Screen Printing Forum

OK, this will be a really dumb question, but seeing as to how I am as clueless as a newborn in a lot of screen printing matters, please allow me the luxury of being stupid. I am sure when you stop laughing you will be able to help me.

My question is in two parts,
first, do most screen printers buy their blank screens or do they build them? If you buy them, where? and if you build them, what is the standard size?

The second part of my question plays into the building aspect of screens. If you build them, what is the best material (aka- weave size and type of material) to use for t shirt printing?

I was also wondering how you stretch the screen to make it as taught as possible when you build them.

thanks in advance.

Just buy them in, stretching the mesh to a consistent tension is not a DIY process.
You might specify where you are if you want a name.
Start with a 90T 220 mesh perhaps, should be fine enough for most purposes, lower screens will be easier on manual set-ups. 50lpi as a starter.

cool, thanks for the responce. Where is a good place to buy them?

melray.com

Are you UK based ???

sorry for the deliayed responce but no I am American based.

Buy aluminum framed screens if possible. The cost difference is negligible, and worth it. MelRay has a lifetime remeshing service that over time would save money. The advantage of aluminum frames is they won't warp with repeated exposure to washout (unless they were welded warped to begin with).
Getting good results by making your own frames and stretching the mesh isn't easy. That's not to say that you can't get mesh on a frame, but even, high tension that will hold up is more difficult that it seems.