I've been screen printing for a long time through other people. Also done pretty much every step of screen printing when helping out with my current stuff. I've been wanting to get my own setup to potentially start printing my own stuff in the future. However im not currently looking to buy everything I need to print 4-6 color prints and I dont currently trust myself to print my own shirts.
Right now im looking for a 1 screen setup and a cheap printer to get some more exp. before I go to a 6 color workhorse
My question being what is my best/cheapest way to get setup with a 1 screen setup/ printer.... not looking to do high quality stuff basically just for testing and small runs of 1 color promo tee's.
For one color on the cheap, I'd make a press with jiffy clamps, and invest the rest of my money building an exposure unit that was good enough to use with a better press, and maybe a couple of used newman roller frames that would enable me to keep tight mesh and use with a better press to get better prints when the time comes. Everyone thinks the newmans are expensive, but in the long haul, they're the cheapest, and if you bust your mesh, you're back in business in no time. Get a half dozen unfiltered blacklights, some fixtures at home depot and some pond liner, a piece of 1/4" glass and a small shop vacuum. You'll have a decent exposure unit that will be about as good as you can get without going to metal halide, and fairly inexpensive.
For me, it was a space issue. I don't have a lot of room to work with so I went with a single color setup. Luckily, I was able to find a single color Ryonet starter kit on ebay for $239 (before the price went up) and I really like the quality and the DVD that came with it, is a great introduction into screen printing (or a refresher if you have done it before). I have had no problem exposing screens using the 500 watt light (granted it takes 12:30 seconds) but I have only done five designs and I am able to do other stuff while the screen is being exposed, so the time it takes to expose doesn't bother me in the least. I can go from blank screen to design in less than an hour with this basic setup. And the results are pretty good.
how to get setup with a beginner setup 
