Also on the top side (the side the screen and frame are not flush) and put the tape along the sides where the aluminum and the screen meet (this prevents ink from getting under the frame which would both degrade the glue and also put pressure and loosen the screen. This tape should be removed after each time the screen is Reclaimed where as the other tape can stay on indefinately. Reclaiming means to make the screen blank again.
Squeegee: I would get the largest squeegee you can that will fit onto the screen (so about 2 inches less than the printable surface of the screen) you can find them here online: http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/
Designs on the screen:I would always keep at least a 3in from the edges of the screen surface. If too close to the edge it's near impossible to make consistent strokes w/ the squeegee to get good prints
Stencil method is the cheapest but by far the most frustrating. Making a stencil takes time, it's undetailed, it's limiting, and if the stencil degrades that's the end of the printing. To make a stencil i would make a design on paper. Spray the back of the paper w/ Easy Tack adhesive and put it onto some mylar or thicker transparency. Then cut out. Spray easy tack again onto the front of the mylar and then stick it to the bottom of the screen. I don't suggest you do this method or any one do it. It's really only used if one doesn't have the chemicals for better techniques
Screen Filler (typically a redish liquid) method has it's plus and minuses. One can paint this on w/ a brush to give a painterly/handmade effect. It prints the negative of the image painted. DO NOT GOOP IT ON. This is non water soluble and requires Greased Lightning (a cleaning solution) and a lot of elbow grease to get off when reclaiming the screen. If you want to paint what is going to be printed, you could use Drawing Fluid (typically a blue/green liquid). After it's dry, with a raised screen (so the exposed screen is not touching anything underneath you pour a small bead of Screen Filler and with a squeegee spread a thin even layer over the surface. Don't worry if not everything is covered. If there are missing spaces, you can use artist or masking tape to cover up the spaces you don't want to be printed. I would apply the tape underneath the screen so that during printing the squeegee stroke won't be affected and won't affect the tape. You can greatly speed up the drying time for the Screen Filler w/ a hair dryer. After it dries, spray water against the screen, the water based Drawing Fluid will dissolve leaving the red Screen Filler. Let dry again and ready for print. To reclaim the screen apply Greased Lightning and let it soak for 5 min, come back and work it w/ a lot of elbow grease w/ a hand brush found at dollar stores. Then use a power washer or the highest pressure water you can get and spray it like hell.
This last method is by far the best. Photo Emulsion is highly accurate/detailed, a computer can be used to make the designs, how the professionals do it, and much easier to reclaim than screen Filler. The stuff is light sensitive and heat sensitive so just fyi don't apply it light (usually use a safe light or just a dim room) or use a blowdryer to dry it. The container of it should be kept in a fridge. We use a trough designed for the application of the emulsion, but one could also use a squeegee. W/ a squeegee one would hold the screen at a 70-80 degree angle w/ the bottom of the screen tilting to the ground. Hold the squeegee at about and inch or 2 from where the screen meets the aluminum frame at the bottom of the screen. Ten put a bead of the emulsion across the squeegee and run it up the screen. You will have to go over it a few times to scrape as much excess emulsion as you can. The thinner and more uniform the better. If it's too thick it could still be wet during exposure and may not get exposed enough to get a good image. Practice and good technique is essential. Put it in a completely dark room w/ a fan going on it for at least an hour and a half (depending on the brand of emulsion the drying times vary) or until the screen is COMPLETELY DRY. Using a computer, make what you want printed black. Remember that it's a binary process so if you want gradients or photo realism you have to convert it to a bitmap halftone which i would be glad to show you how to do, but it's demo in it of itself. Print it out on using a lazer printer if possible b/c it will give you the best dark blacks on the paper. If you don't have a lazer printer, you could go to kinko's and get it done there or better yet get them to print it on transparency (i've never tried it w/ inkjet printers and also transparency will speed up exposure time emensely) You'll have to look up peoples experiments on the emulsion or what they suggest for the approximate exposure time, but I think 30minutes in bright sunlight should be a good starting point for transparency, maybe an hour for paper. After exposure spray w/ water under till the image comes through where it didn't get that much exposure. Let dry and ready to print. If there are places where it didn't get exposed and there are holes in the emulsion apply either tape or Screen Filler to them to cover them up. The speedball version of it comes w/ a reclaiming agent that will let you reclaim your screen but also a thing called Dual-Strip works well. http://www.ehow.com/how_10855_expos.....-emulsion.html
Use: screens can be put directly onto a surface such as fabric, the wall, an object, or etc, but it requires that another person holds the frame down in place while printing. Usually the set up I use for flat prints is to to put hinged clamps as seen here: http://www.ryanrss.com/2HingedClamps.html , onto a thick board. Home Depot has some good .5 inch think composite plywood boards (just make sure the surface is completely smooth or you will get indention in the paper). I would always tape a piece of newsprint down first under the screen. Then put down a piece of transparency down, taping one edge of it to the plywood or table (this will be used as registration to make sure you know where it's going to print). Apply ink liberally in a bead at top of screen. Take squeegee and with your body weight pull the squeegee towards you at and angle. The more pressure one puts the more ink that will get through or in a thinner more even layer, as well as, the more at an angle (the more parallel to the screen) a squeegee is the more ink will get through or the thinner and more uniform it will be. Don't be afraid of muscling it like the bitch it is.
Finally wash everything and reclaim the screen. Hold it against a back light or the sky to see if there are any of the holes being blocked (YOU MUST GET RID OF THEM ASAP OR THEY WILL BECOME PERMANENT) Dry and you are done. Sometimes too much pigment used will cause Hazing which is the pigment particles stuck in/on the fibers of the screen. It shouldn't effect later uses, but raises the chances of that those holes will clog and then become useless. It's a binary process, so ink either goes through it or it doesn't.
Have fun!
