Silk screening is a fun and rewarding craft that allows you to print paint on fabric and paper goods. The process is a little more intensive than other kinds of crafts, but the results are rewarding. In an afternoon and with the right materials, you can have great silk-screened projects with a professional finish.
Instructions
1. Take your design, and turn it into a negative on a computer graphics program. Make sure the parts that you do not want printed are blacked out on your screen, while the parts you do want printed are left open.
2. If you wish to make a design with more than one color, black out everything except the things in the same color. Do this for each color you wish to print.
3. Print your design onto the transparencies.
4. Pour the photo emulsion into the photo-emulsion coater. Angle the coater onto the silk-screen, and run it down the length of your silk screen.
5. Allow the photo emulsion to dry in a clean place.
6. Set up a silk-screening light box. They are usually made from plywood and fluorescent lights. See the Resources section for more information on make one.
7. Sandwich the transparency between the coated photo emulsion screen (emulsion side down), and the top of the lightbox.
8. Turn the lightbox on. The length of time you leave it on will depend on the lightbox, so test a screen first. Do this on a different screen for each color you wish to print.
9. Run the screen under a strong blast of running water to clear out the design on your screen.
10. Insert the screen into a set of table clamps attached to a table.
11. Pour silk screening ink onto the top edge of the screen.
12. Take the squeegee and press it against the screen, pulling it toward you to prep the screen. You will want a thin coat of paint to start.
13. Lift the screen and make a test print by inserting a sheet of paper under the screen and running the squeegee across the screen.
14. Use blue tape to create a set of registration marks where you can line up your prints.
15. Lift the screen again, remove the sheet and insert what you wish to print under the screen along the registration marks.
16. Pull the squeegee across the screen once, firmly and tightly.
17.Lift your screen, remove your printed item and set it to dry.
18. Remove the screens, and repeat Steps 12 through 17 with any new screens and colors once each layer is dry.
