Is this what a normal screen printer would do without charging you for it or is this guy just being lazy?
Not all screen printers will charge you extra for separating art. Not all printers will charge you for creating art. Some will and some won't.
If you have a relationship with that printer and you like the quality of their work, then it might be worth it for you to work out the color separations yourself.
If you are still shopping around for a printer, it's possible that you can find one that does quality work, but doesn't charge for separating art.
We charge for separating art and We charge for creating art. It is time and time costs money. It has taken me 10 years to learn what I know. I dont just give that away. Just like any and most screen printing companies, you will be charges for services rendered.
Richard definitely speaks from experience. It's true that many screen printers will charge for each service rendered.
However, there are also printers that don't charge for the artwork services they provide to get the art done.
It's not universal that all printers will charge you for separating art, although many will be very happy if you can provide "camera ready" artwork.
Like Richard said though, I wouldn't call it being "lazy", just different companies select to run their business in different ways and focus their profit margins in different areas.
