This is my favorite screen printing tutorial I've seen so far because it gives me a real idea of what I would be able to do myself without needing a printer or anything too fancy. I always loving doing things a little low tech in such a high tech world we live in now, gotta have balance.
OMGOSH! I just got a cricut and YOUR VIDEO, JUST CHANGED MY LIFE!!! You’re the MAN!!! BIG THANK YOU!!!! I greatly appreciate you sharing this knowledge!
Thank you! You answered so many questions that I had in only 6:56 minutes. I will be trying a two color design for my band, if you have any advice would greatly appreciate it.
I am new to screen printing I’m still studying so can start my clothing line business thank you very much for this video I learn a lot of information about vinyl screen printing.
This is a super effective method of stencil creation for people that don't have a print studio you can also use paper stencils and they will adhere to the mesh after the first print. Check out my new print tutorial videos on my channel. How to screen print for cheap help you make a screen with emulsion without the use of any equipment.
Great video!! a lot of help! I am planning to do this including the machine you are using. may I know what kind of clamps did you use to attache the screen and move it up and down?
Very cool tutorial. A lot of people do this. Especially sign makers ;) It's a spin off of a paper stencil. You can do the same thing with a paper stencil and spray tack to keep the image parts in place. The only difference is you would have to manually place the lose parts of the image. But you can actually do a lot with a 1 piece paper stencil using only the ink to keep it adhered to the screen. Come get some Catspit~!
Yeah! My co-worker and I were thinking about trying that method as well at some point. Might be even easier and faster to clean up! Thanks for the reminder suggestion!
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Looks good, I suggest you flip the design upside down and then use a sheet of hardboard cut to fit a shirt you slide on. This positions the shirt and stretches it out slightly so you don't need to worry about it being flat. Put the hardboard shirt guide on hinges so it can flip up and the shirt slide on. I ad some sections of hardboard around the parameter of the hardboard guide to the outer edges of the screen rest on those and keep the screen at the same height as the shirt. These are just nigly little details though, what ever works.
+Mike Leonard Yeah, my coworker Jeff showed me that trick. Quick and easy registration technique that works surprisingly well, even for dual layer/color prints.
Thanks for this!! There's so many screen printing videos on here with douchey guys using thousand dollar machines when I was just looking for something simple like this.
Amazing details. I really want to try this but not sure I want to out the money out on the off chance I hate it or suck at making designs since my art skills are not amazing
What kind of vinyl and transfer tape did you use? I used 651 and siser transfer tape and spent about an hour trying to get the transfer tape off the screen with out pulling the vinyl up also 😭
So for normal heat transfer with vinyl you usually flip he image. With screen printing do you want to still flip it or leave it “normal” asking for wording.
NOTE.! USE GOOD QUALITY VINYL.! Also recommend sitting out in the sun for 5 mins if it's a hot day just to stick better, he says it doesn't come up but I have have so many problems with the technique, but I use watersol, plastisol might be different idk
this is how I did my first year on etsy for screen printing.. very cost effective but I then moved to HTV. less mistakes. less variables! less stress! packing tape would have been easier for me to use!!!! I used painter's tape.
Hello, great video and shot very well. I don't want to sound negative with my comment, so please take this as constructive. When we first started printing we tried this method of weeding out the sticker and then putting it on our custom frames. The only problem is if you have fine detail as you weed the vinyl, you can sometimes cause the fine lines to be out of place ever so slightly and that can cause your print to look like it wasn't registered properly when in fact you might have your multiple colors lined up perfect. I'd recommend using emulsion and its way easier and cost effective versus vinyl. Not to mention it's much faster. If you don't want to invest into a vacuum exposure unit, you can get away with using (1) 500 W halogen flood light and it will expose your emulsion. You just have to figure out how long your exposure times take. You can find these things called exposure calculators online and they are very handy to have. wish you luck on your endeavors!
