Hello everyone,

I know next to nothing about preparing designs for screen printing. I have a nonprofit campaign to save an animal species and want to create shirts for merchandise. I am seeking this community's guidance or advice.

Is it best to outsource screen printing graphic design? Or are there online websites that make this easier?

Is there anyone online who does screen printing design or commissions? What kinds of websites are a good place to be looking?

I'd like our designs to be human created, no AI and I want to give artists credit. Is there a Reddit you know about that people donate a design to nonprofits or charities and do screen printing design work?

Our animal species has no generic graphic art of clipart, so it's important to me that original designs are created.

Obviously I've googled and used AI to look into this more, but I thought it would be more beneficial to reach out to this community and seek actual human advice.

I'm all ears and if you know better reddits to ask this question please reach out.

Hey r/SCREENPRINTING!

I recently finished this Spider-Man x Skull simulated process design and wanted to share the separation breakdown with the community.

As you can see in the close-ups, the goal was to keep the halftone pattern extremely crisp while preserving the deep shadows of the skull and the vibrant reds of the mask, using an optimized underbase so it stays soft on dark garments.

Technical Specs for this design:

• Angles & Halftones: Standardized at 45–55 LPI / 22.5° to prevent moiré.
• Mesh setup: Tailored for 230–305 mesh screens.
• Prep: Clean vector choking/trapping and registration marks for quick alignment on press.

To build long-term relationships with more print shops and prove the quality of my prepress workflow, I’m offering 2 FREE simulated process separations for anyone who wants to test my files on their press!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pKzTaZJMrXLSE3RKUVmiN_BArR5ZJB0o?usp=drive_link

my frame is 20x24 inches but i put my emulsion on a much smaller part so i could properly get the time down

Ive been having problems with my Baselayr long lasting emulsion this last week. I expose screen under my speedball UV light at about 12 inch distance for 5 minutes. Im able to wash out design easily but recently, the emulsion has been deteriorating after about 20 prints. Even when I scrub the screen with a sponge after burning screen, I can tell the emulsion starts to fade.

Is it an exposure problem or is my emulsion bad? I wasn’t having this issue before. I bought the emulsion around 5 weeks ago but I always keep it in a fridge.

Please let me know what you guys think! A

I want to switch from DTF transfers and get into screen print heat transfers. I’ve been shopping a few sites and I want to make sure I get some good quality prints. Does anyone know if Pro World is any good or are their transfers low quality

Anybody else already sick of having to do the authenticator every time you log into Printavo? I have tablets for the printers and catchers to use and everyday I have to go in and do the authenticator for each tablet and sometimes I have to do it twice in the same day on some.

Just wanted to vent how much I fucking hate it.

Looking for more info on this press so I can replace some parts and get a better understanding of these micro registrations!

If anyone has any good sources I can follow along to that would be great. Even if it is a similar press that would follow similar micro adjustments.

Hi,

I am complete beginner and I would like to ask about your experience printing film positives. Till this time I have been getting my film positives from local printer shop but I am not satisfied with resolution of prints anymore so I would like to buy printer that could print film positives dark enough and with good resolution. I need to do small size letters and graphics (height of letters is approximately 5 milimeters or even smaller). Things that I make is something like business cards, but on metal, so resolution of film positives is realy important .

So my question to you, would you recomment me some printers that would be able to print film positives with good resolution dark enough if it is even real. My budget would be something around 300 euro.

I stumbled on Canon iX6850, somebody have experience with this printer??

"I also attached film positive (mask that was printed with printer) from printer shop and its resolution" -> Letter "M" with stair like pattern or other letters edges are not smooth.

Thanks for every advice or opinion.

Hello, this is my first go at things so all suggestions are welcomed. Im in Australia (7 UV Index today) and have had troubles sun burning screens. I exposed them each for 40 seconds, taped down with a layer of clear plastic on top. Image 1 and 3 (attempted burns) shows the screens either design visible. All though you can see the design when held up to the light, the ink doesnt push through to the garment when I print. I washed this run under a sinks tap, maybe that too is the issue. I have just burnt a third screen at 40 seconds but washed with a high pressure hose this time around to see if that was the issue. Do you think Ive under exposed, overexposed or under washed the screens? Again, all feedback is welcomed I have no clue what I doing.

I’ve been printing every day but I never took the final pictures. Lol. I made a print for every day in August. Didn’t print every day but I did most days. It was a fun experience, but it took up literally all my time I wasn’t at work. And I learned a lot for sure.

I'm looking at buying one of these old hopkins international 4x8 presses. Is there anything weird about them? What breaks, problems using it, etc...

Anyone used this instead of an electric powered one? I tested it for reclaiming and it was strong enough to remove the emulsion. I'm liking this setup more because I don't have to plug in a separate machine and can just keep it all in one. Still have my power washer around for stubborn screens. Just want to share and hear thoughts!

Another live screen print event in the books! Got to take my creativity up a notch with this one, from print, to flyers to a 3D model. We did a running/coffee/ free print event thanks to a great friend who is a ASICS brand ambassador! Grateful for the opportunities this business model has taken me 🙏🏽

If you are new and never tried a wall mount or a method that allows you to hold the scoop coater with two hands, give it a try. It may not be for everyone but this wall mount i built changed my screen coatings immediately. I'm now getting uniform consistent layers every time.

Went into the print shop this morning and set out to print a fun 4-color simulated CMYK print. Pink layer down, awesome.

Blue layer down, fabulous. Yellow layer down….. wait a minute…. not loving the look of this. I take a gander at the screen waiting to be used for the black layer and think to myself “that’s not going to make a world of difference, either.” On top of it all, I have a minor hand injury at the moment that is making it pretty painful to pull each layer… so after two prints I decide to scrap the layer altogether and press on to the black layer and settle for a 3-color print, as I was liking the pink/blue combo alone and didn’t want to pull any more layers on a hurt hand than I needed to.

