Noob needing help

[etingey]

Hello, just barely getting into screen printing and have a few questions. I am wanting to make special pillow cases for use with crystals and want to customize them with prints instead of them only being plain white cases. I want the print to be soft enough to comfortably sleep on and have figured I probably need to go with a water based ink. Which brands of ink are the best in this category? Is speedball one of them? I have been looking at EZScreenPrint's little starter pack for 106.99 that comes with:
One (1) - 10"x12" Exposure Frame
Five (5) - 8.5"x11" EZScreenPrint Standard Stencils
One (1) - Speedball Fabric Ink Starter Set (Six 4-oz jars)
- black
- red
- blue
- white
- green
- yellow
Two (2) - Small Exposure Test Pieces
One (1) - Plastic Canvas
One (1) - 2" Squeegee
One (1) - 4" Squeegee
One (1) - 6" Squeegee
One (1) - Full-Size Plastic Frame
One (1) - Darice 9"x12" 2mm Black Foamie Sheet
One (1) - Bristle Brush, 1.5"
Instructions
FREE Two (2) - Choose between Ink Jet and Laser/Copier Transparency Sheets, 8.5"x11"

would this be a decent investment or would should I simply get a smaller sort of package together from a local craft store? I will probably order more transparency sheets from the Catspit site simply because the videos have helped me learn soooo much in the past couple of days, I almost feel i could go from never having a clue about this stuff to semi-pro if i had the money to invest in equipment just because of how well the videos have helped. I was at a local Michaels today and noticed that Rit has spray can dye and kind of wondered if that would be a better way to go for the pillow cases, but I would have to compromise my designs a bit. I may also want to move onto making shirts later on too, plus this screen printing just looks like fun!!! I appreciate all help anyone could afford!!!

[Shamax]

Welcome to the forums! I know what you mean as far as feeling like you can go from zero to semi-pro just from watching Jonathan make everything look so easy

As for the kit you're looking at, I'd say if you really want to get into get into doing this as more than a 1-time thing (even if just for crafting and not to go semi-pro), you would be best suited saving up another $80 or $90 and getting a better starting kit that has a 1-color/1-station press included. Jonathan has recently talked about releasing a "starter kit" for purchase sometime in the very near future - it may be worth holding off for that.

for your pillowcases, the Rit dye may actually be the way to go for your pillowcase project anyway, since it's my understand that a dye like that would actually "dye" the cloth rather than deposit a layer of ink on top of it. Think about it: if you're resting your head on a pillow, you probably wouldn't want to feel the design rubbing against your face So the dye may be a good solution and an easier one for this particular project than going the screen printing route. If you *were* to go the screen printing route with it, you'd probably want to do it with "discharge" inks which do the same thing as a dye would - it actually dyes the material. Using discharge inks is a bit of a more advanced topic though, since you have to mix the inks with the discharge chemicals and then cure them with heat and air. Something like that would probably be best contracting out to a local shop.

Screen printing is an absolute blast though! I'm speaking as someone who just started back in November. Lots of trial and error still, but communities like this have made it possible and enjoyable even through all the blunders Hope it helps, and if you've got other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[ApeShirt]

You could also do discharge printing with either water based or plastiol inks.

[Catspit Productions]

First let me say thanks for watching my videos. Make sure to fully explore the website too for a lot more free information about screen printing.

Okay I agree with Andy. My starter kits are not based on a low bottom line to sell. I’ll be adding these kits to the Catspit website within a couple of weeks or less. I may add them right away but I do not have photos yet. So that being said a Catspit starter kit starts at $1,137.00 with the Alley Cat© Kit.

Now for your purposes I am assuming you want to spend a lot less than that to get started. Here’s the thing, many of the starter kits or inexpensive alternative methods like EZScreenPrint will promise a lot and deliver very little. With screen printing it is best to get the right tools for the job otherwise you may experience many problems or simply be unable to do what you originally intended. And many kits that look like they have decent professional equipment are really substandard due to the fact that they were engineered to sell below $500 with a total package kit.

So I never recommend things like EZScreenPrint or the Yudu because they will inevitably let you down. However if you are talking about doing this once a year or maybe a few times a year you may be able to work with one of the crafting methods available.

