Screen Printing with Cut Vinyl, Tape, and Sheer Curtains

Screen Printing is a printing technique where ink is pushed through a mesh material with a card or squeegee except in areas where something blocks the ink from going through the mesh. There are many ways to make a screen print; the professional ways using UV-sensitive emulsion and various levels of DIY techniques using glue, tape, or vinyl. This is just one method.

Learn more about Screen Printing on Wikipedia

Supplies

• sheer window panel or other mesh material
• heat transfer vinyl, paint, tape, or glue – a solid material to block paint/ink from going through the screen
• screen printing ink or paint thickened to consistency similar to sour cream or whipped cream
• an old credit card, plastic squeegee, pallet knife, putty knife or similar to scrape the ink through the mesh
• scratch paper, towels, wipes for clean up
• A bin of water for used screens
• material to print upon, paper, fabric, wood, leather, cork, etc. Check that your paint will adhere to your material.

Process

• Prepare a vector design in computer or by hand. No grays, think binary, either this area/line prints or it doesn’t. The “white” space will allow ink through and print to create the image.
• Cut the vector with a machine cutter or by hand -r trace/paint it onto mesh.
  • Reverse the image if you want to adhere the vinyl to the underside of your screen. This may prevent the swipe of ink from pulling off delicate pieces.
• Iron your cut and weeded design onto your mesh. Leave an inch or 2 or working area around the design.
• Tape off the edges with duct tape or other waterproof tape to frame your design but also prevent stray bits of ink from getting through. Write on the top side so you can tell easily which side is “UP”
• Place screen on top of material to be printed. Consider padding your printing table with foam or fleece for more give. Scoop ink onto screen and firmly and smoothly swipe the ink over your design once or twice. You are looking to swipe ink through the whole design so your card or squeegee should be the size of your design.
• Remove screen, let dry, and heat set your print if wearing. Use a warm iron and a press cloth.
• Rinse out your screen with water and let air dry. Do not print damp screens or your print will bleed/run.

Tutorials

• https://makezine.com/projects/vinyl-silk-screen-printing/
• https://www.silhouetteschoolblog.com/2016/05/how-to-screen-print-using-vinyl.html
• https://www.instructables.com/Screen-printing-with-vinyl/
• https://teckwrapcraft.com/blogs/how-to-guides/silk-screen-printing-with-vinyl-stencil

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