Some of the best screen printers begin printing in their garages or basements. When they start getting good and even great at their prints—and their family and friends start requesting custom t-shirts (and they figure out they can also sell them)—they launch their official screen-printing business and even move into a commercial location.
However, don’t worry if you’re not quite there yet. We’re here to cover the basics of screen printing, and what you need to get set up at home, with an eye toward launching a t-shirt business at some point. This list will let you create screen-printed t-shirts at a semi-pro level, whether it’s for your neighborhood softball team or for an upcoming family event.
Screen Printing: Your Getting Started Checklist
If you’ve watched enough screen-printing videos on YouTube and have tried screen printing with DIY supplies at home, but want to go up another level, you’ll need to invest in some equipment and supplies. Here’s our checklist of what you’ll need to purchase.
✔ A Manual Screen-Printing Press
Your screen-printing press is your starting point. We recommend first investing in a manual press to learn the ins and outs of screen printing on a pro press. There are many options on the market, both new and used, with different features, outputs and of course, prices. The good news is that a starter manual press starts at $200, so it’s definitely affordable. (You may want to first check out the selection from Ryonet.)
✔ A Dryer
If you plan to screen print multicolor designs (which of course you will), you’ll need a dryer to cure or “flash” the ink so that they don’t wash out. Your best option is to buy a conveyor dryer, which you can run multiple shirts through (that speeds up your screen-printing process) to dry the ink. When you run a conveyor dryer, you’ll need to adjust the temperature and belt speed depending on the type of garment and inks you’re using. You can also opt to purchase a flash dryer that will give you consistent heat across the whole print so the ink “gels” or “cures.”
However, these may not be the most economical options for you right now. In the future, as you gain more experience and decide to go commercial, you’ll want one of these.
Some newbie screen printers elect to use an affordable heat press to cure their prints, since it operates like a conveyor dryer (without the conveyor). A heat press is a stable heat source, since you can set the temperature you want. Plus, if you’re using a digital heat press, you can watch for any heat fluctuations while you’re curing your print.
✔ An Exposure Unit
This piece of equipment, which you need to burn your images onto screens, is really important to your darkroom. To get better screens, the quality of this unit does matter. Some printers start out with a bulb and then move up to an LED exposure unit. Basically, your bulb or exposure unit emits the right wavelengths of UV light that can cure your emulsion within a few seconds or minutes.
✔ A Washout Booth (of Sorts)
If you’re familiar with screen printing, you’ll need a spot to rinse out burned new screens or to reclaim old ones. In a commercial location, printers invest in a washout booth. If you don’t have the budget (or the room) for one, you’ll need to use a mudroom sink or even a tub as your booth.
However, you’ll need to be careful that your inks and emulsions don’t go down the drain, as they can clog (and destroy) your pipes and also pollute the local water supply with hazardous chemicals. To mitigate that, you’ll have to add a trap on top of the drain or on top of your P-trap, depending on your setup.
✔ Printing Those Positives
To make stencils for your screens, you’ll need a printer for films. You have a lot of options here, but many new screen printers opt for an inkjet printer. That’s because inkjet film has one side that’s coated and one side that isn’t. The coating holds the ink from the printer, and maintains the shape and density of your image. Generally, your inkjet printer will either use UV-blocking ink or a dye ink that stops all light.
However, another smart option when you’re first starting out is to see if local screen-printing shops can print your films so you don’t need to invest in a printer or do it yourself.
✔ Screen-Printing Software
Do you need to invest in software? If you want to create quality art to print onto your films, you will. There are a couple different capabilities that you’ll need. First, you’ll need a graphics design tool to create quality screen prints, either from scratch or using templates. Professional screen printers often recommend using vector-based Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, or CorelDraw. For these types of programs, you’ll most likely need an online tutorial or course to counteract the learning curve. Some more affordable options for beginners include Affinity designer, GIMP or Inkscape.
You’ll also need a color separation tool to take the image you created in a graphics program like Illustrator and “separate” it into individual colors so you can print one color at a time onto films. That’s because when you screen print, you lay down one color ink at a time to create an image. While some small printers who print two-color designs sometimes rely on a Cricut or stencil, a color-separating tool will make your job much easier. Most likely, you’ll choose a CMYK tool, which breaks your image down into four basic colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (which you’ll often see mirrored in your color printer cartridges). Check out EZ Screen, Separo or Simpleseps. You can also outsource your color separation to an online service like Seps.io.
✔ Screens
Of course, screens are one of the most essential supplies in screen printing. They have different mesh counts, which you use for different applications. If you watch YouTube videos or have a screen-printing mentor, you might have a good idea what screens to use on your different weight t-shirts. However, screen-printing supplies vendors are also good sources of information, if you’re just starting out. You can call their customer service line or review video tutorials on their websites or YouTube.
✔ Screen-Printing Inks
Again, if you’re familiar with the basic screen-printing process, you know that the two main ink categories are: plastisol and water-based inks. Plastisol inks have been around a long time, and work well for new printers. That’s because these inks print easier, don’t dry on the screen, cure easily and result in bright prints.
Screen printers who prefer water-based inks for their softer hand do say that it takes time and experience to master them, since the ink can dry in the screen and it’s harder to cure correctly. (If you want to know more about working with water-based inks, read our blog, Unstitched By Threadsy.
✔ Screen-Printing Emulsion
You’ll also need screen-printing emulsion, which is a liquid substance that’s light-sensitive and creates an ink-resistant border around your image. When you apply emulsion liquid or sheets to your screens, you need to do it in a dark room or under ultraviolet-safe lights. The two most common types of emulsions are diazo and presensitized.
✔ All Those Other Supplies
You’ll need other supplies, like screen tape, a platen adhesive, squeegees, platen tape, scrub brushes and more. Plus, don’t forget your cleaning supplies. Many screen printers opt for eco-friendly versions, like the popular Sgreen line, which is also biodegradable and non-hazardous.
Depending on whether you use plastisol or water-based inks, you’ll need specific cleaners. Plus, if you’re reclaiming screens (of course you are), you’ll need an emulsion stripper and another cleaner to degrease and dehaze the screens. This is where finding a screen-printing supplies vendor that makes it easy to order online or offers bulk discounts or free shipping at a certain purchase amount is worth the legwork.
The Best T-Shirts for Screen Printing
With thousands of choices out there, it can be overwhelming knowing which t-shirts are the best for screen printing. When choosing a shirt (or other garment) for your next project, an easy rule of thumb to follow is to select natural fabrics such as cotton, silk, or wool. Cotton and cotton blends are good for bulk t-shirt projects because they are much cheaper than other natural fabrics. They also absorb ink more easily than synthetic fabrics while offering softness, durability, and a smooth texture for even printing.
Man-made fabrics like acrylic and polyester are less permeable than cotton, which can result in poor dye transfer or dull colors in the finished project. If you’re set on using poly or high-poly blends for screen printing, consider investing in a polyester-specific dye for your project for the best results.
Make Friends With Your Vendors
Yes, we know this is a packed checklist! That’s why we recommend reaching out to different equipment and supplies manufacturers to learn more about what they offer. They’ll often offer financing options or training on their equipment, or bulk discounts on supplies. These vendors want you to succeed, so they’ll spend the time to educate you on their equipment and supplies to make sure you get the right match for your budget and needs.
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