Does anyone here Screen Print?

[TallTayl]

I've been playing with screen printing for a while with mixed results. It's time to step up my game and stop stamping and start printing.

 

Anyone here make their own screens, or use premade screens to print things? I'd love to work through some things with you.

[Brotato]

I haven’t been on here in a while but I’ve learned so much from your posts and would love to return the favor if I can be of help. I used to run production in a small screen printing shop many years ago. I also did some during my graphic design studies. I’d be happy to help in any way. I’ve typically don’t clothing, is that what you’re trying to do? What are you struggling with? What’s your current set up? 

[TallTayl]

my hero! Thank you so much for your kind offer. 

 

I’d like to screen print my muslin candle bags. Stamping them is hit or miss - with hundreds of ugly misses stacking up.

 

I’m having a difficult time selecting the ink and proper mesh for the ink. started with the vinyl cutter but realized fast how tragically terrible it is to print with the rough edge bleeding ink everywhere.

 

bought a yard of every mesh available and realized the videos of stapling to a frame tight enough to work isn’t as easy as people make it look.

 

bought a speedball refillable frame and am stuck just getting the courage to load the emulsion onto the screen. I figured if I can’t staple well, how could I possibly o the real stuff 😬.
 

The art on these is nothing fancy, just logo and a few words. Ink colors Dark green ink for bayberry candles.  Red for beeswax candles. I bought loads of different ink from speedball to plastisol and others in between. Even thought I would be clever and stamp those inks.  You know what disasters I made with those experiments, don’t you? 
 

I use several sizes of muslin bag. Once I get some skill developed, ideally a sized screen for each bag size would be the plan.  

 

[Brotato]

Of course! Absolutely happy to help if i can! 😁

 

sounds like you are on the right track and I would definitely recommend a true screen printing screen. A lot will come down to technique but the good news is once you get your screens made they are reusable almost indefinitely. There may come a time when you need to make a new one just from wear and tear but as long as you handle them with care they should last a long time if you are using emulsion. I use to store several for reuse when orders would come in. 
 

Did your screen come with a trough like tool to load the emulsion onto it? If you can link to what you bought too I can definitely take a look at it. 
 

I do think a lot of the issue will come down to technique. When I make shirts we spray a workable fixative, very minimally, to a board platform to hold the fabric steady and flat. The screen is loaded to an arm and use a squeegee to pull the ink over the screen. The ink was then immediately cured with heat before removing from the platform or adding additional colors. 
 

also are your inks rather runny? Or are they on the thicker side? Do they require heat to cure? Screen printing ink tends to be thicker but kind of loosens up as you work it. I would load a screen and do several test prints then it’s almost as if the combo gets “warmed up”.

 

the other option close to stamping i can think of would be something like printmaking where you crest a permanent stamp and use a brayer to load the ink, press, etc might work. 
 

is it the stencil itself causing the bleeding edges or is it the ink bleeding into the muslin fabric?

 

I’ll do some research for some good videos this weekend demonstrating what I think may work for your setup! 

 

 

[TallTayl]

I’ll get a pic or list of all the different inks and tools I’ve collected so far shortly. I bought the emulsion spreading tool sized to fit inside the speedball frame separately. 

 

the speedball frame has channel like  a screen door with the splining to secure the screen.  Made me think I could swap in/out screens “easily”.  The Ikon Art system uses them in several instructionals. Now I get why pros use aluminum screens per image. 

 

question about exposing the screen:  how strong of a UV lamp do you recommend? I’ve seen vids of exposing in strong sunlight and on stand UV lamps of different sizes and intensities.  Some lamps are as low as 20w, while many seasoned artists won’t go less than 50 or 100. 
 

I almost bought an Ikon Art starter set but the nearly $200 price tag at the time clicked the “DIY like the pros” button in my head. Their system looks neat and simple, but limited to their screen mesh choice. 
 

you’re giving me some confidence to give it a go! Thank you so much!!!!

