# Dose anyone use a vinyl cutter to make stencils on screens for screenprinting?



## UnorthodoxDesign (Mar 7, 2007)

Dose anyone use a vinyl cutter to make stencils or screens for screen printing? 
If yes how much sucess do you have doing such a thing?


----------



## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

It can be done. Wether it is cost effictive or time consuming I could not say. I do know of a couple people who did it this way yet they are no longer in business.

If it is for the every now and then and simple jobs your probably ok


----------



## UnorthodoxDesign (Mar 7, 2007)

Lol well i have a day job but i do make t shirts and i do have experience with inkjet,vinyl,flock, as well as plastisol transfers. Its just i have alot of designs that would like to do but they are very large print allover designs, im just thinking a few pages of vinyl would go along way if i used ink to print my all over designs. They cost of using vinyl or flock for that is way to high.


----------



## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

test it out and keep track of the maount of vinyl you use . Compare the cost of that vinyl to a quoart or gal of regular emulsion.


----------



## UnorthodoxDesign (Mar 7, 2007)

Your point is well taken and much appreciated. What i know about screenprinting is only from what i have read i have yet to test anything out yet. I have a very limited amount of working space and not much of a budget. I know what i suggested may sound primitive to many experienced screenprinters but used picture frames and curtains from the thrift store and my trusty 8inch roland vinyl cutter are my only options for my situation right now. Thanks again all.


----------



## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Not a problem at all. your not the only one out there working with limited funds and equipment.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.


----------



## Greg Hamrick (Jan 25, 2007)

By golly, if you use picture frames and old curtains and a vinyl cutter to work with...then your diffenitly going to go far in this business. Most people would not even have the gumption to try. I see good things for you in the near future. Hang in there and the very best of luck to ya.

.


----------



## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

If you do a cost comparison, you would have to factor in the notion that cutting your stencils on a vinyl cutter would save a LOT of time. Cutting a stencil on a cutter would take about 5 minutes, where as imaging a screen takes much longer. and time is money 

I've never tried it, but always wondered if it would work. Seems like it would, but how do you attach it to the screen? I don't think the vinyl adhesive would hold it for very long, especially when you get the ink in the screen.

If you try it, let us know how it goes.


----------



## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I've done it for short run, large screens, like 3'x4' for signs.


----------



## CoolTech (Feb 3, 2007)

Greg Hamrick said:


> By golly, if you use picture frames and old curtains and a vinyl cutter to work with...then your diffenitly going to go far in this business. Most people would not even have the gumption to try. I see good things for you in the near future. Hang in there and the very best of luck to ya.
> 
> .


I can see it in 100 years...

"After the untimely death of UnorthodoxDesign, a small cult gathering began collecting his many famous works... among those were the most prized and expensive of all... known as the "Curtain/vinyl" phase..."


----------



## TMPRO (Feb 28, 2007)

I had some teens that wanted to do their own quick and dirty shirts for a club. They bought a wood frame with screen already on it from a craft place and had me cut and apply their design on the screen using sign vinyl. They then just put it on their shirts and spray painted them. 

This worked good for them since each guy could use different colors on his shirt and even mix colors. The stencil look was exactly what they were after and they only did about a dozen shirts. They also used the same technique to put the design on a skateboard, guitar case and so on.


----------



## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

ive mirrored sign vinyl,attached under screen with waterbased inks.worked for me.


----------



## Rizzo (Nov 22, 2006)

Hiee guys,

I have done it with with a better option, this is surely not for long runs - that you will have to accept. vinyl or t-shirts or for signs is costly comapared to my option..... I use the ordinary sticker paper stuff that is available in stationary shops, with a yellow backing and white sticker (comes as sheets of about 20x30 inches) just cut it as u normally do on a vinyl cutter (mirrored/ and reduce force) and paste it on a blank screen (sticks well) and print, over 15 hits, you will see it blotting (for one offs or a few - works well) . this is only good for simple designs or fonts. but works and no Emulsion or no strippers.


----------



## UnorthodoxDesign (Mar 7, 2007)

Fantastic responses everyone thanks for all the imput!


----------



## DCC (Feb 13, 2007)

Yeah, I think it works well with short runs as the others are saying. I did one about a week ago for the heck of it and it was easy to set up and print very quick. I also go done with a design on a old screen today will try to post results next day or so.
Later
DCC


----------



## DCC (Feb 13, 2007)

Here is the result an hour later see attached. It would of been faster but I was on baby duty.
Please comment
DCC


----------



## chunkylover88 (Sep 14, 2009)

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNioIi91V-Q[/media]


----------



## narleski (Oct 13, 2009)

yeah it is possible. i have printed alot of shirts using this method. The only drawback is printing detailed designs & small lettering will be hassle to almost impossible,also after you print about 20 shirts the stencil will start to give. But other than that, vinyl stencils are very good for printing. Keep pressing toward your dreams!


----------

