doodlebird

in previous threadless discussions,
i promised these photos.
yeah, it was a while ago.
these are all me taking pictures of me doing stuff.
so no, the quality isn't great.

please let me know if any of the missed steps need to be shown.

this is the goo you start with.
i use speedball brand diazo
'cause it's supposed to enviro-friendly.
it's non-toxic, and doesn't stink up the place
or require any kind of special care or ventilation.
it does need to be 'fridgerated for maximum life.
follow the instructions on the box
to mix the yellow and blue stuff to make green.
<br>
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/1emulsion.jpg""><br><br>

so you pour this green goo really thin on a blank screen,
and then smooth over with your squeegee until it looks like this:<br>
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/2freshscreen.jpg""><br><br>

then you put the coated screen in a dark closet with a fan on it.
if have the screen elevated (as pictured) it will help with the drying.
close the door to the closet. this stuff is photosensitive.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/3darkcloset.jpg""><br><br>

after one hour of drying in the dark,
the screen is ready for the light stage.
remove the screen from the closet and
place the images that you want on the screen.
i like to tape mine in place with scotch tape.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/4transponscreen.jpg""><br><br>

then you lay a piece of clean glass on top
so that the transparancies make solid contact with the screen.
bumps that make shadows are bad.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/5glassinscreen.jpg""><br><br>

now put the screen with transparency and glass
back in the closet (or any shelf with a light) with the light on.
use the directions that came with diazo
for exposure time and distance from lightbulb.
i like to use the wattage and distance shown here:
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/6lightonscreen.jpg""><br><br>

after one hour exposed to light,
your screen is ready to remove and wash out.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/7beforewashout.jpg""><br><br>

run under tepid water softly rubbing your fingers
over the areas where you want the emulsion to be removed.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/8washout.jpg"><br><br>

once the desired emulsion has washed away,
you should be left with something this:
(note that i have two separate images on one screen)
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/9afterwash.jpg""><br><br>

let your screen dry.
then apply tape to the back side of the screen
anywhere that you do not want paint to come through...
like around the edges or any other holes that might be there.
if you have two images on one screen, as shown here,
you'll want to tape over the one you aren't printing.
use a good quality masking tape.
one that won't lift up your emulsion.
(i like the 3M brand blue masking tape 14 day stuff)
place a small amount of paint in the screen,
place the screen on the shirt,
drag squeegee across the screen while pressing down firmly.
lift screen evenly as if it were on a hinge.
<img src="http://www.willheron.com/images/10finishedprint.jpg""><br><br>

let the shirt air dry,
then heat set in the dryer on high for 10 min.
or according to the directions on the paint can.
i use speedball fabric paint.
make sure it says textile or fabric on the jar.
plain old arcylic screen printing ink
will fade out too fast when washed in warm or hot water.

wear.

__________________
xoxo
doodle

El Pollo

That's neat!
But when you said making your own shirt was easy, I expected it to be a little, um, easier. But I definitely want to give this a try if I can manage to scrape together the materials and build my own mini-darkroom. Where do you get the goo from? And how well does it work on colored shirts?
Thanks for the tutorial!