 

[Brotato]

You are quite welcome! You’ve done it for me with candles so I am thrilled to hopefully return the favor! You definitely should try. I’m certain you will get a good process down, just may take some trial and error to get a home set up. 
 

I think swapping screens like that may be a pain unfortunately. If it’s not a rigid insert your image would be probably more frustrating than not to get aligned so it wouldn’t be distorted. The screens also have to be very very tight. Drum like. 
 

to be completely honest I’m not sure what watt light you would want to use at home. The position I was in was we had an exposure unit since I was either in class or working at a business 😆 I would say the stronger the bulb the less time you would need to expose. 
 

if I was creating my own area to expose a screen at home I think this gal does a pretty nice job. I do agree with some of the comments to dry the screen horizontally. We had racks they would slide into but one comment said they used some cups to set it up. Agree with using the fan too. Does the emulsion you purchased offer any instructions on timing or exposure strength?

 

When you apply you want a thin coat on both sides of the screen when you apply it. Think multiple very thin coats (all at one time, no dry time in between) and should be no drips or gooey areas. I used to coat one side a few times and then the other. Just so there’s a nice, thin but solid, even coat. No screen exposed except your edges. Will be dry to the touch and not tacky before exposure. She created an exposure unit with a work lamp and I think that is where I personally would start trying. I would use her glass like she did and foam to create a nice tight area for the image. This will help keep crisp lines as less chance of light getting through. You can use block out or emulsion with a paint brush to fine tune the image and we use to use a fine needle to poke out any trouble areas that did not rinse out. 
 

If you read through the comments she had a brilliant idea as well about testing your emulsion during exposure. She recommended putting a piece of paper over a portion of the design and moving it in set increments so you could see how well the different times held the design. Then you would be able to narrow down an appropriate burn time. I imagine in will vary based on the emulsion and light set up you choose. 
 

I think wood or aluminum screens are fine. Pros like the aluminum for their longevity and no warping of the frame over time. How many sized bags do you have? For smaller bags you can put multiple images on a screen as well if it’s a standard sized screen. Just make sure if you’re using a press you rotate the image facing away from one another so you can rotate the screen where it will reach your platform. Hopefully that makes sense. If they are very small images you could possible put 4 images on one screen and you just block off the images with painters tape that are not in use so no ink accidentally sneaks through. You’ll tape up your edges as well- you only want the image you are printing open when applying ink. You would use a smaller squeegee as well that’s appropriate for the image size. 
 

the ikon art starter set does indeed look pretty awesome with a quick glance. I agree with you on the price tag though. The other thing I can think of, I’d you’re planning on keeping multiple screens for a long time rather than changing them out often, the route I would personally consider trying as well would be seeing if a local screen shop would burn your screens for you. It really would take them no time at all and save you the space of the set up, dark room etc. unless of course you want the freedoms and fun of doing your own and from reading your posts I’d imagine you’re up to the challenge! You could end up with another business  it is quite fun to print your own stuff. 
 

hopefully all of that makes sense. Ima very visual person so let me know if you need clarification and I will look for some images the further illustrate some of those ideas. 

[Brotato]

this guy also has some great tips on coating a screen. If you get your emulsion too thick you can use that sharper edge as well to scrape it off and then give it another go. I personally like the technique of angling the screen to coat rather than against the wall. I feel like I have more control, just my personal preference though and how I learned. 

[Brotato]

you could also try something like this depending on the intricacy of your design. Downside would be the screen won’t last that long I wouldn’t think and seems tedious. I could also see ink possibly getting under the stencil with repeated use. 

[NightLight]

It may be cheaper for you to get bag and printing done by company. There are tons of companies doing that now. You can check Etsy also for services.

[TallTayl]

5 hours ago, NightLight said:

It may be cheaper for you to get bag and printing done by company. There are tons of companies doing that now. You can check Etsy also for services.

