EASY! &FUN!getting startedartworkscreen exposureprint preparationprintingclean-up/reclaiming screens

Welcome to screen printing. Screen printing is considered by many to be one of the oldest methods of printing. Today, screen printing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It integrates exciting industries like fashion, design, sports, music, education, corporate America and much more! The basic purpose of screen printing is to create a screen through which ink can form designs on numerous duplicates. Literally thousands of prints can be made from a single screen at a very economical price.

• Water

• Pressure hose (sink hose or pressure washer)

• Open table top space

• Iron, heat gun or oven

• Screwdriver (electric or manual)

• 1/2” wrench or crescent wrench (x2)

• Clamp head

• Pallet

• Screws (x4)

• Off contact adjustments

• Press

With this kit (and our numerous tutorials) you will be able to create art, a screen and a t-shirt with your unique design on it. This manual and the accompanying YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZbmoWZlGE) will walk you through the process whether you are doing this as a hobby or starting a business.

Pre-DrilledPilot Hole

Platen MountingHole

Attach Platen to Press using supplied 3/4" pan head screws.Line Up pre-drilled pilot holes with press in the upside down position.Insert the screws in a diagonal order for best alignment.

1.

Mount Base Assembly to table topusing supplied mounting screws

Table Top

2.

Off Contact/TiltBracket

5/16" Large Washer (2 pcs).

5/16" Small Washer (2 pcs).

5/16" Hex Nut(2 pcs)

5/16"x 3-1/2"Bolts (2pcs.)

AluminumCrush Tube

Attach Off Contact/Tilt BracketsUsing Supplied 5/16" Hardware.

3.

Screen ClampAssembly

5/16" x 3/4"Carriage Bolts(2 pcs.)

5/16" Large Washer(2 pcs.)

5/16" Hex Nut(2 pcs)

Attach Off Contact/Tilt BracketsUsing Supplied 5/16" Hardware.

4.

Hobby Press Assembly Instructions

7

Pre-drilledpilothole Platenmountinghole

TableTop

5/16”largewasher(2pcs.)

5/16”by31/2”bolts(2pcs.)

5/16”by3/4”carriagebolts(2pcs.)

Screenclampassembly

5/16”smallwasher(2pcs.)

5/16”largewasher(2pcs.)

5/16”hexnut(2pcs.)

5/16”hexnut(2pcs.)

Off-contact/tiltbracket

Aluminumcrushtube

1. Attachplatentopressusingsupplied3/4”panheadscrews.Lineuppre-drilledpilotholeswithpressintheupside-downposition.Insertthescrewsinadiagonalorderforbestalignment.

2. Mountbaseassemblytotabletopusingsuppliedmountingscrews.

3. Attachoff-contact/tiltbracketsusingsupplied5/16”hardware.

4. Attachoff-contact/tiltbracketsusingsupplied5/16”hardware.

DIY PRESS ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

FIG. 1 FIG. 2

NOW YOUR PRESS IS SET UP!

YOU’RE READY TO EXPOSE!

SETUP

1. Turnpressoversobottomisfacingup.2. Setscreenunderpressarm.3. Placeplatenonscreentosetupunderthepress.4. Alignthedrillholesontheplatentothefourholeson

thepressarm.5. Usescrewstoattachplatentopressarm.6. Turnpressoverontoitsbase.

ALIGN OFF-CONTACT/TILT BRACKET TO PRESS ARM

1. Removehardwarealreadyinplace.2. Placeabracketoneachside.3. Slideboltsbackthroughholestoclampinbothside

clamps.

BOTTOM BOLTS NEEDS TO SIDE THROUGH THE CENTER TUBE

1. Lowerheadintoprintposition.2. Takeclampheadandremovenutsfrombolts.3. Alignboltstoslotsintheoff-contact/tiltbrackets.4. Attachnutstosecuretopressarm(fingertight,we

willadjusttheselater).

