Have you ever wanted to take up Screen printing as a hobby, but have been put off thinking that you need a huge amount of equipment? Well screen printing can be easier then you think! in this tutorial we will show you a really easy way of producing great screen printed items with minimal effort and maximum impact.
To get you started all you will need is:
Once you have all of your equipment, find a good flat area to begin a dinning room table or a desk would be a great option, but remember to protect any surfaces you don’t want to get covered in ink.
Step 1- Making your stencil.
Start by drawing an image you wish to print, you can free hand this or download one of our pre-made stencils to get you started. Once you have your image ready, draw it onto a sheet of Freezer Paper or Yupo Paper, cut it out using a craft knife.
Step 2- Placing your stencil.
Start by placing your stencil on to your garment, this could be a t-shirt a tote bag a piece of printing paper or greetings card.
Place your screen on top of your stencil securing it with a small amount of tape if needed.
Step 3- Inking your Screen
Add your Waterbased ink to the top of your screen just above your stencil, you can use a wooden stirring stick or a spatula to do this.
Our Waterbased Inks are super easy to use! We have a large range of opaque colours, that can be mixed easily so you can create your own tones as quick as a flash. This ink has been specially formulated to be used on, fabric, paper and card.
Step 4- Its Squeegee time.
Now for the fun part! position your squeegee blade on your ink and pull the ink using a downwards motion, and repeat if necessary.
TOP TIP- Its always a good idea to do a test print before you attempt your finished piece as it may take a bit of practice getting used to squeegee pressure.
Step 5- The Big Reveal!!!
Gently lift of your screen and just like magic it reveals your print! you can then repeat the process, as many times as your stencil will allow!
If you are using Yupo paper you can gently clean the stencil and keep for another time. If you are using Freezer paper you will have to pop it in the bin.
Step 6- Clean it up!
Clean your screen and squeegee with warm soapy water, giving the screen a bit of a scrub with a cleaning pad if necessary. For extra cleaning power you can use one of our Eco cleaners, we suggest using our Eco Screen Wash.
Step 7- Fix your print
Leave your print to air dry if you have printed onto card or paper.
If you have printed your image on to fabric, you can cure/fix by using a Heat Press, Heat Gun or Leave to air dry and use an iron to fix the print to the fabric. If using an iron make sure you use heat resistant paper to protect your print. Please note that the print needs to be cured at 165°C ideally for 2-3 minutes.
Download our free Screen Printing guide >>>> HERE
