Discussion making silkscreens

[brycesteiner]

This is not so much related to signmaking but the process would be.

You have seen notepads and I'm sure the 3" cubes where the sides are printed of the stack of paper. I see they are done by silk screening (at least they used to be). So I would like to try my hand at silkscreening again but with the equipment I have.

Is there a material that you can get to run through your vinyl cutter that would cut a paper/plastic and on the other side is silk screen. You then would weed the parts you don't want and then you would have the silk screen because the paper/plastic is blocking the ink from going through. I then could make the cubes and put on my own logos on stacks of notepads.

 

[studio 440]

This is not so much related to signmaking but the process would be.

You have seen notepads and I'm sure the 3" cubes where the sides are printed of the stack of paper. I see they are done by silk screening (at least they used to be). So I would like to try my hand at silkscreening again but with the equipment I have.

Is there a material that you can get to run through your vinyl cutter that would cut a paper/plastic and on the other side is silk screen. You then would weed the parts you don't want and then you would have the silk screen because the paper/plastic is blocking the ink from going through. I then could make the cubes and put on my own logos on stacks of notepads.

yes

 

[FireSprint.com]

You know we messed with just sticking vinyl to a screen when we first got started years and years ago. Wasn't all the pretty, but it worked. If your design would allow for a little bit of sloppiness (edge bleedout, drips, etc) it would probably work fine.

I am pretty sure there are 1000 ways to do this. Have you tried a Youtube search for DIY screen printing?

 

[equippaint]

I swear that we used to cut screen mask. IIRC it was a green/blue color and a bit weird to weed but I could be wrong.

 

[brycesteiner]

I swear that we used to cut screen mask. IIRC it was a green/blue color and a bit weird to weed but I could be wrong.

I remember doing someting like that too in high school. We had to shoot it and then develop it and wash off the no exposed area...I think.

 

[bob]

I remember doing someting like that too in high school. We had to shoot it and then develop it and wash off the no exposed area...I think.

Close. You burned it with a positive instead of a negative. The light hardened the exposed material and you washed out the unexposed.

 

[Johnny Best]

Get some UlanoCut film. Cut your logo out on your plotter with it, weed out where you want your color to go. Use water to dissolve film into your screen mesh and when dry squeegee your ink onto your substrate.

 

[brycesteiner]

Close. You burned it with a positive instead of a negative. The light hardened the exposed material and you washed out the unexposed.

Yah. That's what I was trying to say but for some reason whatever I typed autocorrect new I meant something different. thanks!

 

[Farmboy]

Making a screen with cut vinyl is going to lay down to much ink. I would think the notepads are more likely pad printed (could be wrong) as the pressure from a squeegee would force ink between the papers (maybe).

 

[Johnny Best]

Making a screen with cut vinyl is going to lay down to much ink. I would think the notepads are more likely pad printed (could be wrong) as the pressure from a squeegee would force ink between the papers (maybe).

I also thought the same thing with the ink layer being to thick on the papers. He could use a high mesh count plus thin emulsion layer to keep paint layer thin but maybe a stamp setup would work better and easier to accomplish.

 

[ddarlak]

stretch silk, apply reverse cut vinyl, pour screen blockout on silk, run squeegee across it trying to get it all in one swoop, wait til blockout is almost dry and pluck off vinyl.

ive made tons of screens like this.

 

[Johnny Best]

First of all, it is either polyester or nylon fabric you are stretching, not silk. The reverse cut vinl with blockout method will give you a thick deposit of ink which is not a good idea for what he wants to do. If your making the word SALE large on a sign then it probably will work just fine. Your ink deposit is based on your method of material you use to block where paint goes. So much nicer finish using indirect method of either UV exposed emulsion or hand cut film with either water or solvent "melting" of film.

 

[Billct2]

Could you use a rubber stamp?

 

[ddarlak]

First of all, it is either polyester or nylon fabric you are stretching, not silk

it will be silk til i'm dead, i silk screened therefore it's silk.. kinda like gimme a fricken kleenex... or Rich Stadium......

and, this will work fine for the OP