Silk Screen T-Shirt Printing: A Beginner's Guide

Silk screen printing is a fun and inexpensive way to express your individual style. It's also a great way to make some extra money. To get started, you'll need a few basic materials such as a screen, fabric paint, emulsion, and a squeegee. You can make your own screen by using a canvas stretcher frame and stretching mesh over it, or you can buy a ready-made screen from a craft store.

The process of silk screen printing involves creating a design, burning that image onto a framed screen, and then using a squeegee to push ink through the screen and onto the fabric. It's important to note that you need to print one colour at a time, so if you're printing multiple colours, you'll need to create separate screens for each colour.

Silk screen printing is a fun and rewarding hobby that can be as simple or complex as you like. With a little practice, you'll be able to create unique and personalised T-shirts that your friends and family will love.

Creating the frame

To create the screens for printing, you will first need to decide on the size of your image. For adult-sized shirts, the image is usually about 12 inches across, and for youth-sized shirts, it is about 9 inches. You will then need to add a few inches of buffer space around the image to come up with the frame size. For example, the adult-size frame could be 16"x16", and the youth frame could be 12"x12". This will give you enough room to work with the images on the frames later and still have room to tape off the sides to prevent bleed-through.

The frames can be constructed with wood or aluminium. Wood from 2x2 stock (1.5"x1.5" nominal) will give you a heavy, sturdy frame with plenty of lip to contain the ink when printing. Aluminium frames are also a good option as they are lighter and more rigid than wood, which can warp over time.

After measuring and cutting the pieces, glue and screw them together. You are now ready to attach the screen.

The screen material should be mesh fabric. Cut a piece of fabric for each screen, leaving enough overhang to wrap around the frames. Attach the screen fabric to the frames using a staple gun. This part is easier with an extra pair of hands to ensure the screen is applied under tension.

To tension the screen, pull it taut at the centre of opposite sides of the frame and put one staple in the centre of each side. Then rotate the frame 90 degrees and repeat. Keep repeating this process, expanding out from the centre of each side and slowly work your way to the corners. By alternating sides and moving from the centre out, you minimise the possibility of inconsistent tension in the screen. At the corners, just fold the screen as neatly as possible and staple it down. Trim off any excess fabric to the edge of the frame, being careful not to cut or damage the screen surface.

Attaching the screen

The screen material I'm using is 110 mesh fabric. I found about a yard of this fabric on eBay for less than $10. Cut a piece of fabric for each screen leaving enough overhang to wrap around the frames. I attached the screen fabric to the frames using a staple gun. This part is easier if you have another pair of hands helping, as you need to make sure the screen is applied under tension.

The easiest way I found to tension the screen is to pull it taut at the centre of opposite sides of the frame and put one staple in the centre of each side. Then rotate the frame 90 degrees and repeat. Now repeat that process, expanding out from the centre of each side and slowly work your way to the corners. By alternating sides and moving from the centre out, you minimise the possibility of inconsistent tension in the screen. At the corners, just fold the screen as neatly as possible and staple it down in place. Trim off any excess fabric to the edge of the frame, being careful not to cut or damage the screen surface.

Make sure your staples are pressed right in because your screen needs to lay flat when you flip it over. Staples that aren't pushed right in will make the screen wobble.

Once your screen is stapled, trim the edges. Tape the outside and inside of the silk so that paint can't drip through. Painter's tape is the best choice.

Preparing the photo emulsion

Follow the directions on the bottle for mixing the two bottles together to activate the photosensitive chemicals. These chemicals can be harmful to your skin so wear gloves. Once the photo emulsion is thoroughly mixed, use a squeegee to apply a smooth coat to your frames. You will need to alternate inside and outside the frame to ensure an even, smooth coating. Make sure you have papers or drop cloths down to protect against any spills.

After coating the screens, you need to place them in a dark place to dry. I placed mine on risers inside cardboard boxes that I could tape closed to keep light out. These need to stay in a dark place to prevent curing the photo emulsion.

Preparing the photo emulsion

Firstly, choose a suitable photo emulsion. There are different types of photo emulsions available, such as the Speedball photo emulsion mentioned in one source. It is important to follow the specific instructions provided with your chosen product. In general, photo emulsion comes in two parts: a bottle of emulsion and a bottle of activator. Wear gloves during this process as the chemicals can be harmful to your skin.

