How to print trial copies with a silk-screen printer

The first copies you print with a silk-screen printer are usually uneven and unusable. Before you print on good paper, make some trial copies that you can throw away.

Here are some guidelines to follow when you print trial copies with a silk-screen printer:

• If the applicator is not wide enough to cover the print area in a single pass,

  • pull it along one edge of the frame, then
  • start again at the top and pull it down along the other edge.
• Notice that when enough ink has gotten through the stencil, the stencil will stick to the fabric screen.
• Remember that the idea is to press the ink evenly through the fabric screen and the openings on the stencil onto the paper.

• Try not to use more than one stroke over a section.

  Caution:

  If you use more than one stroke, you may cause the stencil to shift position and the printing to be unclear.

• Use ink sparingly or it will be wasted and the working area will be messy. Excess ink can ruin equipment and clothes.
• Use old, used paper for making trial copies.

1. Put a line of ink about as thick as your little finger along the top edge of the fabric screen .

   Illustration

2. Pull the applicator down firmly and evenly across the screen, holding it at a 60-degree angle to the fabric surface .

   Illustration

   Results: This pushes the ink through the screen and the stencil onto the paper. Ink will adhere to the stencil and will probably make it stick to the screen.

3. Lift the screen frame and remove the paper .
4. Check to see if the printing is even and clear.

   Is the printing quality good?

   • If yes, proceed with How to print multiple copies with a silk-screen printer.
   • If no, repeat steps 1-4.
5. If the stencil is not firmly stuck to the screen so that it does not shift position, tape it in place.

   Tips:

   Tape it at the corners. Tape along each edge of the stencil to prevent excess ink from oozing out.

   Illustration

• Task module: How to print trial copies with a silk-screen print...
• In task module: How to print on paper with a silk-screen printer
• In task module: Using a silk-screen printer
• In task module: Printing literacy materials
• In task module: Producing printed materials, by Anne Klaassens (contributor), Robin Rempel (contributor), Trudy K. Stewart (general editor, contributor), Leah B. Walter (contributor), Glenys Waters (contributor), Diane Wroge (contributor), and Adelle R. Walter (illustrator)
• In task module: Developing instructional materials, by Trudy K. Stewart, Leah B. Walter (contributor), and Trudi C. Hunt (contributor)
• In task module: Developing an instructional program, by Kenneth A. Boothe (contributor), Patricia M. Davis (contributor), Trudy K. Stewart (general editor), Leah B. Walter (contributor), Glenys Waters (contributor), and Adelle R. Walter (illustrator)
• In task module: Implementing a literacy program, by Carole P. Spaeth (compiler)
• In modular book: Implement a literacy program, by Carole P. Spaeth (compiler) and Leah B. Walter (compiler)
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 16 February 1999

© 1999 SIL International