MOUNT PRESS TO A STURDY TABLE OR BENCH FOR STABILITY

1. Placesoplatenhangsoffovertheedgeofthetable/bench.

2. Attachtoboardwithscrewsprovided.

ADJUST SCREEN CLAMP HEAD

1. Setscreenontoplaten.2. Loosedclampheadscrews.3. Slidescreenin,squareuptoplatenandclampdown.4. Tightenoffcontactbolts.5. Tightentiltbolts(bottomfirstthentopbolt).6. Thiskeepsthescreenflatandlevelwiththeplaten.

the screen. For larger screens use a higher distance and increase exposure time.

3. Placeopaqueblacktransparencyreverseontoshirtsideofscreenandtapetoscreen.Ifyourtransparencyisnotopaqueyourscreenwillnotexposeaswell.WerecommendusingwaterproofRite-FilmandBlackMAXInkmadebyRyonet®poweredbyAccuRIP®formaximumdensity.Rite-FilmwillalsoworkwithstandardEpson®printerink.UseBESTQUALITYPHOTOandPREMIUMGLOSSYPHOTOPAPERsettingsinyourprintdriver.

4. Youcanaddapieceofthinopticallyclearglassontopofyourscreentoincreasethepositivepressureduringexposure.Thisisoptionalbutwillincreasethedetailgainedduringexposure.

5. Exposefortentoelevenminutesinalightsafeenvironment.Note: Ensure your screen is bone dry before exposing, we recommend drying and exposing in a room under 40% humidity. The more emulsion your screen has, the longer your exposure times will be. Increase exposure for lower mesh counts.

6. Washoutyourscreeninalightsafeenvironment.

SCREEN PREPARATION:

1. Finddegreaserbottle. FIG. 1 2. Fillwithwaterandplacesquirtcapontobottle.3. Wetthescreenwithwater.4. Sprayondegreaser.1. Scrubwithscrubpadonbothsidesofscreen. FIG. 2 2. Cleanenvironmentnecessarytoensureaclean

screen.3. Rinsethesoapthoroughlyoffofthescreenandthe

frame.4. Dryscreen(eitherairdrywithfanorblowdryer).

SETUP UP SCREEN EXPOSURE LIGHT:

1. Sourcealightfixturetopowerbulb.2. Inalightsafeenvironmentcenterbulbdirectlyabove

themiddleofthescreenataheightoftwelvetofifteeninches.Note: The higher your bulb is, the longer your exposure time, and more coverage to the screen. The lower your bulb is, the shorter your exposure time, but the more direct your light source is to the center of

PROGRAMS NEEDED

• Adobe®Photoshop®orGimpforrasterdesigns.• Adobe®Illustrator®orCorelDRAW®forvectorimages.

RASTER IMAGES: JPEG, TIFF, BITMAP (INTERNET IMAGES)

• Definition:animagecomprisedofpixels.Afinitebitofinformationmakingupaphotographicimage.

VECTOR ART, LINE WORK

• Definition:imagescomprisedorlineworkcalculatedmathematically.

• Optimalimagesforscreenprintingarevectorart.Nicecleanlines.

SPOT COLOR ART

• Halftoneartwork:acolororgrayscaleimagethathasbeenconvertedintoaseriesoflargeandsmalldots,softwarerequired.

• SpotColor:colorreproducedbyanopaque,premixed,standardinkchosenfromacolorsystemsuchasthePANTONEMatchingSystem®.

CLIP ART IMAGES VS. INTERNET

• Copyrightlaws

DOING SIMPLISTIC IMAGES IN ADOBE® PHOTOSHOP® (PHOTOGRAPHIC DESIGNS)

• Tips:uselargestimageavailabletogetbestresolution.Learnthetexttool,magicwandandthresholdcommandstoeasilyandquicklybreakdownaonecolorimage.

• Thresholdtool:usetomakemulti-colorimagesintoa1colorjob.

• Usinglayerstogetseparations.• WorkinRGB(red,greenandblue)modeand300DPI.• Readyforfilm.

