Screen Print Project 1 – Horned Skull
On Sale Now!
I started this dooodle 2018 Super Bowl.
I accidentally lost some of the progress but didn’t give up on it completely. It evolved horns and a bit more detailed shading.
I moved on to the next project, but in the meantime spent over $500 buying almost everything I would need to try my hand at screen printing. (Update: I have now spend just over $1000) Printer that can printer 13×19 on transparencies, 3 sets of extra printer inks, clamps, mesh, photo emulsion, stapler, staples, squeegee, wood, corner braces, miter saw, hinge clamps and poster paper. I was gifted a drying rack for my birthday. Not too bad of an initial investment and to me, I see it as an economical way to get my art out into the world. It involves several steps, plenty of learning and time… but at the end of the day I will be smarter and will be able to pass around art at the simple cost of paper, ink, photo emulsion, transparencies and my time. This should be a lot less expensive and more desirable to collectors than doing a simple digital print. Also, I am able to do a lot more with screen printing. I can print with Neon or UV sensitive inks, glow in the dark or even glitter paints.
With my son’s help I have built and stretched four frames.
I have assembled the drying rack, I have printed off my first screen print transparencies (two color red/black).
Next step is spreading some photo emulsion on a screen and burning an image into it. Wash away the image and see if I can get to screen printing some art for the first time ever! I am excited to learn and have something to hand off to friends! Stay tuned, my desired end result should look something like this…
(Update: I later scrapped the red color for this piece)
4/6/18 – Small Update
I attempted to burn my first image into a screen with a 500w halogen work light. Most of the videos I saw they were exposing between 10-17 minutes. At 10 minutes I started incrementally covering the screen an inch a minute in an effort to see the ideal time. However, when it came to washing away the emulsion everything washed off. There were a few spots where I could see it burned in, and wouldn’t wash off as easily. This to me tells me that 1) the piece of glass I was using is UV protective 2) The exposure time needs to be increased 3) need a better light. I haven’t given up, just dragging my feet till the next installment of learning. I have ordered new/better photo emulsion and I will try again sometime next week with another test. If I can’t get the light to burn the image, then I think I will try utilizing the sun (if it ever pops out behind those clouds). I knew this would be the most difficult part, but I am very eager to get past it and get some ink on some paper, and get some prints on some walls. It’s going to happen, just a bit of a delay is all. Stay tuned!
4-8-18 DOH!
4-14-18 Update – I made two screens initially. So, I tried burning the image into the second screen. This time I wasn’t going to do a scale, just see if I could get any image to stick. I let it burn for 12 minutes. When washing it away I saw a lot of it sticking initially, but eventually all washed away. I summarize I am using too much emulsion and too much water pressure. So, I cleaned the screen completely and dried it. I ordered a scoop coater and some premixed photo emulsion. This to me is helping me eliminate two of the variables. Mixing might not have been complete, and the thickness of the emulsion. The scoop coater worked great. Nice thin smooth layer of emulsion. Did one pass on both sides of the screen and set it aside to dry. I then used a spatula to reclaim as much of the emulsion as I could before cleaning it under the faucet. This will be my official test canvas with the official method I will be using going forward. I will be sure to use less pressure and more patience when washing away this test screen. And if I can’t get an image to stick, then I can only blame the light. Oh, yeah, I did a smaller frame with lower mesh count and used the same old emulsion, and I am letting that burn for 30 minutes, just to see if I notice a difference. I will conquer this eventually!
4-15-18 Update
Happy Birthday to me! Turned 40 years old and spent the day making a test screen successfully. So, I learned that a scoop coater helps keep the emulation layer thin and smooth/even. I was able to get my image to burn into a screen for the first time!
And since I was happy to see that the small color halftone dots came through, I wanted to see how it would print. I pushed just a small amount of ink through the test screen, and was very pleased to see the image come to life!
