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Keep your screen tight. Your screen should be stretched extremely tight across your frame. After using a new screen for a while, it will be come loose. This Screen Tool comes in super handy to push the vinyl spline back into the frame and tighten the screen.
Apply a good amount of pressure to the screen and squeegee as you move the paint across the screen. You really want to press down hard to create a seal between the screen and your shirt. Otherwise, your paint may bleed. If you are noticing your design lines aren't sharp and crisp, try pressing down a little harder on the screen and squeegee.
The type and brand of transfer tape makes a difference. If you have trouble with your design not coming off the transfer tape and sticking to the screen, you might want to try a transfer tape that isn't quite a sticky. My favorite transfer tape is one I sell in my shop: Transfer Tape
Scoop up your extra paint on your screen and squeegee when you are done and put it back in your paint jar. No use in wasting perfectly good paint!
Experiment with different colors beyond the basic colors that Speedball offers. Did you know that you can mix your screen printing ink? I offer a bundle of Ink Recipe Guides to help you learn how to mix new colors using some basic Speedball fabric inks.
Wash and try again. If you make a mistake on your shirt, sometimes I've been able to immediately wash the shirt in water and Dawn dish soap to get all of the ink off. I have found this works with dark shirts and light color ink. I have tried washing off black ink on a yellow shirt and it didn't work.
Touch up with a paint brush. If you design is perfect except for one spot that didn't print well, I have used a fine tip paint brush to touch up. I haven't had any luck lining a screen back up after it has been removed, so I do minor touch ups with a paint brush.
Use the same screen/design multiple times. Screen printing really becomes more economical compared to heat transfer vinyl (HTV) when you are making multiple shirts with the same design. Plus it is so much faster, just cut one vinyl design and you can re-use it over and over. The catch is, you need to reuse it immediately, before the paint dries on your screen. I have lined up 12 shirts and done them all with the same screen! After screen printing one shirt, just lift the screen off and place it on the next shirt. Add more paint, squeegee and repeat!
This is Awesome!!! With 24 in my family I can’t afford to do shirts for everyone. This makes it possible.
Can you tell me how or where to find info on using multiple colors on a design for screen printing? I can’t seem to imagine how you would do multiple colors on a project and things are lined up correctly.
Thanks and God Bless You and Yours,
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
This would be a great DIY way to make 24 shirts! I am working on a multi-color tutorial that will be coming out this week. Stay tuned for tips on that! Thanks for following along!
This is Awesome!!! I want to try this for family shirts.
Can you tell me how or where to find info on using multiple colors on one design?
Thank you & God Bless You & Yours,
Here’s a tutorial I did on multi color designs: https://www.pigskinsandpigtails.com/2019/01/how-to-screen-print-multiple-colors-using-vinyl-stencils/
Is it possible to reuse the screen? Are we able to take the vinyl design off and place another on the same screem?
Yes. When you finish with one design, you’ll take it off and wash the screen. Once the screen is dry, you can start all over with a new design!
Thanks for the great tutorials. Do you prewash the shirts? Thank you
I don’t… mainly because I never plan ahead enough to wash the shirts before I’m ready to use them. Haha! I haven’t noticed any issues with the shirts not being washed ahead of time.
Your tutorials are awesome. I’m going to try it for the first time, I’m so exited.
Thank you so much, blessings.
Hi Joan, I’m so excited that you are going to give it a shot. I’d love to see what you create!
Which press would you recommend? I see you have two. Is the hinged one good enough or the bigger one?
I’m having trouble with the paint peeling up with the screen. What am I doing wrong?
It sounds like you may have too much ink going through the screen. Try to use just few swipes with even, firm pressure for a thin layer of ink.