Thanks for the suggestion! I work for the Chicago Public Library and we happen to work out of a space without the capability to run a dark room or use a power washer. We wanted to be able to screen print despite those restrictions so we began using this method instead. For a while we were working with a local print shop that would create our screens for us but the lag time was just too much and our students were too impatient :D I definitely agree that this method is less capable of doing multi-color prints in great detail but with careful registration we have been able to accomplish some pretty cool multi screen prints despite that.
Sure, there are two other videos that lead up to this video. Check out the playlist. Also, if you can be more specific about what parts you need help with, I can be more specific about how I did it!
Thanks for this - what a really cool method for screen printing although the last half of the video is a blur cause I fell in love at 4:55 which broke my concentration.
Cool technique with the mylar for placement reference! What kind of vinyl do you use? permanent vinyl (like 651)? I tried using a regular Cricut vinyl, and it wouldn't adhere to the screen. Any advice is appreciated (in advance).
Hey! We do use 651! I have found that some screens work better than others. As you can see in the video, we currently are using aluminum screens. I tried using one of the wooden frames that come with the beginner kits (that a student brought in) and the vinyl would not adhere to it very well at all. I don't know if it has to do with the material, the tautness, or what, but I would suggest trying a screen like you see in the video. You can search for them pretty easily by typing in Aluminum Screen Printing Frame. Should get you some results!
Really liked your video! I just finished doing my first screen print with vinyl and it went pretty well but when I went to clean up I washed the screen and the vinyl instantly fell off and I lost a couple small pieces down the drain. My question is how to you remove the vinyl from the screen prior to washing? Won't the paint get stuck to the vinyl making it difficult to reuse? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Yeah, we don't reuse the vinyl sadly. If you want a screen that will keep the same image on it for multiple printing sessions, you likely need to reapply it or get it burned.
What I suggest is scanning your original design, given that it was made on a physical surface (paper, canvas, what have you) & save it as a digital copy. Doing so will allow you to polish any imperfections & you will never have to worry ab losing that "one perfect design." Hope that helped
what vinyl and transfer tape did you use ? I have silhouette transfer tape and vinyl from Amazon & the small details of the design will not stick on the transfer paper . Need major help .
Thanks for the video - very informative. I did have a question for you. What is that goggle clamp system you used to attach your screen to the work surface? I need that in my life. :)
Hey, sorry, have not been keeping tabs on this like I should! My coworker created the screen board, but its pretty simple: just wood and some clamps. If you look up "Speedball Hinge Clamps For Screen Printing" you can find the type of materials he used!
Greetings from London UK. You must have a good cutter as those small bits would come off. Anyway I have lost my software dongle and to get the same software again would cost me £400. As i only want to do sign painting with basic lettering can you recommend a cheaper software. Good work.
What kind of vinyl? I can't grasp the way the ink is coming onto the short. Is there a hole where the design is for the ink to come through or does it require a special transfer sheet to make the screen in?
Great video have you ever had trouble with the small pieces coming off of the screen?and how many shirts can you get out of the vinyl before changing it?
Hi Jimmy! I have had that problem a few times in the past. It normally only happens when the pieces are extremely small or the adhesive gets compromised somehow. In general though, it doesn't happen very often. You can see in the video that there are some fairly small pieces in the Cat Napoleon's face and shoulder tassel triangle things ;) and they stayed on just fine. I have done several dozen prints before with a single screen. It helps if you are set up well beforehand with all of your printing supplies nearby in easy reach and a spot to dry also nearby. The longer you wait between prints, the more likely clogs are to form.
thank you for the advice.it seems easier than using emulsions and all the other steps involed. im trying to learn as many different techniques as possible and this looks like the easiest way for me having a small company where I will need to eventually learn screen printing.thank you for the advice
So essentially it comes down to the cost of a vinyl printer ($300) and either heat pressing multiple pieces of vinyl (with an added $200 heat press) or using one piece of vinyl + the cost of emulsion (Screen printing supplies). Although with this technique you could just purchase one pre-cut piece of vinyl and save a few hundred... Nice...
better than emulsion stencils by far. less mess, more accurate, easier to make and a LOT faster. you can even revise a design when using multiple stencils.
