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Problem: You have some awesome ideas for designs, you just don’t know how to get those designs onto a t-shirt, parka, towel, sock, thingamabob, or anything else you’d love to see your design on. Solution: Silk Screening.

This is a basic how-to on ‘do it yourself’ t-shirt screening using the photo-emulsion method- and doing it with out breaking the bank. I really only intend to point the layman in the right direction. I will give you retailers, wholesalers, and brands of the products I have been using to try and make it as cost effective as possible. Sure, sure, you’ll find someone recommending higher quality products, or different process, but again- the idea is to make it cheap and cost-effective for small production (like.. a 101 class at college, but I’ll delete any comments by some 400 level student going around blogs on the inter-webs getting his jollies off telling people how what they do is ‘wrong’ or whatever ). I totally encourage suggestions and tips for the masses who are looking for this kind of tutorial. My method works pretty well for me, but even recently I am finding out more ways to improve my quality. Don’t forget- the second you plan on making hundreds of prints of the same design the hardware needs change, as well as over-all quality (if I could only qualify for bulk discounts).

T-shirt screening is basically the process of getting a design imprinted onto a screen where only the design will allow ink to pass through it. I started getting interested because a room-mate of mine, we called him Deanis….. hahaha… ( I hope he ranks on google for that term )…. and a friends t-shirt company, Domanate both used the method and produced some rad stuff- so I picked their brains. Mostly I just wanted to be able to wear apparel with designs on them I had in my head (and who knows.. maybe sell one or two).

One of the best resources at first, was actually just buying a Speedball Screen Printing Kit. That site I’ve never purchased from though- I bought mine at a local art supply store in Provo, UT.

The kit only gives you enough to make one design. So for those wanting more info and some good resources to take it past a startup kit: Here’s the process in detail:

You’ll get a wood frame with some polyester mesh stretched and attached to it fairly tight (still called silk screening I guess). I always get mine at a minimum of a few inches larger than my intended design would fit in. I purchase my screens from Standard Screen Supply. They come pre-stretched and I can buy multiple sizes in one order. Also- the cost is actually fairly good (unless you want to make your own, which I hated doing. If you are pretty sure you want to involve yourself in screening: get 8 - 10 since some of the things you’ll be buying (photo emulsion) have limited shelf life an will cover 8+ screens.

Next you’ll need some photo-emulsion. This is a light sensitive material that basically is what will have your designed burned into it, (actually your design will be burned out of it). I use Speedball Diazo photo-emulsion, which comes in a kit (so you mix the activator when you are ready to use it). This post-mixed bottle will last 4 months and should be kept in your fridge. I can usually get 8-12 screens from a single kit. You’ll thinly coat both sides with the mixed photo-emulsion. This is a light-sensitive product, meaning if/when light hits the ink it becomes permanent. So I obviously coat my screens in a dark room and let it dry in a closed box and never let light hit it until I have my design ready to burn into (see next steps). You should buy a Fabric Squeegee to assist you in spreading the emulsion. This is the same squeegee you’ll use later run the ink onto your t-shirt. You’ll want something with a rubber edge, or an edge that gives a little as you slide it. Always make sure your squeegee is larger than your design. So a 10″ design, but an 8″ squeegee is a no go.

I recommend getting your squeegee from a local art supply store. They should have something that looks somewhat like the one below, and that’s one of the best places for a good price. Just eye-balling how thick you are applying your emulsion, imagine if it was dried if it would be thicker than card-stock…. that’s probably too thick. You really will have to do trial and error. If you mess up a design because your emulsion was too thick or too thin, buy some Emulsion remover from the same place you buy your emulsion and try it again. Check out my screens later in the tutorial after they are dried to see if your coloration/thickness appears the same after you do yours. I let these dry overnight, flat with the lip of the screen facing up.

Next you’ll need a design. I don’t care if it’s a Jpeg, vector, gif, png, pdf, power point- you will be printing it off or cutting out a die. Acetate, or transparency/over-head projector paper is what you’ll be printing it onto, (or cutting it out of any material that won’t let light through it). I just always go to Kinko’s and have them do it for me on an 8.5″ x 11″, and I have them print me two copies. Here’s what this is used for. Remember that the photo emulsion is light sensitive? (while still in moderately dark room, place your acetate-printed design onto the inside of your screen. Tape it down where you want it, closer to center is best for lots of reasons. If the lips of the screen are facing up, then the way you are looking at your design as it is taped down is how it will appear on shirts. Sometime Kinko’s ink is a little inconsistent and the black ink might light let through, so I got in the habit of doubling up my designs.

