cso screenprinting document - clothing shop online · 2019-03-07 · sources: lanieri us...

BEGINNER’S GUIDE to Screen Printing Your Own T-Shirts

Clothing Shop Online

Beginner’s Guide to Screen Printing Your Own T-Shirts

IntroductionYour Screen Printing Supplies ListPrinting Your ArtworkPrepping the Screen

1. Coat Your Silkscreen With Photo Emulsion

2. Transfer Your Artwork

3. Wash the Screen

Screen Printing Your Design

1. Lay Your Shirt Flat

2. Place Your Design

3. Apply Ink to the Screen

4. Dry and Heat Set

5. Repeat for Desired Number of Shirts

Screen Printing Tips

3456

9

11



INTRODUCTIONWhether you’re looking to turn your hobby into a side hustle or your side hustle into a small eCommerce business—screen printing your own t-shirts is the pinnacle of DIY culture and offers strong profit potential. In the age of Instagram and influencers, more people are opting for unique clothing, and they’re willing to pay for it. Half of U.S. adults are interested in buying customized items, and it’s estimated that the global market for the custom t-shirt printing industry is expected to exceed $10 billion by 2025.

If you’ve been interested in participating in this lucrative business, yet unsure where to start - we’re offering this handy guide to help! While the screen printing process may seem a little intimidating at first, the truth is it’s easily doable in the comfort of your own home. All you need are the proper tools and some guidance.

NOTE: For this guide we’ll be focusing on a single-color screen printing process.

Let’s get started by identifying your supplies.

Sources: Lanieri US Fashiontech Insights 2017, Custom T-Shirt Printing Market - Growth, Share, Opportunities, Competitive Analysis, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

49%$10 Billion by 2025

of US adults are interested in buying customized items

The custom t-shirt industry is to exceed

3





YOUR SCREEN PRINTING SUPPLIES LIST

Rubber gloves Blank silkscreen with a 110 mesh countScreen printing squeegeePhoto emulsionBright light bulbLampPlastisol ink(look for “super opaque” if you’re using a darker garment)

Blank t-shirts Computer printer Transparency paper (to print your artwork)

Table Painters tapeClear tape Soft toothbrushWaterPiece of cardboard

Optional: Black or dark sheet of fabric Optional: Piece of glass(to hold transparency tightly to screen)

Optional: Table clamps

4



Most of these items can be found at craft stores or online. So, put on some old clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, dust off those shoulders, and block out the rest of your day—it’s time to screen print!

As a beginner, it’s easier to work with a single-color design that is simpleand has thicker lines before moving on to graphics with more intricate detail. The best tool to use to create your design for screen printing is Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator’s vector-based nature allows your artwork to be resized without losing quality. However, Photoshop or GIMP (a free design program similar to Photoshop) will work too—just keep in mind the design may lose quality if resized.

The design itself (not your screen printing ink choice) will need to be opaque black on a white background, sized at the actual dimensions you want them to be on the shirt, and have a resolution of 300 dpi. When in doubt, size it larger than you think it should be. Scaling down is easy enough, but not vice versa.

Once you’re satisfied with the artwork, use your computer printer to print the design onto transparent paper. If you don’t have a printer at home, most office supplies stores or copy centers can print your artwork on transparencies for you. After you have your printed design, you can set it aside while you begin prepping the screen.

PRINTING YOUR ARTWORK

5



PREPPING THE SCREEN

NOTE: Before getting started, make sure your gloves are on and you’re in a dimly lit room (whichever has the least amount of light with enough space to work), as photo emulsion is light sensitive.

To get the desired outcome on your t-shirts, you’ll first need to prepare and burn the silkscreen with your artwork.

COAT YOUR SILKSCREEN WITH PHOTO EMULSION

Grab your silkscreen, photo emulsion and squeegee. The photo emulsion comes with a small bottle of sensitizer; mix water with the sensitizer and follow the directions on the emulsion to combine the ingredients.

Pour a small amount of the mixture at the edge of the screen and use your squeegee to distribute a thin, even layer completely covering the screen. Alternating directions and sides helps to spread an even, full coverage.

Do this on both sides.

6



Set your screen in a pitch-dark room (ex: a closet) in front of a fan for at least 3-4 hours to ensure the emulsion is completely dry. Make sure the screen is resting vertically at an angle against the wall (so the emulsion doesn’t touch the wall), and not flat on the ground.

