dumb newbie questions
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:51 pm
hi folks --
i'm a newbie here (very first post), and am thinking about getting into screen printing a bit to produce some reproduction bmx bicycle stickers & softgear accessories. i've been researching screen printing info for a few years, but still don't know much about it. i'd appreciate any info any of you could offer on the following questions:
1. one of the items i'm hoping to produce are what's known as bmx frame pads -- cloth-and-foam pads to protect the rider from banging their body on certain parts of the bike. these pads have a covering of nylon fabric that is pretty much like the stuff that kids' school backpacks are made of -- fairly coarse material & available in many colors.
what type of ink and screen mesh count would be best for printing on this type of fabric? my local supplier carries this line of inks called "inktech", and of that brand, i'm guessing that either their "am" (acrylic modified) or "gp" (general purpose) may be suitable, but am not sure.
regarding the mesh count, i've been told that 110 is pretty standard for t shirt printing, and 230 is typical for vinyl stickers, so i'm guessing somewhere in between might be right for this (160 maybe?).
any tips on this would be appreciated.
2. what off-contact distance would be suitable for printing on this material?
3. i've got a few different pieces of mesh fabric that i picked up a while back, but forgot what count they are. is there a standard method for determining the count of a piece of mystery fabric? like maybe counting the threads in 1/10" under a loupe & multiplying by 10? if that's the way to go, does the fabric need to be stretched to get an accurate count?
4. for exposing screens, i've putzed around with a photoflood bulb, which has worked pretty well. i made up some small screens for testing exposure times, with el cheapo fabric-store organdy fabric that i'd stretched in small frames. would this method, even though using different
fabric for the test screen than would be in the real screens, be reasonably accurate?
5. i've been scrounging whatever scraps of mesh fabric i can get on ebay, without much regard to whether it's white or yellow. is there some
approximate figure or percentage that you have to increase the exposure time when going from white to yellow fabric of the same mesh count?
6. i've got some autotype emulsion that i mixed up in (don't laugh) early 2003. it's been in a tightly closed opaque container, in a dark cool place since then. is there any remote possibility it may still be good?
7. assuming it's not, what would you recommend for a decent, reasonably-priced emulsion?
8. any tips on cheap film positives in around 11" x 17" size? i've putzed around with photocopies on transparency film and vellum, but they never seem opaque enough. and i tried that spray that's supposed to darken photocopy toner, and it did nothing. i once got a few positives from westar, that seemed really good, but kinda costly. and advice on workable alternatives? (my stuff is mainly solid lineart areas -- no halftones or linescreens yet). i also tried rubylith on clear film, but it was pretty laborious for the art i was working with.
and, if it matters, i don't have an inkjet printer big enough for 11 x 17, so i can't use that special inkjet film.
thank you very much! screen printing is really intriguing, but also kinda scary.
i'm a newbie here (very first post), and am thinking about getting into screen printing a bit to produce some reproduction bmx bicycle stickers & softgear accessories. i've been researching screen printing info for a few years, but still don't know much about it. i'd appreciate any info any of you could offer on the following questions:
1. one of the items i'm hoping to produce are what's known as bmx frame pads -- cloth-and-foam pads to protect the rider from banging their body on certain parts of the bike. these pads have a covering of nylon fabric that is pretty much like the stuff that kids' school backpacks are made of -- fairly coarse material & available in many colors.
what type of ink and screen mesh count would be best for printing on this type of fabric? my local supplier carries this line of inks called "inktech", and of that brand, i'm guessing that either their "am" (acrylic modified) or "gp" (general purpose) may be suitable, but am not sure.
regarding the mesh count, i've been told that 110 is pretty standard for t shirt printing, and 230 is typical for vinyl stickers, so i'm guessing somewhere in between might be right for this (160 maybe?).
any tips on this would be appreciated.
2. what off-contact distance would be suitable for printing on this material?
3. i've got a few different pieces of mesh fabric that i picked up a while back, but forgot what count they are. is there a standard method for determining the count of a piece of mystery fabric? like maybe counting the threads in 1/10" under a loupe & multiplying by 10? if that's the way to go, does the fabric need to be stretched to get an accurate count?
4. for exposing screens, i've putzed around with a photoflood bulb, which has worked pretty well. i made up some small screens for testing exposure times, with el cheapo fabric-store organdy fabric that i'd stretched in small frames. would this method, even though using different
fabric for the test screen than would be in the real screens, be reasonably accurate?
5. i've been scrounging whatever scraps of mesh fabric i can get on ebay, without much regard to whether it's white or yellow. is there some
approximate figure or percentage that you have to increase the exposure time when going from white to yellow fabric of the same mesh count?
6. i've got some autotype emulsion that i mixed up in (don't laugh) early 2003. it's been in a tightly closed opaque container, in a dark cool place since then. is there any remote possibility it may still be good?
7. assuming it's not, what would you recommend for a decent, reasonably-priced emulsion?
8. any tips on cheap film positives in around 11" x 17" size? i've putzed around with photocopies on transparency film and vellum, but they never seem opaque enough. and i tried that spray that's supposed to darken photocopy toner, and it did nothing. i once got a few positives from westar, that seemed really good, but kinda costly. and advice on workable alternatives? (my stuff is mainly solid lineart areas -- no halftones or linescreens yet). i also tried rubylith on clear film, but it was pretty laborious for the art i was working with.
and, if it matters, i don't have an inkjet printer big enough for 11 x 17, so i can't use that special inkjet film.
thank you very much! screen printing is really intriguing, but also kinda scary.