This kit is capable of doing single color designs. At your computer you need to have a design you want to print. This can be in Corel, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.

ARTWORKDOING SIMPLISTIC DESIGNS IN CORELDRAW®

• Tips:uselargestimagesavailabletogetbestresolution.

• Traceimageswiththetracebitmapoption• Re-colorimageinPANTONE®colors.• Useprintfunctiontoseparatethecolorsoftheimage.• Printouttheappropriatecolorrequiredforthe

design.

WORKING IN COREL® PHOTO-PAINT®

• Editbitmaptogotopaintfile.• Thresholdtool.• SimilartoAdobe®Photoshop®.

FILM OUTPUT

• 8.5by11incheswaterprooffilm.• Coatedononeside.Thissidewillsticktoyourfinger

whenwetted.• Printoutdesigntoinkjetprinter:Densityiskey.Ifyou

areusingstandardinksinastandardprinterbesuretomakesureitisdarkenough.Youdonotwanttoseelightthroughtheimage.Youmayneedtodoubleortripleuponthefilm.

FIG. 5

FIG. 3

FIG. 1

FIG. 6

FIG. 4

FIG. 2

NOTICE: LIGHT SAFE ENVIRONMENT

EXPOSURECOATING THE SCREEN:

• Mustbeinalightsafeenvironment!!!!• Createalightsafeenvironmentwiththeyellowbulb

provided. FIG. 1Tip: coat your screens at night with a yellow bulb inthe room, use a bathroom with a curtain over thewindow and the yellow bug light.

• Openemulsiontoadddiazo.• Fillsmallbottlewithdistilledwateronehalffull.• Shakevigorouslyandpourintolargebucketofemulsion.• Stirwellandmixinthoroughly.Tip:cleanupanyspillswith

warmwaterimmediately.• Letsitfortwohourstoreleaseanyairbubblesinthemixture.• Takescoopcoaterwipeouttotakeoutanycontaminants.• Fillscoopcoateronethirdfullwithemulsion. FIG. 2• Setscreenatanangleofabout80°Fonasturdysurface.• Startonthe“flat”shirtsideofthescreen• Holdthescoopcoaterwithbothhandsandpressthe

sharpsideofthecoateragainstthebaseofscreen.FIG. 3

• Pressfirmlyuntilemulsionistouchingscreenandslidecoateruptotopofscreen.

• Atthetopofthescreentiltitbacktoreleaseemulsionfromthescreen. FIG. 4

• Repeatontheinside“ink”sideofthescreen.• Shouldseeaniceglassyandsmoothsurface.• Layscreenflatwiththe“shirt”flatsidefacingdown.

FIG. 5• Letscreendryforminimumoffourtosixhourswithafan

blowingonthescreen.• Oncedry,storeinalightsafeenvironment.Thiscanbea

darktrashbagtoprotectthescreen.• Cleanoutscoopcoaterbyputtingremainingemulsionback

intobucketandrinsingoutwithwater. FIG. 6

TIP: YOU CAN STORE IN A FRIDGE TO AID IN EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE EMULSION.

FIG. 7

FIG. 9

FIG. 11

FIG. 8

FIG. 10

FIG. 12

FIG. 13

NOTICE: LIGHT SAFE ENVIRONMENT

1. Drawacenterlineonpalletandscreentobeexposed.Youcandothiswithat-square. FIG. 7

2. Layfilmontopalletusingcentermarksoncenterlineofpallet.

3. Removeexposurelightfromclamp.4. Puttapeonreversesideoffilmfacingup. FIG. 85. Putscreeninclampandlowertofilm.6. Pressscreenontotape,pickingupthefilmonthe

backofthescreen. FIG. 97. Removefromclampandsecurefilmtothescreen.8. Hangexposurelightdirectlyoverthecenterofthe

screen. FIG. 109. Turnscreensoimagelaysonpalletimageup,

centeredundertheexposurelight.*Use glass forbetter positive contact between the positive andemulsion.

