Screen Printing FAQ

Screen Printing - Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need?
Initially you need a kit, see our screen printing kits. But as time goes on you'll need specific bits to do different things and different jobs. We'd always recommend getting a kit to start with as this will teach you the various bits you need and you'll know what to order when you run out.

If you've a specific question on a piece of kit, please do drop us a line!

Screen Exposure
There's a few different ways to get your design printed.

Hand cut Stencils - Great for beginners and printing a handful of items.
Photo Emulsion & Diazo - Ideal for those using computer graphics and longer print runs.

Types of Ink
Ultimately there's plastisol or waterbased ink. Both have their pros and cons, but overall we're very pro waterbased.

Waterbased is hands down better for the environment and in our opinion easier to use, it's also much easier to clean up and manage in a more primitive set up, ideal if your printing at home or in a space where you don't have big sinks and pressure washers!

There's also the feel good factor. Waterbased ink sinks in to fabric, so after it's cured and washed it's the fabric you feel not the layer of ink.

Curing Ink
Curing waterbased ink is pretty simple. If you're printing clothing you'll need to heat cure it. This can be done with an iron, but we'd always recommend a heat gun, or if you can a flash or tunnel dryer.

If you're printing paper or card, just leave it for a good 24 hours, or if it's in a cooler place, give it a little longer. Printing onto fabric? Be sure to let the ink dry on the garment before heat curing. 

One of the pros to waterbased ink and a heat gun is that as you heat it, the print will steam. That's the water in the ink evaporating. Once it stops steaming give it 10 seconds and it's done. We always recommend that you do a wash test on your clothing sample, some garments will need varying times to heat cure!

For most inks including our own Hunt The Moon ink you're aiming for 2-3 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.

Need more information?
We've covered a few screen printing problems, tips & tricks and general print queries in our blog. if you can't find what you are looking for there, why not drop us a line.

Got a question?
We're always happy to help and no doubt your question is something we've came across before. You can drop us an email via info@huntthemoon.co.uk or give us a call on 01822 890 037