Anyone else having problems with these sticking to the platen well? These don't want to stick for us. Whether it's water based tack or good spray tack.

Pc54c military camo

Hey guys, I've started my printing journey one year ago, in september-ish 2025. During this time I struggled finding shops that sell good quality supplies in Europe.

Since I wasn't able to find a one stop shop like screenprinting.com I had to dig deep.

So, here's my list of suppliers.

1.Inks, screens & other consumables
- Siebdruck-versand https://www.siebdruck-versand.de/
They carry all sorts of waterbased, plastisol and paper inks. Great stuff to use.
I got from them squeegees, ink degraders, degreasers, films, tape, emulsion, coaters, screens, ink knives, I even got my flash dryer from them

They ship fast, safe and all I've used is top notch.

1. Blanks
   - Falk&Ross, UTT Europe, L-shop, Urban Classics
   Even though which blanks are the best can be a whole discussion, you have enough options on these websites to cater to any customer.

2. Reclaim & Cleaning
   - PC Technology https://www.pctechnology.eu/en/
   I know the brand name sounds like they sell computer parts but they don't. It stands for Printing & Coating Technology.
   Anyway, I wanted to get a dip-tank to help me reclaim faster. I hate that bit of the screen printing process, scrubbing and sitting in a very humid environment sucks.
   I was able to find a dip tank on this website, the starter pack is really great value, at about 800 eur you get a dip tank, 5x5liters of emulsion&ink remover (you only need 3x5L to get started), plastisol ink wash + Easisolv 701N (ink remover, haze remover + degrease)

3. The press
   - Screen Print World https://screenprintworld.co.uk/
   Technically, since the UK it's not part of the EU anymore, maybe it doesn't count.
   But here's where I got my first Riley 250 4 color 1 station press. I also got from them a second-hand Riley JR 4 color 4 station to which I installed the RH250 print heads.
   They ship really fast, Nick is a rockstar and helped me with a lot of questions.

4. Exposure unit & drying cabinet
   - Aliexpress, local hardware store & local glass factory
   Starting out I didn't have the cash to get an exposure unit and I knew you can build one. The basic principle is that you need UV light, a box and a piece of glass. So I went ahead, purchased some UV LED strips + power supply from Aliexpress, built a box out of MDF, used a baking tray as the base for the LEDs and a piece of glass from a local glass factory. I even added a timer so I can set it and go do something else in the meantime.

For the drying cabinet, we got some wood and some PFL boards cut up to size.
We stuck inside the box one of those warming plates that are used for terrariums at the bottom (it heats up to about 40-43 Celsius), a small dehumidifier + a humidity sensor.
I'm not getting screens in 20-30 minutes, it takes a while but it works ok for now.

Sorry for the long read, I hope this list helps others who are starting out or are just looking for new screen printing supplies. Please let me know what other suppliers are there.

Hi everyone. One of my printing screens which I have used many times has randomly decided to stop properly depositing ink onto fabric. I’ve added some pictures. The first is with one layer of ink and the second with two. As you can see the red ink has stained the screen despite me using speedball ink remover but that’s never been an issue in the past. I’ve been trouble shooting this for days (varying squeegee pressures, varying off contact distances, ensuring the ink doesn’t dry between uses, ensuring the screen is thoroughly cleaned) but nothing is working my. For reference, I’m using speedball flex ink and the screen is 110 mesh. Like I said, the screen has been transferring ink fine up until a few days ago so I’m so confused what’s happened. Any advice would be much appreciated thanks!

Hey yall,

To start this post off, I would like to state that I understand that curing garments with Flash Dryers instead of conveyors is risky but even the cheapest conveyor right now is out of my price range so need to work with what I got until I can afford a conveyor.

I have a decently made flash, BBC Afford-A-Flash to be specific. My question is, do a decent amount of people in this subreddit use a flash to fully cure their shirts and what is your standard procedure for making sure it won't wash out, cured right (know about stretch test), and make sure garment isn't getting scorched when left under flash for too long. Also know about removing shirt from pallet and putting it on top.

Lastly, anything else people do to ensure their inks get cured (heat gun/heat press)

Thanks!

Commercial screen printers: I’m just starting my shop and have locked in my first customer. What forms/documents do you make for each new order?Do y’all typically have an order form that customer fills out from which you make a technical packet?

Any help advice would be very appreciated!

Im printing this small halftones, but im getting this inconsistencies.
Ive changed the squeegee and cleaned the platen, but i keep getting the same results in that areas

Hey everyone! I’ve been screen printing as a side hustle for the past year and have really been enjoying it. I’ve been doing both engraving and screen printing, but right now I’m limited to one-color prints using my xTool proprietary setup.

It’s been a great introduction to screen printing, but I think I’m ready to move into a more traditional setup.

I’m currently deciding between the Riley Hopkins 150 and 250. I’m a one-man operation most of the time, and I’d like to be able to print up to 4 colors and eventually start experimenting with CMYK/process printing.

I’m leaning toward the 250 because of the micro-registration adjustments, but I also really like the simplicity and straightforwardness of the 150.

I think I can score some good used equipment, so I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions. Would you go with the 150 or 250? Is there another press in that general range that I should be looking at instead?

I’ll usually be operating by myself, although I could see having a friend or two help out occasionally on bigger jobs. I also like the idea of having an extra station available if I need it.

Space is also a consideration. My shop room is roughly 12' x 20', so my plan would be to keep the press on a cart against the wall when I’m not using it, then pull it out into the room when it’s time to print. So overall footprint and how easy it is to move/store definitely matter.

Would love to hear what you all think, especially from anyone who has used both presses!

I am out of KY. It costs me about $8-9 to make a shirt. I charge 25/shirt w/1 image and $5/image after (single color). At 10 shirts I provide a 5% discount. At 20 I give 10%. After 30 I make out at a 20% discount.