Mix the two parts of the photo emulsion together according to the package directions. Add water to the sensitizer, then mix it with the emulsion. Mix thoroughly until you achieve an even colour. For example, with some products, you should mix until it turns green.

Now you are ready to apply the emulsion to your screen. Place a small amount of the mixed emulsion onto your screen. Use a squeegee to spread the emulsion evenly across both sides of the screen. Try to achieve an even and full coating by alternating directions and sides. This step can be messy, so make sure to protect your work area with papers or drop cloths.

After coating the screen, it is important to let it dry in a dark place. Set the screen down horizontally in a completely dark room and let it dry for 1-3 hours. You can speed up the drying process by pointing a fan on low at the screen, reducing the drying time to around 30 minutes.

Once the emulsion is dry, you are ready to expose your screen to light. This step will involve placing your artwork onto the screen and exposing it to a bright light for a set amount of time. The light cures the emulsion, but the areas covered by your artwork will remain unexposed. You can use a bright artificial light or sunlight for this step, but be mindful that the time may vary depending on cloud cover if you choose the latter.

Finally, wash out the unexposed emulsion from your screen. Use a light spray and a soft toothbrush to gently wash away the emulsion, being careful to not use too much force. This will reveal your final image on the screen, and your screen will be ready for printing!

Exposing the image onto a screen

Now that you have your screen printing frame, you need to expose the image onto the screen. This is done by coating the mesh with emulsion and exposing it to light. The emulsion is light-sensitive, so this process typically needs to be done in a darkroom with special light-safe yellow bulbs.

Firstly, clean the mesh with a special screen-printing degreaser to ensure any dust, lint, or particles are washed off. Then, coat the mesh with emulsion. You will need to work quickly as the emulsion will start to cure as soon as it is exposed to light. Use a squeegee to draw the emulsion down over the entire screen on both sides. You want the thinnest coat possible, so make sure you have an even coat, but work quickly.

Once the emulsion is dry, you can expose the image onto the screen. Place the film positive (the image you want to print) onto the screen, backwards so that the side of the frame is facing up. You can use a piece of glass to hold the image in place. Expose the image using a screen-printing exposure unit or an exposure lightbulb for the allotted amount of time. The screen hardens with light, but the film positive blocks the light from reaching the emulsion, so the area of the emulsion under the image will not cure.

After exposing the image, simply rinse the screen with water. The uncured emulsion will wash away, leaving the areas of the mesh open that reflect your design. You can use a high-pressure tap, such as a showerhead or outdoor garden hose, to wash away the emulsion.

Printing your shirts

Now that you have your screen and design ready, it's time to print your shirts!

Before loading the shirt onto the platen, apply pallet adhesive to the platen. This will help the shirt stick to the platen and prevent it from moving around. Load your shirt onto the press and get your printhead aligned. Before locking the printhead into place above your shirt, be sure to flood the screen with ink.

Once the printhead is locked down, push or pull the screen-printing ink across the screen to deposit the ink onto the shirt. You may need more than one round of this, depending on how much ink was deposited. If you are printing multiple colours, repeat this process with your other screens.

Keep in mind that you may need to flash your shirt in between prints, especially if you are printing on dark garments with a white underbase. The flash dryer helps to cure/set the ink, allowing you to print another colour on top of your first layer.

You also need to cure the print after you are completely done printing it. Curing is when the ink dries and sets into the garment. You can cure a shirt with a conveyor dryer or a flash dryer. The temperature at which the ink cures varies, so read the instructions on the ink container to learn the proper cure temperature. If a shirt isn’t cured properly, the ink will not last and the print will start to degrade. To test whether a print has been properly cured, perform the stretch test and a wash test. You can also use a laser temp gun or a donut probe to view the ink's temperature.

When you're done printing all your items, wash your screen right away by running cool water over it.

If you're printing on multiple shirts, be sure to place a board or insert inside each shirt to avoid bleed-through.

Tips for Printing Your Shirts

• Use high-dpi screens for finer details and improved print quality.
• Have someone hold your frame so that you can use both hands to pull the squeegee evenly.
• If you don't have access to a dryer for heat-setting, cover the print with a piece of paper and iron it for about a minute.
• If using dark materials, look for an ink labelled "super opaque" to achieve a brighter-coloured print.

Frequently asked questions