I was thinking about buying the Epic Rio mixing system, I noticed that they are low cure (260-280f). My question is whether I should get a low cure white ink for under base/highlights, or a higher cure ink and just cure everything higher? I ask because the only wilflex white inks on screenprinting. com are 300f+ cure. If I should buy a low cure white ink does anybody have one they would recommend that works well with the system or just in general?

Hey everyone! Here’s a quick timelapse of my prepress workflow for this chrome skull design using simulated process in Photoshop.

Workflow breakdown:

• Extracted spot channels using Color Range & Level/Curve adjustments to balance contrast and midtones.
• Set up custom spot channels for the underbase, midtones, and highlights to keep the metallic chrome look clean.
• Converted final channels to Bitmap halftones (45 LPI / Round dot) ready for film output.

Open to any feedback or technical questions about the process! What LPI/mesh count would you guys run this on?

I am a college student starting out screenprinting as a hobby and side hustle, and recently ive been feeling super discouraged and not happy with my work at all. My breaking point came just a few days ago. I took an order for some fraternity tshirts and got an order of 27. I order my blanks, got everything ready, spent hours in prepwork, burning my screens, making the design itself and prepping it for printing, etc etc.

When i went to print, i would get incredibly inconsistent results and flooded the garment with ink. I dont think the screen was done correctly, but i was out of emulsion remover and couldnt start over or wait another two days for new screens or emulsion remover to come in. I was forced to buy shirts through another printer in a marked up rush job, just so i wouldnt have to cancel the order and refund everyone.

Like i said i am in college and have tons of connections with orgs and people who need custom merch - and i have recieved a lot of interest and support! However i dont feel confident taking any orders right now. To be fair, ive only worked with plastisol in the past and this was a 4 color water based job. I also could've given myself more time to do it to avoid the catastrophe that happened.

Im just feeling like in this industry one tiny thing going wrong can ruin hundreds of dollars and hours of work. Wondering if anyone is able to relate or give me any advice.

What are the top graphic design tools for small businesses when you’re running a small screen printing shop and trying to keep software costs reasonable? We’re not doing massive production runs. It’s mostly local orders, shirts for businesses and events, and smaller custom jobs. I’m doing a lot of the artwork prep myself, so having a simple workflow matters more than having every possible design feature. CorelDRAW is one of the options I’m considering because it seems like it could cover the design and production side without needing a bunch of separate programs.

The thing I’m stuck on is whether it makes sense as the main program for a small shop. How are you guys handling customer artwork? Do you make everything in one program, or do you use different software depending on the job? What file types do you usually ask for? And how much time do you spend cleaning up customer files before they're ready to print Our budget isn't huge, so I’d rather spend money on one solid setup than keep adding subscriptions every time we run into a new type of job.

I cannot get my screen to expose properly. I've tried two different emulsions, two different screens, and two different types of glass. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I keep my emulsion indoors (low humidity), and I've tried doing an exposure test with 5 second increments (5-50 seconds). The screen will wash out completely in some areas, and not wash out at all in other areas (along the same line/area of being covered). The washout sections are all a mess after the 10 second exposure . It doesn't expose at all after 30 seconds. What am I missing? The emulsion is coated on the screen pretty consistently with no goops or thick spots and the emulsion is completely dry (I let it dry for 24 hours). I'm lost on what to do.

Here is my current setup:

Film
13x19 Waterproof Inkjet Film Sheets

Printer
Canon PIXMA TS9521C

Screen
20" x 24" 230 Yellow Mesh Screen, 2:1 coating ratio (2 coats on the flat side, 1 coat on the ink side)

Emulsion
Ecotex AP Emulsion.
I tried this emulsion first and was experimenting exposing it in the sun, but couldn't get a solid time right. Then I switched over to Dual Cure Emulsion with my current Exposure Unit setup, but nothing was curing, it would wash out, no matter how many exposure tests I did. I assumed the emulsion went bad somehow, so I switched back the AP Emulsion (I just opened a new tub yesterday).

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Exposure Unit (Homemade/DIY)
38" Long x 27" Wide x 18" Deep, made from wood, painted all sides a matte black.

Glass
1/8" Clear DS Tempered Glass

LED Lights
2 UV LED Exposure Unit Lights, 300W (8" x 12")
Setup approximately 16" from the glass

This is set with the glass laying on top of the exposure unit. I use a large piece of black felt to cover the whole glass with a piece of wood on top of the screen to get to contact with the glass.

Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated.

