Best printmaking inks according to redditors

I actually bought white handkerchiefs on Amazon and did my own silkscreen! I ordered my custom silkscreen design on Etsy for $12. Silk Screen paint is $15.

It was very easy and they came out perfect! Looked super expensive. Did 200 for about $80!

We ordered beads too and Mardi Gras masks and I did NOLA Paparazzi Photo Booth

We also did homemade pralines as favor handouts and satchels of Tony’s spices! Those were the biggest hit!

Sweets and Spices!

NOLA Wedding PICS


How I did it:

Leinuosen 50 Pack Handkerchiefs Cotton Classic Hankies Pocket Square Towel White for Kids Girl Boy Tea Parties (11 x 11 Inch)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HQ9CWY6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CRD1DbMVD9P0N


Speedball 004828 Opaque Fabric Screen Printing Ink, 32 fl. oz, Gold - you only need small amount of paint! I bought too much

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003IG72BS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_9QvnL332CwSBe

Etsy Silkscreen - send her your design you want!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/193653756/custom-thermofax-screen-small-3-34-x4-78?ga_search_query=Screen&ref=shop_items_search_4&frs=1

Speedball Opaque Metallic Gold is pretty awesome and dries within the hour.
And I'd do at least a 200 mesh based on that detail, but I've used it on everything from 110 and up.

So wait, is Anthem doing 1 screen and you're doing the other?

I can chime in here... I have done DIY silk screen enclosures in the past with pretty good results.

Personally I just used speedball acrylic from amazon and applied a good clear-coat over it once it dried.

Screen Print Example 1

Screen Print Example 2

The acrylic ink was pretty easy to apply, but I had issues with it smudging and not transferring properly. It dries well, but is slightly chalky and could flake off without a topcoat.

That being said, I would HIGHLY recommend looking into water-slide decals. I have found them to be much easier to apply and they have a much more professional look assuming you account for their limitations.

Water-slide Example Here

This is my go to white ink. Speedball fabric ink is thick and goes on smooth when even pressure is applied

I found similar prices by googling "phosphor screen", and checking the Shopping tab. It seems these screens are used as medical equipment, which would explain the high price. I wonder if it's possible to get phosphor screens that aren't medical-rated, those would probably be much less expensive.

EDIT: I've found a better solution! Use a glow in the dark screenprinting ink, like this stuff. Dye a thin fabric with the stuff.

Ah, sorry. I use the block printing fabric ink. This one I've used on loads of Tshirts printing by hand.

So, maybe this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0010DV4G0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1520922057&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=screen+printing+ink+white&dpPl=1&dpID=51obro3eAKL&ref=plSrch

This is what I use. It will last a while if you are only doing one here and there...

>Did you cut the stencil from paper or what?

Yep, used an exacto knife to cut it from a piece of cardstock

>What did you use for ink? Was it a paint or spray of some kind?

Just black fabric paint

>And are you using the the dye kit you can get for like 8 dollars at walmart?

I used this

edit: the tie dye kit makes about 12 shirts (I know it says 30 or something on the package but that's for like kids size small)

I think I used this; the Amazon reviews said they used it with thermochromic pigment and it worked: https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-8-Ounce-Fabric-Acrylic-Transparent/dp/B000C17THO

I use this ink for shirts
Speedball Art Products 4560 Fabric Screen Printing Ink, 8 Fl. oz, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001038NLY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jrRBDb0SHXE2T

And for emulsion this

Speedball Art Products 4559 Diazo Photo Emulsion Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007ZHGWI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DwRBDb6XH126Z

A thousand tools so I could fix and build anything I wanted. I often daydream about the things I could make if I had my own woodshop :)

Screenprinting ink!

high mesh screens can have drying problems because of how small the holes in the mesh are. maybe try using an ink retarder, which will slow down the ink's drying time.
https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Non-Toxic-Non-Flammable-Retarder-Height/dp/B003F3062Q

This is the one I use with my students. I'm sure there are "fancier" options out there, but this works fine for my purposes.

Yeah, I've done batik, block printing and silk screening on fabric. Wood backed lino blocks work well on canvas with fabric block printing ink and a printmaking press to get an even trasfer. It's too easy to mess up the print on soft or stretchy fabrics though. If you are looking to make shirts though, I'd definitely suggest getting a silkscreen kit. Edit: Inko dye is also super fun to play with too.

Last time I printed business cards it was with a 405 yellow and a 300 yellow screen with Speedball acylics. Printed 8up on a letter sized 110# smooth cover (Classic Crest ). You need to air dry the sheets but you can set up a fan to speed that along. Pretty straight forward but also pretty expensive when you can get 500 cards printed for under $20 USD now a days.

Firstly I would strongly suggest you not print flatstock on a garment press, use a vacuum table. While it is possible and I've seen a lot of folks do it, printing this way is a massive pain and you will need to use adhesive on your paper to hold it down. Vacuum is far easier and won't make your sheets stick together. For less than $100 you can build a vacuum table with a small shop vac. If you do it smart you should still be able to use the shop vac for normal stuff as well.

As to inks the standard is water based acrylics like Speedball. While their fabric inks are meh, their acrylics are really good. Smooth, evenly drying, and excellent viscosity for a variety of mesh counts. For an even cheaper option you can try acrylic house paint. (Bonus punk cred for buying only off-tints at a discount.) Make sure it's water based acrylic or you will have a bad time. Personally I've had some issues with house paint on occasion but those are pretty rare and this is a common cheap alternative.

You can print pretty much on any paper but uncoated cover stock is generally the best place to start. Strongly suggest not starting with coated stock, it's trickier to get right. In the gigposter world, Mr. French Paper is the gold standard and with good reason, it's f'ing awesome paper. Smooth tooth, even grain, lovely colors, and a nice selection of weights. It is expensive though. For a cheaper alternative you can start with what I did, Exact Index 110# Cover. It's not as fancy as other options but it'll get the job done. I used this paper for many of my early gigposters and it never let me down. The only real issue it has is a bit of ink spread where the ink, if it's thin enough, will tend to spread into the sheet more than in the nicer papers but this is a minor issue really and easily fixed by not watering down your ink too much (a common practice to deal with very high mesh counts).

If you have any other questions post 'em and welcome to the wonderful world of flatstock!