10. Turnonlighttoexposescreen. FIG. 11• Besuretosetatimertogetthecorrectamountof

time.• Timeisapproximately11minutesto

exposewithemulsionprovided.

WASHING OUT IMAGE AFTER EXPOSURE:

1. Usecoldwatertorinsescreen FIG. 122. Wetscreenonbothsideswithsprayer.3. Letsitforonetotwominutesthencontinuetowash

outfrom“flat”t-shirtsideofthescreen.• Seevideosforunderexposureifyourscreenisslimy

orhassoapbubbles• Seevideosforoverexposureifyourscreenimagewill

notwashout.4. Usepapertowelornewspapertolayonscreento

soakupexcesswater. FIG. 135. Drywitheitherafanorblowdryer.Makesuretolay

flatwithinksidefacingdown.• Makesureimageisclearofanywatertoreducethe

chanceof“scum.”

FIG. 5

FIG. 3

FIG. 1

FIG. 6

FIG. 4

FIG. 2

SCREEN PREP1. Removeexposurelightforfutureuse.2. Usetapetotapeoffthefoursidesoftheinteriorof

thescreen.• Tapeoffareaswherethereisnoemulsion.Putting

halfofitonthescreenandhalfontheframe.Workitintothecreasewherethemeshandframemeet. FIG. 1

3. Tapeoffregistrationmarkswithscotchtapesoinkwillnotpassthroughontoyourshirt.

4. Putscreenbackintoscreenclamp.Donottightendown.

5. Lowerscreenintoprintpositionandlineupregistrationmarksuptocenterlineonpress. FIG. 2

6. Holdscreeninplaceandtightenscreenclamp.7. Setoff-contact.Tosetoff-contact,makesurethere

isoneeighthinchbetweenthescreenintheprintpositionandthepallet.Thisallowsthescreentoreleasefromtheshirtasthesqueegeegoesbyleavingtheinkontheshirtandnotinthescreen.Youcanmakeadjustmentwiththeoffcontactboltsonthescreenclamphead.

• Placeaboardorcardboardoneeighthinchthickonpallet.Setscreenindownpositionandtightenboltsonscreenclamptosetoffcontact. FIG. 3

• Youcanplaceawasherontheedgeoftheframetocreateanoff-contacttabtocontrolflexing. FIG. 4

8. Makesurescreenisstillalignedtocenterline. FIG. 5 9. Nowtakethepalletadhesiveandspreaditevenly

overthepalletusingtheinkcardprovided.10. Trytouseathinlayerforgoodadhesionandfast

drying. FIG. 6

FIG. 1

FIG. 3

FIG. 2

FIG. 4

FIG. 5 FIG. 6

FIG. 7 FIG. 8

1. Warmupadhesiveonplatenwithheatgun.2. Toreactivatetheadhesive,usealittlebitofwarm

wateronpallet.3. Loadshirtfrombottomovertheplaten. FIG. 1 4. Usethecenterlineasavisualguidetocenterthe

shirt.5. Usethenecklinetoknowwhentostop.

DARK GARMENTS:

• Loadinkintothescreenatthebaseofthescreen. FIG. 2

• Loadenoughtopulltheinkoverthescreen.• Usethesqueegeetofloodinkovertheimagearea.

Uselittlepressureastonotpushtheinkthroughmeshjustyet. FIG. 3

• Pullsqueegeeinan80°anglewithmoderatepressureinanevenstroketowardyourself. FIG. 4

• Sheartheinkthroughthescreenwiththesqueegee.Youcandothispullingorpushingthesqueegee.

• Ifyoupushhavethesqueegeeina45°angle.• Youcanstroketheinkonetotwotimes.• Floodtheimagebetweenprints.• Tofloodbetweenstrokesleaveshirtinplace.• Placeacarriersheetontheimageandironoverto

drytheinkinplace.Thiscanbedonewithaheatgunaswell.Justdrytheinktothetouch,noneedtocureatthispoint. FIG. 5

• Bringscreenbackdownandprintagain.Ifyoupull,pulleverytime.Ifyoupush,pusheverytime.