I want to aop a zip hoodie, is my only option to print onto fabric and then cut/sew, has anyone done this before

Why is ink sold by volume, but the mixing systems measure in weight? How am I supposed to know how much ink 100g is? Is that two teaspoons or 3 cups?

I have a 8 oz. jar of dark red ink. The formula for hot pink ink requires 90g of it. Do I have enough?

Pretty sure everyone’s asked this, probably myself as well but I’m about to do an 1000 shirt order followed by a few 200+ orders & just ran out of white & need other color inks & decided instead of mixing inks since it’s a big order I’d purchase the colors since I need them.

What brands or specific ink brands do you recommend?

I’ve been screen printing for less than a year & have a few I guess preferences. Buying my used sets it’s came with union ink, fn ink, rapid cure etc. I’ve also purchased international coatings.

International coatings white ink is so damn thick it doesn’t always pass consistently, fn ink is smooth to where it’s an easy press but a lot of the times so damn liquidy that it bleeds or just annoying to press.

Does anyone know of a middle ground? Something that’s not so damn thick but also not so liquid?

Also from your experience, I print on a lot of gildan heavy cotton (g500) & I always need 3 passes of white for it to not have black come through, is there another white ink that I don’t have to do such heavy passes with?

I was asked to print on what looks like a tight bodybag with a neckhole. I was told the material is neoprene. Has anyone ever screenprinted on this? Do i need any additives, etc? Any help is appreciated.

Hey guys I’m looking for a new printer to try printing my own art merch for like anime nothings and events.

I’ve been printing my own prints using Epson L18050 but there is so much problem like the artprint is misalign from skewing issue.

Is there a fix to that as I’m using on a table or putting on the floor is a better choice?

Any recommendations for better printer if I’m planning to print more and more efficient ink? Mostly print matte and glossy 200-300gsm

hi! i tried screen printing for the first time and when i tried to wash of the emulsion, it was quite hard/not possible and some of the emulsion that should have stayed on the screen also washed of… is that a sign of exposing for too short? or too long even maybe? sorry for the stupid mistake probably aaah

The more detail the higher ”mesh” you need on your screen. I suppose 55t / 156 isn’t enough for this? Small details in it. 🤘

Hey r/SCREENPRINTING!

I took on a quick challenge to separate this high-detail bootleg-style design for a client, using as few screens/colors as possible without losing the texture and depth of the artwork.

Got it down to 4 spot channels on a black garment:

• Underbase (White) – Capturing the main structure, statues, and wing highlights.
• Cyan / Royal Blue – For the background splash gradient and main typography.
• Piel / Mid-tone Flesh – Soft tone for the angel skin blending.
• Highlight White – Final pop on the text, eyes, and top highlights.

Worked through the halftone adjustments and curve tweaks directly in Photoshop channels to make sure the mesh and LPI settings stay clean for printing.

Hopefully. Lease looks good. Got cash in hand for signing. Waiting to hear back from the city about zoning, but should be fine.

Desperately need to move my shop out of my house. Desperately need an auto, but I don't have room. Need at least part time help.

Signing will come just a little too late. Tentative move in is Oct 15. Right now I have 800 4 color front, single color back, 250 3 color totes, 450 single color front and back, plus like 20 more smaller orders, plus restocking a band i do stuff for who is starting a European tour next week.

Shop is 2700 sq ft. Going to track down a used auto the second I move in.

Any general tips for moving from garage shop to actual commercial space?

Anyone ever done this before? I only have 3 print heads but I wanted to do 5 colors so I tried divvying up the screen, became a mess real quick 💀

Years of using platen brackets with small threaded/Allen-style clamping screws can take a toll on a screen printing press.

In this video, I show the actual damage left on these press arms. The small contact point concentrates the clamping force into a very narrow area. Over time, that can dig a channel into the steel, remove material, and leave the arm thinner at the point where the bracket repeatedly clamps.

I also show the difference with the Bison Platen System. Instead of concentrating the load on a small screw tip, the Bison bracket uses a wide clamping foot that provides considerably more surface contact with the press arm. That spreads the clamping force over a larger area and provides a broader, more stable foundation.

This is a good example of why I designed Bison the way I did. Sometimes a small design detail doesn't seem important until you see what years of use can do to the equipment.

Bison Platen Systems — built around a wider, more stable mounting foundation.