You mentioned a spray dye. Many people actually create “printed” shirts with plain spray paint using a stencil of some sort. This could be a paper or plastic stencil that is laid directly onto the item to be printed and then the spray is done through the stencil.

Water based ink can produce a very soft hand but as Greg mentioned discharge will probably be the softest. I would not recommend a beginner to do discharge printing. I always suggest learning with plastisol inks and then move on to water based and discharge inks. Speedball ink are designed for crafters and never really perform like professional inks but many people use them with great success. It’s not so much the brand to be concerned with right now. It’s more about which process do you want to use.

A white pillow case may also be sublimated if it can be a 50/50 ploy cotton blend. Then you could just buy a sublimation inkjet printer set up and do whatever designs you want and they will feel like the pillow case. No hand whatsoever. But you’ll need a computer, graphic software and the sublimation printer with sublimation inks and sublimation papers to print onto.

I hope I did not confuse you more Let us know if you have any further questions we might answer.

[etingey]

Alright, thanks everyone!!!

I am assuming I could still use a silk screen with the Rit dye though correct? Or would I run into problems with the emulsion wearing out since dye is definitely more water based than a plastisol. I thought about doing simple spray paint but that just doesn't sound like it would last very long going through the washing machine.

[Shamax]

I’ll be adding these kits to the Catspit website within a couple of weeks or less. I may add them right away but I do not have photos yet. So that being said a Catspit starter kit starts at $1,137.00 with the Alley Cat© Kit.

Wow, sounds like that's gonna be one solid kit!! I was expecting something like a 1-color/1-station like the giveaway you'd done, but these sound like they're going to be much more glamorous

[Catspit Productions]

Hay Andy,

My kits will feature the RANAR 1 color/1 station, 2 color/1 station and the 4 color/ 2 station presses. So they are all bench top presses but these are RANAR presses which are heavily made and will outlast any lightweight aluminum presses. They all feature compression springs and heavy steel construction that will outlast even you.

The accessories and supplies were all picked out by yours truly to perfectly match the press you get in the kit and get you screen printing with the right tools to do the job easily. These kits are not based on rock bottom pricing in order to sell. Rather these kits are for those who want a kit that was assembled by an actual screen printer, someone who has really printed tee shirts for a living.

I am a little behind this week due to a family emergency but I am hoping to get them up on the website next week.

Stay tuned.....

[milkcowblues]

I guess I'm a Newbie since I haven't done any silkscreen printing since the early 80's. I found my screens a few weeks ago that I had them in storage all this time. I would like to "get Started" again...I've watched some of the Youtube videos which are helpful, but I'm confused about the not using the film. Back in the 80's we would tape our design on the back of the Green film and with our trusty X-acto knife we would carefully cut out the design then adhere the film to the back of the screen. This is where I am stuck...we don't use the green film to cut out our designs anymore??? How do i get my design on the screen? if I use my computer printer, what type of material do I (computer print) the design on???

appreciate your advice & help

milkcowblues

[ApeShirt]

I guess I'm a Newbie since I haven't done any silkscreen printing since the early 80's. I found my screens a few weeks ago that I had them in storage all this time. I would like to "get Started" again...I've watched some of the Youtube videos which are helpful, but I'm confused about the not using the film. Back in the 80's we would tape our design on the back of the Green film and with our trusty X-acto knife we would carefully cut out the design then adhere the film to the back of the screen. This is where I am stuck...we don't use the green film to cut out our designs anymore??? How do i get my design on the screen? if I use my computer printer, what type of material do I (computer print) the design on???

appreciate your advice & help

milkcowblues

lol. There are a couple different methods but the most popular method is as follows: Print the image onto transparent film (or vellum for some people), dark enough so you can't see light through it. Coat the screen with emulsion, let dry. Then tape the transparency to the screen and expose to uv light. Washout, with water, until the stencil is formed on the screen.

[milkcowblues]

I know I have vellum....and once the image is taped on the screen...all I need to do is leave a light on the screen for some time for the ink to transfer from the vellum to the screen?...is that correct?

many thanks