How to Make Your Own Silk Screen Kit for Wood

Transfer silk screen designs onto any flat, solid medium, such as wood.

Silk screening is the process of transferring painted designs onto a flat surface such as a T-shirt, bag or piece of wood. Though polyester has long since replaced silk, silk screen kits take their name from the fine screen that is stretched across a wooden frame. The design is transferred onto the screen using an emulsion, which blocks the flow of paint in certain areas, and forced through the screen onto the wood with a heavy squeegee. There are a few basic supplies you'll need to make your own silk screen kits, with many options for expanded or specialty kits.

Instructions

Hardware

1. 

   Silk is not as durable as polyester, which makes up almost all silk screening kits today.

   Next to ink, a screen is perhaps the most important element of your silk screen kit. Many craft stores sell rolls of polyester screens or single-use lengths as well as pre-stretched silk screens.

   Low-budget kits can use a fine- to medium-weave fabric such as tulle or chiffon; keep in mind, however, that fabric with too large a mesh will bleed your design, while fabric with too small a mesh will make it impossible to force the ink through.

2. For an accurate replication of your design, you must stretch the screen across a frame. Most silk screen kit frames have a groove and rubber tube fastener, similar to a window screen frame, to temporarily stretch the screen. This negates the need to use staples, so the frame can be used again and again. Frames are available as various lengths of lumber with 45-degree ends for easy squaring, preassembled in various sizes or with the screen already stretched and fastened.

   Alternatively, use an old but sturdy picture frame as an inexpensive silk screen frame. Simply stretch the frame taut across all four sides and staple in place.

3. In silk screening, the ink or paint is forced through the screen with a heavy squeegee. There is nothing particularly special about a silk screen kit squeegee, so you can use any thick, blunt-edge squeegee you find. These are available at most craft and hardware stores. Look for one with a small handle, or without one entirely, as you only need to grip the plastic body to drag it across the screen.

4. The edges between the frame and the screen should be covered with tape to prevent ink from seeping through around your design. Use screen or painter's tape to seal them from the inside of the frame.

Chemicals and Paint

1. Emulsion blocks the negative space in your design to prevent ink from transferring onto the wood. There are two primary types of emulsion: filler and photographic emulsion. To use filler emulsion, transfer your design to the frame with a pencil and paint in the negative spaces and let dry. To use photographic emulsion, coat the entire screen with light-sensitive emulsion, let dry in a dark room and "burn out" your design with a photo negative and concentrated light source. This method will allow you to screen print very intricate, commercial or photographic designs.

   Inexpensive screen printing kits can substitute contact paper or viscous glue for the emulsion. Either cut out your design and stick in place or use the glue as you would a filler emulsion.

2. Emulsion will permanently block the negative space on your screen so you can print multiple times with it. If you have made a mistake or want to reclaim the screen, you must use an emulsion remover.

3. Ink is the most important element of a silk screen kit. There are many different types and colors of ink available in craft stores. Popular brands include Pantone, Ryonet and Speedball. If you are printing primarily on wood, purchase a solvent-based general purpose ink, which is less expensive and faster-drying than textile paints and ink.

   Budget screen print kits can use craft paints to paint on wood. You may have to seal the design with a spray varnish to protect your design, however.

Tips & Warnings

• Each screen design can only be used with a single color. For multicolor designs, transfer your design onto several different screens, blocking out different portions of each and taking care to overlay the screens in the same position before transferring a new color.

References

• Silk Screening Supplies: Screen Printing Starter Kit
• Silk Screening Supplies: Inktech Solvent Based/Flat Stock Inks
• Ruels.com: Silk Screen Printing Instructions