# New to T-shirts - How does the single color screen printing machines work?



## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

Hello, 

I am new to T-shirts and trying to gather as much information as I can to get started. I currently run a Vinyl business and was looking into expanding into shirts. 

Originally I looked into the Vinyl shirts option but after reading this site to gather more information I am even more confused. lol 

Trying to keep the upstart cost at a minimal and plan on starting off with just placing shirts on my website. Some local work is expected but not nothing too large to fast. As with my Vinyl I expect about 1-2 years before I would need to upgrade my equipment, just need something to get me started.

Question is ...

How does the single color screen printing machines work? Is it a simple one color / same color all the time machine?

I noticed that you can buy single color machines pretty cheap, would that be a good investment for simple colored shirt with one color print design?

Screen printing or Heat Press for vinyl

Thank you


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of screen printing. It can be fun and fulfilling but expect some frustration as you start off, learning as you do it, making mistakes and figuring out how to avoid them. If i had a dollar for every time I stomped my feet in anger when something went wrong, well, I could buy a lot of blank shirts...
Anyway, yes, a single color machine would be a good start. I've never used one but they would be a perfect way to cheaply get into doing single-color prints. Something like Klinge Single Color Print Station
would work or you might even want to spend a bit more and get something like 
 that would do multiple color prints, as someone will ask you about a 2 color print before you know it...
ryanrss.com is a good place to get screens. I've used them. There's lots of screen suppliers online and you might be able to find them at a local art store, although you won't get as good of a deal. Remember that a higher mesh count on a screen means finer detail that will come out well. 
Just read up on it alot and learn what you can. There's alot of little stuff you'll need to know. This forum is a great resource. People here recommended me the book "How to print tshirts for fun and profit" and while it's a bit old, most of the ideas and techniques are still relevant and even after printing for a while I learned stuff the first time I flipped through it. 
And no, a single color station like you're thinking about wouldn't be "one color/same color all the time." Say you had someone that wanted a design, but in red ink on 10 blue shirts and in green ink on 5 yellow shirts. You'd prepare the screen and would do the run of red inks, completing those prints, then rinse and washout the screen, let it dry, tape it off again and then do the green ink run. Screens will last a long time if you take care of them, and after you're finished with a print order of a certain design, get out your power sprayer and reclaim the screen to be re-used by spraying off all the emulsion. Don't have a power sprayer or don't wish to invest in one yet? If you're not doing a ton of different designs you can just go to your local car wash and use one of theirs...
Other things you'll need to get started would be a light source to burn screens (I just use a 150watt bulb placed about 18" above the screen, shining it for 25 minutes), transparencies of the designs (use two copies of each design, taping them together for burning the screen, it makes the black darker, which is good), ink, screens, tape, emulsion to coat screens, a dark place to let the screens dry after coating and before burning (I use a small cabinet to dry small screens and a seldom-used utility closet for drying my larger screens), spray mount (it keeps the shirts in place as you print on them, a must-have. Online suppliers call silicone spray or something like that. If you get spray mount from an art store make sure it's the re-positionable kind) etc etc
Just read and learn and experiment and try different things. There's a definite learning curve but you'll get it all with time!
Hope this helps. 
Any other questions just ask away, or you can chat with me about your questions on AIM. My screen name is hajotarecords and i'm always online if I'm at my house and not in the basement printing...
Best of luck !
-Brent


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

whoops, the link didn't post for the multiple color single station unit. Here it is; Klinge 4-Color Print Station


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## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

Thanks Brent, understand the process better after spending 10m on your post then I did all day yesterday on google .. hehe

Few more questions ....

If I have 12 or less designs would it be better to just get 12 screens or wash and redo after each run? 

Looking up screens (looks like 30ea) I also found mesh, do I need to purchase both ?

Say I wanted a design on the back of a shirt with a logo in the front, does that require 2 screens or washing it for each side or can I put multiple things on a screen then pick and choose which I want the ink to go on?

I am highly considering a used single press for $100 I found but was wondering how much more it would cost me in other supplies to get started on a simple black shirt with white design/letters.

Thank you again, these few posts I made helped out a ton.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



StickerNut said:


> If I have 12 or less designs would it be better to just get 12 screens or wash and redo after each run?


If you think you might want to re-print that design, it's best to keep it and get a new screen for other designs. If once you've printed it you're definitely not going to print it again, you might as well re-use the screen.



StickerNut said:


> Looking up screens (looks like 30ea) I also found mesh, do I need to purchase both ?


No, screens come meshed.



