Section C – Step-by-Step Instructions for Screen Printing
using the teeshirtprinters.com single color press

Step Three – Mount your screen in the press

For this part I use the teeshirtprinters.com single color press I have raved about elsewhere in this tutorial. Your machine may differ slightly but the principle is all the same.

Essentially the only thing you need to do at this point is place the screen in the bracket and tighten the screws to hold it in place. You will of course want to be sure that the platen lines up with the design correctly, so check that you have the design centered side to side over the platen. The platen itself moves to position the image top to bottom.

With the screen mounted and positioned, raise it out of the way, and dust the platen lightly with the 380 spray adhesive. You have to slide a shirt over the adhesive, so don’t use tons of the stuff, but don’t be too conservative either. The tack of the adhesive must be greater than the tack of the ink on the shirt, or else the shirt will stick to the screen and ruin your design.

Slip an old shirt or a pelon over the platen and position it so it is straight. Smooth it gently into the adhesive to make sure it sticks.

NOTES
· Once you get to this step, you’ll understand how important positioning the artwork on the screen is. It is much, much easier to visualize how to burn your next screen once you get to this stage. Look at the way the screen mounts, and the position of the shirt on the platen. Don’t be afraid to measure things, and make notes that will help you next time.
· Don’t overtighten the platen adjustments or the screen clamps. One of the biggest complaints of veteran operators is “Herculean Torque Syndrome” or HTS. Sometimes rookies feel it is necessary to tighten adjustments until the threads are stripping out. “Just tight enough” is plenty tight, and will make all your equipment last longer.

Step Four – Set off-contact setting & ink up

The ‘off-contact’ setting is an important setting. On the teeshirtprinters.com line of presses, it is a bolt with a jam nut on it, just behind the printing platen. The purpose of the off-contact setting is to keep the screen a bit above the shirt on the platen, so that after the squeegee passes over the screen, the screen pulls up away from the ink. Too little off-contact will cause blurring and gets ink on the back of the screen (this also causes blurring – if it happens, wipe the ink off with ink solvent). Too much off-contact and it is hard to get the ink onto the shirt. You’ll bear down really hard but not get enough contact for a crisp print.

There are a million opinions on setting off contact – and, it changes based on variables like printing surface texture, emulsion coating thickness, ink body, etc. For a plain old t shirt, using super soft ink like I recommend above, I would set the off contact to hold the screen 1/8” from the shirt on the platen and work from there.

Put a bead of ink across the screen, near the clamp side. Leave plenty of room for your squeegee blade to get behind that ink. Lower the screen into position. Firmly grip the squeegee with both hands. Apply firm pressure and tilt the blade at a 45° angle. In a smooth motion, pull the squeegee to you. If you’re printing a light ink on a dark shirt you can make two passes, but first, see how one worked. It may take a try or two before the ink is fully filled into the mesh and giving you a crisp print – this is entirely normal.

Lift the screen. You can now dry the shirt in place on the press, or carefully remove it and dry it elsewhere.

NOTES
· The web is full of technical articles that offer more detailed information on off contact settings, and just about everything else in screen printing. This tutorial is sufficient for simple tshirt jobs, but if you want to learn more, then visit Ryan’s, The SGIA, or your favorite manufacturer’s site.

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