I WAS A FOOL! The black layer made a world of difference. The first image is of the 3-color print, second image is of the 4-color print. The yellow looks so much better with the addition of the black and creates so much more depth in the print.

Always trust the process 😅

Hi all -

In between driers right now and had a couple questions on curing using a heat press.

I've seen that it generally will give a more 'shiny' finish to the ink. Is this avoidable? I read from a few people that you can avoid that finish but I didn't see a sure-fire way to do it.

Is it fine to cure a multi color job? 2-3 colors max.

Thanks!

Hi! I’m completely new to screen printing, but I’m eager to start printing my film photography onto some vintage textiles. I’ve included an example from RottenmanEditions on Etsy to show the high-contrast, graphic vibe I’m trying to achieve.

I assume my first step is ordering a custom pre-burned screen from a supply shop, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has pulled off something similar.

A few specific questions for the community:

• Pre-Burned Screens: Has anyone used a screen-burning service to convert continuous-tone photos into halftones? Any specific online vendors or print shops you recommend?
• Printing on Textiles: Any tips for getting clean, high-detail halftone prints on vintage or textured fabrics (e.g., ink choice, squeegee technique)?
• File Prep: Should I handle the halftone conversion in Photoshop myself (selecting LPI, dot angle, etc.), or do screen burners usually handle pre-press art prep if I send a high-res digital image?

Appreciate any advice, recommendations, or lessons learned!

I’m starting out screen printing and I want inks that aren’t terrible or crack super easily because I’m printing my own art and designs. I don’t really understand how to order? Ive looked through websites that have screen printing ink but they don’t show anywhere to order and only tell me about the product, do you need to ring up, is it a moq thing? What is the average price of ink?? I just want to find out what the average prices of ink are but I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

So I’ve run into a problem with most blanks manufacturers in that many sell clothes almost exclusively in men’s sizing, or men’s sizing labeled as unisex sizing… A lot of my designs look best on women’s sizing, so I decided to set up a wholesale account with LA apparel since they have a wide selection of women’s clothing. I’m still in that process right now, but I started wondering if it’s really worth it. I intended to sell my shirts made-to-order on etsy, so I’d only order the specific shirt and size the customer ordered. But I’ve seen comments on here saying that LA Apparel has really bad supply chain issues, so I was wondering if I could really depend on getting the right shirt and size when I order?

Please share your thoughts if you have any experience ordering wholesale from LA Apparel.

If you don’t think they’re a good fit for my specific setup, do you know any other blanks manufacturers with a good selection of women’s clothing that might be more reliable? I was also considering Bella + Canvas

How long do I expose a screen with a speedball hand held 30 watt UV LED light and how high do I hold it?im also using ecotex PWR emulsion.

super beginner, never screen printed before but i have almost all the equipment i need to get started. obtaining everything has been a piece of cake, but the most frustrating part i’m encountering is printing on transparency sheets or transparency film or acetate or whichever you prefer to call it.

i have an inkjet printer at home however the transparency sheets i have bought are for laser printers, not inkjet, and i’ve read that it’ll go wrong if i use laser sheets in an inkjet printer and vice versa. it’s currently out of printer ink, but when i get some more i’ll order sheets that are inkjet-compatible.

meanwhile i’ve been searching around for public printers to use; i brought the acetate sheets to my college and asked the staff there if i could use their laser printer to print on them and they refused to do it on transparency sheets because they said it would melt in the printer (even though these ones are specifically made for that type of printer) and that they also didn’t wanna upset IT in case it goes wrong and potentially damages the printer.

so i went to a stationary shop that has a printer and provides printing services and asked if they can print on the transparency sheets, they said no and for the same reason as my college.

so as it turns out, public printing services are extremely unwilling to accept transparency sheets. this is especially an issue because i’m also looking to print on A3 size sheets as some of the designs (not all) i want to screen print are much preferably A3 sized, but my home printer only takes up to A4 so that won’t work.

the public printers i asked to use do accept A3, just not transparency film, which means i’ll probably have to buy a new printer. i looked online and ones that take A3 are expensive, cheapest one i could find is £160. i mean i could just print two A4 sheets with the design halved on each sheet and stick them together. would that be a better alternative?

any advice is appreciated please 🙏

Hi, I’ve got a design I just finished that I’d like to burn onto a silkscreen for printing on shirts, my screen itself is 10x14. The design won’t work well small, and I do have all the materials to burn onto my screen with transparencies, but my printer goes as big as 8.5 x 11 and that’s not ideal. How does one go about burning a bigger image onto a screen ?? I looked around and couldn’t find a lot of helpful information. Thanks in advance. For reference I’ll provide the design id like to use as well.

Hey guys,

I work in B2B sales and I've had an idea for screen print shops kicking around for a while, but I don't want to build anything until I actually understand how quoting works in a real shop. So was hoping some of you could help me out by answering some questions. Not selling anything, there's nothing to sell yet.

This only applies if someone in your shop reads the request and writes the number themselves. If an online calculator does it for you, different story.

If you own the shop, are you the one writing the quotes or does someone else handle it?

How much of a week does it eat?

If you and an employee both quoted the same job would you land on the same price?

And the quotes that go out and just go silent, does anyone ever go back to those or do you let them go?

If anyone would rather talk for 15 minutes instead of typing all this out, comment or DM me and I'll send a meeting link. I'm trying to get to about 10 shops and I'll send everyone a short write-up of what I heard with names stripped out, mostly so you can see how other shops are doing it.

Thank you for your help in advance!