I thought about that. This is more of a skill mastery project. I have 4-5 standard size bags that I use, so 4-5 different screens.  If I figure it out, my dream is to expand that to soap bags-possibly custom printed for events, etc. but I’m getting ahead of myself. 
 

there are so many other things I’d like to screen.  Have you seen the fire paste for wood? You can burn/etch wood slabs. An glass etching? Possibilities are endless! 

[TallTayl]

@Brotato

so many things to reply to…. Starting with: thank you for those videos. I spend more than my share on time on YouTube and the algorithm  had not found those for me yet.  Each vid I watch carves new idea pathways 🥳

 

I just need to get over my fear of messing up something new paralysis and just stinking start. You gotta break eggs to make omelettes.   I got most of my real printing supplies from Screen Print Direct. Just looked and see they have exponentially more emulsions since my last purchase.  
 

Right now, I have several size bags for bayberry candles, the same number for beeswax.  This project is about mastering something new.  It’s been on my bucket list for so long it’s about time to cross it off. If all goes well, I have many other ideas for the process, not just other product. We cut down loads of mature, but storm damaged trees that want to be something pretty, like live edge cutting boards, etc.  then screen printing with Torch Paste to make thoughtful housewarming gifts and photo props. 
 

glass etching has always looked super fun, too.  Stencils to keep projects from looking like a kindergartener made something is always good! 
 

My family has a warped sense of humor. The best gift last Christmas was a set of tea towels someone else printed with sayings from TV series we all loved.  “Fold in the cheese” and “What does burning smell like” brought people to tears laughing.  I CAN MAKE THOSE at will once I get over myself. 
 

I think I might pull the trigger on IKON Art just to dip a toe into what is possible while i slather emulsion on the screen and see how it goes. If I mess up, then that what emulsion remover is for. 
 

your suggestions about printing multiple images for the bag sizes makes so much sense! One screen, many uses.  A multitasker.  Love it. 
 

I have the butterfly clips to set the screen.  This lady from IkonArt used command strips to hold her clips to print a stack of paper napkins.  If she can do that, I think I can figure out how to print a few bags.  

 

I’ll pick up a proper tool to hold the frames (or build several failures first 😂).

 

Braying: I tried all of my different inks, fabric inks, screen print inks, paints, fabric mediums, you name it, and was not happy with any results. The stamp got bogged up up quickly while still not managing to print a full enough impression.  The images were not saturated with color and were not something I felt proud to give. 
 

 

[TallTayl]

On 4/22/2023 at 4:44 AM, Brotato said:

this guy also has some great tips on coating a screen. If you get your emulsion too thick you can use that sharper edge as well to scrape it off and then give it another go. I personally like the technique of angling the screen to coat rather than against the wall. I feel like I have more control, just my personal preference though and how I learned. 

I watched this guys channel for weeks last summer.  Makes it look easy. 
 

my daughter is in a graphics class with a teacher who prints.  I’ve been hoping she needs a conference so I have a reason to visit him at the school 😂. 

[TallTayl]

On 4/22/2023 at 5:06 AM, Brotato said:

you could also try something like this depending on the intricacy of your design. Downside would be the screen won’t last that long I wouldn’t think and seems tedious. I could also see ink possibly getting under the stencil with repeated use. 

Ahahahah I tried this exact process with my vinyl cutter.  It was a DISASTER from the word go.  Weeding the vinyl with small letters is painful. And it doesn’t stick to the screen nearly as well as it did for this kind Crafter. A few passes of the ink and iI had the little dots of letters lifting off the screen and ink bleeding round the stencil on the second print.  
 

I tried heat pressing HTV too. The ink bleed was the same, which makes sense as it’s a sharp edge which catches ink. 

[Brotato]

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

@Brotato

so many things to reply to…. Starting with: thank you for those videos. I spend more than my share on time on YouTube and the algorithm  had not found those for me yet.  Each vid I watch carves new idea pathways 🥳

 

I just need to get over my fear of messing up something new paralysis and just stinking start. You gotta break eggs to make omelettes.   I got most of my real printing supplies from Screen Print Direct. Just looked and see they have exponentially more emulsions since my last purchase.  
 

