DIY From Custom Screen Printing Services

By Ida Dorsey


There are so many ways in having your shirts printed with designs or illustrations on them. But then again, you would want to do it on your own since having it from shops doing it for you might be fast and easy but can come at a price. If you are a person who likes to make your own craft, then this could be very useful for you.

This time though is for silk screens. You can freely do custom screen printing services in Fort Worth TX and any other places that offer this. Mostly they can give customers services that does not have to be in bulk, and this is quite an advantage for their businesses. Although you can actually do the same.

The general idea for this process is through coating photo emulsion on the screens and then place a printed image from a clear sheet on it then exposing it to light. This is like cutting the emulsion with the design from the print. This is where you place the ink on the shirt through this hole design.

The materials you need are just a few. You need screens with a frame, and then a photo emulsion which comes with a sensitizer, for lighting you need a bulb for an evenly spread exposure which should be fifty watts, and lastly a pair of gloves. Also, the room you are using must be pitch black.

Other stuff you should have is a squeegee and then a shirt or clothing that you want to be printed with. You should also get a garbage bag or any plastic to spill proof your workstation or desk. What this does is that you have all the freedom to do the designs and whatever you want with the customizations.

To prepare the design of the screens, you need to first setup the frame and screens and make sure they are tightly placed. Then you add and splay over the photo emulsion which should be mixed in with the sensitizer. Use the squeegee to evenly spread it. Make sure that the covered area is twice the size of the design to leave room for it.

Leave the screens in a pitch black room for two hours to let it dry. After that, without turning the lights on yet, lay over the design printed out from a transparency sheet over the screens then taping it with a masking tape. This process is like cutting out the image on the screen.

Turn on the lamp and let it be exposed to the light for fifteen minutes. See if it already looks good after peeking through the faint cut outs, if not, let it stay for a bit longer. Overexposure can let the image bleed that is why you need to be careful.

You can then remove the exposed remnant of the screen with water. Make sure to completely remove them before letting them dry. After that, get your shirt and put a cardboard inside it for stabilizing. Place the screen over and make sure to align it well before pouring the ink. Spread it with the squeegee evenly in all directions then carefully take it out. Do this process for a couple times if you plan on varying colors.




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