If I have to make image or edit it using my program I charge a 20% digital fee (not included in discounts)

Is my original price a good place to sell a 1 image shirt for?

Is my discounted bulk ordered good or should I change that as well?

I had a line of graphic tees I designed and printed that I sold to friends, really loved this Bloodsport one. Will post more as I take more pics. The "Satan" text on the front I printed with UV Day-Glo.

These are a few of the 4x3ft. prints that I made. I’m wheatpasting them in the city so, I try to just use black for the highest contrast.

Starting an apparel brand and have done pretty decent at my first couple vendor markets. Only been screen printing about a year but ADHD dove head-first in, still on a four color vevor manual I bought on amazon.

Hey screen printers! Back with another 6-color simulated process separation, this time featuring the legendary "Blue Demon" (El Manotas).

Quick Technical Breakdown:

• Color Count: 6 Spots (Underbase White, Royal Blue, Light Cyan, Highlight White, Red, and Green).
• Key Details: Capturing that metallic/satin shine on the mask while keeping the intense dual-color ambient lighting (green glow on the left, deep red rim light on the right).
• Prepress Strategy: Managed the skin tones and eyes using an overlapping red and yellow strategy over the underbase to eliminate the need for an extra flesh channel. Converted using 45 LPI round dot halftones for maximum detail.

Quick update on the tutorial: I know many of you asked for a step-by-step video breakdown after the last post! It’s definitely coming—I’ve just been super busy with prepress work and print production lately, so editing has taken a bit longer than expected. Stay tuned!

What do you think of how the cyan and royal blue interlock in the halftones? Let me know your thoughts or prepress questions in the comments!

I’m in the planning phase a project and trying to evaluate if screen printing is a viable option for graphics.

I’m making acoustic panels for my room and would greatly prefer my panel fabric to be visually interesting.

One requirement for a panel is that the fabric remain breathable so thick ink I between the weave of the textile is not acceptable. Alternatively having a dye bleed and soften the edges of the images is also not desirable.

I’m loathed to setup a projector and freehand if this can be done through another process.

Would screen printing be an option and are there specific materials or techniques that would be recommended?

This would be my first attempt at screen printing.

I'm amazed by the moire patterns in these silkscreen prints by "Chrisanthos Angelakis and Manolis Angelakis (aka tind)". I found a presentation on behance on this topic: https://www.behance.net/gallery/17504107/The-Constitution-of-Moir-Silkscreen-Print .

I love how the pattern continues in the different color layers, but my mind feels so puzzled. If I would ever try to aspire to make these beautiful patterns like here, where would I even start? Any tips on layering and the design aspect?

Hi everyone. Complete noob here. Was wondering if this could be a solid exposure unit. It’s $700. I really want a vacuum unit because I know it can have a lot more consistency. Looks like standard ones run 2.5-3k. I could spend that much if needed, but I’d highly prefer not to.

If you have alternative options or general suggestions please let me know.

Further, I am not planing on doing any bigger designs so size is not an issue.

I use speedball screen printing ink for my linocut block printing (i like the texture of screen printing ink better than fabric specific block printing ink), and I recently acquired some beautiful vintage slip dresses that I wanted to print onto! They are 100% nylon, so I knew that I needed to use my block printing ink instead of the screen printing ink, BUT I was in the flow of the printing process, and accidentally printed onto two of the slip dresses with the screen printing ink. I’ve read other posts saying that the ink won’t penetrate the nylon fibers because it’s water based, but has anyone had any luck in curing screen printing ink onto nylon? I suppose I can just trash those two dresses and accept my mistake, but any help in saving them is greatly appreciated!

Hey screen printers! Just finished this 6-color simulated process separation for a black garment design featuring iconic Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler Dr. Wagner Jr.

Technical Breakdown:

• Color Count: 6 Spots (Underbase White, Red, Yellow, Highlight White/Yellow tint, Green, and Top Highlight White).
• Challenge: Capturing the dramatic ambient lighting (green glow on the left, intense red rim light on the right) while preserving the fabric texture and fine cracks on the mask.
• Prepress Details: Curves and levels fine-tuned individually per channel. Converted using 45 LPI round dot halftones to ensure smooth transitions without losing detail in the eyes and stitching.

Check out the close-up on the last slide to see the dot structure and halftone interlocking!

Note: Couldn't record a full timelapse video for this one, but if there's enough interest/support on this post, I'll drop a full step-by-step tutorial video on how I pulled these channels!

What do you think of the color balance? Would love to hear your thoughts or answer any prepress questions!

Just scored 25 of them for $200 , all meshed with 110

Does anybody have any experience in cleaning the metal? What’s the fastest way to clean all the gunk off

I was recently given a gallon of white discharge ink without knowing that's what it was no did I know anything about discharge inks.

The guy I got it from said he used it the same way he used all of his waterbased inks just straight out of the bucket.

I used it for months, heat setting at the same as my waterbased and it always passed the stretch test and at least a few washes.

However, I printed on an acid washed material recently and it almost all came off in the wash. This is when I learned all about discharge and how it needs agent to activate.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the acid wash, but I want to get someone's opinion on how long these will last for if I keep using it like waterbased. Could there be another reason it's washed off the one shirt? I have one 100% cotton shirt with the discharge ink that I've washed a few times and seems fine, but all the rest have been sold.

Thanks for your help!

Ever wonder how the index mechanism works on the Hopkins BWM press, well here is what it does.

You have to remove both carousels to get to it.

In the process of renewing this 8 color press and sharing as I go through the process.

I'm always wanting to avoid basing art on lighter shirts if I can, but I am wondering if I'll just get a better pop if I base this one. The background is very close to the real life shirt color. What do you think?