Right now, I have several size bags for bayberry candles, the same number for beeswax.  This project is about mastering something new.  It’s been on my bucket list for so long it’s about time to cross it off. If all goes well, I have many other ideas for the process, not just other product. We cut down loads of mature, but storm damaged trees that want to be something pretty, like live edge cutting boards, etc.  then screen printing with Torch Paste to make thoughtful housewarming gifts and photo props. 
 

glass etching has always looked super fun, too.  Stencils to keep projects from looking like a kindergartener made something is always good! 
 

My family has a warped sense of humor. The best gift last Christmas was a set of tea towels someone else printed with sayings from TV series we all loved.  “Fold in the cheese” and “What does burning smell like” brought people to tears laughing.  I CAN MAKE THOSE at will once I get over myself. 
 

I think I might pull the trigger on IKON Art just to dip a toe into what is possible while i slather emulsion on the screen and see how it goes. If I mess up, then that what emulsion remover is for. 
 

your suggestions about printing multiple images for the bag sizes makes so much sense! One screen, many uses.  A multitasker.  Love it. 
 

I have the butterfly clips to set the screen.  This lady from IkonArt used command strips to hold her clips to print a stack of paper napkins.  If she can do that, I think I can figure out how to print a few bags.  

 

I’ll pick up a proper tool to hold the frames (or build several failures first 😂).

 

Braying: I tried all of my different inks, fabric inks, screen print inks, paints, fabric mediums, you name it, and was not happy with any results. The stamp got bogged up up quickly while still not managing to print a full enough impression.  The images were not saturated with color and were not something I felt proud to give. 
 

 

You are quite welcome! I went down the rabbit hole the other day haha! Sorry for the information overload

 

I think it’s great that you want to master a new skill and your reasons for it. I also LOVE the warped sense of humor and wood idea. That is brilliant! You really can do so much once you get a process down. I definitely would give it a go. I am so confident you’ll get the hang of it 

 

Another thing you can look for that may be a worthy investment, given your goals, is if a community college nearby has a class. I learned in a career tech program in high school through the CC I ended up going too. Excellent teachers and typically they are professionals in the field and have reasonably priced classes. Here in Ohio you can audit a class for much cheaper if you don’t need credit for it. It can save you a ton of time troubleshooting, learning equipment, products etc. One day I’ll get the the ceramics class at ours. 

 

I won’t lie that IKON art kit does look very cool from a quick glance. It does look like it can do a variety of things also. If you have the means, it looks as if it can get you going while you learn other processes. Or you may find it fits your needs perfectly. 
 

one thing with learning something new that’s involved like screen printing (not that I, myself, take my own advice, I prefer banging my head against a wall 😂 ) would be to chunk it off into small sections. JUST get good at coating screens. Coat then reclaim them a few times until you get the technique. THEN try exposing them. It won’t be as frustrating because you’ll be so good at coating them. Etc etc. baby steps will build up your confidence as well. I don’t know about you but I can get overwhelmed when trying to teach myself something new. Don’t be afraid of messing up because you will! But as you said that’s what screen reclaiming is for, no harm no foul. I messed up a ton and I had someone there showing me everything. 
 

once you get this down and print your first bag or tea towel all of the pain will be worth it! Screen printing is awesome and worth the effort in my opinion. I used to make my own tshirts all the time, hoodies, etc with designs no one else had. Things I drew. Was super fun. Used to gift them as well. Custom sports and school shirts. Possibilities really are endless.
 

Won’t lie, you’ve also got me eyeballing that ikon art system just for fun 🤔 I’ll start buttering up my husband to the idea and see how it goes 🤣

 

Definitely let me know if you get stuck or need anything at all and I will do my best to help! 

