[ProTipKnit]

Hi all! so ive been looking up so many different questions and i always end up here. so i thought why not make an account! I am completely new to the game.

I am in the process of starting something very small but thinking big. My focus right now is sewing, screen printing and creative collaboration with the local visual artists to create a sense of unity, help you help me attitude and also a platform for those who want and deserve it.

I have the essentials (i think) i have adobe cs6, one screen for printing (for now). an hp inkjet printer. ( i already had and cannot afford something like an epson with CIS system) like i said, im starting small. not much money to work with all of this.
but i guess my questions, for now, would lie in the details.

Why do i need a CIS system?
What type of paper do i need? 80LB uncoated, but does it matter the color and manufacturer? if so could anyone link me a site for good paper?
A good brand of water based ink that holds well with different colors such as gold?
Also what type of paper do i need to feed into the printer to print my design on with that wont shrink and will hold up well.
is cmyk important when only using one color such as white and black or can you just vectorize that and be on your way?
Also having problems trying to figure out how to print multiple colors on complex designs. tape?!? seems highly unlikely to me when it comes to complex designs.


I found some decent sites so far.
Victory factory
Cobra ink
Tshirt supplies
Screen printing supplies


As you see i have many questions and they dont stop here. i learn some new phrase or some new type of system, software or way to do something every day. this forum is very helpful and i appreciate you all very much. thanks for the time guys! i highly appreciate all the help.

 

[NoXid]

CIS is just a tool to allow you to buy cheaper third-party ink in larger more economical sizes. Not something to worry about if just getting started.

To be clear, you are talking about screen printing, correct?

You don't need any paper. You do need transparency film--professional level film, not the stuff you can buy at the office supply store. Films Direct sells it, as do most any place that sells screen printing supplies.

You need a screen for every color for every design. Start with single color designs. To do multi-color prints you need a multi-head rotary press, or a Line Press. It is possible to DIY build the latter, search on here for more info. But start with single color prints!!!! Else you will give up before you learn anything.

Forget about gold ink. It is an expensive specialty ink with special issues. After you learn to print, remember gold ink and learn a new trick.

Green Galaxy inks are easy to work with and reasonably priced. Ryonet has them.

Get a photo polymer type emulsion, not a Diazo emulsion. They are much faster which saves a lot of frustration and disappointment when working with a weak light source--and everyone starts out with a weak light source. See the link in my sig for info on how to test for the correct exposure time.

You don't "need" to vectorize anything. Print shops end up needing to do it because a customer gives them a tiny little jpg of some logo and expects it to fill the front of a shirt, so the shop creates a vector from it so they can resize it. You will simply create your art at the correct size to start with. I do prefer working with vectors rather than raster images, but it depends on the nature of the art and how you prefer to work.

Welcome, and enjoy.

 

[ProTipKnit]

Awesome, thank you so much for the info!

Im just still a little lost as of to why the kit i bought came with this black piece of paper, correct me if im wrong but dont you need to lay the transparency film on top of the construction like paper (80 lb uncoated) and then use your light source in order to print?

 

[NoXid]

Awesome, thank you so much for the info!

Im just still a little lost as of to why the kit i bought came with this black piece of paper, correct me if im wrong but dont you need to lay the transparency film on top of the construction like paper (80 lb uncoated) and then use your light source in order to print?

Transparency lies on the screen, with the ink side of the transparency against the shirt side of the mesh. The black paper is probably for under the screen (squeegee side of mesh) to prevent light from bouncing back onto that side of the mesh and messing up the exposure.