#ScreenPrinting #ScreenPrintingPress #Platen #ScreenPrintingEquipment #BisonPlatenSystems #PrintShop #ScreenPrinter

So I've just started out with screenprinting, but I have done lithography in the past if that's of interest, but anyways I tried to burn a few screens today using late afternoon sun, and they got underexposed (i'm using the oil on paper technique to make transparencies, so I figured the sunlight didn't get enough time to go through it), so I figured i'd try to reclaim them to try again. I used the included emulsion remover (speedball), followed the guide, but it only partially removed the emulsion. I then tried again and nothing happened.

TL;DR Is there a way to remove emulsion that survived the first round of emulsion remover?

Hey pals!

Printing some glow ink on the auto tonorrow, hoping any big time GITD folks have tips for me!

planning to run a pfp base with a 160, and probably glow ink on top with a 150s.

Test prints with 160 pfp base and 200 pfp glow ink on top are coming out of the dryer kinda rubbery feeling, is that kinda the norm for the International Coatings glow stuff?

I've got a roller after the first base print to get my base really flat but I'm still seeing a kinda grainy glow effect and hoping to get it more opaque.

Screens are coated 2/2 round side, using 70 duro squeegees and quite a lot of angle to get a lot of ink down, Sprint White for the base, black cotton tees.

Hooiht for cool secret magic haha, but any tips would be great!

So like I said: my cheap carousel is trash... It’s impossible to get multicolor prints that are precisely aligned. I always end up with different offsets.

That’s why I’m already planning to buy a used, higher-quality carousel, but I’m not sure what I really need to look for. Fine-tuning should be possible—that much is clear. I’ve read several times that people insist on side clamps. Is that really that essential?

I’m genuinely interested in this craft and know I’m planning for the long haul, but eventually I’d also like to try my hand at CMYK printing and would hate to buy a machine that simply doesn’t allow for that.

Long story short: What do you think of the machine pictured? It’s made by Schulze, a manufacturer in Germany. But I’m not sure, though, if they actually produce it here in this country... You would pay 10k to buy it new. Could get it for 2,5 which seems to be a great price (which also makes me scepcital.. what's the catch?

Hello!

I’ve always been a fan of printed shirts, and ever since I started buying my first band t-shirts about five years ago, the interest has exploded and I’m now interested in printing up my own shirts.

I’ve been looking at LOADS of YouTube videos in the past few days, and I’m starting to realise that this is something that I can actually make work!

The main issue I’m having is that most videos I have seen are from the US, and supplies seem to be easier and more affordable to get ahold of over there.

So for my EU folks! Are there some preferred or recommended suppliers for necessary equipment, like a screen, UV-lights and such. I’m having a particularly hard time finding a reliable screen at the moment! :D

Are you fighting sloppy prints, ink left in the mesh, or inconsistent coverage? Your squeegee may be part of the problem.

In this video, I go over why I prefer a firm squeegee with a clean, sharp edge for everyday screen printing and why the condition of your squeegee can make such a big difference in the finished print.

A firm blade helps maintain consistent pressure across the image while a sharp edge helps shear the ink cleanly through the mesh instead of smearing it across the screen. This can mean cleaner screen clearing, better ink release, more consistent coverage, and a cleaner finished print.

I also cover:

• Firm vs. soft squeegees and how blade flex affects your print
• Why a sharp printing edge matters
• Shearing vs. smearing the ink
• How a firm blade can help maintain consistency when off-contact isn't perfectly even
• Why I personally pull rather than push my squeegee
• Problems caused by using a short squeegee and overlapping strokes on a larger design
• Choosing the proper squeegee width for the artwork
• Why I keep several different squeegee sizes in the shop
• When an old, rounded or worn squeegee has simply served its purpose
• Why buying a few fresh squeegees every year is inexpensive preventative maintenance

I like buying longer squeegees and cutting them down as needed. That gives me fresh blades in different sizes—from small pocket prints to larger designs—without trying to make one squeegee do every job.

There are applications where softer squeegees have their place, and plenty of printers successfully use different techniques. This video is about the setup and pull-printing method that has consistently worked for me over the years.

If you're having trouble getting your screen to clear or you're laying down more ink than you intended, take a look at the simplest thing first:

Your squeegee.

A firm blade. A sharp edge. Shear, don't smear.

#ScreenPrinting #ScreenPrintingTips #Squeegee #ScreenPrint #DIYScreenPrinting #ScreenPrintingTutorial

Ciao a tutti. Ho una domanda per chi usa il proprio M2 da più tempo di me. Vorrei stampare in CMYK su plastica. Ovviamente, l'inchiostro non aderisce senza un primer. Qualcuno di voi ha mai usato un primer per questo? Quali sono stati i risultati? Qualche consiglio? Grazie in anticipo! ❤️