![]() Place your black and white copy on acetate of your screen print onto the blue/green surface of the screen, careful to think about how it will print (words facing the right way?). This is one reason I suggest making at least 2 screens at a time. ![]() If they are- you will have to start over since the blob will ruin your print. There might be big dots of emulsion where you were a little too generous- as long as these aren’t in the middle of the screen where you are printing, no big deal. The next day, while in your dark place, look at your screen to make sure it is dry. If you have an exposure lamp, you can wait 6 hours to expose, but if not- just wait overnight and continue in the morning. ![]() Put the box in the basement or in a closet- somewhere safe from light. (I used old VHS tapes, ha!) Put your wet screen horizontal and flat in this box immediately after squeegee-step, and close the lid. Set two blocks in the box where the frame’s edges can rest so that air can flow under your screen. I suggest duct taping any holes to keep light out, and write a note on the box so curious people you live with won’t get in there. Get a big box that is lightproof to hold your screen. I did because someone told me to, but I never did this in a professional environment, so I dunno what the deal is. You don’t want this to be thick! Some people coat the back, too. Pros can do this in one pull- but with homemade screens I usually have to do this a few times to get the screen evenly coated. Pull your squeegee upwards while exherting pressure against the screen. Touch the edge of the squeegee to the bottom of the screen and change the angle of the squeegee upwards so that the emulsion all slides to the screen’s surface. In your other hand, hold the screen vertically. It an almost black environment (I had the lights on in another room while I was in the kitchen at night), generously spoon the emulsion all along the edge of the squeegee, careful to hold your squeegee horizontally, but at a 40 degree angle from the sink so it doesn’t fall off. You will store it in the fridge after pulling your screen. Mix the photo Emulsion and Primer really well and write the date on the bottle so you will know when it will expire. The tauter/tighter your screen- the better it works. I suggest starting on one side, then do the opposite side, then do the top and bottom, starting always in the middle, pulling the screen super tight every time. With a helpful friend, staple the silk to your empty frame. Old silk curtains from thrift store, preferably with a very fine mesh Speedball Photo Emulsion, plus primer, usually sold in a kit, and Speedball Fabric Ink Picture frame minus picture- but with glass, from thrift store )īlack and white design printed onto Acetate (overhead projector I did an alternate shirt for people who didn’t think the horse thing was funny. (Our family roots are Scottish and we were apparently horse thieves, so our shirt has our Scottish Clan crest with a horse head on top for good humor, and three stripes of the tartan colors below. However, I learned a lot that I wish I had read on a blog somewhere, so I wanted to share my process. While it was a lot of work- I don’t regret a moment of it. I thought it would be more memorable, more important, more infused with family-ness if I printed all 20 T-shirts myself. At our family reunion this summer there was only one thing I was absolutely adamant about, and that was the T-shirts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |