Basic Screen Printing Station Setup
The best way to get into screen printing is to dive in. Most of the machinery, printers, and expensive techniques are, for the most part, aimed at production, speed, and squeezing some profit out of narrow margins. Some equipment, such a computer and graphics software will open up additional capabilities but these aren't a requirement to get started. For the rest of us, there are many ways to get beautiful prints without access to a full-boogie printing lab. We'll start small because small is accessible, and we'll build on that.
Some stuff we'll need.
Screens: These fall into two types wood frame and aluminum frame types. The general consensus tends to be to using pre-made aluminum-frame screens. They stay tight linger and have a better service life than the older wooden types. Don't discount the wooden frames though! Especially when a non-standard or large size is needed. Start out with a 20x24 screen @110 mesh. Higher mesh counts allow for higher detail while lower counts pass more ink at lesser detail. 110 is a good all-around value
Screen Hinges: These mount to a table with screws and allow the screen to be tipped out of the way for loading and printing on your media while maintaining the printing position of the screen relative to the media. For a single color print, maintaining a consistent printing position isn't much of a concern but for multi-color prints, registration becomes a big deal. Precise hinges allow for the accuracy necessary for multi-color work.
Palet: A smooth board large enough to mount your media on. It takes up the space created by the hinges so you have a level printing surface. Simply tape this to the workbench at the print station.
Tape: Both Masking and clear Packing tapes, A 2" wide roll roll of each will do many jobs.
Squeegee: Find one wide enough for one pass over your work, any wider and you're just pushing ink around. Too narrow and you complicate pulling ink through your screen.
Tack Spray: Makes the palet tacky so your paper doesn't slide and move when you're printing. It's about as tacky as the sticky strip on a post-it-note. A little tack helps immensely with registration and paper management.
Optional Stuff to Make Things Easier:
Clear Acetate Sheets: Used for registration and positioning work. Print on this and use it to guide paper placement underneath. Flip it to the side on a tape hinge when it's not being used.
Screen kick stand: Clamp 0ne to the side of the screen to hold it up when changing paper.
That's the basic equipment kit. There will be more as we get rolling!
Some stuff we'll need.
Screens: These fall into two types wood frame and aluminum frame types. The general consensus tends to be to using pre-made aluminum-frame screens. They stay tight linger and have a better service life than the older wooden types. Don't discount the wooden frames though! Especially when a non-standard or large size is needed. Start out with a 20x24 screen @110 mesh. Higher mesh counts allow for higher detail while lower counts pass more ink at lesser detail. 110 is a good all-around value
Screen Hinges: These mount to a table with screws and allow the screen to be tipped out of the way for loading and printing on your media while maintaining the printing position of the screen relative to the media. For a single color print, maintaining a consistent printing position isn't much of a concern but for multi-color prints, registration becomes a big deal. Precise hinges allow for the accuracy necessary for multi-color work.
Palet: A smooth board large enough to mount your media on. It takes up the space created by the hinges so you have a level printing surface. Simply tape this to the workbench at the print station.
Tape: Both Masking and clear Packing tapes, A 2" wide roll roll of each will do many jobs.
Squeegee: Find one wide enough for one pass over your work, any wider and you're just pushing ink around. Too narrow and you complicate pulling ink through your screen.
Tack Spray: Makes the palet tacky so your paper doesn't slide and move when you're printing. It's about as tacky as the sticky strip on a post-it-note. A little tack helps immensely with registration and paper management.
Optional Stuff to Make Things Easier:
Clear Acetate Sheets: Used for registration and positioning work. Print on this and use it to guide paper placement underneath. Flip it to the side on a tape hinge when it's not being used.
Screen kick stand: Clamp 0ne to the side of the screen to hold it up when changing paper.
That's the basic equipment kit. There will be more as we get rolling!
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