StickerNut said:


> Say I wanted a design on the back of a shirt with a logo in the front, does that require 2 screens or washing it for each side or can I put multiple things on a screen then pick and choose which I want the ink to go on?


You can gang multiple images onto one screen and tape off the ones you're not using. Depending on your setup you might be limited as to what you can put on one screen, because if you put multiple images you might not be able to get each to line up with the press/shirt where they need to.



StickerNut said:


> I am highly considering a used single press for $100 I found but was wondering how much more it would cost me in other supplies to get started on a simple black shirt with white design/letters.


This I'm not sure of. I really just accumulated supplies as I went. $50-$300 maybe?


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

No problem. 

Are you going to be doing the 12 designs whenever they are ordered from your site or are you just going to make some batches of each design or are they custom orders from clients? If you have 12 designs that you think you will be continually printing, I would recommend getting 12 different screens and keep them around. If you had to print one shirt of Design A, it'd be a hassle to reburn the screen, prepare it, do the print, then reclaim it, and re-coat it so you could do a print of Design B... So yes, a dedicated screen to each design would be ideal. My main client is starting a clothing line and I devote screens to him because while I haven't yet printed them super often, I just keep them around for ease and timeliness. I personally charge $10 to burn a screen for a design, so that helps offset the cost of the screen. 
Oh and if you mean "wash and redo after each run" as in doing a set of prints with the screen and then keeping it for later use, just be sure to rinse it all well so that you get all the ink out of the screen. If any dries in there the prints won't come out perfectly the next time. I use a soft toothbrush and running water to get all the ink out of a screen when i'm done with it. I scrub the front fairly lightly, then flip it over and get the back where ink tends to be lined up around the edges of the design, then check the front again.

You don't need to get any mesh, just buy pre-stretched screens, they will be complete, wooden frame with mesh stretched across it already. 

If you wanted to do a front and back design for a shirt, you'd need two screens. Putting multiple things on one screen isn't always viable because the placement of the design on the screen is important. One thing I do with my medium size screens (I think they are around 12"x18") is when a design is wider than it is high I can fit one design at the top of the screen and one design at the bottom. You might want to try this. Make sure the one at the top is right side up and the one at the bottom is upside down, if you're looking at the screen with the top image right side up... otherwise the design on the bottom would be upside down on the shirt. You follow? And if you burn the screens by placing the transparencies on the back as I do, be sure to place the films backwards! A couple of times I burned screens then they washed out fine only for me to realize that the design was burned in wrong and would print backwards on the shirt. Frustration.

To get started printing just white on black shirts, you'd need some white ink (roughly $6 to $8 for an 8oz jar at a art store or online, cheaper in quart sizes), emulsion to coat the screen (I don't know prices for small amounts, I buy it a gallon at a time for around fifty bucks and it lasts me a few months), some painting/masking tape (used to tape off the edges of the screen inside and out in case you missed a spot with the emulsion so ink doesn't get out there to mess up your print, and also use tape to block off the other design if you put more than one on a screen), a squeegee (~$10), spray mount costs around $15 at an art store local to me, I think that's it for bare bones supplies... And for shirts you should find a local distributor if you're going to be buying alot, or maybe some place online (shipping might be costly tho). Where are you located? alpha shirts has alot of warehouse location with great service and prices...

I hope all this rambling makes sense!


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## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

Good info ...

You said screens come messed, is the mesh alone for replacements or a different type of machine? 

My plan is to make a design and through it on my website then make the shirts in small amounts, say 5-12 at a time. I would hate to remake a screen every time.

Thank you

EDIT: 

Brent, 

yes, it made a lot of sence, after reading it a few times .. hehe. The multiple items on a screen is nice. I was thing of a design on the back then it smaller on the front or maybe just text. Nothing big but I am thinking for that route I should be able to put the back desing in the middle of the screen then the front design in top left (like it would appear on a shirt) Am I correct or sepereate screens better for that?

8oz jar of black ink (lets say white ink) should last how many shirts? I know the design would make the difference, lets think worst case, a 15x12 white box on the back of a black t-shirt.

I am located at Tyndall AFB Fl (Panama City)

thanx again


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

Doh! I took so long writing my last post that I didn't see that you had answered his questions as well, Solmu. Oh well.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



StickerNut said:


> You said screens come messed, is the mesh alone for replacements or a different type of machine?


Yes, it's for replacing torn mesh, etc.



StickerNut said:


> My plan is to make a design and through it on my website then make the shirts in small amounts, say 5-12 at a time. I would hate to remake a screen every time.


