# Using multiple designs on one screen?



## mtmc (Feb 7, 2009)

Hey guys my name is Matt and i'm pretty green to the screenprinting business. I have done my fair share of research on these forums as well as other screenprinting related websites and I'm just trying to get an idea of how all of this works. First let me tell you what I plan to do. I'm wanting to create just basic 1 color 1 design t-shirts. The designs won't be enormous or cover the entire shirt or anything like that. My question right now is would I be able to burn more that one design on a screen and only use that design when needed? Like I said I plan to use small designs and I would hate to waste that much screen for just one design. It would also save me money on having to buy 3 more screens. If I were to put say painter's tape over the designs I'm not using, would that be sufficient to keep the ink from seeping into those designs? Registration on the shirts would obviously change but I can deal with that. Just wondering if anyone has done this or if it would work. Would I run into any problem pulling off part of the emulsion when removing the tape? That's why I considered the easy release painters tape. Thanks for any suggestions.


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## SimplyTopUK (Jan 10, 2009)

Hi Matt.
I know axactly what you mean, we do that at SimplyTop, its the best economical way for it rally LOL. If the second design doesnt touch the tshrit when your printing the first design then it should be no problem, however if the 2nd design does show when you print the first design then just place a piece of card or even paer underneath the second design just to be sure that no ink comes through. 

While exposing the screen's if its a much bigger screen jsut divide the time and give more time as a whole really.

Ive had no problem with putting two or even three designs on a standard A3 screen.

Hope it helps and Good Luck.


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## majen (Oct 7, 2008)

Yes you can do this, but a couple of things you should try and do. I may be a bit over zealous with procedure here but here goes.

Most important when doing this is to keep things tidy. Nothing worse than when a printer gets their hands, clothes or printed shirts all inky from peeling tape to switch designs. Okay there _are_ worse things but anyway...

1) Layer your taping edges so that it over laps in the direction of your squeegee pull. That way ink has a harder time penetrating between multiple pieces.
2) Put a "Courtesy Tab" on the edge of your first tape down (fold over the end about 1/2 inch). When you put this tape down lead the tab end to the edge of your screen (away form the ink area). One pull on this "Tab" and all your properly layered tape comes up and your hands don't even get close to the ink.
3) I prefer clear tape as it doesn't stain or hold ink when you may want to just color change. Do some testing though to find one that doesn't leave a residue.

When we started we did a lot of this sort of thing. As we grew we found that just having multiple screens for images was faster, cleaner, and provided better prints (images could be located in the proper areas on screen in regards to tension).

Maybe more or less than you ever wanted to know about doing this


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## mtmc (Feb 7, 2009)

What if I put the tape on the shirt side? Then when I pulled the tape off the only excess ink I would have to deal with would be through the design on the tape.


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## majen (Oct 7, 2008)

If you put the tape on the shirt side of the screen the adhesive from the tape tends to combine with the ink (through the image area) into a sticky goo. So what happens when you remove it to print your next design is that you need to try and get the sticky goo from out of the image area (solvents). This leads to a mess in most cases. Not to mention any solvents you use in that area may come into contact with another taped off image and it will begin to release that tape from the screen.

The goo can also harden a bit and make it excessively difficult to clean the screen out completely (to do a reset for instance).

Trust me


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

mtmc said:


> What if I put the tape on the shirt side? Then when I pulled the tape off the only excess ink I would have to deal with would be through the design on the tape.


Not only would it make your screen harder to clean, but you also don't want to have that uneven screen surface (half taped, half not) on the shirt side. I read somewhere that would not give you an ideal print.


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## mtmc (Feb 7, 2009)

Thanks for the input guys. I just made 2 designs and they are going to be too big to do this anyway. Oh well.


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## cookiesa (Feb 27, 2008)

I do it with slogans, just a tip to make things easier though if you do, I like to put the second image "upside down" so when your using it in the press it is a little quicker and easier to setup.


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## trytobecool (Jan 21, 2009)

cookiesa said:


> I do it with slogans, just a tip to make things easier though if you do, I like to put the second image "upside down" so when your using it in the press it is a little quicker and easier to setup.


People can do these with Different colors even if working alone with 1 color press.

Want to see if anyone doing here.....

NiL


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Two designs to a screen is pretty easy; if they're standard sized chest prints you'll often be able to fit two exactly where they're meant to be just by flipping the screen. I prefer to keep things simple (one design per screen), but sometimes for whatever reason (like I have 3 screens coated and dried and need to burn six designs in a hurry...) I'll put more on one screen.

More than two and things are going to get irritating with taping off, lining up, etc. Not worth the hassle in my opinion unless you're only doing test prints, one off gifts, or other very limited quantity things like that.

I tape shirt side and haven't experienced the problems that Matt2 describes - possibly because I use waterbased inks rather than plastisol.


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## woodja (Feb 12, 2009)

mtmc said:


> ... Would I run into any problem pulling off part of the emulsion when removing the tape? That's why I considered the easy release painters tape. Thanks for any suggestions.



i started out using the painter's tape. it was rather pricey, which quickly led me to trying other things. 

masking tape isn't bad. if you need to run more than 10 shirts off a screen though, sometimes it gets wet. the fact that it is less than $2 a roll makes up for all that. if you properly layer it like majen said. everything will come out nicely. it's those little tips that make you a specialist in whatever you choose to do. 

clear tape is nice as well. it's a toss up in the shop which tape i use the most, it's really just whatever is closer to me at the time. 

one other thing i can throw in at the end here, is *buy lots of rubber gloves*. seriously. no joke. it's a whole lot easier to throw them away at the end of the job than to spend time trying to remove ink from your hands. 

as for your original question, i have multiple screens with multiple designs on them. mainly words, or a logo, sometimes up to four on a screen. it's all up to how you tape it that determines if you can pull it off or not. even if the designs are an inch apart (_not_ recommended by the way) you can tape it up thoroughly and it should come out. 

good luck! let us know how the prints go.


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

Every screen I do with a back and chest print gets burned on the same screen, unless the back is just too large. I usually end up with 4 inches or so in between the designs, which I cover with clear tape. If the designs are too close, I tape the print side of the other design while I am printing the first. 
Like someone said earlier, reverse the designs so you can flip the screen and have the print where you need it. After I print the first side, I will cover the wet shirt side with clear tape. I havent had any problems with the ink combining with the tape and making a mess, personally.


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## Greatzky (Jan 28, 2009)

I have saved money for my customers by putting their back and front print of each respected color on one screen. I also did this for one of my girlfriend's design as she had a 1 color back print and a 3 color front so I just burned the white screen with both designs. 
I usually taped off the shirt side and the only pain with that is that if you leave the screen for a few days you just need to get the adhesive off the screen that gets left behind.. I've had it all come off just by pressing some test runs, but other times i've used a little screen wash.

I definitely think it's more economical, but I think if I had more screens I'd rather have only 1 design on a screen at a time.

-Scott Lewis


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Ok, now for the dumb question of the day. I assume you expose both images at the same time right?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

ino said:


> Ok, now for the dumb question of the day. I assume you expose both images at the same time right?


Yes. In theory you could just coat half the screen and do them separately, but then you'd have a half empty screen to contend with, need to make sure you don't coat too much the first time, etc.

So... yes.


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Thanks Lewis for the info.


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

If you do this for a customer lets say a front and back print. If you don't charge 2 setup fees. at least charge for cleaning the screen and setting up the back side. Also you do not have to tape over an area. get some gloss paper and cut to the size of the image. then tape around it on the ink side. whe you are done printing the first image just pull the paper out and re-tape another one to the other image on the shirt side.


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