Tools and Resources

Some of my favorite supplies

2" High Density Foam Rollers

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=144282-11591-97610&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3013611&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

http://www.lowes.com/pd_132271-11591-94052___?productId=3011814&pl=1&Ntt=whizz


Jacquard Ink Jet Printer Sheets (silk and cotton) - Joggles.com


Transfer Artist Paper (Lesley Riley's) - Joggles.com, C&T Publishing

Colorhue Dyes - Joggles.com

Liquitex Acrylic Paints - Dick Blick, Michael's Crafts

Rit Dyes - Joann Fabrics

 Thermofax Screen Printing Guidelines

You will need the following items:

Thermofax screens
Squeegees (craft store or automotive store - used for spreading car bodywork materials)
Spatula
Heavy-body acrylic paints or thickened dyes
Paint palette (or freezer paper)
Fabric pieces or paper
Scrap piece of batting


First, prepare your flat work surface with a sheet of vinyl or multiple layers of newspaper.   Now lay a piece of cotton batting on top.  This will provide a little cushion under your fabric which will help provide a better print.  I usually prepare a variety of fabrics to print to and use a variety of screens at one time. I find that it is easier to do bulk printing and clean-up then heat-set my fabrics and then work them into projects. I suggest having a variety of fabric colors or textures to print to.  I will lay out my fabrics (either cut to 8 x 10 inches or in a long strip of fabric 18" x 36") and select my screens. Make sure that you allow enough space around your printed area for seam allowance when you stich them into a project.

With a spatula, scoop out approximately 3-4 tablespoons worth of paint onto your palette. Holding your squeegee at a 90-degree angle, drag it up across the palette and evenly collect the paint along the entire edge of your squeegee.  As long as the paint, thickend dye or shaving cream mixture is thick enough, it should stay put on the squeegee.  If your choice application is too liquid, it will seep through the screen image areas and distort the print.

Place your left hand at the top of the screen on the taped edge and place your right hand with the squeegee against the screen at the tape line (opposite if you are left-handed). Your left hand should hold the screen in place while your right hand pulls the squeegee across the screen. Keeping your squeegee at a 90-degree angle, use a little pressure against the screen when pulling the paint across to penetrate through the image on the screen.   Easily pull the screen across and away from the fabric and Voila!  If you have patches of areas that did not print, you are either not using enough pressure or you are not putting enough paint on your squeegee.   

Allowing enough space for the next print, move right along to the next piece of fabric, and repeat the application until you run out of fabric pieces or you have completed 5 or 6 prints.  If you are using acrylic paint, wash the paint out before it has a chance to dry in the screen and ruin your design permanently.

CLEANING SCREENS

Take your screen directly to your sink and run warm water over it. I use a soft cloth and gently move it back and forth across the surface until all of the paint is gone. Don’t use too much pressure on your screens when cleaning them or you could tear the material or rub off some of the coating on the screen. There is no need to use dish soap when rinsing the paint out. I lay out my screens on a towel to dry but pat down both sides to dry them faster. I don’t recommend leaving them sitting in a pan of water for a long period of time.

SCREEN PRINTING TO PAPER

If screen printing to paper, make sure you only make one pass across the screen image.  You should have a few sizes of squeegees available and you want to choose the size that will cover your entire image in one pass across it.  Repetitive passes onto paper will force too much paint through the screen image and ruin your print.  The lighter the pressure, the better.  Make sure to practice a few times to get the feel of the difference from printing on fabric.  Deli paper and watercolor paper are great to screen print on.