If one was to find a screenprint shop that will burn screens for you, what is the normal fee to expect per burn, file supplied, blank screens supplied. Should you expect the shop to tape the screens ready for ink or would that be an extra fee normally? In what condition should the screens be supplied to the shop, ink free, image free and degreased ready for coating? Thanks in advance. peace

I am really unsure. I never heard of a service like that. Often you can buy a new screen with your stencil pre-burned in it. I was thinking of offering that service along with new screens and coated screens. But it is very difficult to price considering the work involved.

This is what I might expect if I offered the service:

I would expect the screens to be reclaimed, clean and free of tape ready to degrease. I would degrease them as part of the service because if you do it they can get dirty during transport. Taping and finishing other than standard pinhole control would be extra.

Since this includes film output and most likely some minimal art work I might want maybe $20 to $25 per screen on small quantities and maybe $10 to $20 on larger quantities. I’m ball parking things since I am not specifying quantities.

That’s why I have not offered any of these services yet. Most people are looking to pay less than that. I will offer new blank screens of a special mesh count soon I hope if I can figure out a way to click and ship.

I did outsource the screen, and received an older wooden 156 with an image thats held up quite nicely for over 100 shirts and 3 runs and cleanups, but I didnt receive my stencil. So, I went by there the other day and retrieved it, no problem, but was surprised to see that the halftone that I had given them was output onto simple vellum from a laser output. I had expected high density film output like from an imagesetter. I experimented with and failed with vellum, looking back, it was probably because my emulsion layer was too thick, requiring a longer burn through the thin toner layer on the vellum resulting in overexposure as well as washout issues. Now I get to try to gang a pocket and backside with Rhinotech laser stencil...

Many shops still use laser vellum. You would be surprised at the ones that do.

New video about the dry stencil system uploading tomorrow... stay tuned.