Now the screen needs to be left to dry face down in a dark place, where no light can reach it. Tilt screen back slightly and slide up the screen. Poor the mixed emulsion into your scoop coater and use it to coat the underside of the screen. Mix your photo emulsion as specified by the manufacturer. You are now working in safe light conditions. Turn off all other lights plug in your safe light. You can buy this directly from your screen print supplier or on Amazon. Darkroom safe light & scoop coater Buy some photo emulsion and a scoop coater With everything photographic moving to digital these days, safe lights are no longer in demand and you should be able to buy one for around $20 (I did). Jump on eBay and find a Kodak darkroom safe light (or equivalent). A darkroom safe light lets you work with the photo emulsion in safe light conditions so that you can see what you’re doing when mixing the emulsion and coating the screen without exposing it to UV light (sunlight, light from light bulbs). The best way to work with the photo emulsion is in safe light conditions. To use your artwork on your screen as a stencil you will first need to coat the screen with a photo emulsion in total darkness, then dry it in total darkness until the emulsion sets, then finally you can place your artwork transparency onto the screen and expose it to light to make a stencil from your artwork. Photo emulsion is easy to use in the right conditions. Push ink forward with squeegee, drag back. Have a friend to help hold the screen firmly in place while you print. As I am writing this I am running my entire operation off one trestle table with the help of a friend to hold the screen when I print, that’s it. I use a flat piece of wood slipped inside the shirt to keep it flat and prevent ink from bleeding through to the black layer. A day may come when you are printing the volume to afford a carousel, but to begin with you can get by without one and save a whole bunch of money. Just make sure the screen does not move while you’re printing. With the average cost of a screen printing carousel being between $1500 – $2500 I could not afford one to start out. Instead, get a friend to help hold the screen firmly in place while you use the squeegee to apply the ink to the screen then have them lift it away, it really is that easy. This way you will save yourself a whole lot of cash as well as tapping into the supply line for everything you will need. However, I recommend that you find a screen print wholesaler such as Catspit Productions, LLC. I am an artist and I knew that I wanted to print my own designs but that was about it, so when I first started to look around for screens I went to my local art supply store and they were able to provide me with my first silk screen and a squeegee for a fair price. When I first decided I wanted to to get into screen printing a few months ago, I really had no idea what was involved. Hey designers, want way more inspiration? Attend our all-inclusive soul-fulfilling three-day design retreat, WMC: Off-The-Grid, this October 5 – 7th.
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