How to Make Screen Printing T-Shirt Designs
Screen printing your own T-shirt designs is an economical way of creating custom, original T-shirts. The process takes some practice to perfect, but a custom screen for printing will help you mass-produce your own T-shirts for special events, vacations, your band, or just to spruce up your own wardrobe with some original pieces. Screens are washable and reusable, and everything you need to create your own screen-printing design can be found at your local craft supply store.
Things You'll Need
- Silk screen
- Wood or aluminum frame
- Staples
- Duct tape
- Photo emulsion kit
- Dark room and photo safe lights
- 150-watt lightbulb
- Hanging light socket
- Ink
- Squeegee
- Spatula
- Black board or sheet
- Transparency sheet
Instructions
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Creating Your Design
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Create a line drawing from your desired image. If you want to use a photograph, you will need to reduce it to a high-contrast image consisting of black lines and white space. For a custom-drawn design, use thick lines and do not make it too detailed, especially for your first design. As you become more experienced with screen printing, try more elaborate designs.
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2
Set the contrast on your image to make it as dark as possible on the screen. Set your desired size: about 10.5 inches in length will fit nicely on both the printed page and your T-shirt.
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3
Print your design onto a sheet of transparency film.
Make Your Screen
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4
Stretch your screen across the top of the frame and tape it down with duct tape. Staple through the duct tape and the screen, starting in the center.
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5
Pull the screen tight across the top of the frame, stapling out from the center to both top corners. Repeat the process down both sides and across the bottom. Your screen needs to be stretched tight across the frame.
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Spread photo emulsion solution across the entire screen. Emulsion solution will block out areas of the screen that are not part of the print so the ink will not soak through them. Do this on the "inside" of the screen, the side that is set inside the lip of the frame. This will need to be done in a dark room with photo safe light (as simple as a red lightbulb) according to the directions on your emulsion kit. Use a squeegee or scoop coater to spread the emulsion solution evenly across the screen. Let the emulsion chemicals dry for at least two hours.
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Lay your black board or sheet on a flat surface within reach of your hanging light socket or arm. Place the screen, flat side down, on top of the sheet and lay your printed transparency, face down, across the back of the screen. Set this all up inside your dark room.
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Switch your light on for at least 15 minutes to "bake" the image onto the screen. At the end of 15 minutes, rinse your screen immediately with cold water to wash the emulsion fluid away from your design.
Printing Your T-shirts
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9
Place a piece of cardboard inside your T-shirt to prevent ink from soaking through to the other side. Lay the T-shirt on a flat surface and place the screen, face down, on top.
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10
Place ink onto the back of the screen and use a spatula to push it around so the entire screen is coated smoothly and evenly.
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Hang your finished shirts to dry and thoroughly wash the remaining ink out of your screen. Using hot water will also clear away the remaining emulsion solution so your screen can be reused for a different design.
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