I get quite a few requests from you budding young tshirt artists out there who are interested in learning how to screen print your own tshirts. A DIY t shirt screen printing kit is a great way to enter the tshirt market with outlaying too much dosh. But before I reveal the perfect kits suited to your needs and budget, let’s first take a few moments to appreciate the evolution of this magnificent art-form.

History of Screen Printing

The phenomenon of screen printing tshirts has been around for many years now, and from my research, dates back over 2,000 years ago, when the Chinese used human hair stretched across wooden frames as the screen, and leaves formed in various patterns as the stencil. Since that time, technology has evolved significantly (and thankfully your hair can remain on your head).  Affordable screen printing kits (often also known as silk screening kits) of varying quality are widely available in toy shops, art shops, and from online stores, allowing almost anyone to test their hand at screen printing a tee.

Screen Printing Equipment

Regardless which screen printing kit you buy (or even if you create your own kit by hand), there are some basic items that are required for ongoing screen printing success: The stencil, otherwise known as the screen, is certainly the prime component of any kit, since this piece of equipment determines how the design looks and is output. The screen is composed of to several individual pieces, namely the frame which looks quite similar to a smallish picture frame, the mesh within the frame, and often, a photosensitive material on which the image to be printed is created. A squeegee is a wide, flat and rigid rubber tongue with a handle, used for spreading ink evenly across the screen in order to print the design onto fabric. Various colors of fabric ink are obvious inclusions in any screen printing kit. These colors can sometimes be mixed or layered upon each other during the printing process for various printing effects.

Screen Printing Kits

After several years of industry insight, a whole heap of fabric paint, many wasted screen printing supplies, and a lot of ruined t-shirts, I’ve finally identified four of the best screen printing kits available on the market. These carefully selected kits have been chosen because not only are they ideal for tshirt screen printing (as opposed to some of the other kits, that are more suited to other formats of screen printing such as canvas or paper artworks), but  because each kit suits a certain level of budget and expertise. I highly recommend each of these kits, as they provide all of the necessary materials to get started without the hassles of having to shop around for the individual printing supplies and equipment. Alvin & Co – Tshirt Printing Kit $22.60 Speedwell Art Products – Fabric Screenprinting Kit $49.95 Speedwell Art Products – Ultimate Screen printing kit $119.95 Yudu 62-5000 Screen Printing Machine $204.15

Tshirt Alerts’s reveals the dirt on… 2009′s best t shirt screen printing kits!

1. Winner of the budget tshirt printing category:

Alvin & Co – Tshirt Printing Kit Weighing in at just $22.60, this kit is hands down the most cost efficient way of dipping your toes (and fingers!) into the art of tshirt printing. Though it’s not a screen printing kit, strictly speaking, if you don’t have any specific designs prepared for print, this is definitely the kit for you. For the price of 3 Big Macs and 2 Medium Fries you’ll be splashing your first pot of fabric paint across a tee in no time. The Alvin Tshirt Printing Kit includes:

• A set of upper and lower case letters,
• A full set of numbers,
• A bunch of punctuation stamps,
• Six colors of fabric paint,
• Two brushes
• Instructions

The results from this kit are limited to your creativity with the stencils and stamps included, however you can also use this kit as the basis to improvise with other forms of printing (such as the basic stencil method, you’ll just need to buy a few pre-cut stencils, or make your own) . As I mentioned above, this is a great kit for any one who just wants to make a few tshirts for fun, without necessarily having any pre-conceived detailed designs.  It is my no means a kit that I would recommend for those of you who have spent a long time preparing tshirt designs in a graphics application such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, or for those of you wanting to start a small tshirt production line – if that is your goal, it might pay to upgrade to the next kit which includes a few more paints and other accessories to take things up a notch! If you’re after a hobby kit with a few basics included to get you started, you can’t go wrong, particularly for the price of $22.60, with the Alvin Tshirt Printing Kit. Buy the Alvin Tshirt Printing Kit

2. Winner of the budget photo emulsion screen printing category:

Speedwell Art Products – Fabric Screenprinting Kit $49.95 will score you a very respectable screen-printing kit from one of the industry’s leading producers of screen-printing equipment, Speedball.  This is the cheapest kits that I have ever come across that provides you with the tools to screen print using the industry standard and most accurate method of producing screens, the photo emulsion technique. The Speedwell Fabric Screen Printing Kit includes the following materials:

• 10″ × 14″ frame
• fabric squeegee
• screen filler, 4 oz
• drawing fluid, 4 oz
• Diazo photo emulsion, 3.3 oz
• Diazo photo emulsion remover, 4 oz
• ½ g sensitizer
• paint brush
• screen printing instruction book

As you may have noticed from the inventory listing above, this kit does not include paints. So, when purchasing this kit, I advise that you also purchase a selection of fabric paints such as the Speedball Fabric Screenprinting Starter Set (Six Jars of Screenprinting Ink)so that you can get rolling right away!  Speedball offers a great selection of paints in virtually any color, however there are many other brands that also offer good paint products, some at cheaper prices if you shop around. Additional things that you may want to consider buying include a spare toothbrush for cleaning the screen, and water-resistant masking tape to hold things in place. And if you want to try photo-emulsion (who doesn’t!), you might also need a disposable pie tin, some acetate sheets ( a fancy name for those clear plastic sheets that you may have seen used as transparency sheets on overhead projectors back at school), and a cheap desk lamp with a 150W clear incandescent light bulb if you don’t already have one at home. There’s a couple of little downfalls with this kit. Firstly, if you go down the route of photo emulsion using the aforementioned acetate sheets, you’ll require access to a laser printer or copier machine, as the instructions outline that using an inkjet printer (the type of printer that most people have at home) ain’t gunna work I’m afraid.  Secondly, the kit comes with a paintbrush, which is great, but it’s a bit too large for detailed work so you might need a smaller one. Furthermore, it only comes with one screen, so if you want to print more than one design and you don’t want to destroy your screen after going to all the effort to make it, you’ll need to buy some spares. Having said all that, the Speedwell Fabric Screenprinting Kit is definitely the best budget kit for testing the waters in photo emulusion screen printing. If you bought all of the components included with this kit as separate items, it would easily tally up to be more than double the $49.95 you’ll pay for this sweet little kit. Buy the Speedwell Fabric Screenprinting Kit Due to the no-frills cost of this kit, a few crucial items are slightly neglected, so if you’d like to take things to a more commercial level, you should check out the next kit, it’s a cracker!

3. Winner of the bang-for-buck-bundle category:

Speedwell Art Products – Ultimate Screen printing kit $119.95 isn’t much to pay when you see how stacked full of goodies this kit is! In fact, once you’ve weighed up the price of this kit in comparison to buying the individual components, making the decision to purchase will become a no-brainer.  The Ultimate Screen Printing Kit contains:

• 8″ × 10″ Frame
• 10″ × 14″ Frame
• Base Unit
• Hinges and Screws
• Graphic Squeegee
• Fabric Squeegee
• Screen Filler, 4 oz
• Drawing Fluid, 4 oz
• Diazo Photo Emulsion, 4 oz
• Diazo Photo Emulsion Remover, 4 oz
• Sensitizer, ½ g
• #6 Round Brush
• Sticks for Stirring
• Accessory Kit
• 55-minute DVD
• Acrylic Screen Printing Inks — 4 oz each of Process Cyan, Process Magenta, Process Yellow, and Black
• Fabric Screen Printing Inks — 4 oz each of Red and Black

The kit is a bit low on Fabric paints, but if you’re serious about printing your own tees, you’ll need to go and buy your own ink anyway – no kit under $500 is going to be able to ‘guess’ every colour that you intend using! The greatest thing about the Speedball Ultimate Screen Printing kit, is that it provides you with all the necessary equipment to not one, but three different methods for screen printing: stencil printing, resist printing and photo emulsion printing. Stencil Printing This is probably the simplest way to create a screen.  For the stencil method, you will need some masking tape, and some freezer paper (if you haven’t come across freezer paper before, it’s similar to wax paper).   Once you’ve found your freezer paper, use a a craft knife to cut your design into the paper, and simple tape the paper on the bottom of the screen, waxy side up so that when the ink pushes against the paper, the waxy coating repels the paint rather than absorbs it. Photo emulsion The photo emulsion gear in this kit works well.  Like the Speedball Fabric Screen Printing kit mentioned above, ideally you’ll need to find a way to print onto transparency sheets, since that is the best way to set up an outline for you to burn into the screen. Laser printers are probably the best shot, but I suppose you can also use permanent markers on transparency if you don’t have access to a laser printer. I also found out that you can keep the left of photo emulsion mix in your fridge for up to 4 months (just make sure you don’t end up spreading on your sandwiches by mistake – it’s a little bit toxic!). Resist Method Not too many people use the resist method that I know, probably because it is a little bit less accurate than other methods. For the resist screen printing method, you basically paint your design directly onto the screen with Drawing Fluid, let it dry, then you apply the Screen Filler and let that dry, after which you spray the screen with water and presto, the Drawing Fluid will dissolve to create a screen!  Personally, I recommend that you trace your design onto the screen with pencil as your very first step so you have a guide to follow, but it’s really a personal preference (probably because I’m not a very good free-hand artist!) Summary of the Speedball Ultimate Screen Printing Kit If you’re after for a solid introduction to serious screen printing, the Speedball Ultimate Screen Printing Kit is just what the doctor ordered. It’s a comprehensive kit, and a perfect way for you try out each of the screen printing techniques mentioned above without breaking the bank. If you’re keen on longer print runs, once you’ve worked out which of the techniques works for you, you can then focus on refining your technique and purchasing specialist equipment if you see the need further down the track! Buy the Speedwell Ultimate Screen printing kit

