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silkscreening is easy! you should do it so you can trade with me. [these instructions also say nothing about registering (if yr using multiple colors). that's becuz i am too lazy to make a hinge thing on the table, etc. sometimes i will shine a lamp through the screen & look under it to see where the light passes through the stencil. mostly i fidget & hope.] |
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silkscreening w/o photoemulsion short version: a silkscreen is like a stencil that you paint instead of cut out! so you get yr screen, paint this stuff on, let it dry & yr done! |
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silkscreening w/photoemulsion short version: photoemulsion is so easy & cool! you gotta try it! it's mostly a lotta waiting. you just spread the stuff on, let it dry, put yr transparency/design on top, turn on a bright light, let it sit for hours, rinse it out & it's READY! |
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1. get the supplies: you can buy a premade screen or make your own screen. get a canvas stretcher, a stapler, some mesh ($12-30/yd, comes in different sizes (smaller # = more coarse, like thread count, ask the clerk)), filler & drawing fluid (optional), tshirt, iron, squeegee. |
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1. get the supplies: same stuff except you need photoemulsion and sensitizer instead of filler & drawing fluid. you also need a 150+ watt lightbulb. |
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2. put together the stretcher. (the wood is really cheap/soft, a normal stapler will work.) |
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2. same. |
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3. staple on the mesh like you'd do for canvas. (start from the middle of the longest side & alternate sides--you'll figure it out.) some ppl say to glue down paper strips and shellac the edges, but tape works ok too. as does no tape at all. |
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3. same. |
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4. draw yr design on the screen. if you draw on the back of the canvas you can draw normally. if you draw on the front (i.e., like you were painting), you'll have to draw mirror. it's up to you! |
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4. copy/print yr design onto transparency paper. or cut your design out with rubylith or heavy paper. [i haven't actually tried this but i'm guessing it'll work. experiment!]
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5. if you have it, trace over yr drawing with drawing fluid. let it dry. touch it once in a while, because it may dry shiny. |
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5. mix the emulsion according to the instructions [for speedball: dump some water into the small bottle & mix it with the big bottle of stuff that does not say 'REMOVER' on it]. spread a thin layer on |
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6. if you used drawing fluid --> put a thin layer of filler over the whole thing on the same side you painted the drawing fluid on. unless you want it to look spotty, which is sometimes nice. subway passes work best for spreading it around. |
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6. put your design on top of the screen & put it under the light. the instructions said to use a foil baking pan to reflect more light, but it didn't seem to do anything. |
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7. let the filler dry. use a hairdryer* or do the dishes. |
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7. let the screen[s] burn for the time indicated on the instructions [depends on the lightbulb yr using]. don't deviate from the instructions too much. if you don't let it burn long enough the entire screen will wash out. if you let it burn too long, your design won't wash out. the exposed parts will turn darker: |
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8. i forgot to take a picture of this (see the picture in the other column), rinse off the drawing fluid if you used it. let it dry again. and finally lay the screen down on the shirt (or whatever), put a little ink on it & squeegee it through once or twice. lift the screen up carefully. |
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8. rinse the screen with warm water. i had to use a scrubbrush to get the stencil out. 8.b squeegee the ink through whatever you want to print. 8.c i printed on a messed up tshirt. |
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9. iron/set the ink according to the instructions on the jar. you can also throw the shirt in the dryer, pick the hottest setting. rinse off the screens & everything else before the ink dries. hurry! |
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9. same |
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10. email me to trade. |
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10. same |
