Things You'll Need:
- Stencils for numbers Transparent vellum Opaque black paint, marker or ink Frame stretched with screen mesh Foam, slightly smaller than frame Thick glass, slightly larger than frame Light sensitive emulsion Halide light Squeegee Screen printing ink Screen printing ink solvent Substrate
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Step 1
Determine what substrate material you are printing on -- for example, baseball shirts or poster board. What size should the numbers be for the project? Will multiple numbers be needed, as with baseball shirts, or simply one image, as with a poster? Assemble your substrate material and determine the size of the print area. The screen must have a margin of several inches around the live print area. Select screen printing ink appropriate for the project. T-Shirt ink and poster ink are different. Determine what mesh count the screen needs to be for a particular ink to print successfully.
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Step 2
Create your stenciled numbers with black ink, paint or marker, using stencils on transparent vellum. Another method for creating a transparency of your numbers is to create the design in a graphics program, and output onto transparent vellum. The image must be completely opaque to successfully expose and develop a screen.
For projects such as baseball shirts, you may need to prepare multiple screens with different numbers, or group many numbers on one or two screens. Create two or three large screens and prepare large stencils of the numerals zero through nine on transparencies. -
Step 3
These steps should be done in darkness or low light. Coat the screen on both sizes with light sensitive emulsion using a stiff piece of board or a screen coating tool. Remove excess emulsion. Let dry overnight. Tape the transparent vellum with stenciled numbers on the back of the screen, reading backwards. Place a screen over the foam rubber, and place the heavy glass on top of the foam, screen and transparency. Weight the glass with heavy objects at the edges. Hang your light source over the screen and expose. Develop with warm water, removing excess emulsion with newsprint. Check your emulsion instructions for light position and exposure times.
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Step 4
Place your screen over substrate, and add a thick line of ink at the end of the screen opposite you. Firmly hold the screen with one hand while pulling the ink towards you with the squeegee with the other hand. Lift up the screen to check your print. If the screen is very large, this is a two-person operation. In some cases, metal screen hinges can be fastened to the print surface to hold the screen.
For printing on sports jerseys or team shirts, put a piece of newspaper inside each shirt to avoid ink bleeding to the other side of the shirt. Lay out the shirts according to the numerals that are needed, and then print. When using large numerals, some shirts will get more than one print as you work your way through the numerals. Be sure to block out the numerals you are not printing at the moment if you make screens with multiple numerals. This can be done with packing tape and thick paper or board, or multiple sheets of newsprint. With each shirt getting more than one impression, consider where to place each numeral. -
Step 5
Check your work. If the print blurs, try using a finer screen mesh. If the numbers don't print, use a finer mesh or thin the ink. Check that the screen has developed properly. Clean the screen with proper solvent when finished, using proper ventilation. Many water based inks are available, which clean up without solvent fumes.
