Few qustions before I pull the trigger..
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:05 pm
Hi all,
I've been interested in screen printing for a good while now as a hobby, but just haven't been able to justify the expense of good quality equipment up until this point. I've started my own business as a second job to provide some fun-funds. I'm to the point of either getting my t-shirts printed locally, or buying the equipment and printing them myself. I will mainly be giving the shirts away as promotional items with very few outright shirt sales. This seems like a perfect opportunity to get into screen printing to support myself.
I'm sure you will be able to tell how new I am based on my questions, but I really appreciate everyone's feedback and opinion.
The shirts are pretty standard back logo with my company name above and below it with the website address. On the front, there will be a smaller version over the chest. The current logo is 2 colors. black and red on a white background. I have done some mock ups with just a white shirt with black ink, and it works fine.
1) Once a screen is burned and washed out, how long will it last. I'll be doing pretty much the same designs over and over in smaller runs, say 20-25 shirts at a time.
2) How do you clean the ink from the screen. I'm guessing this will depend on the ink, so is the standard, if there is one, water soluble?
3) I was planning on making my own 1 station 2-4 color press. I've even looked at the youtees press which may be what I need. I'm only looking at maybe 15-20 shirts per month for the business. (I may do more for fun with my own designs)
Sorry for the long winded post, but thanks for the feedback.
Shawn
I've been interested in screen printing for a good while now as a hobby, but just haven't been able to justify the expense of good quality equipment up until this point. I've started my own business as a second job to provide some fun-funds. I'm to the point of either getting my t-shirts printed locally, or buying the equipment and printing them myself. I will mainly be giving the shirts away as promotional items with very few outright shirt sales. This seems like a perfect opportunity to get into screen printing to support myself.
I'm sure you will be able to tell how new I am based on my questions, but I really appreciate everyone's feedback and opinion.
The shirts are pretty standard back logo with my company name above and below it with the website address. On the front, there will be a smaller version over the chest. The current logo is 2 colors. black and red on a white background. I have done some mock ups with just a white shirt with black ink, and it works fine.
1) Once a screen is burned and washed out, how long will it last. I'll be doing pretty much the same designs over and over in smaller runs, say 20-25 shirts at a time.
2) How do you clean the ink from the screen. I'm guessing this will depend on the ink, so is the standard, if there is one, water soluble?
3) I was planning on making my own 1 station 2-4 color press. I've even looked at the youtees press which may be what I need. I'm only looking at maybe 15-20 shirts per month for the business. (I may do more for fun with my own designs)
Sorry for the long winded post, but thanks for the feedback.
Shawn