T-Shirt Printing Tools

Screen printing, also known as silk screening, is the simple and versatile printing technique that is perfect for printing brilliant colors on T-shirts. T-shirt printing tools can be purchased from an art supply store, a screen print supplier, or online. Blank T-shirts for your screen printing projects can be purchased from clothing stores or from wholesalers who specialize in volume sales to the imprinted sportswear industry.

Film Positives

The first task in screen printing is getting your artwork on a piece of clear film called a film positive. This can be achieved by printing a design on a piece of clear vellum using a laser printer. Laser printers are better than ink jet printers as the image is more opaque. The film positive is used in putting the image on a screen. Clear vellum can be purchased in bulk from screen printing suppliers.

Screens

T-shirt printers either stretch their own screens or get screens pre-stretched with synthetic mesh fabric. The screens are coated with light sensitive photo emulsion. The film positive is placed over a screen that has been coated and dried. A piece of quarter inch thick glass is placed over the screen and film to secure it during the imaging process. A bright halide light may be used to expose the image onto the screen. Screen exposure frames with the glass built in are available but prices start at over $1,000.

Clamps and Presses

Metal screen printing clamps are screwed to a flat surface. The clamps hold the screen steady during printing operations. Alternately, rotary presses are available for t-shirt and garment printing, with manual rotary presses starting at about $1,500. An experienced printer can print about 100 shirts per hour on a manual press. Automatic T-shirt presses start at about $15,000, and can print about hundreds of shirts per hours, depending on the model.

Inks

There are many types of screen printing inks available. Each ink is manufactured for printing on a particular surface. There are water based inks available for fabric printing. They offer ease of use. Most commercial garment printing shops use plastisol ink, a plastic-based ink that washes up with mineral spirits. It is a versatile ink perfect for fabric printing but requires a specialized dryer for heat setting.

Dryers

T-shirt printers use both spot dryers and conveyor dryers. Spot dryers are used to cure ink while the shirt is still on the press. This is useful in printing on dark shirts in order to get an opaque layer of ink on the shirt. Conveyor dryers are used to dry shirts as the come off the press. Spot dryer prices start at just a few hundred dollars, while the entry level conveyor dryer can run upwards of $2,000.

Accessories

The fully equipped t-shirt shop needs the following items: squeegees, ink knives, rags, washout sink, mineral spirits, block out tape, screen coating tool, screen drying cabinet, ink table, layout table for T-shirts four by eight feet or larger, spray out gun and test print material. Most items are readily available from screen printing suppliers, and many items can be purchased at hardware stores.