I do a lot of merchandise design, mostly t-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers for various bands, businesses and events. I also do short-run screen printing in my studio, which is great for small batches and prototyping. I am not set up for larger runs, and definitely not able to do “print on demand”. I use old-school screen printing techniques and equipment. Each design needs to be developed on as screen (in a darkroom setting) and is screened by hand.
Each screen follows a general cycle on its way to printing your merch:
• Cleaned, degreased and dried
• Coated with photo-sensitive emulsion (the pink stuff). This is done in a darkroom
• Dried for at least 24 hours to prepare the emulsion for developing/burning
• Place a positive transparency of your design on the screen
• Develop the screen by exposing to UV light for a few minutes
• Wash out the screen. When the screen is developed, black ink on the transparency blocks the UV light, so the un-developed emulsion is able to wash out with warm water and a little water pressure
• Tape off the screen, put it on the press
• Print on the garments
• Reclaim the screen for future use. This is done in a washout booth with a pressure washer and some chemicals to break down the cured emulsion.
• Clean and dry the screen, store for future use