[Brotato]

One last note, if you can survive creating candles given the wax/wick/FO/vessel combination debacle, I am convinced your a genius or saint or both and am BEYOND confident you can and will become a screen printer 🙃 

[TallTayl]

4 hours ago, Brotato said:

One last note, if you can survive creating candles given the wax/wick/FO/vessel combination debacle, I am convinced your a genius or saint or both and am BEYOND confident you can and will become a screen printer 🙃 

Your kindness is giving me the strength to go for it!

 

You probably figured out I am pretty stubborn when on a quest. I’ll send you something from the first attempts - good bad or otherwise. If you’re brave, send your ship to info in a pm and hope I’m a quick study. 😜

[Brotato]

18 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Your kindness is giving me the strength to go for it!

 

You probably figured out I am pretty stubborn when on a quest. I’ll send you something from the first attempts - good bad or otherwise. If you’re brave, send your ship to info in a pm and hope I’m a quick study. 😜

Yay! I’m so glad 😃 you’ve got this!!

[TallTayl]

I looked hard at the Ikon Art kit and just didn’t want to spend the extra $100 for basically fonts and a few stencil ideas on a partner site. I use Canva and Silhouette design studios, so it was redundant. 
 

I did buy 5 sheets of the fabric and 5 sheets of the hard surface films to try out against the old fashioned emulsion.  They shipped within the hour! 
 

I’ll give a side by side with the traditional screen print and the ikonart in case anyone is considering playing along.  The uv lights from Amazon should do the trick to develop the image on the emulsions for both types.

 

getting excited now!  

[Brotato]

9 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I looked hard at the Ikon Art kit and just didn’t want to spend the extra $100 for basically fonts and a few stencil ideas on a partner site. I use Canva and Silhouette design studios, so it was redundant. 
 

I did buy 5 sheets of the fabric and 5 sheets of the hard surface films to try out against the old fashioned emulsion.  They shipped within the hour! 
 

I’ll give a side by side with the traditional screen print and the ikonart in case anyone is considering playing along.  The uv lights from Amazon should do the trick to develop the image on the emulsions for both types.

 

getting excited now!  

That is a super smart idea on how to test things out and I agree with you on not spending where you already have it. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! 

[TallTayl]

The Ikon Art kit arrived super fast! I burned through 4 sheets learning how they work.  I made a LOT of mistakes.  But, I’m learning, so it’s all good.  Even the worst screen print on my muslin packaging is better than the best stamping job I’ve done regardless of ink.

 

lesson 1) cut the sheets into smaller pieces.  I went through 4 before learning that. My bags vary in size from 4x6 to 12x12.  I focused on the smaller 3 sizes and could have saved a lot of screen material since I use tape to seal the edges to print. 
 

lesson 2) don’t overexpose the sheets.  When they say 25-30 seconds per exposure, they mean it.  The ikon Art kit uses a 25w or 30w UV lamp.  Mine are 50 watts. And I used 2. Once I backed off to 1 lamp and cut the exposure time the images washed out so much cleaner! 
 

these first bags were with a water based ink.  Later ones used plastisol. I prefer the plastisol over the water based.  The impressions are cleaner with no bleed. Woot woot! 

 

 

I have a screen with old fashioned emulsion drying now.  Once it’s ready I’ll expose an image on it to compare.  There’s a big learning curve with coating the emulsion.  
 

overall, for these small items I recommend the Ikon Art sheets with the speedball frame.  I tape down the small screen stencil  onto the speedball frame and print away. Then peel off the image stencil and can pop another onto the screen in minutes to print something different.  Both ways are pricey to start, but will save me loads of $ sending the jobs out. 
 

Bonus that this whole process of screen printing is so much fun! 

 

[Brotato]

So happy for your success and can’t wait to see all of your creations!!

[hayeseliseo]

I have recently screen printing is widely used in the textile industry for printing designs on garments, including t-shirts, hoodies, and tote bags. I also have a passion for this new art and I create silkscreen prints as greeting cards, keychains, banners, a gift in a photo frames for holiday gifts,...You can learn more my products about screen printing here: sweetrosestudio.