You can store the screens with the images on them for quite some time. After a while the screen can break down, or the mesh get ripped, etc. but by the time that happens you should have got your use out of it.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



brent said:


> Doh! I took so long writing my last post that I didn't see that you had answered his questions as well, Solmu. Oh well.


Meh, the more the merrier


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## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



Solmu said:


> Yes, it's for replacing torn mesh, etc.


Would it be better to just buy replacement mesh for a single screen then change it out/store them as mesh instead of different screens? Or is my thinking all wrong?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



StickerNut said:


> Would it be better to just buy replacement mesh for a single screen then change it out/store them as mesh instead of different screens? Or is my thinking all wrong?


No, that would be a bad idea for several reasons.

One is that commercial screen stretching equipment to apply the mesh properly to the frame is fairly expensive. Two is that you would probably have to lose the frame edges to remove the mesh. Three (and most important) is that if you removed and reapplied the mesh, the image may be warped as it wouldn't be in precisely the same location as before.


(don't worry, I wondered the same thing myself once... but no, it's not a good idea )


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## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



Solmu said:


> No, that would be a bad idea for several reasons.
> 
> One is that commercial screen stretching equipment to apply the mesh properly to the frame is fairly expensive. Two is that you would probably have to lose the frame edges to remove the mesh. Three (and most important) is that if you removed and reapplied the mesh, the image may be warped as it wouldn't be in precisely the same location as before.
> 
> ...


Ok, good to know 

What would be a good rough estimate on the initial cost of one screen and a design put on it? It looks like from what I am trying to do and the way in which I plain on selling them it would be better for me to do one screen per. which I am starting to wonder if it would turn into a over priced shirt for my customers. I understand the price would need to be broken down over x amount of shirts, but if i need to sell 500 in order to make the price right ...


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

You can get screens from between 20 to 30 bucks for a size you'd probably need for a small printer like that, and you could just go to Kinko's to get transparencies made for burning, unless you already have a decent laser printer and don't mind buying a pack of transparencies (Office stores generally have them, a pack of 50 sheets costs around $30). I think kinko's charges about a dollar per transparency printed so if you're doing 12 designs, that would cost you $24 since you should do two transparencies per design... Probably a better option than getting a laser printer for the time-being.
So about $22 to $35 per design+screen after you get some emulsion for the screens... You'll do the math I'm sure but it may take a while to get out of the red on each design if they don't sell quickly....


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## StickerNut (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

I just picked myself up a good laser black/white printer last month for my business. I thought there might be possibilities of expanding so I spent the sxtra money for it.

But like you said, if I plan on doing only 12 designs thats $24 instead of $50.00

thanx, good info


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



StickerNut said:


> But like you said, if I plan on doing only 12 designs thats $24 instead of $50.00
> 
> thanx, good info


Well, keep in mind that you will eventually do more than these 12 designs, even if some are just for your personal wardrobe. Instead of paying $1 per film print at Kinko's and the hassle of going there every time you need a film, you could just spend 60 cents per film and do it yourself conveniently in your own home/office/shop. I used to go to a local print shop to get films made when I first started and it got pretty old pretty fast. Also, you can get films cheaper online than at a place like Staples. PerformanceScreen.com has them 42pg43

for what would be around $.45 after shipping cost. It'll save you money in the long run and I'd recommend it as I am sure you will end up doing a 13th and probably a 30th design eventually. 

Also, I take it you're just printing your own designs on a website, but after you get the hang of screen printing and feel confident, you might want to expand into doing custom print work for people, as there's a demand for that and pretty good money in it. Just something to consider if you enjoy the print work and want to do more with it and if you do then that 50 or 100 pack of transparencies will be real handy...


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## spore (Sep 14, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



brent said:


> You can get screens from between 20 to 30 bucks for a size you'd probably need for a small printer like that, and you could just go to Kinko's to get transparencies made for burning, unless you already have a decent laser printer and don't mind buying a pack of transparencies.


Is it possible to print your own transparencies for burning using a decent inkjet printer? Maybe print two identical copies, and double them up?

Thanks for all the great info Brent


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



spore said:


> Is it possible to print your own transparencies for burning using a decent inkjet printer? Maybe print two identical copies, and double them up?
> 
> Thanks for all the great info Brent


I've never done it personally, but I've seen transparencies for sale that are designed to work in inkjet printers, so I think it could be possible. Doubling up is always good and I can't think of any reason why proper films printed via inkjet would fail to result in a good burn, so give it a try and report back to us about your findings. 

