Mass printing designs onto a fabric surface using silk screen equipment is a process that has been around for a long time. There are a wide variety of screen printing machines available for beginners or experts. Anyone can screen print, from the most inexperienced screen printer using basic equipment to the most advanced.

Screen printing equipment provides the tools for a resist stenciling technique on a variety of surfaces, but most often fabric. Before purchasing screen printing equipment, consider the following:

1. Determine how many shirts or copies will need to be screen printed.

2. Think about how complicated the design is, and how many colors the silk screen machine will need to accommodate.

3. Consider how often the screen printing equipment will be used, and how often the designs will change.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a frame to go with your silk screen supplies

Everyone starting out needs a frame. A cheap starter frame can be made of wood or plastic, but one that needs to last a while and does not need maintenance will be made of steel

I recommend: Find inexpensive wooden frames for starters at Dick Blick Art Materials. Find low-maintenance and inexpensive plastic frames at Nasco.

Include stencils with your silk screen printing equipment

A stencil is needed with the design imprinted into it. There are various techniques for creating the stencil, from hand-painting the negative space of the design using a chemical filler to photo-emulsion.

I recommend: Buy water-soluble screen filler from Reuels in small or large quantities. Order a kit for screen printing photo emulsion from Dharma Trading Co.

Purchase a squeegee with your silk screening supplies

A rubber squeegee is an essential tool for screen printing that is used no matter how complicated the process or design is. The squeegee is used to push the ink across the screen to fill in the design.

I recommend: Buy single squeegees in a huge variety of sizes from SilkScreeningSupplies.com. Choose from wooden or aluminum squeegees or order replacement blades from Pocono Mt. Screen Supply.

Move up to a screen printing press

Press print stations make screen printing more efficient, since frames and plates which hold the shirts are built in. Presses keep the frames stationary so the design never moves or alters.

I recommend: Find presses that range from table-top single color to 14 color at The Screen Printing Supply. Choose from rotary, manual or table-top presses from Vastex.

Buy a dryer for industrial screen printing

A dryer will speed up the screen printing process by finishing the garment and setting the ink. A flash dryer can be used for a single garment at a time, while a conveyor belt dryer can be used to dry many shirts more efficiently.

I recommend: See several different models of conveyor dryers at Atlas Screen Supply Company, or choose from conveyor, flash or graphic dryers from Lawson Screen & Digital Products.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Invest much less money by purchasing used screen printing equipment.
• •  Start screen printing with the most basic equipment, and move up as production needs increase; this will help instill a better understanding of the entire process.
• •  If you purchase a professional-grade multi-color screen printing machine, take advantage of the training usually offered by manufacturers to learn how to use it correctly and efficiently.

Screen printing services aren't limited to souvenir T-shirt shops. Other businesses that produce signs and textiles use screen printing equipment as their main production tool. Screen printing works by adhering ink colors in succession, thus building an image with multiple colors by pushing the ink through a pre-cut stencil made from silkscreens. Its application works on a variety of surfaces that traditional offset printing doesn't allow.

To find the right screen printing equipment for your business, you will need to determine:

1. Your production capacity-how many silkscreens you will need to do each day.
2. The amount of space you can dedicate to your silkscreen equipment.
3. If you need additional electricity for your screen printing equipment. (Many conveyor dryers require more power than a standard 110 outlet.)
4. The type of silkscreen machines you'll use. Manual presses are much cheaper than automated presses, but they require more labor and skill.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

High-capacity screen printing equipment

If your needs are to produce a large amount of screen printed items, you'll need to invest in screen printing equipment that is fast, efficient and automated.

I recommend: Printa Systems manufactures large format, multi-color, full-service screen printing machines. M & R makes the highest-volume textile printers in the world.

Small manual silkscreen machines

Small screen printing shops, or shops that only use silkscreen equipment on occasion don't need to invest in large or expensive equipment. You'll only want to buy a press that accommodates your needs.

I recommend: SilkScreeningSupplies.com makes affordable tabletop screen printing machines in a variety of options for color capabilities and sizes. SilkScreenBiz offers starter kits and packages for businesses with smaller budgets.

Dryers for your screen printing machines

Screen printing requires a way to dry or cure the image that you've placed on a textile between colors and for the finished product. There are several types of dryers that accomplish this task in the process. Flash dryers are best for small productions as they take up little space and they cost considerable less than conveyor dryers. Conveyors allow you to dry larger quantities of textiles in a short amount of time, but cost considerably more than flash dryers.

I recommend: Logos Screenprinting Equipment & Supply offers a freestanding flash dryer with a 2000 watt heating element. Equipment Zone has a variety of new and used tabletop and freestanding high production conveyor dryers.

Producing images for silkscreen equipment

Before you start applying ink to your textiles, you'll need to decide what method and equipment you'll use to produce your image or stencil. Exposure units use photographic methods to make a negative image and create silkscreens. Newer technology also allows regular inkjet and laser printers to use specialized paper to in effect 'print' your silkscreens.

I recommend: Pro-light 1 series of screen exposing units use UV light to make your silkscreen. Ryan Screen Supply offers a large variety of exposure units ranging in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Buy vellum film for outputting silkscreens on an inkjet or laser printer at Dimensional Products Corporation.

Supplies and accessories for screen printing equipment

If you reuse your screens, you'll need dip tanks to remove old stencils. Other supplies you'll need to use with your silkscreen equipment include ink, squeegees, emulsion and screens.

