# home-made screen printing press (4-1)



## woodja (Feb 12, 2009)

okay, so my friend and i spent the winter int he garage getting ready to begin a t-shirt empire. we started by building this, our very own screen printing press. it's a 1 station, 4 screen press. the pictures on the photobucket are in no great order, but if anyone is interested, i'll arrange 'em one day. i'm too lazy to do it at the moment. we have printed a few shirts with it already, and i must say, i am very happy with the outcome. we don't have the micro-registration adjustments like the big guns do, but that will be the next addition for the press. for a total of $37, we built what would have cost us almost $700 from a supplier. let me know what ya think.

home made screen printing press


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

Love the DIY.

How are you going to attach the screens to the angle steel?

Not sure what the gap between your 2x4 that comes down on the platen and the side guides are, but you might think about putting a thumbscrew on each side to micro-adjust left/right. You might be able to do the same thing on your angle steel to adjust the in/out on each side.

Also, I dont think I saw it in your pics anywhere, but if you haven't made a platen already, go get a piece of white melamine shelving 15" wide and cut it about 18" long, round the edges and screw it to your 2x4 sticking out.

Nice work man. Don't pay for something you can make!


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## woodja (Feb 12, 2009)

somewhere in that mess of pictures are some c-clamps we bought. 2 each on each piece of angle-steel holds the screens on nicely. i need to take some more pics of it in action. the thumb screw idea ont he side is great, i'll have to draw some stuff up for it tomorrow. 

i took 2 pieces of 1/2 inch plywood for the platen, screwed em together, and sanded the hell out of it. i coulda just went to home depot, but it's almost 30 minutes from here, and i din't feel like it


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

If you are just clamping it to the angle, I would def think about putting some screws (nut on each side of the angle maybe) to adjust the in/out on left right. Combine that with left/right adjustment and you have microtuning. Might not be the fastest or the easiest, but it will be a world of difference when you start printing, believe it..

As far as the platen, keep in mind that you will be spraying glue on it to hold shirts down and it's going to build up and need to be cleaned off before long. If it was me, I'd probably just take the plywood off, chuck it and make a new one. Additionally, if you print over the screw heads, you are going to see them in the ink, just something to keep in mind.


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## woodja (Feb 12, 2009)

i'm heading to lowe's tomorrow for some shelving for the shop, i may just look into another piece for the platen. the screw heads were counter-sunk and then puttied over, so they haven't posed a problem yet. but it will need to be replaced before any sort of volume of printing is done.

im going to look into some carriage bolts to use as thumbscrews, or see what kind of hardware they have there. might find something useful. thanks for the motivation to finish this


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

I think a 6' piece of 15" white melamine cost me $11 or so. Thats enough to make that thing a 4/4 and still have some left over. It's nice because you can just drench it with press wash, melt the spray glue and scrape it off with a putty knife and it doesnt hurt the melamine a bit.
Protip: Draw a center line in-line with your press arm down the center with a Sharpie. Draw several lines perpendicular to that down the platen.

As far as thumbscrews, I just took regular 1/4-20 machine screws and ran some wingnuts in reverse all the way up to the head and tightened them down.

Edit: If you use melamine shelving, cover the exposed edges with tape so it doesnt soak up press wash and moisture and swell up.


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## j1n5t3r (Oct 18, 2009)

sorry this might be really random but im thinking of screen printing at home too but i havent really found any good guides anywhere on where to start how to start and what i need but my number 1 question is do we NEED the flash dryer or can we just dry the ink with the sun or a iron or something?


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

j1n5t3r said:


> sorry this might be really random but im thinking of screen printing at home too but i havent really found any good guides anywhere on where to start how to start and what i need but my number 1 question is do we NEED the flash dryer or can we just dry the ink with the sun or a iron or something?


It is less important to acquire a flash unit in these cases:

1. if you are using classic water-base inks for your prints, in which normal drying will be just enough.
2. if you are not printing bulk quantities of tees. Of course, having a flash dryer will give you fast production because of fast drying time.


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## j1n5t3r (Oct 18, 2009)

what if your using plythol or something i forgot what it was called haha


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## jayman2143 (Nov 22, 2008)

j1n5t3r said:


> what if your using plythol or something i forgot what it was called haha


Plastisol? Using the sun or iron is possible with plastisol inks but I have always found it harder to do it that way. A heat gun is another inexpensive way of going about it but using a heat gun is really hit and miss because its hard to tell if the entire design is cured since your constantly moving the gun over the design. 

Ultimately, a flash dryer or conveyor dryer is the best way but a heat gun or iron can still do the job.


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## j1n5t3r (Oct 18, 2009)

cause my friend and i are trying to sell shirts online & at school but were stumped on how to dry the ink because everybody that has tutorials use flashdryers but theyre really expensive and we thought if we could use the sun then iron it later. haha oh yeah its legal for us to print our own designs w/ our logo and sell it right? its it MANDITORY to have permits & stuff? cause we're just 2 16 year olds trying to make extra spending cash & to make some clothes. =] thanks so much you've been helping so much.


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## 13Graphics (Jul 20, 2009)

j1n5t3r said:


> cause my friend and i are trying to sell shirts online & at school but were stumped on how to dry the ink because everybody that has tutorials use flashdryers but theyre really expensive and we thought if we could use the sun then iron it later. haha oh yeah its legal for us to print our own designs w/ our logo and sell it right? its it MANDITORY to have permits & stuff? cause we're just 2 16 year olds trying to make extra spending cash & to make some clothes. =] thanks so much you've been helping so much.


You can buy a heat gun for under $20 at home depot, ace hardware, lowes, etc. 

Plastisol inks won't cure in the sun, or in your dryer, or anywhere that isn't 320°F.

If you get your iron hot enough to cure them, it's hot enough to melt the ink, and make a huge mess.


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## Black MacGuyver (Jan 30, 2010)

seems like a big mess, i know because i built the same unit, check out my finished product athttp://blackmacguyver.webs.com


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## scottyjr (Sep 12, 2009)

NO! Plastisol ink cannot be cured in the sun. The keyword is cure, not dry. As another member posted, plastisol ink cures at 320 and that temperature must be maintained for a long enough time for the entire thickness of the ink to be cured. And, as previously stated, an iron will make a mess of things. My first two print jobs were cured in my kitchen oven. A non-contact infared temperature reading device (available for $40 or less) would be a valuable tool. - Scotty


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## GCharb (Jun 12, 2009)

Hello all

My first flash dryer was an infrared heater, came on a stand that I modified a bit. Those output tons of heat and can be bought for around 40$.

An off contact thermometer is a great asset if you use plastisol or non waterbased inks as scottyjr suggested.


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## scottyjr (Sep 12, 2009)

Yes, infared heaters are a solution; powerful and cheap and are available as 110V models. Like Giles, I also used one in my early days. I used one just today but in the garage as a source of warmth during a wheel bearing replacement on a VW. "Baby, its cold outside" (Dean Martin)-


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## Valdermont (May 12, 2010)

Black MacGuyver said:


> seems like a big mess, i know because i built the same unit, check out my finished product athttp://blackmacguyver.webs.com


Why? What happened to your press? followed your link and your press looks good. Is it working properly?

I'm building the same press now. And i also got my model from the same source as you have. Now i'm worried about the outcome because I may be making a huge crap out of my delusional attempt in building my own press.


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