I bought a 300 watt white light bulb from Ace hardware, but for the actually ‘burning of the design’. You can also use, (if you have them) two task lights commonly found on a computer desk or bed post. The more lights you aim at your design, the more even you are sure to get it. I center my light directly above my design, and hit it for 35-45 minutes. The Speedball starter kit mentioned previously has a good graph on what bulbs, at what distance, and for how long. But again, being limited on how spread out my single light gets, the edges might not be hit enough and the design may not be burned exactly the way I made it, ie: if the design is fairly large the outside of it may have a stretched shadow because they are so far away from the center)

Take a breather. After you’ve timed it and pulled the design out from under the light (remember, until you are completely done keep working in a low light environment) - next you just need to wash it out under cold water. Let both sides get wet immediately so they can start soaking, and if you have a hose attachment for your kitchen sink, the pressure and ability to aim will help wash it out. Just keep spraying it. Sometimes my designs come out fast, sometimes they take a few minutes of work. Keep it in low light and keep hitting it with cold water. The design will be lighter than the rest, so make sure nothing else washes out- other wise you might not have burned it in long enough. If the design takes forever to wash out- you might also consider the photo emulsion could be too thick.

After it’s washed out and dried- you might want to tape around the outsides to make sure ink doesn’t seep through. I use Speedball screen filler (in the start up kit and always sold where I buy the rest of my supplies. The screen filler is a ‘paint on’ filler that basically you put anywhere you didn’t get photo emulsion, or where random places washed out that shouldn’t have.

Next, you need to get your t-shirt inks ready. I started with Speedball fabric inks, but then have also liked the Aquabrite textile also sold at Standard Screen Supply, which is where I also get my screens as mentioned earlier. Also in the next step, which if you haven’t picked up is actually the transfer of ink onto the shirts, you’ll need some shirts. I went to GenX clothing and bought a bunch of crap, $2.00 test shirts, as well just went through my closet and found any old pillow case, or 10 year old t-shirt to practice on. For the nice shirts that I use when I give away or sell my t-shirts with designs on them- I use American Apparel. I found the best deal with out a minimum order, to be from Cheapestees.com who also has a bunch of other brands you might like the fit more. American Apparel holds ink well, are fitted (not really one size fits all) but there other brands have great fits for all body types. I order $70 each time from these guys now because it gets free shipping most of the time.

So- now you have your design burned into a screen, your ink, a squeegee, t-shirt of choice, and you’ve taped edges on the screen. Turn your oven on to 375 or 400, and get a cookie sheet. We are making cookies. ACTUALLY, the ink isn’t permanent until it’s been heat treated. I also get a blow dryer with a high-heat mode and hit the shirt again with that.

Clear up some space on your counter/kitchen table. I got an extra piece of vinyl that we put in the shirt (in between the front and the back of the shirt so ink doesn’t seep through) or a board (which I cut to fit through the neck to it’s a little easier to align all my shirts if I am doing multiple of the same design/color (also make sure the vinyl, or wood is LARGER than the screen… if its smaller and the design goes outside of the insert, it’ll make funky lines). Get the shirt set up, and the vinyl/wood block in between the layers, get your taped up t-shirt screen centered where you want your design, then get a spoon or knife and put plenty of ink on the screen.

Next get your squeegee out, get a good line of ink evenly across the whole edge. Lower it down to a 30 degree angle or less, apply even pressure, and run it. tip: Start the ink transfer on the part of the design farthest from you, and bring it towards you. Maybe, sometimes you’ll want to do another pass if necessary. Rest the squeegee on the edge, have someone hold the shirt down on the outside of the screen- and pull the screen straight up. If you did things right, you’ll have a perfect stamp of your design on the shirt.

Quickly, but keeping the image exactly flat and in the shape it is, get it on the cookie sheet and cook that bad-boy in your oven for 2-4 minutes. Afterwards pull it out, let it cool off- and if to the touch the ink still rubs off a little on your hand bake it more or hit it up with your blow dryer. The better heating job you can do- with out over-doing it- the longer the design will last.

White ink on dark colored shirts is really hard to work with, so I usually put it on thicker, (but pay the penalty of having a thicker- less forgiving design when I wear the shirt.) The pro’s have a machine that can perfectly re-align the t-shirt back under the screen exactly where it was before, so that you can spin the rack so the shirt goes under an even heater, dries the ink, and comes back for a second thin coat of white. I can’t do that with the ’sandy at home method’ I’ve been writing about. Also- I usually wash my shirts before judging if the design was done well, or was too thick. Surprisingly, a good wash in cold water, then a drier really reflects how good of a job you did. I’ve had what seemed to be perfect passes of ink-to shirt from the screen wash out- and I’ve had seemingly too thick of designs become soft and wearable. As soon as you’ve finished screening all the shirts you plan to- wash the screen out with water. Rub it with your hands, get a sponge, but get the ink out. While you are cooking your shirts or doing other things- the thin layer of ink left on the screen is drying and can ruin a good screen.

I’ve posted some of my Original t-shirt designs and continue to try to make better ones, mostly for me but I have sold a fair amount of them. I’ll update this post with some more tips and tricks as time goes on and I learn more.

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