[landon13]

Aloha,

I have a small surf company that prints black and white photos on shirts... I'm not 100% satisfied with the quality of the prints that I am seeing from the guy who prints my shirts. I'm considering trying to print myself but it sounds a bit overwhelming.

Anyways, what questions do I need to ask and/or what do I need to make sure my printer is doing to make sure that I am receiving the best product possible??? i.e. the best resolution for my photos, best shirt material, best supplies used etc...

I have been taking the pictures myself and then turning them black and white and sending them to my printer guy... I hear alot about gray scaling and halftones.. Do I need to do this beforehand or is my printer doing it already???

Like I said, I am just trying to get better quality prints... Thanks in advance for your input!

Landon

 

[landon13]

Also, I don't know if it matters but the photos are roughly 4"x6".

 

[zolveria]

dunno what exactly you are trying to do or what the image looks like. you can have an underbase. then place the black white on top.. what colour is the shirt. as far a equipment check out silkscreensupplies.com\
they a nice kit for 200 dollars for a startup. if you want a two color press it will be more..
they have all you need. I have started using Ulano qx-5 fast exposing emulsion..

exposure unit. u can make yourself for 20 dollars [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojp9o9OG1g&list=LL_atO7wH3JcEcq3YUjLwFqA&feature=mh_lolz[/media]
and the emulsion coating stand you can make yourself also with cull wood from home depot with a rubber gripper glued to the bottom for traction.

 

[sben763]

What resolution are you sending him. For photos I like to see 600dpi or better. If your sending him them in 4x6 and he's printing them bigger you will get quality loss. Also I would prefer to convert to the black and white myself if I was printing for you. Talk with your printer but approach it like this. Is there something we can do to improve the quality of the prints from our end.

Photos can be tricky so if you haven't screen printed before it may take a while before you would be able to produce unless your a natural.

 

[tpitman]

Post pictures of the original photo and one of a shirt printed with it. It might give us an idea for suggestions.