Screen-printing for the Average Jane

The Screens Themselves:

When it comes to screening, i find that i prefer small screens, about a foot long at the most. They are much easier to handle, and also can be acquired easily. However, i have made quite a few of my own from wooden picture frames. If there is somewhere near you where you can buy the silk-screen material itself, just buy a yard of that and it will go very far. Think 12$ as opposed to a hundred or more for a few screens. For this you will also need a staple gun. Staple the material to the frame, pulling the fabric as firmly as possible with each staple. Just pull and staple away until the screen is flat and firm.

a diy screen

my squeegees -- originally one which was sawed in half for ease of use

Applying Emulsion: So now that you have your screen, you need to apply the emulsion. Just follow the instructions on the package (add this to that, mix well, store in fridge). You can do this out in the light. On a clean surface (you may also want to put newspaper or something down to prevent staining) set the screen down fabric-side up. Make sure the screen is free from any dirt as it can make things a pain in the ass. Then pour a SMALL AMOUNT, maybe a tablespoon at first, of emulsion onto the screen and, using the squeegee, spread it evenly across the screen. Turn the screen over and do the same to the other side. A thin layer of emulsion should cover the fabric completely and evenly. Then store the screen in a dark place so it can dry. This will take a few hours.

Images: While the screen is drying you may want to take the opportunity to prepare the images you wish to print. You need a completely white and black reverse image. You can use paint shop or something to easily accomplish this. Gradients of grey will not work. Remember that the parts of the image that are black are the positive space that the ink will go through. Take these to Kinko's or somewhere and print them onto transparencies. I highly suggest bringing your own transparencies, because they cost an arm and a leg at copy places. Be sure to set the copier to the transparency setting.

After a few hours of drying you may touch the screen to see if it's dry. You may even very briefly expose them to light. If they are dry, you are ready to screen.

Exposing the Screen:

I discovered the perfect exposure time/distance through a very frustrating trial and error process. I determined that 55 minutes of exposure under a 75 watt light bulb in the sort of lamp pictured on the right, from a height of about two feet above the screen to be the ideal settings.

you can also make one of these with a pie tin

So you place your screen under the light ~~(with the red light bulb in and the lights in the room turned off)~~, fabric side up, and arrange the images on it BACKWARDS. The non-shiny side of the transparencies should be up. If it looks right, it's wrong.

Some people overstress the necessity of a dark room. I have the TV and computer on right now and am exposing two small screens. It will make no difference. Just keep the room mostly dark.

~~Turn the light off and change the bulbs.~~ Make sure your screen is centered under the light and turn the light on. Then let it sit for 55 minutes or whatever time works for you (you may want to get some emulsion remover just in case) and make sure it doesn't get moved around or anything.

Scrubbing: When your time's up, you need to scrub the screen. Take it to wherever you'll be doing it (you may want to keep this place dark too) and immerse it in water. I turn the bathtub faucet on and take a hard brush and scrub away. Keep scrubbing until you can see the images clearly. Don't stop until you can hold the screen up and see through each design completely. You may want to use a toothbrush for smaller details. Then let the screen dry.

Preparing a Screen for Printing: When it is completely, 100% dry (trust me, you don't want to use a screen or a squeegee that is remotely moist. it screws things up) set it on the fabric you want to print on. You can block off stuff you don't want to screen with masking tape.

Printing: All you do now is dump a spoonful or so of ink on and run the squeegee over it, pressing down a bit, until you feel you have covered everything pretty well. Sometimes over-squeegeeing can make things more blurry but you will get the hang of it over time. Then carefully lift the screen up from the fabric. Try not to move the screen while you are printing.

Cleaning the Screen: When you are finished with a particular screen, remove any tape you might've used and wash it off in a tub or sink, making sure all the ink is gone, and leave it to dry. You can use your fingers to rub off ink. Do the same for the squeegee. If you are doing a lot of different screens at once, you could stick the screens in a filled tub or something to keep the ink from drying.

Heat-setting: Leave your printed images to dry for awhile. After an hour they should be ready to heat set. Some people do this by putting them in the oven, but i just throw them in the dryer for a couple minutes and it works pretty well. You can also put another piece of fabric over the images and iron them, but I'm not sure how effective this method is. But whatever you do, don't forget this important step!

* Experience has shown me that the whole red light thing really isn't necessary. I now apply emulsion, put the image in place, and even expose the image in complete light. Just don't overdo it.

Hope this helps. Don't get too frustrated -- like everything, this takes practice. Good luck!