A screen printing machine might be a great start for anyone. Whenever you are in search of a hobby, the one thing that you should be most concerned about is having fun. The screen printing process will allow you to do this. In fact, a lot of great business people have actually started out this way and worked their way up to great success.
Why Screen Printing Makes A Great Business
This is a great business since there isn’t a lot of competition and there are a lot of different areas that you can venture into. For instance, you could become a designer or simply specialize in printing on one type of material (i.e. sweatshirts). Regardless of where you want to go in this business, you should start with a simple screen and wait until your business becomes more established before purchasing a screen printing machine.
Understanding What A Screen Printing Machine Is
A screen printing machine makes the process a lot faster, especially if you are the only person working in your business and you are getting a lot more orders than you expected. These machines don’t have to be all that expensive either. You may actually surprise yourself by finding one that you can pick up for an inexpensive rate since it is second hand.
A Look At The Various Types Of Screen Printing Machines
There are a lot of different types of screen printing machines available on the market today. Some of them are only used for the printing process itself while others are made to help you achieve the ideal screen exposure too. If you are a hobbyist, your best bet is to purchase a screen printing machine that will actually help you with all of the different steps that go into the process. However, you will also want to make sure that the screen printing machine you choose is simple, compact and easy to use.
Creating Your Own Screen Printing Machine
You can also make a carousel type screen printing machine. With this type of a screen printing machine it will cost you less than 3 cents to produce a single colored t-shirt. You will need to have the following materials:
- A screen
- An emulsion sheet
- A squeegee
- A spray bottle
- Transparency
- Some masking tape
- A five-pound weight
Once you have your materials, you will need to take the following steps:
- Spray both sides of a screen with water.
- Go into a dimly lit room and peel the plastic off of the sticky side of your emulsion sheet. Stick the sheet to the back of your screen. Make sure that everything is centered and smooth.
- Squeegee your emulsion sheet so that it is smooth. Lightly mist it with water and squeegee it again to ensure that it is wet enough that the emulsion will stick. If it doesn’t look right you will need to start over.
- Slide your screen onto the drying rack of your screen printing machine and turn the fan on low for an hour. While waiting on it to dry you should print your design on a transparency.
- Take the screen out of the dryer. Try to peel a corner of your emulsion sheet off. You will know that it is dry whenever it comes off easily.
- Open the top of your screen printing machine. Tape your transparency to the glass’ surface.
- Place your screen on the pegs. Make sure that the emulsion side faces down. Close the machine and put a 5 pound weight on top of it.
- Press the exposure button. Wait until the machine beeps and take it out.
- Spray the screen with cool water until the emulsion comes off.