Exposure Unit F20T12-BL UV Lamps
Exposure Unit Lamps Lit
I have gotten many emails about the lamps used in my home built exposure unit. I should probably write up a FAQ some day. Anyways, the lamps are a special unfiltered black light. The designation is F20T12-BL. These lamps don’t block UV rays like the ones you buy in the store. The emulsion you coat your screens with is sensitive to UV. When the emulsion is exposed to UV it will cure or harden. The art work blocks the UV and that area will wash out. That is the reason you need a good black art image in order to block the UV entirely.
The black lights you buy at the Walmart, filter the UV out. The UV is what we need to expose our screens so you you would end up with your image washing out.
I have heard of people using plant grow lights sold in the garden department. They will have a lower uv level and I don’t know how they will work.
So, to get the good lamps, you need to goto the local lighting supply or check out: http://www.1000bulbs.com/F20T12/1246/
Filed Under Screen Printing | 1 Comment
Silk Screen Printing – Top 10 Resources
Shared by Steve
Screen printing resources and tutorials
Success in creating your own t-shirts or screen printed items can depend a lot on getting the details just right. The following resources looks at the different techniques available in designing and creating memorable t-shirts, that you can be proud of.
-
No Media Kings
-
Stencil Revolution
-
Fecal Face
-
CraftGrrl
-
Instructables
-
T-shirt Forums
-
Dakini
-
Reuels
-
EHow
-
SilkscreenBiz
This is a great walk through on silkscreen preparation and printing for t-shirts and posters. If there is resource you want to save (besides Screensilk.com), it is this one.
This tutorial deals with printing up low cost t-shirts with stencils using paint. There are many ways to print stencils up on shirts, silk screens etc, but this is the cheapest and easiest.
Another great tutorial for creating your own t-shirts.
This tutorial looks at a cheap alternative to traditional screen printing. A great tutorial for learning the basics of screen printing
How to reuse old picture frames and curtains to make screens, burn them in the sun, and clean them with a garden hose.
Online discussion forum for the t-shirt industry. You can learn more about starting a t-shirt business, share tips and experiences,, get help from your peers, as well as network with others.
This online demonstration will show you one method of silk screening onto silk. This method is used to screen print gutta resist onto the silk to prepare it for painting. This way it is faster and easier to reproduce multiple original wall hangings or scarves.
Geared towards screen printing with the Speedball products, this set of instructions is very thorough in covering all aspects of screen printing techniques and troubleshooting.
How to Make Hand-Drawn Positives for Multiple-Color Silk Screen Printing
A quick explanation of color separations.
Filed Under General | 4 Comments
Corel 12 Tutorial
Here are some good Corel tutorials. They are for Corel 12 but I would think allot of it would apply to other versions.
Go to Corel 12 Tutorial
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment
How To Screen Print Part 1
print your own t-shirts, posters and more.
Screen printing, Silk screening or serigraphy is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp edged image using a stencil. It is commonly used to print t-shirts, hats, tote bags, cd/dvd’s, posters, bumper stickers and a lot more. There are many materials and shapes that can be screen printed including ceramics, wood, plastics, glass, metals and paper.
The materials used in screen printing are very affordable and most of the equipment used can be built at home for very low cost.
The minimum items needed to screen print are:
• Screens
• Squeegees
• Scoop Coater
• Exposure light source
• Light sensitive emulsion
• Ink
Screens
Screen printing screens are wood or metal frames that are covered with a stretched fabric mesh attached to the frame. The mesh has holes in it that allow ink to flow through the screen. Mesh is rated in how many and what size the holes are. This will determine how much ink passes through the screen and onto the substrate or the material being printed.
Screens can be made or bought with the mesh pre-stretched and attached. Purchasing the pre-stretched screens are the best way to start.
Squeegees
Squeegees are used to push the ink through the screen and onto the substrate. The squeegee also sheers or cuts the ink so you end up with a sharp image. They come in many different sizes and durometers. Durometer is the unit of measure for the hardness of the rubber portion of the squeegee. They also come in square or rounded with metal or wood handles.
In my opinion, the best squeegee to start with would be a 70 durometer square blade. That will give good flexibility and the square edge will shear the ink.
Exposure light source
An exposure light source is any light that gives off ultra violet light (UV). Most light sources give off UV but some give off more than others. The more UV the light source gives off the faster you will expose the screen. Examples of light sources you can use are:
- The sun
- Unfiltered Black Lights
- Halogen Work Lights
- Mercury Vapor
- Metal Halide
The sun is the most inexpensive source but is hard to control exposure times. Many people start out with an $8 halogen work light from the local home improvement store.
Light Sensitive Emulsion
Emulsion is applied to the screen mesh and blocks all the holes except where the image is. The emulsion is sensitive to UV light and will harden or cure in the areas exposed by the UV. The art is printed on a clear or frosted sheet of plastic and then placed on a screen coated with emulsion. The light is blocked in the area of the art and remains uncured. The uncured emulsion can be washed out and the remaining cured emulsion will block the ink.
Ink
Ink comes in many different types depending on the material being printed on. The most common for t-shirt printing is Plastisol. Plastisol isn’t ink at all. It is a liquid plastic that will harden or cure when exposed to heat of at least 320 degrees. Once the plastisol is cure the shirt can be worn. The other type of ink is water based that needs time to air dry. Water based inks will dry in the screen if you don’t keep the screen flooded where plastisol will never cure until exposed to heat. For frequent prints, some printers will leave plastisol in screens for months.
Scoop Coater
The scoop coater is used to apply the liquid emulsion to the screens
Part 2 coming soon
Filed Under Screen Print How To | 1 Comment
Screen Printing Blog First Post
I get allot of email with questions about details on screen printing, building the equipment, supplies, etc. So I am starting this blog to help communicate ideas better.
The one question I do get asked allot is if I have plans for the equipment I have built? The answer right now is no.. I don’t have plans because I build stuff on the fly 
Not the best way but it works for me. I am going to try to get plans together soon. It is a big job and I need to get motivated to do it..
stay tuned for more..
Steve
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment
« go back