How to Print Your Own Geeky T-shirts

Making your own t-shirt can be a great way to show off a little bit of your personality and can also be a really thoughtful gift. Screen printing can seem like an incredible experience, which is why we’ve broken down each step for you.

What do you need to print your own T-shirt

Ready to design your own t-shirt? Before you get started, you’ll need a few things, so put together:

Screen Printing Frame (You can DIY or purchase a screen or kit)
Squeegee (or piece of hard cardboard)
Photo emulsion and sensitizer
Lamp with bright bulb
transparencies
Jet printer
Place cardboard (or something else) inside the T-shirt.
Fabric Ink (Speedball)

You will also need a dark space to place the screen with the emulsion in until it dries completely.

Step 1: Prepare Your Design

You can design using any design software of your choice. You can even design in Word. If you can create a logo in Word Why not create a t-shirt design in Word as well.

You can also just use text for your design and we have a lot of fun jokes and pranks to start. Basically, all you need is a printable design, preferably with large, solid lines.

If you want to keep it simple, you can use a catchy slogan or a simple free vector image downloaded from a site like Pixabay.

As a beginner, it’s probably best to start with a solid color design. When you are just starting out, layering colors in screen printing is quite a challenge. For simplicity, you can also choose a design that will look the same when flipped.

Once your design is ready, print it on a piece of paper to make sure it fits on the page the way you want it to. You can then print it on transparencies, preferably with an inkjet printer. If you don’t have one at home, check out stationery stores in your area and see if they offer translucent printing services.

Step 2: Create or Buy a Frame

You can purchase fairly inexpensive screen printing frames, or even a screen printing kit that includes a frame, fabric dyes, and emulsion.

But if you want it to be a DIY project from A to Z, you can make the frame yourself. You can either buy firewood and build a frame, or buy cheap canvas. Just remove the canvas and keep the frame in place. You will of course have to buy a canvas that is larger than your printed design.

If you’re building your own frame, 2×2 pieces of wood is probably best, and you can create a square frame in the exact size you want. For an adult t-shirt, a size 16 by 16 is probably better. You can also place buttons in all four corners of the frame if you want it to be flat and the screen not touching the surface you are working on.

For fabric, you can buy silkscreen, or even try some fabrics like organza or voile. Pull the fabric as you wish along the frame and pin it in place.

Step 3: Prepare emulsion

Now that your screen is ready, you can prepare the emulsion you are going to apply to it. The emulsion consists of a sensitizer and an emulsion. Be sure to follow the directions on the bottle, especially with regard to sensitivity to light. You’ll want to do this step in a dark room, or you can use black light to see what you’re doing without breaking the emulsion.

And remember, a small amount goes a long way, as you will thinly distribute it across the screen.

You’ll want to work on a surface that you’re not worried about getting dirty, or better yet, place the screen on a plastic cloth or large trash bag. Pour the emulsion onto the screen and, using a squeegee, spread it over both sides of the screen . You need to make sure the liquid is spread evenly and evenly across the screen, but you can’t see through it.

Using an emulsion scoop applicator is a good way to avoid using more liquid than you need.

Set the screen aside in a dark space until it dries. When it comes to drying time, it’s best to follow the emulsion manufacturer’s instructions, but you can also use a fan to speed up the drying process.

Step 4: Transfer the image

Once your coated screen is dry, you are ready to transfer your image to the screen or «burn the image». This is a step you need to complete quickly as the emulsion reacts quickly to light. Or, if you can take this step in a dark room where you let the screen dry, even better.

Put the printed transparency in the center screen. You will place it on the side of the frame that will rest on the T-shirt. It’s very important to make sure you put it back to front so your design doesn’t flip over when you’re about to print it.

Silkscreen-Diagram-How-To — Image Credit: Harry Wad / Wikimedia Commons

Next, you’ll want to place a very bright light directly over the transparency for 30-40 minutes. (Check again what your emulsion recommends.)

Once the image has been exposed, you can remove the transparency and splash the screen with water. You can also use a soft toothbrush to make sure the design is completely transparent, but don’t scrub too hard. You don’t want to remove any of the dried emulsion you want.

The paint does not penetrate into areas where the green emulsion remains intact. The paint penetrates anywhere the coated surface has been scratched or completely removed.

Step 5: Paint, Paint, Paint!

Now it’s time to crack the paints and move on to the fun stuff. Lay the frame face down on the T-shirt. The design should be facing up so that what you see is not upside down. If you want to make sure your T-shirt stays wrinkle-free when you apply paint, place a piece of sturdy cardboard inside it.

Place a small amount of paint on the screen above your design. Using the squeegee while holding the frame, quickly or quickly sweep the squeegee over the design once or twice to paint the t-shirt. Remove the screen from the T-shirt.

This step is probably the most difficult. It’s a trial and error process to figure out how much paint you should use, how hard to press down with the squeegee, etc.

You can create as many T-shirts using one frame as you like.

Follow the instructions for your choice of paint. This will likely mean that you should toss the shirts in the dryer to make sure the dye doesn’t peel off after the first wash.