I then made two new screen emulsion screens, and tried burning in the real image for the real screen. It seemed to have gone well, and I saw the artwork start to wash away, but then later, the whole screen was washing away. I imagine this is due to me not allowing enough time for the screen to completely dry. I will make a screen tonight, and will let it dry 24 hours before I try to burn and rinse again. If that does the trick, then I just need to be more patient. If not, then I need o get the emulsion thinner, or expose it longer are my guesses. I’ll update with my findings soon. But, very happy I was able to see my artwork on paper, and now, just need to duplicate my efforts/success.
4-17-18 Update
I am starting to see the importance of a tightly stretched screen. The scoop coater is great at putting down a nice thin layer of emulsion down. However; where the screen is slightly loose it gets ‘tripped up’ and puts down a bit thicker splotch of emulsion. That, and my scoop coater isn’t wide enough to coat my screen in one pass. So, I ended up overlapping a bit, again leaving a thicker layer. So much so that it bled through the back side of the screen forcing me to scrape back and forth. I believe this is my biggest issue during this step of the process. I have to clean some of the failed screens before I can give it another try. I have piled up over 5 screens that may or may not be reclaimed. Don’t know, haven’t tried that process yet, but have the chemicals needed to do so. I’ll probably pick out the tightest screen I made and see if I can wash it out. I don’t have a pressure-washer, and it might require a bit of elbow grease and patience.
4-19-18 Update
I let a screen dry for 48 hours, and I intentionally burned the screen too long to see if it would help keep the emulsion on the screen. I think the over exposure allowed some light to get through the black ink on my transparency. I could see some emulsion thinly coating the spaces where it should have been completely washed out. I also found that the extra time on the burn didn’t help stick the emulsion to the screen, as it’s still delicate and moves when touched. The ink I initially bought I think is intended for fabric and I think it’s having a bit of a hard time getting through the fine 230/90 mesh. I’ve reached out a very friendly artist by the name of Matt Dey to see where he gets his inks from. Why not know what the pro’s use, right? I also need practice pulling ink evenly, and flood the screen confidently. I know this will take practice, but for the first time making a real screen, and putting real ink on real paper… It feels great. It feels like this is the world I was meant to be in years ago. Lots to learn and experiment with, but here are a few pics of my latest bit of progress. I need to clean screens, or stretch new ones. Going to try to hit a car wash over the weekend to see if I can reclaim a screen. More to follow!
4-23-18 Update
I took the day off as it was going to be beautiful outside. I grabbed my drone, camera and messed up screens to be washed at the car wash. I don’t own a pressure washer and saw a post on reddit that it only took a couple of bucks to clean the screen. It did a great job, no chemicals required. I will need to invest in a pressure washer for home use. That, and I would love to have a wash out center that provides a sink, pressure washer and backlit wall to help me see if the screen is completely emulsion free with ease. So, I reclaimed three screens and coated two of those that are now drying. I will attempt again Thursday when they have had plenty of time to dry. As I’ve stated, I think the trick is thin emulsion and enough drying time. That, and be very gentle during the rinse process.
4-26-18 Update
BEST SCREEN YET! The trick is patience in letting the screen dry completely (couple days), and very gentle while rinsing. There is still some around the edges that didn’t burn/rinse properly (due to slight thickness in emulsion), but over all I am very happy with all the halftone shading. I might mask an outer border with tape to help disguise the blunder. It would also give me a place to sign my name. It just might be good enough to be my first real print. Still need to practice pulling ink, but now I think I have something real to work with! Progressing towards destiny!
I didn’t mask the edges, but I am happy with the six test prints I made this evening. I need more practice pulling ink and finding methods to stay more consistent with the amount of ink/pressure. I also think I need a better and larger squeegee. I also need to buy more ink, maybe try a different brand. I am still new, so I am worried about being wasteful and trying to learn best practices. The only other thing I need to invest in (other than pressure washer) is spray adhesive so the paper stick to the table and the screen lifts up more consistently/evenly, without sliding/smearing.
But… I think I can call myself a screen print artist as of now! Still TONS to learn and experiment with, but I have overcome some of the bigger hurdles I was initially concerned about. I am grateful for my mistakes along the way and hope to make many more as I continue on my journey to poster art!
4-29-18 Update
Friday I left work early, not to attend a high school baseball game again, but this time to head to the art store. I knew I was going for acrylic ink and a new 70-75 durometer squeegee, but I also picked up an aluminum professionally stretched 230 mesh screen. I would want it to be a bit bigger to give me more room to work the ink around the art. But I coat the screen let it dry, hit it with a hair dryer a day later to be sure and burned the image. I like how the glass I have been using to hold the transparency to the screen during the burn process fits very flush compared to my handmade frames. Rinse process went flawlessly and all the edges washed out the way they should have. Once again, I have the best screen I have made to date in my hands. I was so excited to try it out along with my new ink and squeegee that I printed 4 tests. The ink is more dark and looks less flat than the speedball ink I was using was geared more for fabric. Again, I was in a rush and I still need practice not over flooding the screen at the bottom, but very happy with the results on this new screen and tools.
After getting back from working in mom’s garden making sure the speakers were working, I pressure washed the screen and decided to modify the artwork. I mainly wanted to provide a border around the outside (1″), providing a place to sign/number, also hoping it will allow me to pull the ink past that border, thus preventing it from pooling at the bottom. But, since I was in the file tinkering, thought I would add an additional design elements. Now both skulls have swirly eyes swirling in opposite directions. I am now shooting for a finished product that will look like the following.
5-8-18 Update
I attempted to print off my first real run of official prints, though, the first one looked good all the others had flaws. The thin line on the outside of the horns and further down on the right side the margin wasn’t printing properly. This is due to one of two things or both. 1) the screen wasn’t rinsed / blown out properly in those areas, or 2) the ink started drying on the screen preventing more ink to flow through. I assume it’s more of 1 than 2, though I haven’t had much experience with doing several prints at one time, and the longer you continuously print the more chances of the ink setting up a bit. If it’s the ink drying, then I need to be sure to flood the screen lightly with fresh ink to help prevent it from hardening up.
So, I have 25 of these less than perfect prints that I am not sure what to do with. 1) scrap them and start over 2) hand embellish them with ink pen 3) release them as is, knowing that it’s my first print and that future prints will show a marked improvement over time. I am bringing a couple of prints to a friend and bar owner tomorrow to hear their opinions on the situation. I am ok with striving for perfection, but I am really ready to move on past this skull piece. A fourth option a friend suggested is keep the 25 messed up prints and each time I make a new screen with new artwork, take the time to throw a new layer of color on those 25. This would be a jumbled cumulative edition of all my first screen prints all in one piece. I don’t know what the end result will look like, I am not sure if I try to keep them all looking the same, or just randomly pick one out of the stack to add the newest layer of color only to a few at a time. Who knows what fate lies for these 25, but I think I have talked myself into striving for perfection one last time with this skull artwork. Hoping this weekend will be the weekend that my screen printing career is launched.
5-13-18 Update
Happy Mother’s Day! I burned another screen ensuring it was rinsed properly/thoroughly. I received and utilized the ink/screen retarder preventing the screen drying and clogging. I am happy to say I have finally printed 50 of my first official print set! Very excited. I have decided to keep the first 10 and will have 40 I am going to attempt to sell at my local favorite bar, as well as online in poster/screen printing groups that have shown some interest. Details to coming soon. I have to find out how much tubes are and postage before I advertise an official price point on these.
Printing of the limited edition release has been completed. I have hung my art at my local watering hole with 20 prints on hand. I will be attempting to sell another 20 online in the next week, but I am waiting for shipping/packing materials to show up before I flip my web store on. Details soon for those that aren’t in Omaha and able to make it to the Down Under Lounge.