How To Screen Print T-Shirts On Your Own
Posted on: 28 November 2020
Have you always wanted to make your own t-shirts, but not sure how to do it properly? Screen printing is a great way to get this job done and get high-quality results. Here is some information on how to screen print t-shirts on your own.
Screen Preparation
You'll need a special screen used for screen printing, a squeegee, and photo emulsion to get started. The emulsion is mixed together and then poured on top of the screen. You then use the squeegee to spread out the emulsion over the screen. A little bit of emulsion goes a long way, since you just need to completely cover both sides of the screen with the liquid. The key is to completely cover the screen and make it even. Let the emulsion dry in the dark with a fan on it.
Artwork Application
A one color screen print is easy to do by printing the design onto a transparency sheet that you can get at your office supply store. When applying the artwork to the screen, you will need to act quickly. Place the transparency on the screen so that the pattern is a mirror image on the screen, cover it with a sheet of glass so that it lays flat, and then expose the transparency to a bright light for about an hour.
Screen Cleaning
The emulsion works by hardening the parts of the screen that are exposed to the light, so the part of the screen that is covered by the transparency is going to wash away quite easily since it did not harden. This essentially leaves a hole in the screen that allows ink to pass through it. However, you need to clean that emulsion off the screen.
You can hose down the screen to get rid of most of the emulsion, and then scrub the areas that did not completely harden to get rid of it.
Screen Printing
You can now place your shirt underneath the screen and print the image. Apply a small amount of ink to the screen in an area where the emulsion has hardened, and then use your squeegee to spread the ink across the screen so that the ink pushes through the area where the image is located. It's always a good idea to practice on paper or old fabric to get a handle on how much pressure is needed with the squeegee, then start applying the ink to your actual shirts.
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