"WOW" ... This is SOOO SMART!!!! My friend had a silk screening business... and she was always having to "Burn" her images... I always wondered if there was an easier way... This is a great tutorial... Thank you... and Thank you for NOT having annoying music in the background!!! I want to hear you... not the music interfering with the tutorial... :)
this isn't a new method, it has been around for decades (it's a stencil method). you can use this for making simple designs of one color and little details. if you need more colors more details and a more photo realistic image. you do it "The other way"
Thanks so much! We needed to use a method that would be easier to clean up since we are working in a Library and not a print studio. We have done multi-color prints with layers and overlaps and it worked just great. I would say though that burning the images (if you have a dark room and a way to power wash the screens for reuse) creates a much more detailed image. However, this is a pretty easy and fun introduction that has gotten a lot of our students interested in printmaking!
hello if you have questions about screen printing feel free to contact me. I work at a screen printing shop so I know alot about the subject thanks. as for your method with the vinal. it's great keep in mind that with higher detail images a higher mesh count screen will help better but makes putting ink thru it more difficult
how did you get your own image to be cut out of the vinyl? I have a cameo silhouette vinyl cutter but am having trouble cutting out my own images. I also have a pixscan but am also having trouble with the registration part. please help
Okay so my wife and i started a business personalizing decorations and making various things and in alot of cases the images id be making are only used once would would i be able to use this method efficiently without tearing up screens if i was to set up and use once and then change out vinyl multiple times a day for single color designs ive never screen printed at all but it look like a superior method to stencils and paint they always seem very hit and miss
Yup, you can reuse the screen after removing the vinyl. It is actually very good and pretty quick way to change stencils on screens. Just make sure you are removing the ink between prints.
Yeah, so the design needs to be flipped to look "backwards." The reason is that, as you can see when I apply it to the screen, I am putting it on the bottom of the screen. That way, the ink passes through and creates a design that is legible. Its really most important with text, but if you want your design to look exactly like you created it to begin with, you need to cut a flipped version to put on the screen.
I'm thinking of using this in my High School graphic design class. I am wondering if there is an easy way to clean the screens once you're done using them, or do you simply re-screen the frame?
I feel like I'm doing this same thing but my prints are coming out too heavy or missing ink in certain places on the design. I know my problem is because when i lift the screenframe off, the shirt comes up with it. Your shirts weren't sprayed down, so how did you manage to keep the shirt from lifting, thus leaving a fuzzy edge around the graphic?
We just use Fabric Ink either from Speedball or an off brand. We have only had trouble with the fluorescent colors since they get all goopy when you print with them. We don't use plasticene ink so there is not a heat setting needed. We just air dry (and I recommend using an iron when they get home or drying in the dryer before a wash).
We use fairly thick t-shirts to print so we don't really have any issues with bleeding. If you need to put something between the front and back, you can just get a piece of cardboard (non-corrugated) or a shirt form to put in there. Even a few pieces of paper would likely stop the ink from bleeding through. You just have to make sure it is a flat enough surface to avoid leaving an impression on the print.
I think using vinyl is just a shortcut process for single color use. Nothing replaces actual emulsion for reusing screens in the way you want to do it.
Hi Marina! We almost never do more than one color with the same screen. Unfortunately, Tuffenough4u is correct that emulsion is really the best way to keep your screen and design intact between cleanings. However, we have had some luck with a couple of methods for switching colors. The first is just putting in new ink and starting to print until the old ink is gone and the new ink is all that remains. You can get some cool marbled looking prints this way as the color changes but you have to be OK with the colors running together a bit. The second is to use something like simple green or a similar cleaner with paper towels only on the inside of the screen to clean off as much of the paint as possible. Then you do several prints onto a test material until the screen prints cleanly and you can begin printing on your actual material.
Hey, we didn't make the hinge. We bought some hinges to make the frame. If you look up something like Screen Printing Hinge Clamp or something like that it should get you the results you are looking for!
Hey Rajesh, The vinyl should peel off easily and then you just wash the screen under water and probably use some Ink remover. We use Speedball Screen Cleaner.