(if anyone knows if/why such an act would be a bad idea, please let us know...)


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



spore said:


> Is it possible to print your own transparencies for burning using a decent inkjet printer?


Yes. In my experience inkjets don't provide as sharp a print as lasers, but I haven't tried using an inkjet print for film exposure. Some relatively high-end setups are inkjet printers, so perhaps there's no problem with a good printer. At any rate... it's definitely possible.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



StickerNut said:


> Originally I looked into the Vinyl shirts option but after reading this site to gather more information I am even more confused. lol


Is that the only reason you don't want to use vinyl for your shirts?

Screenprinting is great, but honestly it sounds like vinyl would be a good choice for you. You already have some of the equipment, so you'll save some money, and you already have experience with vinyl, so it should take you a lot less time to learn how to do it (as opposed to screenprinting).  Plus, vinyl is great for simple one color prints, which sounds like what you want to do.

These threads are a good place to start if you still want to learn more about it:

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/heat-press-heat-transfers/t5890.html

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-articles/t9893.html

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-crossover-diary-heat-press-newbie/t10363.html


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## Cloud9 Design (Aug 29, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*

You can gang multiple images onto one screen and tape off the ones you're not using. Depending on your setup you might be limited as to what you can put on one screen, because if you put multiple images you might not be able to get each to line up with the press/shirt where they need to.

See this is the problem I'm having. I put like 12 3x3 images for onesies all on one screen to conserve my screens, but now i can't even get some of them to line up with the platen right...what is the ratio most people use? is there a site i could look at that discusses "how to gang screens" i can't find info anywhere!!! Thanks!


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## brent (Nov 3, 2006)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



Cloud9 Design said:


> You can gang multiple images onto one screen and tape off the ones you're not using. Depending on your setup you might be limited as to what you can put on one screen, because if you put multiple images you might not be able to get each to line up with the press/shirt where they need to.
> 
> See this is the problem I'm having. I put like 12 3x3 images for onesies all on one screen to conserve my screens, but now i can't even get some of them to line up with the platen right...what is the ratio most people use? is there a site i could look at that discusses "how to gang screens" i can't find info anywhere!!! Thanks!


When I gang images on a screen (which is rare, and at most like a left breast print and the back print, or more often all the inside collar prints for tags), I tape the transparencies cut up onto the screen then put the screen in my press to make sure i can move to them to be where they are on the platen. Maybe try that.


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## Cloud9 Design (Aug 29, 2007)

*Re: New to T-shirts ...*



brent said:


> When I gang images on a screen (which is rare, and at most like a left breast print and the back print, or more often all the inside collar prints for tags), I tape the transparencies cut up onto the screen then put the screen in my press to make sure i can move to them to be where they are on the platen. Maybe try that.


Cna anyone post pictures of their gang screens. i'm a visual person, and i can't figure out whre you are placing the transparencies...Thanks!!!!


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

I would suggest spending $39.95 and getting the book at this link:

U.S. Screen Print and Inkjet Technology - How To Print T-Shirts For Fun And Profit

You might also do a search on Ebay for the book. Sometimes an older edition is available for less.

You're getting good answers here, but they're answers to the questions you happen to be asking, and as they are coming in, it's obvious that you really need a good overview with pictures of the whole textile screenprinting process before you go out and spend another dime on equipment or supplies. Trust me, many people go to a website and buy stuff without really knowing what they need and end up spending a fortune on junk equipment and supplies they'll not use, or ink they won't like. That's why so many that go into screenprinting quit, and why there is so much used equipment out there for sale. It's hard enough to get this stuff down without suffering any more than you have to. It's the same with the direct-to-garment printers. There are hundreds for sale used, because it just doesn't work the way everyone thinks it will when that money is burnin' a hole in their pocket.

AFTER you read the book, then go on YouTube and do a search for screenprinting. There are a few videos there that are worthwhile and might SHOW you how to do some stuff. You'll have an understanding of what's going on when you see them.

The problem with screenprinting is anyone with two hands and gross motor skills can push a squeegie. I remember going to my first show and one press manufacturer had an older woman in her 60's printing a 4-color process job that looked great. What makes it successful is all the work on the front end, before you ever pick up that squeegie. And in the end, if the art sucks, all you'll ever get is a really nice print job of some sh!tty art.

And, ideally, you could convince someone who actually has a screenprinting shop to let you spend a day watching the whole operation. Everyone who gives advice recommends this. No one ever actually does it, but if you did, you'd learn a lot about screenprinting t-shirts (along with a lot of new, colorful expletives).


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