Screen Printing with a Laser Cutter? // xTool S1 40 Watt Laser Cutter + Screen Printer Kit

In a brilliant 'why didn't I think of that' move, xTool has created a system for using their laser cutters to prepare screen printing screens, as well as a standalone screen printer. I thought that sounds awesome, so in this video I'm trying out my new xTool S1 40 watt laser cutter along with that screen printing kit to cut and engrave all sorts of materials!

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭*

*Some of these links are connected to affiliate programs that give me a small commission on each sale at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Make Anything!

Thanks to xTool for providing their products for the purpose of review. Opinions expressed in this video are my own.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:58 S1 Setup
3:50 Material Tests
12:17 Screen Printer Setup
14:39 Test Screen
16:37 Multicolor Screen Print
22:31 T-shirt Print
24:34 Conclusion

[make.anything]

Thanks for watching, and excuse my voice..I was going through a cold for most of this o.O! I had a ton of fun with the xTool S1 and Screen Printer Kit, and just wanted to mention some points of feedback I got from xTool:
- They believe the uneven prints may have been a result of me lowering the screen by pushing the frame down, rather than pushing down from that knob that locks the frame. I'll have to see what difference that makes the next time around!
- A concern I initially had but took out was that the special screens could go out of stock or somehow become unavailable, but xTool let me know that the screens actually use standard screen printing emulsion. That means that their screens can be reused with a standard emulsion remover, and with the appropriate metal mesh, you can make your own laserable screens. Sounds cool!

As always let me know if any questions come up while watching!
:) Devin

[nadmeldev]

Kudos Devin for not giving up on the silk screening. I love this machine, and the price is really great for such a nice piece of equipment.

[awildyoutuberappeared]

Damn, I remember running across a video of yours years ago. Glad to see you're still around and that you're doing amazing and starting a new life in Sweden. You made me get into 3d printing and for that I thank you.

[mr_vvs]

Amazing video and review! I'm very impressed by the materials it was able to engrave and cut through! Especially the acrylic. I plan to take a screen printing class and want to use a laser cutter to engrave my designs, so seeing your workflow and considerations was very informative.

[rosserobertolli]

Nice! I have made a screen print once before with a lasercutter but without the special screens. I more or less cut sticker foil on an aluminium foil backing (which won't be cut) to make a stencil that I stuck on the screen. Then I spray-painted the screen with undercoat for cars and removed the stencil. Quite a hassle but it did work and was quite cheap compared to other methods!

[spacenoodles]

I really hope that "private, do not scan" qr code is a joke. That blur seems pretty reversible, and qr codes usually have a bunch of error correction built in.

[eianoodle]

I’ve been screen printing for several years now, and I actually initially saw this product advertised to me on social media. Great video overview! I think this concept is very interesting, and actually mimics technology thats already being used in the commercial screen-printing industry. I could see where this could be a great option for hobbyists or for small projects, since it eliminates the steps of coating, burning, and washing out your screens. That being said, I think the usefulness really ends there.
The press itself doesn’t seem to work with you to get the best print possible. The garment really should be dressed onto a stationary platform that has an adhesive applied to prevent movement of the fabric. The press head should be able to hold the screen stationary in a position a couple millimeters above the substrate, so that the printer can have both hands on the squeegee in order to apply proper pressure. I don’t like that you cannot reuse the mesh, as you cannot reclaim and coat it with new stencil fluid, as well as it seems fairly easy to damage it with the laser itself. Overall, it’s an interesting proof of concept but I think the system has a long way to go before it could really be considered a game changer.

[jbrownson]

Love that flower design, great video thanks

[philoara]

❤ Thank you for this beautiful video! 🙂❤️Can we de-engrave the screen and reuse any emulsion?

[Pillit]

15:27 at any case, if the ink is bleeding through the fabric of the totebag, wouldn't it be too high a stream of laser?, meaning the screen is messed up

[diego_villena]

Your video installs the bracket on the right, but another shows the left. Is this a difference between the 40w and 20w?

[Corn_DOG]

Not interested in the screen printing but the machine itself... really really cool

[reddcube]

It's impressive how capable xTool machines have become.

[Zeldur]

I’ve been using xtool’s 10w laser for… maybe a month? Took me a while to get it set up because I needed a space for it and a laptop. I love it. The lines come out suuuper crisp and so far have only had 1 fail out of… I think 15-20 sessions so far? I still keep an ABC fire extinguisher nearby at all times just in case. I find it to be a great entry into laser cutting right now and now they actually sell it with the enclosure. For the screen printing, a trick I use is I have a super light line trace around the edge. This works best for text on wood so you don’t see the width of the laser. Not sure if it will work for screen printing due to the screen. Worth a shot though

[Carrotious]

Maybe you could help me with the dimensions of the frame... on the website it only references 11.5x16in but I dont know if that is internal or external. My laser machine fits a max of 330mm wide. Would the frame fit? Thanks G

[baschz]

Very cool machine and nice video, as always. It looks like an awesome machine for cutting and engraving, but I was very interested (and pretty skeptic) about the screen printing option when I saw it on Instagram. For starters it looks way more sturdy and well made than I initially thought it would be, but I still think it's really more of a cool gimmick, that I am not sure of who it is for. The meshes are non-reusable consumables and a screen takes ages to make compared to the normal way. I like the fact that they thought about adjustment. I'm curious about the pricing, because I can't really judge who this would for. I do like the totally new approach and effort that went into the design of it all.

If you're interested, some tips for your next prints: Flooding is fine. After that one pass with enough pressure should be enough. Especially with such thin ink and on a light coloured fabric. Just use both hands though (easier to apply good and even pressure) and only print in one direction, to prevent the screen from stretching in multiple directions which can make your print come out blurry. Also, it looks like you can slide your shirt onto the platen so, if you use the sticky mat (or apply some spray glue on the platen (after you put some tape or something on it that you can replace, so the platen itself stays nice and clean), you can put your shirt on it with the collar facing to you and print the design upside down. You can then leave your shirt to dry on the platen for the next colour(s). Also watch out with drying the shirt next to your screen. Waterbased ink dries super quickly and becomes a pain to wash out if you wait too long. Good luck! (even though that last print already came out quite nicely)

[robert_trirop]

QR codes are somewhat resistant to partial occlusion. Are you sure that your blur effect over the Bitcoin QR-code is big enough? The blur also shifts and moves around a bit. With some work, a bad actor could maybe reconstruct the code from the video. But I'm not totally sure about that.
Great video anyway :)

[rdyer]

Like you said, an artform takes practice. Nice T-Shirt. Like the tote, I think some "failure" shirts would be worth some investment in raw materials. Keep up the great work.

[tonycosta]

In college, I had to do that with water soluble fillm that gets exposed with UV light. This is so much easier. You should use more ink with a single slower two handed pull applying a fair amount of pressure to really get good contact.

[Sanctus_Judas]

Wow. Make a Make Anything wallet out of the leather foam.