This is my first " Off Topic" on the hamb and thanks for the help in this matter. I have a hundreds of T-shirts from car shows and try to show support to the clubs and good folks that put on the shows by buying a T-shirt at events. My daughter wants to do some T-shirts for her school sports and fun school spirit. She also offered to do some for the Shop as well. I thought I can help out with some of your help on ideas and such.. Were to get supplies ( press,ink ,screens,T-shirts and help) and info on the process the good and bad of it.. Thanks John
You should just try to talk to a roundy-round racer. They know all the local places to get work done. I know you are asking about buying stuff to do it yourself - but the cost would far outway the cost of just paying someone else to do it. And the learning curve is steep dude. Plus I am just all about patronizing the little shops and helping out a fellow artist. They deserve to make a living for their skills.
.I'm just looking for my daughter to learn abit on it and have some fun with school,friends and keep them busy . They raise money for school functions and charities, she belong to Student council and other good school clubs. Looking to better herself and learn and nothing wrong with that. Were not looking to start a biz and step on any toes. Thanks so much for the offer on the help and the reply...
Most junior-high level schools offer beginning silk-screening in either art or shop cl***. Maybe Girl Scouts as well? Or simply visit your local art supply or possibly craft store and ask for help. This is an easy, fun, and inexpensive thing to try out as a kid. Good for you as a Dad!
www.screenprinters.net is a good place for her to start reading and asking questions in the forums. There are also many online articles on there also. I suggest that you buy her the book on that site "How to print Tshirts for fun and profit" it will help also. http://www.screenprintersopen.com/index.php? is another useful site. in the beginning you can make a 1 color press and make alot of the equipment yourself. And you can always send me an email with any questions...I'd be glad to help. I had to start somewhere also. Thanks Darryl
Most art supply stores sell start up kits that will work well for small run 1 color designs. Sometimes the kits come with a how to video.
Call your local Screenprint shops & ask if they have any old/used start up equipment they would be willing to sell. Most will be jerks about it, but eventually you will find someone that is willing to help someone that is interested. Most shops have presses & dryes that sit in the corner & collect dust.E-mail me- I have a lot of screens & squeeges I'm not using.
This youtube vid is very informative and shows you how to do silk screen work on a budget. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee_8IMx0uMo
Ohh, Well in that case - find a local **** Blick or other art supply store - they'll point you in the right direction. Don't get me wrong - screen printing is a blast - and they don't have to get "stuck" doing just T-Shirts. Many artists will screen print and fall in love with the process. Forge on man.
Every hobby shop or art supply (Michael's etc.) has the basic Speedball Screenprinting Kit. A basic and easy way to learn a little about the art. Over 30 years ago I make up some shirts with old speed parts and company logos and others with auto emblems, etc. No one cared and I got a good lesson in economics, but had a heck of a lot of lot of fun. My designs have turned up at swap meets and other places here and there ripped by other "artists" as their own work. I guess ripping you off is the best flattery! I find so many designs these days for shirts, patches, caps, logos, and signs might be great pieces of 10 or more color art but can't be read at all unless you're 3 feet away. The purpose of a logo is advertising, instant recognisability at 30 feet and enough detail up close to still be simple and effective. Most of today's fail on those points. Complicated and mutli-colored is not good unless it works, just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be.
Thanks for the links and suggestions on silk screening. We checked out a few sights but didn't know what's right or wrong on it.. I was thinking about getting one of them starter kits for a few hunnert bucks. Let them play with that or is there a better way to start ? thanks John
Well I heard there is a business for sale locally here. Maybe you could just buy it. I think there are two press set ups in it. Probably gonna be more than a few hunnert buck.
Zman, I've done quite a bit of "hobbyist" screen printing, and personally, I would stay away from the starter kits, I bought one of the speedball kits when I first started and I ended up replacing everything in the kit within a week of buying, not that the speedball stuff isn't good, but if you're any kind of tool guy or anything like that you will quickly be able to tell the difference between the starter stuff, and the nice stuff. With that being said, I took right to the photo emulsion method of printing, I wont go into it here, but it involves making/printing stencils and exposing them on the screen to get your design Diazo make great photo emulsion fluids for this, very user friendly and for exposure you can use a hardware store variety blacklight (exposure times vary, but I usually expose about 4-6 hours) and make sure your chemicals are fresh,, it does go stale. secondly, get a good squeegee!!!! this was the weakest part of the starter kits, a good squeegee makes the process so much more enjoyable. And then ink and some screens. I make my own screens now, but they are pretty cheap to buy them pre made for starting out, and ink, make sure you get ink that's applicable for what you're printing on, I'd stick with textile inks for starters, there are many inks available for printing on plastic and metal, but they are pretty toxic. Anyway, I hope this helps out a bit, but I think if you buy the components to get started and a good book you'll be better off, and happier in the long haul than if you buy a "starter kit" oh, I think somone said it allready, but **** blick is a great place to buy supplies if there isn't one locally to you they have a web store. Ford.
Go ask a shop for a tour, its not as glamorous as the end result. Ive been a screenprinter for over 12 years and a GM for 4.
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