How to Screen Print: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

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How to Screen Print A Step-by-Step Guide for
Beginners

• PRINTING SCREEN PRINTING

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Learn how to screen print and bring your designs
to life!

• Screen printing is a clever but amazing way of
  printing different designs on different items
  like t-shirts, hoodies, even teamwear to stand
  out from the crowd. It is popular among an
  extensive array of industries and is used for
  making bold posters, artwork, and canvases.
• But that is not even the best part about this
  amazing technique. The best part about screen
  printing is that you can do it at home. You can
  create all sorts of custom hoodies, and other
  items of clothing from your living room, garage,
  or wherever you choose to work. In this guide for
  beginners, we covered a step-by-step tutorial to
  screen printing. So keep reading if you want to
  know how to screenprint shirts, or whatever it is
  that you wish to print

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What Is Screen Printing?

• Screen printing is a printing method
  characterised by the use of a mesh to transfer
  ink on a substrate except for the areas. A
  blocking stencil makes the areas immune. With a
  very long history (1), screen printing is also
  known as silkscreen printing, serigraph printing,
  and serigraphy.
• Fabric and paper are commonly used to bring
  screen printing designs to life. You can print on
  wood, metal, glass, and plastic with specialised
  inks. Not just that, you can use screen printing
  for fabricating and patterning OLEDs (2). We have
  curated an easy-to-follow guide to screen
  printing at home. Continue reading if you want to
  know how to screen print shirts

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Screen Printing Techniques

• Once you start learning how to screen print, you
  will see that they are many different types of
  screen printing. Some of the most widely used
  techniques are
• Metallic Ink Screen Printing
• Glow In The Dark Ink Screen Printing
• Water-based Screen Printing
• Puff Ink Screen Printing
• Reflective Ink Screen Printing
• Discharge Screen Printing
• Foil Ink Screen Printing
• Jumbo Sized Screen Printing

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How Does Screen Printing Work Step-by-Step Guide

• Yes, there are many different techniques, but the
  basic technique is the same, so the methods will
  not confuse you. The technique we are going to
  focus on involves the use of a special
  light-reactive emulsion to make a custom stencil.
  Lets breakdown how to screen print on fabric step
  by step
• 1. Design Creation
• The first thing you need to do if you want to do
  screen printing at home is to create a design. In
  order to do so, your printer will take that
  design and print it on a transparent acetate
  film. This design is what you will use to make
  the stencil.
• 2. Screen Prep
• Before you move forward with your screen
  printing, you must know how to make a screen for
  screen printing. Once, you have the design, your
  printer will select a mesh screen to complement
  the complexity of your design, and your screen
  printing paper, or fabrics texture. Afterwards,
  a light-reactive emulsion will coat the mesh
  screen. A light reactive emulsion hardens when it
  develops in bright light.

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• 3. Exposure of Emulsion
• Now, you will have to lay the acetate sheet
  featuring the design on the emulsion-coated
  screen, and expose it to very bright light. The
  light will harden the emulsion, and the parts of
  the screen covered by the design will remain
  liquid.
• If your final design has multiple colours, then
  you will have to, use a separate screen to apply
  each layer of ink. For multi-coloured products, a
  printer uses its skill to design each stencil,
  and then lines them up perfectly to create a
  seamless design.
• 4. Stencil Creation
• Once you notice, that the exposed parts of the
  design are hard, you will need to rinse the
  liquid emulsion. This will leave a distinct
  imprint of the design on the screen to let the
  ink pass through.
• Then you will dry the screen and let the printer
  do necessary touch-ups or corrections to make
  your imprint as accurate as possible to your
  original design. After this step, your stencil
  will be ready for use.
• 5. Item Preparation for Print
• After placing the screen on the printing press,
  you will lay down your item flat on the printing
  board under the screen.
• You can choose from different presses like
  automatic and manual styles, but if you choose a
  modern commercial printer, then remember that it
  will use an automatic rotary carousel printer.
  This lets multiple screens to work simultaneously.

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• 6. Pressing Ink on the Item Through the Screen
• Now you will lower the screen on the printing
  board. Then youll add the ink to the top end of
  screen, and spread the ink on the screens full
  length. This will press the ink through the
  stencils open areas and imprint the design on
  the item underneath.
• If your printer is creating multiple items, then
  you will have to, raise the screen and add a new
  garment on the printing board and repeat the
  procedure. Use a special washing fluid to remove
  the emulsion as soon as printing completes. Why?
  To use the mesh, to make new stencils.
• 7. Drying the Product and Checking It
• In the end, you will pass the printed item
  through a dryer. The dryer will cure the ink and
  create a smooth, colour-fast finished item. You
  will require to check and wash it thoroughly,
  before passing it on to its new owner. And your
  screen-printed item will be complete.
• Also Read The Complete Guide to Sublimation
  Printing

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• Tips for the Best DIY Screen Printing
• Opt for high dpi screens because they deliver
  better detail and significantly enhance the
  prints. This looks extremely good when you are
  designing vibrant totes and bags.
• If you do not have access to a dryer, when screen
  printing at home, for the heat setting, cover
  your print with paper and iron it for a minute or
  so.
• If you are using a dark material to print
  clothes, such as teamwear, then search for ink,
  with a super opaque label to get a brighter
  colour print.
• Ask someone to hold your frame for you so you can
  use both of your hands to pull the squeegee
  evenly.
• Also Read T-Shirt Printing Methods 2021

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The Final Takeaway

• Screen printing has seen many developments and is
  now used for commercial printing as an artistic
  medium. You can use one stencil to come up with
  hundreds of screen printing designs.
• Follow our guide to get your head around the
  procedure of screen printing whatever you want,
  you can create custom printed T-shirts,
  sweatshirts, hoodies, totes and bags to give a
  personal touch to your clothes. Plus, screen
  printing is the best way to create large orders
  of custom clothing.
• References
• (1) Griffiths, Antony. Prints and printmaking an
  introduction to the history and techniques.
  University of California Press, 1996.(2) Pardo,
  Dino A., Ghassan E. Jabbour, and Nasser
  Peyghambarian. Application of screen printing in
  the fabrication of organic light-emitting
  devices. Advanced Materials 12, no. 17 (2000)
  1249-1252.