[aescobar]

Hi Everyone!

im new to screen printing so any advice would be much appreciated. thanks

I've got one question, when screen priting does the screen have to be elevated or can it lay flat on the shirt? and how do you flood with out applying too much ink? all my work comes out smudged.

 

[ole Jobe]

Elevated. It's called off contact. About 1/8 inch is a good starting point. This allows the screen to pull away from the shirt as the squegee passes over. The only contact should be at the point of the squegee. Without off contact, when the screen is lifted off the print, it will leave a very rough surface to the ink.
Pressure on the squegee during the flood stroke will force ink through the screen, leaving smudges on the next print. I push the squegee so my flood stroke is pulling. I lean the squegee backward (away from me), cup my fingers over the top and pull with just the weight of the squegee flooding the screen. Hope this helps. Hang in there and don't be afraid to experiment with different methods. God Bless.

 

[Hennagirl]

I got a clean print with my screen directly on the fabric, but I notice that all the pros say to elevate, so I'm going to figure out how to do that with my set-up. I'm glad I've saved a ton of scraps for experiments! There is definitely a steep learning curve here!