# Screen printing a photograph...



## Nathaniel (Sep 12, 2007)

Firstly I apologise if this is post in the wrong place but my question kind of falls inbetween here and the design sub-forum...

I've seen questions on here about screen printing photos (Screen Printing from a Photograph - T-Shirt Forums which goes way over my head) and I've read the tutorial here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/graphics-design-help/t66657.html

but I've come across a luxury brand who claim their shirts are screen-printed but the quality seems (as I've not seen the print IRL) far superior (i.e. super-fine halftoning) to the examples in the tutorial above.

Is this possible with screen-printing???

Shirts:
http://www.passarella.co.uk/

Detail:
http://sevennewyork.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/f/8/f8padem-mickeywhite-1.jpg

Thanks!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Results substantially better than the tutorial shown above are possible. The second example of a printed shirt shouldn't be difficult to achieve.

The tutorial approach is basically a low-tech option. That image would probably also look better by the time you actually printed the film and printed the shirt - what you see on the screen is (probably) a zoomed image compared to the shirt.

So, yes, this is possible in screenprinting.


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## stellaivi (Jan 22, 2012)

hello, i am trying to figure out how to screen print a black adn white photograph in a white tshirt and black tshirt.. any tips? i am new in screen printing and i am also looking to buy my equipment to experiment .. i am a photographer and i am trying to learn to screen print my images in the tshirts.. cn someone help me?


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## bluemoon (Feb 8, 2009)

stellaivi said:


> hello, i am trying to figure out how to screen print a black adn white photograph in a white tshirt and black tshirt.. any tips? i am new in screen printing and i am also looking to buy my equipment to experiment .. i am a photographer and i am trying to learn to screen print my images in the tshirts.. cn someone help me?



I hate to burst your bubble, but printing photographs is very difficult. We do it all the time, but it really is very hard to get good results. The equipment is expensive and the R&D needed takes thousands of hours and thousands if not tens of thousands in expenses. 

Learning to print very simple stuff is easy and you could be up and running in a few weeks. If you choose to do so, it can be a lot of fun and there are plenty of resources on the web to learn from (this forum included). my suggestion would be to hire somebody to do the photo stuff (screenprinted, sublimated or Direct To Garment) for you.

pierre


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

bluemoon said:


> I hate to burst your bubble, but printing photographs is very difficult. We do it all the time, but it really is very hard to get good results. The equipment is expensive and the R&D needed takes thousands of hours and thousands if not tens of thousands in expenses.
> 
> Learning to print very simple stuff is easy and you could be up and running in a few weeks. If you choose to do so, it can be a lot of fun and there are plenty of resources on the web to learn from (this forum included). my suggestion would be to hire somebody to do the photo stuff (screenprinted, sublimated or Direct To Garment) for you.
> 
> pierre


basic black and white isn't difficult at all. A few weeks seems a bit severe to me. My first B/W photo print took me about 6 hours to get right (including half-toning and burning the screen). The result can be seen here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/show-your-stuff-screen-printing-print-job-examples/t173863.html. Color on the other hand is a bit of a pain to work with the first couple times (and I still haven't gotten close).


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## bluemoon (Feb 8, 2009)

cyclesurgeon said:


> basic black and white isn't difficult at all. A few weeks seems a bit severe to me. My first B/W photo print took me about 6 hours to get right (including half-toning and burning the screen). The result can be seen here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/show-your-stuff-screen-printing-print-job-examples/t173863.html. Color on the other hand is a bit of a pain to work with the first couple times (and I still haven't gotten close).


really? so what you are telling here is that she can learn enough to decide which equipment to buy, then find it and buy it, learn how to separate, print films, coat screens, expose, washout, register, print and reclaim in 6 hours?


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

bluemoon said:


> really? so what you are telling here is that she can learn enough to decide which equipment to buy, then find it and buy it, learn how to separate, print films, coat screens, expose, washout, register, print and reclaim in 6 hours?


Did I say all of it was 6 hours? No I said my first photo print was 6 hrs, but the rest wasn't hundreds of hours or thousands of dollars. Geeze, try giving a bit of encouragement and maybe a new screen printer will emerge.


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## bluemoon (Feb 8, 2009)

cyclesurgeon said:


> Did I say all of it was 6 hours? No I said my first photo print was 6 hrs, but the rest wasn't hundreds of hours or thousands of dollars. Geeze, try giving a bit of encouragement and maybe a new screen printer will emerge.


I did give encouragement, but you are setting unrealistic expectations. In few weeks somebody can learn to print spot colors and have fun with it.

How much work did you put in it before you printed the first halftone image? How good did it look? If you put it side by side with the photograph did it look the same or was it just vaguely similar? Did you have the soft transitions or were there sharp lines where color was supposed to blend or fade out?

I used to freelance as a photographer and know that most photographers are very particular about the look of their prints (on paper or garment). I would not be happy with anything I could learn to print in a few weeks. It would be fun, but would not be good enough.

All this is from somebody who actually knows how to do it and has stuff on the shelf to back up that claim. We can make the print look the same as the photo, but even with all the expertise we have, it is still a struggle to get it just right. . .

So my original statement stays, send the photos out and do the printing part for fun. . .

pierre


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

I provided a link to my first halftone. It was the second print I ever did and it looked great on the shirt. Oh, and as for the rest, I don't really care she should give it a shot and see if she can be the sole author of her work...I'm done.


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## jfish (Feb 26, 2010)

With thinned out ink and a 355 mesh screen you can print images that look like those coming from your Inkjet printer. 280-305-355+ mesh will do the trick on what you want. Waterbased inks and a few screens then just pay someone to make the screens and seps for you and BAM all you have to do is register, and print!


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## ScreenFoo (Aug 9, 2011)

Nothing like adding to a spam post, but really now. I have a crappy inkjet, and it does 1440 DPI--you know someone that can consistently hold sub 20 micron dots on 355 mesh? 

"Now that, my friend, is very hard to do."


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## dkatinas (Jul 3, 2010)

This is amazing! So you are saying that it's possible to screen print a photo onto a t-shirt using 1 color, like black?


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

dkatinas said:


> This is amazing! So you are saying that it's possible to screen print a photo onto a t-shirt using 1 color, like black?


Yes, one color and a halftone image.


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## dkatinas (Jul 3, 2010)

Thank you! Great work!


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