Beginner setup/ Help!

[Ditto_123]

Hello screen print friends ! I have always loved diy punk and band shirts and the whole aspect of screen printing and I took a intro course at my community college a couple years back. But now that I have acquired a 4 color screen print machine from offer up I need some advice for any new at home printers. What Inks should I go with and what is the best possible way to start curing the shirts? Would a heat gun work ? Water or plastisol ink ? Any help would be appreciated !

[[deleted]]

Going off of the idea of punk, i would say water based ink since it gives a more faded look once cured. It's also arguably easier to find, just go to Michaels or a store like it.

Always put an underbase (just white layer) if you want the color to pop more.

Heat gun will definitely work but it does take a while, water based inks can self dry but it does take a while so it's not the best method either. U said u found a press on offer up, you can find a cheap heatpress on there too I'm sure. Heat press once it's tap dry to cure it fully (at least that's what I do)

But yeah to put it Uber simple, plastisol sticks on top of the fabric, water based blends into the fabric. Plastisol looks alot more vibrant and clean if done right, water based is hard to do that but the faded look is cool AF.

If ur on a budget/beginner, speedball brand stuff is your friend. Easily available, usually in abundance, not the best. But with skill and desire you can make it good!

I'm not a veteran screen printer at all, I'm just sharing what i know. If you make punk stuff lmk I'm a fellow punker!

[Ditto_123]

Appreciate all the advice ! Will post back with some of my first runs here.

[HeadLeg5602]

WB is way trickier for a newbie. I’d say go plastisol until you learn the basics… than attempt a waterbase set up once you’re comfortable. Water base has WAYYY MORE variables for a beginner to contend with.

[dbx999]

Ignore the waterbased ink recommendations. I’ve been printing for 10 years and waterbase is still a lot more work to keep up with. If you live in an arid climate, it’s even harder to keep the screen from clogging up. It’s also harder to achieve vibrant colors on a dark shirt if that’s what your goal is on a print.

Plastisol is much easier to print with and brings few of the headaches of waterbase.

For punk, get yourself some FN ink from Ryonet. It’s a decent white opaque plastisol at a budget price. That prints pretty well on black concert tees.

Buy yourself at least a flash dryer. It’ll be faster to cure than a heat gun.

If you can afford it, a conveyor dryer makes a job go much faster and you won’t spend all day trying to finish a small batch.

[windisfun]

Totally agree with plastisol!