While your emulsion is drying, use the time to set up your light rig to burn the screen. In a separate room, lay a black sheet (optional) over the table and position the lamp with the bright bulb to shine directly down on the table. Check the directions on your emulsion for how close the lamp should be. Turn all the lights off except for the lamp.

Carefully check back on your emulsion, if it’s dry to the touch and not sticky you’re ready to begin transferring your artwork.

TRANSFER YOUR ARTWORK

NOTE: Work quickly because photo emulsion is sensitive to light.

7


Beginner’s Guide to Screen Printing Your Own T-ShirtsBeginner’s Guide to Screen Printing Your Own T-Shirts

Grab your printed transparency and place it backwards, on the back of the screen (screen side up, wood down on the sheet). Use clear tape to secure the artwork. We suggest also laying a piece of glass on top of the taped design to hold it tightly to the screen. Carefully place the screen directly under the lamp’s light to begin exposure.

To avoid any mishaps or risk over exposure, always check the directions on your emulsion and/or use an exposure calculator.

Remember, all lights should be off except the lamp at this point. You’ll know if your artwork transferred because it will appear lighter than the rest of the screen (areas covered by your artwork don’t get exposed). From here on out you can return to normal lighting.

WASH THE SCREEN

After a successful transfer, you’ll need to carefully wash the screen. Be sure to remove the transparency first. Lightly spray cool water on the screen and use a soft toothbrush to wash away the unexposed emulsion. Don’t use too much force or scrub too hard, or you’ll risk removing emulsion around the design as well.

You should be able to see completely through the areas you want the ink to be visible. Dry off the screen, and then place painter’s tape over any areas you don’t want printed or where the emulsion isn’t intact.

Now that your screen is prepped and ready, it’s time to screen print your design!

8



SCREEN PRINTING YOUR DESIGNGrab your blank t-shirts and get ready to see your creations come to life!

LAY YOUR SHIRT FLAT

Lay your first shirt flat on a hard, even surface. Place a piece of cardboard between the front and back layers of the shirt to prevent the ink from bleeding through to the other side, and smooth out any wrinkles.

PLACE YOUR DESIGN

Place the silkscreen design screen-side down on your t-shirt where you want the design to be screen printed. Remember, you burned the screen with your artwork backwards, on the back of the screen, so when you flip it over your design should read properly. We suggest using table clamps to hold down the screen and prevent it from moving during the process (which could alter the design), or have a friend hold down the screen firmly.

9



APPLY INK TO THE SCREEN

Apply a thick line of your plastisol ink above the design so it extends past both ends of the artwork. Using your squeegee, press down at a 45-degree angle and pull the ink down the screen until it evenly covers the image. Do this again in each direction (left to right, down to up, etc.). It may take a few passes to get the desired pigmentation.

DRY AND HEAT SET

After you’ve applied the ink, carefully lift the silkscreen and set your printed t-shirt in a safe spot to dry. Once the ink is dry to the touch, heat set the ink by throwing it in the dryer for a few minutes or placing a piece of parchment paper over the design and running an iron over it.

REPEAT FOR DESIRED NUMBER OF SHIRTS

Simply repeat the screen printing process for each shirt in the order and voila—your custom printed tees are ready to sell!

Now that you know how to screen print your own t-shirts, we’ve got some best practices to help ensure you end up with a flawless result and extend the life of your supplies.

10



SCREEN PRINTING TIPS Screen printing your own apparel takes time to learn, but once you have the tools and knowledge it’s just a matter of practice! We’ve listed a few things to keep in mind during the process:

• Rinse your screen every few prints to prevent the ink from gooping up and hardening, thus ruining the screen and t-shirts

• You can reuse your silkscreen by cleaning it with emulsion remover

• Save ink by scraping any excess product on the squeegee back in the container and use it for future projects

• Fabrics that are 100 percent cotton or cotton blends are the easiest to work with; polyester requires more technique

Burning the screen and getting the outcome you want may take a couple of tries, as with anything new you take up. Don’t get discouraged if it takes awhile to get things right, your creations are worth it!

For more screen printing tips and tricks, be sure to check out the Clothing Shop Online Blog!

11

cso screenprinting document - clothing shop online · 2019-03-07 · sources: lanieri us...

Documents