• Nowyouarereadytocuretheink.• Whenusinganironreplacethecarriersheetandiron

theinkfortwominutestogetafullcure.Dothisinsectionstoensureagoodcure. FIG. 6

• Whenusingaheatgunpassovertheimageareafortwotothreeminutesmakingsuretocovertheentireimage.Thegoalistoevaporateallthewateroutoftheinkandheatsetthepigment.

• Takeshirtofftheplatentodoafinalcurethiswayyoudonotoverheattheplatenaswell. FIG. 7

• Toremoveshirtslidehandintothenecktobreaktheadhesiveholdonthegarmentandslideoffthepallet. FIG. 8

• Testingcurewithastretchtest—ultimatetestisawashtest. FIG. 9 (NEXT PAGE) Tip: If ink dries in the screen use a little warm water to open up the mesh. Then dry with a dry rag and you will remove any excess water on the screen.

PRINTING

LIGHT GARMENTS:

1. Putdarkinkintoscreen.2. Floodthescreenwithink.Besurenottopresstoo

hardatthisjuncture.3. Loadshirtontoplaten.• Besuretohaveimagethreeincheslowerthanthe

necklineoftheshirt.4. Printimage.• Darkercolorsprinteasierthanlightercolors.

5. Removeshirtandplaceontopofpallet.6. Pullbytheshoulders—theinkiswetsodon’tletitfold

overontoitself.7. Useheatgunorirontocureinkintoshirt.• Darkinkonlightshirtscuresfasterandcanbeseen

curing.Colorwillchangeandlookmorematte.Wetyoufingerandrubimagetotestcuring.Noinkshouldcomeoffonyourhandifitiscuredcorrectly.

INK CHANGE OUT:

• Tochangecolorsinapressorre-initializeinkinscreen.Ifinkhasdriedinscreenuseasquirtbottletore-wettheink.Dothisatthebaseandmixtogetherwiththesqueegee.

1. Tochangecolors,removeinkfromscreenwithaninkcardandputbackinthecontainer. FIG. 10

2. Cleansqueegeewithwarmwaterandapapertowel. FIG. 11

3. Usewarmwaterinthescreenusingapapertoweltotakeinkout.Workwaterintotheinkuntilitisloosefromthemesh.

4. Wipeoutwithadryrag.5. Repeatuntilallinkisoutofscreen. FIG. 12

Tip: you can use a screen opener or ink degrader to remove ink as well.If the emulsion starts to breakdown you are under exposed and need to expose for longer.

6. Re-inkwithnextcolorandstartagain!

FIG. 11 FIG. 12

FIG. 9 FIG. 10

PRINTING

CLEAN-UP:

• Pullinkofftheimageareatobegincleaning. FIG. 1 • Thiscanbedoneonascrapshirtortestpellonor

newspaper.• Scooptheremainderinkfromsqueegeeandscreen

intotheinkcontainerforlateruse. FIG. 2 • Usewarmwaterandpapertowelstoremovethe

reminderofinkresiduefromscreen.• Shoptowelsworkbestbecausetheyaremore

absorbent.• Usedegreaserorwarmwatertoremoveplaten

adhesiveoffplaten.

RECLAIMING:

• Takeofftapefromscreenonbothsides. FIG. 3 • Usewatertoremoveanyadditionalink. FIG. 4 • Addwatertoemulsionremoverbottle.Filltotopand

replacespraycap.• Sprayemulsionremoveronbothsidesofthescreen.• Usesecondscrubbrushtoworkintothemeshon

bothsidesofscreen. FIG. 5 • Neverletemulsionremoverdryinthescreen.This

will”lock”theimageintothescreenandrenderituseless.

