ColourCraft: An introduction to screen printing with Colourcraft products by Terri Koszler

Good morning everyone, today I am going to be sharing some basic information and advise on screen printing with Colourcraft products, and of course there will be a project too.

I am still learning my way and finding new things to do with screen printing but I wanted to answer some of the questions I had when I first started out.

I decided to venture into screen printing so that I could choose to decorate different surfaces in my home to my taste. It a great way to get the look you want, in your choice of colours and also save a few pounds too.

So lets answer some questions first.........

Screen printing Inks FAQ's

Q - What can I use the inks on?

A - You can use them on several surfaces; from fabric,glass, plastic, paper, plant pots, tin cans, tiles, wood and so many more.

Q - What other products can I use alongside the inks?

A - I have tested Brusho crystals, Brusho sprays and water colour (diluted brusho). I also tried Alcohol markers but found they made the ink bleed.

Brusho

Water colour

Brusho spray

Q - Can I wash my fabric after printing on it?

A -You will need to heat set the ink for 2 minuets using an iron on the hottest setting that your fabric allows, you will then be able to wash it.

Project time

Ok so now lets have a look at a simple project I put together using screen printing ink, Aztec metallic paint and brusho.

I recently finished a paper craft project and had lots of 1cm wide strips of paper left over. I decided to weave them together to give me a textured surface to print on to, yes you can also print onto textured surfaces!

I gave the weaved paper a coat of Pearl Aztec paint and set it aside to dry.

Next I took a print, I have a Screen sensation printing kit which is designed for at craft/hobby use (I will be bringing you another post in the near future showing how to make your own system)

I attached my screen to the frame using tape, making sure the surface is taught like the skin of a drum. I placed my weaved paper down and closed the frame so the screen was sat on the paper. I applied some black ink to the top of the screen using a spatula, you need to have enough ink so that you can make 1 clean pass, excess ink can be placed back into the jar.

When pulling your print it is important to keep your squeegee at a 45 degree angle and make one smooth pull towards your body.

You can see the process in the pictures above.

Here's what my print looks like, I placed some scrap paper under the weaved paper to catch any excess ink, I knew that my scrap paper would get some of the printed design on it and I would use it to test colouring mediums.

I allowed the print to dry while I washed my screen and tidied up, it's important to clean your screens straight away with cold water or they will get clogged. If you want to take more than one print with the same screen you can do this before the washing stage.

Please note if you use hot water it will heat set the ink in your screen!!!

I sprinkled some Purple brusho onto my printed surface once dry

I then spritzed it with water to move the colour around

I then placed my print into a black box frame. The brusho along with the pearl background add lots of interest to the black print.

I hope you've enjoyed this introduction to screen printing. I will be bringing you more posts in the future showing how to create your own screens and frames, if you don't want to go down the DIY route Colourcraft stock a good selection of items that you may like.