You do not need to add this item to your basket.
This is a guide only, not a purchasable item.
The key to getting screens to expose smoothly is artwork preparation.
Whether you're doing it yourself or getting us to expose the screen for you, in order to achieve the best results follow the guidelines below.
- Artwork will need to be changed to ‘Rich Black’. This is so that no light can pass through the design areas of the transparency. Please use the following CMYK make up – any other combination will not work.
C= 75, M = 67, Y = 68, K = 90
- Use a template. We either print our transparencies out on A4 or A3 paper. Make your file either of those and include A4 or A3 in the file name and if it is needed, portrait or landscape.
- Size your graphic correctly to the template you have created. That way, the graphic on the screen will be exactly the size you have made it and want it to be.
- Save as a PDF.
Things not to do:
- Send through multi coloured artwork.
- Send us .jpgs .pngs etc
We know this can sound daunting and quite the ask if you’re not super graphics savvy, but it makes the process so much smoother and ultimately gets you the best possible finished product.
If you’ve any questions, we are only a phone call away and are more than happy to talk through the process.
Likewise, if you’re trying to make transparencies at home and are having difficulty, we’re here to help! We've also got the best screen printing transparencies in the business, should you need to pick some up for your next project.
You'll also need a printer to print them out on if you're doing this yourself, it doesn't get much better than the Epson Stylus Photo 1500 W A3+ Printer. It's what we've used since the beginning and it's ideal for A3 & A4, and can keep up with the pace even if you're making screens all day long. Thoroughly recommended!
Take the next step: Expose your own screen printing frames
All over your head? Artwork struggles? Fear not!
If you're struggling to convert your artwork to rich black, or a vector file you could use Fiverr - it's a cheap and quick way to get it done by a professional. Perfect if you've got a jpg or png or if you've hand drawn something and now need it recreated in vector format so it can be used to make a screen! The best files for us to use are correctly sized vectored PDFs in rich black, but an illustrator .ai file works too!
Check out Laurens IG overview of the custom screen exposure process: