How to Print a Pixelated Image for a Silk Screen Print You can print a pixelated image such as a photo or illustration with silk screening. There are specific steps to preparing clear vellum film positives and imaging silk screens to successfully execute the task. A film and screen must be created for cyan, magenta, yellow and black and they must be printed in perfect registration. A familiarity with Adobe Photoshop and basic silk-screen technique is helpful. Things You'll Need
Computer Adobe Photoshop Pixelated image Laser printer Clear vellum 4 silk screens, 305 mesh Degreasing soap Photo emulsion Foam rubber square Halide light Heavy glass, 1/4" thick Process color silk screen ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) Four squeegees Four-color silk screen press, shirt printing Registration system for paper prints
Instructions o
1 Choose a pixelated image file to turn into a silk screen print, such as a photo, illustration or graphic design. A high-contrast image with a strong composition is best.
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2 Open the file in Adobe Photoshop, an image editing program. From the "edit" pull-down menu, select "color settings." Set the dot gain to 30% and click "OK." From the" image" pull-down menu, select "mode," then choose "CMYK."
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Load your laser printer with clear vellum. Use the command control + 1 to isolate the cyan plate in the pixelated image. Select "print" from the "file" pull-down menu. From the print dialog box, press the "screen" button. In the screen dialog box, uncheck the printers default screens, then type 55 in the frequency box. From the "shape" pull-down menu, select "round." Click "OK," then click "OK" again in the print dialog box to print the cyan plate onto clear vellum. Close the file but do not save changes. o
4 Open the pixelated file again and select control + 2 to isolate the magenta plate and follow the same sequence for printing as with the cyan plate. Select control + 3 to isolate the yellow plate and control + 4 to isolate the black plate, each time following the same sequence as with the cyan plate to print a clear vellum. Close the file after each print sequence, do not save changes, then reopen to print the next plate.
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5 Prepare four silk-screen frames stretched with 305 count synthetic screen mesh by washing them with degreasing soap and let them dry. Coat them on both sides with photo emulsion, scraping away and excess emulsion.
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6 Once dry, place a screen face down over the foam rubber square. Place the clear vellum with the cyan print face down over it, then put the heavy glass on top of it. Hang the halide light 20 inches over the glass and turn on for the recommended exposure time as per the emulsion instructions. Develop the image with warm water under medium pressure. Repeat to image screens using the magenta, yellow and black clear vellum.
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7 Once the screens dry, place them in the four clamps on the screen printing press. Tape the film positives on the print area of the press, aligning the four register marks in each corner. Position the screens so their register marks align with the ones on the films and tighten the clamps when register is achieved.
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8 Add ink to the silk-screen frames and pull a print by pulling the ink with the squeegee in the following order for the colors: yellow, magenta, cyan, black. Fabric and T-shirts may be printed wet on wet. For paper printing,
print the colors on each piece one at a time and let them dry before printing the next color.
Tips & Warnings
Before trying a four-color print with a pixelated image, try a four-color print with a spot color image for practice. This is one of the most challenging projects in silk screen printing.
More Resources
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