• Rinseoffwithwater.Themorepressureyouhaveaccesstothebetter. FIG. 6 If emulsion “sticks” in the screen you can take it to a local car wash and use the pressure hoses there to clear the screen.

• Nowdegreasethescreenanddrytoprepareforre-coatingwithemulsion.

• Rinseoutyourscrubbrusheswithwarmwaterandlabelwhichchemicaltheygowith. FIG. 7

FIG. 1

FIG. 3

FIG. 5

FIG. 2

FIG. 4

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

CLEAN-UP

ARTWORK: Commontermforanimageortextthatwillbeusedforprinting.

BURN: Toexposeanemulsioncoatedscreentoalightsourcetocreateastencil.

COATING: Theprocessofapplyingdirectemulsiontoascreen.

CURE: Theprocessofusingheattocompletelyfuseplastisolink.Technicallyincorrecttermfor“drying”ink.

DARK GARMENT: Shirtsdarkerincolorsuchasblack,royal,green,red,etc.

DARKROOM: Aroomdevoidoflightusedforthepurposeofdryingscreenscoatedwithemulsionorcapillaryfilm.

DEGREASE: Theprocessofwashingascreenwithacleaningsolutiontoremovealltracesofdirtandoilspriortocoatingwithemulsion.

EMULSION: Photosensitivechemicalineitherliquid,rollorsheetformthatisappliedtoascreenandusedforthepurposeofmakingastencil.

EXPOSURE: Exposinganemulsioncoatedscreentolighttocreateastencil.Alsoknownas“burning”ascreen.

FILM: Commontermusedforafilmpositive.

FLASH CURE UNIT: Aninfraredheatingelementthatistypicallyattachedtoarotaryturntable,positionedabovetheplatenandusedforthepurposeofbringingaprinttoapartiallycuredstatesoasecondprintstrokecanbeappliedtoachievedesiredopacity.Aflashcureunitcanalsobeusedtocompletelycureaprint.

INK: Commontermusedtodescribetheprintablesubstancethatisusedtomakeaprint.Inthetextileprintingbusiness,themostwidelyusedinkisplastisol.

LIGHT GARMENT: Whiteorpastelcoloredgarments.

LINE ART: BlackandWhiteartworkconsistingofnohalftonesorcolor.

MANUAL PRESS: Pressusedfortransferringinktoasubstratemanually.

MESH COUNT: Thenumberofthreadsinonesquareinchofscreenfabric,measuredinbothdirections.Thelowerthenumber,thecoarserthemeshandthelargerthescreenopening.

OFF-CONTACT: Amethodofscreenprintingofhavingaslightgapbetweenthescreenandthesubstrateforimprovedprintability.

OPACITY: Anink’sabilitytocovertheunderlyingcolorofthesubstrate.

OVEREXPOSED: Exposingascreenfortoolongofaperiodoftimeresultinginascreenthatwillbedifficultorimpossiblewashout.

PLATEN ADHESIVE: Adhesiveineithersprayorliquidformthatisusedtoholddowngarmentonshirtboardwhenprinting.

PLASTISOL INK: Ascreenprintinginkprimarilyfortextileprintingcomposedofthefollowingcomponents:PVC(polyvinylchloride),colorpigmentsandplasticizers.

PRINT SIDE: Thesideofthescreenthattouchesthesubstratebeingprintedon.

RECLAIM: Toremoveoldemulsionfromascreensothescreencanbereused.

SAFELIGHT: Alightthatshouldbeusedwhenworkingwithphotosensitivematerialslikeemulsionorcapillaryfilmstopreventaccidentalexposuretoultravioletlight.Ayellow“buglight”workswellforthispurpose.

SCOOP COATER: Ametaltroughusedtodispenseemulsionforthepurposeofcoatingscreens.

SCREEN: Awoodenormetalframewithmeshtightlyattachedtoit.

SQUEEGEE: Woodenormetalhandledtoolwitharubberbladeusedtodriveinkthroughastencilbypullingthesqueegeeacrossthescreen.

GLOSSARY

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