4. Winner of the ultimate amateur screen printing kit category:

Yudu 62-5000 Screen Printing Machine $204.15 is all you need to buy a unique kit that will take a lot of the the hard work out of screen printing your own tshirts, while also saving you time and money.  Though it might also take a bit of fun out of the production process initially, if you’re intent on start a production line with more detail, consistency and efficiency in your prints, the Yudu 62-5000 kit is definitely worth the outlay. The main benefit of the Yudu 62-5000 is that it eliminates the need for you to handle chemicals, as it uses exposure sheets to create the prints (instead of the old method of photo emulsion, which requires the mixing of sensitizer and emulsion chemicals, and coating screens in the dark). With the Yudu exposure sheets, you simply place your desired artwork on the machine, cover with the mesh screen (with emulsion sheet attached), close the lid, and push the exposure button to burn the selected image onto the screen. No mess, no chemicals - and your screen is ready – it’s a screen printer’s dream!  Using these photo emulsion sheets allows you to create prints with intricate detail in no time.  This is by far the easiest way for the screen printing hobbiest to create decent silk screens, believe me! Printing the tshirts with the Yudu is also delightfully simple, you just place the t-shirt on the machine, set the screen in the lid, flood it with ink, and close the lid.  Pull the squeegee over the screen, and bam, your tee is ready! I guess I’d better add a little caveat here.  Regardless of which kit you use, you will almost be guaranteed to screw up your first few screen printing attempts – it’s all part of the learning process, and it’s not a process that anyone gets right first go. For this reason, I’d recommend buying quite a few spare emulsion sheets and also some emulsion remover if you purchase the Yudu 62-5000.  It sounds like a lot of cash to outlay, but once you have all this gear, you’re set up for the medium to long term, so it’s a worthwhile investment if you want to start making your own tshirts on a regular basis. The 205 buck price tag for the Yudu is really nothing compared to what you spend on other ‘business’ expenses (like your new iPhone, your Macbook Pro and the latest version of Adobe CS!), so if I were starting out all over again, I’d definitely recommend opting straight for this magnificent machine rather than work your way through the cheaper, more ‘fiddly’  kits mentioned above. HOT TIP for the Yudu: The instructional video that comes with the Yudu kit is an absolute shocker! Many people who purchased the Yudu complained that their machine was faulty, because the instructional video is so damn bad.  So, instead of even opening the wrapper on the instructional video or DVD, I recommend you follow joannadot.com’s 7 steps on You Tube.  Here is Step 1 – Getting to know the Yudu. Buy the Yudu Screen Printing Machine

Summary:  Tshirt Alert’s Best Screen Printing Kits for 2009

Alvin & Co – Tshirt Printing Kit $22.60 A great budget kit for anyone who wants to design and print a couple of tshirts using pre-cut stencils and stamps. Speedwell Art Products – Fabric Screenprinting Kit $49.95 An ideal kit for those who want to try their hand at ‘real’ screen printing, including the photo emulsion technique, at a budget price. Speedwell Art Products – Ultimate Screen printing kit $119.95 A great all-round kit with the materials to allow you complete flexibility, including 2 different sized frames, hinged screens and a good selection of tools.  Better yet, this kit will allow you to try your hand at every screen printing style (including photo emulsion, stencil and resist methods) on a very respectable budget. Yudu 62-5000 Screen Printing Machine $204.15 Yudu will help you-do more for less, and help you to create accurate and detailed screens with no mess at all! It might cost a few dollars more than other options, but it is well worth it for the hours of pain and suffering mixing chemicals that you will avoid by using this unique method of screen-printing.  Tshirt Alert’s pick of the bunch!