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can anyone help with my first start to screenprinting?
I have just bought 5x Large screens and frames. I have doing my research, and finding only ‘how to print T.Shirts, I haven’t got anywhere. I am looking to do 4 colour process pictures/posters and maybe T-Shirts.
Where we used to work there was 4 big screen printing tables and they produced large full colour posters. I never did ask to see how it was done (regretfully). What I can’t understand is how you get each screen off the desk and put the next colour on and line it up perfectly. All I can see happening is a big blur.
Any Ideas, would be kindly grateful
Jamie kimp
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8 Replies
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hi jamie lay your taped together positives to the platen…..then wizz round each screen in turn and register each colour…you might need white paper inbetween each colour so to register and see it properly 😀
nik
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Hi Nicola ,
Sorry I might have sounded like I knew what I was doing, but I don’t have a clue. I know about the exposing and washing side of it. But don’t know anything about the actual screen part of it. If that helps
Many Thanks ..J
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You do have a carousel right?
a 4 + screen carousel? -
Hi Steve,
No, I only have the wooden frames and screens. Large screens though, over a metre high
🙂
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It all depends on what you want to print, if you want to print stuff with tight registration or multicolour designs you need either a carousel, or a proper table, especially for screens that size.
Those size screens arent usually used with carousels and are used in flatbed presses, for posters or estate agent boards etc, and generally a squeegee operated on a slider bar. -
Is the slider bar what you attach the frame to? Where would I get something like that.
Thanks J
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Hi Jamie,
I’m sorry to say this but I think you are trying to run instead of learning how to walk first. To screen print, in full colour, onto anything you would have to have a good knowledge of screen printing and the different techniques involved.Basically for t’shirts you would need a carousel and dryer and for paper, card, vinyl and other flat substates a hand bench with drying racks would be needed.
Full colour T’shirts are printed on a carousel wet on wet or flash dried, in situe, inbetween prints. For full colour on a hand bench each colour would be printed racked and dried before printing the next colour. Reg marks and stops would be used to make sure your media was in the correct postion.
To set the screens up for full colour, using halftones, you would need an exposure unit with a decent vacuum and 4 good screens with the correct mesh count, tight and with no rips or holes. Your art/possies/acetates would have to be of excellent quality, ie black and your exposure timings spot on.
A good place to start would be to learn the basics first.
Cheers John
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I agree with John.
I would never try and put anybody off from giving anything a go but I reckon you are going right in at the deep end there.
Apart from the points John has made …are you geared up to wash the screens down properly after you have used them.
If you are looking to do long runs of four colour prints you would probably have to use UV inks so the screens don’t dry in……….have you got the facilities to dry the posters with a UV dryer
Steep learning curve but rewarding if you can get it right
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