How to Prepare Your Screen for Silk Screen Printing

When you buy a new silk screen you need to prepare it to screen print with it. The process of preparing a silk screen for printing is easy and quick. Following these steps will keep your silk screen working and functional for years to come.

How to Prepare a Silk Screen for Screen Printing on Fabric #1: Clean It

The first step in preparing a brand new screen is to clean it. To do this I simply like to use some regular old Comet and a sponge. A simple sponge with a soft side and scrubby side will do.

Run water over the silk screen with a spray nozzle. Use you soapy sponge to lightly scrub the silk screen. You will want to scrub each side, then rinse clean with water.

The reason you are scrubbing your silk screen to prep it for use is that starch can be found in the stretch fabric on the screen. This needs to be removed or it can interfere with the quality of your silk screen print.

At this point you need to set you screen out to dry. Set in front of a fan to hurry this process along! Once the screen has dried you are ready to move onto step #2.

How to Prepare a Silk Screen for Screen Printing on Fabric #2: Tape It Off

Duct tape is needed for this step of the process. You can also do this before you wash or after you scrub the screen, your choice.

Simply use duct tape to tape off the entire wood frame of the silk screen frame. You want to cover all exposed wood. Once all the wood is covered you need to tape off about 1 inch of the screen itself.

In most cases as you are applying the tape you will end up covering part of the screen anyway.

You do need to use a heavy duty tape like duct tape for a number of reasons. First of all you want to make sure it will stay in place even after repeated washes After all, a big part of screen printing is washing the screen in between uses.

Be sure to cover both sides of the screen the same amount with the duct tape. Once this step is finished your silk screen is prepared and ready for printing! Following thee steps will ensure a long life€ for your silk screen and guarantee repeated uses and minimal warping of the wood.