Screenprinting: A Step by Step Guide
by The-Lisa
Got an idea for the perfect T-shirt? Here's how to get it out of your head and onto your body.
Screenprinting is a great way to make shirts for your friends, your bandmates, your SAT study buddies, or random strangers who appreciate your sense of style. If you've never screenprinted before, the instructions can seem a bit overwhelming, so we've laid everything out, step by step -- with photos!
1: Gather Your Gear
To get started, either buy a basic screenprinting kit, or gather the necessities yourself. You can find screenprinting stuff at most art supply stores.
- A cotton T-shirt (or several). Wash and dry it before you get started.
- A framed screenprinting screen. Get a size that's a few inches bigger than you want your design to be.
- A screenprinting squeegee that fits inside your screen
- Screenprinting drawing fluid
- Screen filler
- Screenprinting ink for fabric. I'd suggest starting with either white, if you're printing on a dark-colored tee, or black, if you're printing on a light-colored tee.
- Newspapers
- Masking tape
- 4 push pins
- A small round paintbrush with a pointy tip
- A pencil
- A spoon
- An old toothbrush
- A sewing needle or pin (Don't worry -- you're not sewing anything.)
- A sink or tub that's big enough to rinse your screen
- A friend (optional, but it helps to have an extra pair of hands)
2: Design Something!What do you want on your T-shirt? Get sketchin'. The best designs to start with are one color -- either black or white -- with thick, clear lines. A simple silhouette will work better than a detailed drawing. My friend, Sarah (no relation to The-Sarah), and I couldn't decide on one design, so we mixed together lots of random stuff we like -- bikes, buttons, robots, my dog, her cat -- and put everything on a piece of paper.
3: Trace the Design onto the ScreenOnce you get the design figured out, put the screen over the design, preferably on a table, not your knees like I'm doing in the photo. The deep side of the screen (not the flat side) should be facing you. Trace the design onto your screen with a pencil. Be sure to leave about two inches of blank space between the edge of your design and the frame. The parts you draw in pencil are where the ink will go.
NOTE: Another method of screenprinting uses light-sensitive emulsion to transfer the design onto your screen. That's a little trickier, so for this tutorial, I'm sticking with the basics. 4: Prepare the ScreenTurn the screen over, so you're looking at the flat side, and push a push pin into each corner (below). Then, spread newspaper on the table, because you are about to make a mess. (I've never done this without making a mess.) Set your screen on the newspaper. It should now be standing on four little push pin legs.
5: Drawing FluidOpen the drawing fluid, and stir it up (below). You can use your paintbrush if you want, but I usually use a disposable chopstick -- they're handy for crafting. Once the drawing fluid is smooth, paint it carefully onto the screen, tracing over your penciled design. Once you've covered all the penciled areas with drawing fluid, hold the screen up to the light to be sure there aren't any tiny holes in your design. (If you see any holes, fill them in.) Leave the screen to dry, making sure the wet parts aren't touching the newspaper.
6: Tape It UpUsing masking tape, cover the edges and corners of the screen.
7: Screen FillerOnce your drawing fluid is dry, take out the bottle of screen filler and stir it up, getting rid of all the lumps. Spoon several spoonfuls at one end of your screen (below). DO THE NEXT STEP VERY CAREFULLY. You're going to use your squeegee on the screen ONE TIME and completely cover the screen in screen filler. If any areas aren't covered, don't go back and re-squeegee it, because you might mess up the drawing fluid. We'll have time for touch-ups later. Leave the screen on the newspaper to dry. (Again, be sure it's not touching the newspaper -- the little push pin legs should hold it up.)
8: The TubOnce the screen filler is completely dry, take it to the tub and start rinsing it. The screen filler will stay put, but the drawing fluid will wash out. You can brush the design areas with an old toothbrush if any of the drawing fluid is sticking. Once you've rinsed out all the drawing fluid, take your screen back over to the table.
9: Touch UpsIf any areas of your design didn't rinse out completely, poke at that area with a sewing needle so the ink will be able to get through. If necessary, rinse the screen again, and let it dry. If there are any holes in the screen filler areas, use the paintbrush to dab on some extra screen filler and touch up the holes. Let the screen dry.
10: Prepare for the Big MomentRemove the push pins from your screen. If the masking tape is loose (and it probably is, from the rinsing) take it off and put new tape on both sides of the screen. You want to be sure it's tight against the screen so that ink won't seep through around the edges. Get your T-shirt(s) out and put a piece of flat cardboard inside. (I use old file folders.) This will prevent the ink from going through to the back of the shirt. Set the T-shirt on the table and ask your friend to hold it tightly against the table, without stretching it. Open the ink, and have your squeegee nearby.
11: Whee, Screenprinting! Place your screen on top of the T-shirt, and position it exactly where you want the design to be. The bottom (flat side) of the screen should be resting on the T-shirt. Spoon some ink onto the screen. With one hand, hold the screen tightly in place. With the other hand, bring the squeegee down the screen, pressing hard. If you're sure you haven't moved the screen at all, make a second or third pass to be sure the design is completely covered in ink. As your friend continues to hold the shirt down, lift the screen off of it in one quick motion.
If you have another shirt ready to print, repeat this process immediately. Be very careful not to touch the screen to the shirt until you're sure it's in the right position, because the underside is inky now. IMPORTANT: As soon as you're finished printing, wash the ink out the screen! (If ink dries in the screen, it's pretty much impossible to remove, so you won't be able to make more shirts with that design.) Leave the T-shirts alone until they dry. NOTE: If any areas of the design didn't print, you can touch them up using a small paintbrush and a tiny bit of ink.
12: Heat Things UpCheck your ink jar for the heat-setting instructions. Typically, you'll have to iron the front of the shirt for about 5 minutes. Cover the design with a paper towel as you iron it, then turn the shirt inside out and iron it for another 5 minutes (with the paper towel on the inside this time).
You're Done!! You just screenprinted a T-shirt! If you're not sure what to do with the screen after you're finished using it, I recommend hanging it on the wall. The frame kind of makes it look like a piece of art, and if it's hanging on your wall, you'll know right where to find it when you want to print more shirts.
I thought this was really cool...I'm going to try it and post mine. If you decide to try it email them to me at dsp411@yahoo.com..I'll post them!
