# First Print Ever: DIY Line Press



## mathomps (Jun 20, 2011)

Been reading all I can on here for weeks now...and I finally gathered all my equipment and screened my first shirt!

After reading about line presses I decided to go that route and got a friend to help me weld up a press. Got about $25 in the press. Not bad. I designed it based on some others I have seen around, and I'll probably tweak it a little and make a 2-3 station version soon. Biggest tweak is going to be angle-iron for the back plate as the flat-iron just isn't going to be stiff enough to register seriously tight multi-color stuff. But I'm happy with it so far.

The design (my first car, a 1980 VW Scirocco) had some halftone shading areas that came out well. I used a 230 mesh screen and Permaset water-based ink. Forgot to add the off-contact...but it worked alright. Gotta remember that next time! Cured with a heat gun.

I attached some pics of the shirt, the line press, and the registration points on the screen.

Let me know what you think. I've learned everything from these forums!


Scirocco Shirt by mathomps, on Flickr


Line Press by mathomps, on Flickr


Screen Registration Detail by mathomps, on Flickr


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## mathomps (Jun 20, 2011)

Forgot to add that I printed the positives on an HP 1220C ps that I got (with three extra ink cartridges) on craigslist for $25!

I'm getting started on the cheap!


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## Swagger11 (Jun 24, 2008)

Very Nice! I like it! That was the car back in the 80's. How did you do the halftones? Or what software did you use to create them?

Thanks

-John


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## PDTee (Jan 8, 2010)

Nice Work! Good Going!! I have been reading a lot about line-table system and hell its good! Inexpensive and Very Impressive results. Infact, just this morning had called my metalsmith thinking i'd build a 6 color rotary, noway i m going to be doing that.... Would love to see more color prints  also would be great if you'd put up some close up of the registration... Happy printing


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## mathomps (Jun 20, 2011)

Thanks John! Yeah man, I loved that car. Got it when I was 16 and my Dad and I rebuilt the engine over that summer. Took it to college with me, but traded it in on a 1970 Beetle. Wish I had kept that Scirocco.

Anyway, I threw the original image through vectormagic.com and then took it Photoshop for the halftone parts. Change mode to grayscale, then change to bitmap with the Halftone Screen settings at 46lpi, 22.5 degrees, ellipse. Then print (no Rip).

Thanks!
Matt


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## digipainter2 (Dec 12, 2012)

hello sir , just want to ask if you have the plans for that line setup that you made ? can i borrow it  

very nice setup by the ways


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## chuffy (Jul 7, 2011)

Very elegant design...

I am trying to do something similar with a timber frame.

Can I ask you what off contact do you have?
By this I mean the vertical gap between the screen and the shirt - or is the screen resting on the shirt?

Also are you using water based or plastisol inks?

Thanks...


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