Build Your Own Screen Printing Equipment With Freeware
Building screen printing equipment can be difficult and costly. There is a simple way for a beginner to screen print a T-shirt without building any type of equipment. It takes only a computer and household items. You can take any design and put it on a T-shirt using an embroidery hoop, screen printing paint, glue, and photo software that's already on your computer. The equipment can be reused to make more than one T-shirt.
Instructions
1. Find a simple design that has many dark and light areas. However, a picture that is too detailed might not make a clear image when screen printed. Load the design in your photo software program. Click "File" and then "Save as/Type." Choose "Monochrome Bitmap" and then "Save." The design will now be in black and white. If the design does not look sharp, you might want to choose a different picture.
2. Measure the size of the embroidery hoop. Resize your design in your software program so, when printed, its size that will fit inside the hoop. Most software programs include a "Resize" function that allows you to adjust to the size you need.
3. Separate the two pieces of the embroidery hoop. Stretch a nylon stocking over the larger (outside) hoop. Place the second hoop on top of the stocking and press the hoops together. Make sure the stocking is stretched tightly inside the hoop or the screen printing will not work.
4. Place the hoop on top of the printed design. The stocking needs to be touching the paper design. Trace the design onto the stocking with a pencil. Do not fill in black parts.
5. Brush the glue product on the stocking in every area of the design where you don't want to use any screen printing ink. This is "negative space," and the design will be the color of the T-shirt because there will be no paint in these areas on the finished shirt. Also paint on the glue all around the outside of the design so that you don't accidentally paint an area near the design edges. The only areas that should be unpainted with glue are those where you want color on the T-shirt. Let the glue dry.
6. Set the hoop, glue side down, on the T-shirt where you want the design. Paint the screen printing ink on all the unglued areas. You can paint over the entire design if you want because none of the paint will go through the glue. The paint will go through the stocking in areas that are not glued, creating the design on the T-shirt.
7. Carefully remove the hoop from the T-shirt immediately after you have finished painting. Let the T-shirt dry for an hour before heat setting. You should be able to touch the ink lightly without paint coming off on your fingers. Follow the directions that come with the screen printing ink on set the ink. It usually requires an iron, but inks can differ by brand.