I recommend: SPSI carries virtually all screen printing supplies including emulsion, screens, squeegees and ink. Lawson Screen & Digital Products carries a variety of dip tanks. Nazdar supplies inks, emulsions and cleaners for screen printing. Nazdar SourceOne offers accessories for virtually any screen printing shop including frames, screens, inks and equipment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When you are deciding which screen printing machines to buy, you'll want to consider how many colors you plan to use. Hobby screen printers and small organizations that only have a two-color logo don't need a six-color set-up.
• •  Flash dryers for silkscreens can be used as more than just a flash dry between colors. They can also perform a full cure if you leave the textile on for up to a minute.
• •  Temperature control and weight are two things to consider when choosing a flash dryer for screen printing needs. You should be able to control the temperature setting, much like you can on a household iron, and you'll want to make sure the dryer is not top-heavy. If it is, don't purchase it. It can be a safety hazard if it is liable to fall over.
• •  Make sure your ventilation system in the room where your screen printing equipment is suitable for the equipment you've purchased. Some conveyor dryers come with vents, but you'll also need to make sure that lint and fumes do not overwhelm the room.

Screen printing is the process of applying a design to fabric using ink and a stencil. The process can be as simple as using only one color, or become quite complicated by using many colors.

After careful analysis of your screen printing needs, the proper screen print equipment needs to be chosen and then properly used to maximize the results of the screen printing. Consider the following when choosing silk screen equipment:

1. Determine the quantity of items that will be screen printed using the screen printing press.

2. Plan out the design that will be used in the screen printer; the size of the design and the amount of color used will set limitations on what screen printing equipment can be used.

3. Consider how quickly the screen printing process must happen. Determine whether it can be done one at a time in a single-color silk screen press or if it must happen much faster.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Prepare the screen print equipment for the screen filler method

Using a soft lead pencil, lightly sketch or trace your design directly onto the mesh screen. Use various-sized brushes to paint the screen filler directly onto the screen in the negative space surrounding the design.

I recommend: Watch the instructional video found on Expert Village demonstrating exactly how to prepare a screen for screen printing with screen filler. Shop Dick Blick Art Materials for various screen fillers, including filler pens for tight spaces and details.

Use the right silk screen supplies for photo emulsion

The photo-emulsion technique of preparing the screen requires more supplies and time but provides the widest range of possibilities in your design. It allows for fine details, a painterly quality and range in tone. For photo-emulsion, the screen needs to be first coated with light-sensitive chemicals, an opaque image on a translucent screen needs to be prepared and then it is exposed to light.

I recommend: Watch instructional videos on how to prepare a screen for photo-emulsion, how to set up a dark room and how to finish the photo-emulsion process on SilkScreeningSupplies.com. Purchase a kit from ArtSuppliesOnline.com containing all chemicals and supplies needed for photo-emulsion.

Print with single-color screen printers

Attach the prepared screen to a base to hold it in a stationary position, place the fabric underneath and lower the screen. Put ink in the reservoir at the bottom of the screen and push it over the design using a squeegee.

I recommend: Follow the step-by-step guide for printing with a single color on eHow. Find a single-color screen print press at Dharma Trading Co.

Screen print using a multi-color silk screen machine

Screen printing using multiple colors is made much easier with the use of a multi-color printing press. A multi-color press allows the set-up of multiple colors and multiple screens at the same time, leaving the fabric in a stationary position. The presses are placed on the fabric, leaving one layer of the design.

I recommend: Watch a demo on YouTube for screen printing multiple colors using an 8-color printing press. Buy a multi-color screen print press from Riley Hopkins Promotions Limited.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Practice by using paper in screen printing machines before putting ink directly onto the fabric.

Screen printing is a way of printing images onto various kinds of fabric. Manufacturers often use it for making T-shirts, but you can use the process on many different types of fabrics and products. The process of screen printing utilizes several devices, and you may find it beneficial to understand the key terms related to the devices and machines, as well as to other aspects of the screen-printing business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Exposure units

An exposure unit is a mechanism that exposes the screen to a light source. It can hold several different types of lights, such as ultraviolet lights, quartz lights or mercury vapor. You may be able to make your own exposure unit if money is tight.

I recommend: See photos and read a description of what an exposure unit does and get advice on which models are best for different purposes at Ryan Screen Systems.

Bench-model printer

A printer is either a bench model or a floor model, meaning that it sits on a bench or on the floor. A printer may have one, two or more stations. Depending on the size and configuration, the machine may print in one or more colors.

I recommend: Browse several bench-model T-shirt printers with photos at CAPS International.

Flash-curing units

In the screen printing process, the ink needs to cure. One method is flash curing, which fuses the ink to the fabric so it won't wash off.

I recommend: Read an article about flash-curing units, including what to look for when buying one at Screen Printer & Inkjet Technology. Check out a discussion of drying and curing at International Coatings.

Conveyor dryer

A conveyor dryer is another method used to cure screen-printed items. Different models vary in speed and size, as well as other features.

I recommend: Learn what to look for in a conveyor dryer at Printa Systems.

Heat press

A heat press is a machine that transfers the image using heat in a way that's similar to screen printing. The result is not as durable but makes it easier to register more than one color.

I recommend: Find out more about what a heat press does and see a photo of a model at PressMECH.

Registration system

Registration means lining up the various colors in a job using several colors so the finished image looks right. If you have ever seen a printed picture that looked blurry or that looked like you should view it with 3-D glasses, you've seen a picture that did not register correctly.

I recommend: Learn more about a registration system at Vastex where you can see a flash demo detailing how a registration system works.