DIY: How To Burn a Silkscreen and Print at Home

Screen printing is the pinnacle of DIY culture. We're going to show you how to make your own design and screen it onto whatever you'd like. You’ll need to block out a few hours, and you'll need to have a design or logo in mind to print.


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DIY: How To Burn a Silkscreen and Print at Home

[Yasukek]

you haveno idea how much videos. how many hours. how many days, and weeks i spent. trying to learn where tf i start first. at first it was, you gotta burn your screen, then it was, get your emulsion set up, your gonna need laser vullen, get opaque paper put it over the scree. i had no idea where tf to start and every youtuber was basically telling me to buy a bunch of stuff. now. here i am spending 2 minutes to watch(and rewatch to make sure i got every point down) and WOW what do you know? i didnt need wood, emulsion calculator, ect ect. this mf video took 1 minute to fully explain the starting process of screen printing. by god i love wired bruh. i love whoever made this thank you so much.. now i can rest in peace knowing i know exactly what i have to get

[DatsFunnyXD]

They left out the fact that you need to place the image on the screen backwards so when you print it won't be actually backwards

[vK]

Stick some quarters to the bottom of your frame so your screen does not touch the fabric - it's called off-contact and gives you sharper prints.

Flood the screen first with ink to load up the mesh with ink, then push down and make a firm and positive stroke along the length of the screen with your squeegie until you see the mesh of your design in the screen empty of ink - then you know the ink is on the fabric without moving the the screen

If you have confusion about where to stick your positive (the transparency with black printer ink), look through the top of your screen in the well where the ink will go and it will help you stick it the right way. Use a yellow bug light bulb to see what you are doing before you expose your emulsion while you are sticking your positive to the screen - yellow light should not expose the emulsion. White light will, so only use white light when you are ready to expose your emulsion.

Emulsion can take overnight to dry in high humid areas - a dehumidifier will really help. If your emulsion is not dry it won't form crosslinks and wash out cleanly, giving you rough edges to your print.

If you can't make a good screen - try doubling up your positive by sticking two together with double sided tape. Sometimes printers do not put enough ink down and the light from your exposure bulb can still pass through. Doubling up can stop this from happening and help with washing out.

As soon as you start washing out your screen - you should see your design appear as a lighter colour emulsion. rinse gently for a minute and it should suddenly just fall away from the screen.

Use the correct emulsion for the correct ink - waterbased ink can wash out standard emulsion. Waterbased ink is like plastisol ink in that it also needs heat to cure so it won't wash out..

[boop]

Wow, in under 2 mins you taught me what several friends who screen print wouldn't share or couldn't teach in over 30 years lol. THANKYOU SO MUCH!

[Dot-fzvp]

I like that you introduce all the materials and equipment one by one at the beginning of the video! So nice and friendly.

[Frothy_Mead]

Way easier to follow than all the other screen printing videos out there. Great for a beginner. Thank you wired.

[kjpetsch]

more like I'm ready to continue my struggling skate brand

[dksouthpawatx]

it works a WHOLE lot better if you can get the ink in 1 or 2 passes in the same direction. Clamp the screen to the the table with the item underneath if you have to. Then press down as hard as you can on the squeegee and pull it towards you, not away from you. That way you're using the stronger muscle group. Also, make sure you get the squeegee the same size as the screen and you wont have to wipe twice.

[Mindswirl]

I love how simple and cool this vid is. Yeah Im ready to start a struggling punk band

[WillThat]

You can use vinyl instead of the photo resist if you have a cutter like a cricket or silhouette. Also, I heard you can put a pane of glass over your print to hold it down evenly so you down get a shadow effect.

[ABCDEFJHIJK-ku]

Yay now I can start a struggling punk band 😮‍💨

[yuriportes]

I loved it, BUT what about the step 3?!

[JustinLinnJC]

I want to make a screen like this to paint I-Go boards!

[hassanjawad]

What kind of emulsion is needed for the coating

[FireflyInFreeFall]

They also forgot to mention that your ink will probably wash out if you don't cure it.

[LiberatorYourself]

Thank you! I'm so inspired now! 💯☮️

[mamaluvsdance]

did I miss what she said about the red bulb? I only heard her reference the 150 watt bulb in the lamp for exposing the transparency image.

[ganungjepung]

Can you use usual printer paper and ink for image printing?

[baronofbile]

Yall didnt have to go so hard with that last sentence

[kalbotero]

I'm a silkscreen printer for some years, and see this video hurt my eyes.