Jump to content

Small silkscreen machine


Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

I have been busy designing some airliner decals lately using CorelDRAW. I'm going to have them printed at a print shop who has an ALPS printer but the best solution is doing it myself at home, as that makes on-demand printing possible. I know there are a few options:

1. regular printers, preferably laserjet, which has the big disadvantage of not being able to print white or opaque decals.

2. ALPS printers, which can be found second hand for reasonable prices sometimes (around $400). The big pro is: it can do metallic colours, but they are not being manufactured anymore. Am I correct that there's a risk of cartridges not being available anymore in the near future?

3. Digital screen printing. However, I'm not very familiar with this technique. I can only find HUGE and expensive silk screen machines for making large size banners and flags. I really don't need that. What I'm looking for is a table-top model of a digital screen printing machine. Does anything like that actually exist?

Please help me out!

greets Jelle

Link to post
Share on other sites

Likewise with Duck, the following information I have not used for a project myself. But being somewhat of a person who bookmarks potentially useful information for future reference I recall a blog post from 8 years ago that might be helpful for your project Dutchman.

DIY Silkscreening

Edited by Fellow Hobbyist
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have an ALPS MD5000 and has served me well for most decal projects. However, it does have drawbacks such as not being able to reproduce certain colors and halftones like orange very well. It comes out like a zebra pattern of yellow and magenta/red. There are ways around it, but that requires an entire page of how-to's.

There's a Japanese product called Print Gocco that can be purchased thru Amazon or some craft stores. It's a home silk screen printing kit that includes screens, ink, a printing jug and flash bulbs.

You create a black and white image for each color you want to print. Suppose you want to print US insignia. You would create a shape for the white areas, a shape for the blue areas, and one for the red bars. You can do this on your computer or by pen/pencil. Each shape is then printed or photocopied in black on a laser printer or office copier.

The carbon in the printout causes the shape to be transferred onto a piece of screen material by using the flash of the light bulbs.

You then use the supplied inks to mix the color you want. You then use the printing jig to lay down the colors one by one onto decal paper. And yes, white is one of the supplied colors, but not sure if metallics are available. The jug ensures that things are kept in register.

This is basically the way commercially printed silk screen decals are made. It's tedious but you get nice, opaque decals.

Another alternative is to create stencils with Crikut or similar home plotter-cutting machine. Then use the stencil to airbrush the shapes onto decal or directly on model. It's not ideal for extremely small or intricate shapes, but most insignia and large letters can be done well.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There is an inkjet printer with the capability of printing white, but as far as I know it has not become available in a form to compare with what the ALPS offered. The ALPS MD printers were not cheap, but they were moderately affordable for a really interested hobbyist (around $1000 when available new). The white inkjets seem to only be available in a commercial format and cost several thousand dollars. Maybe someday, but for now I think the best option is to find a good used ALPS 5000 or 5500. Used ALPS can be iffy though as they are quite delicate for a printer, so quite easy to receive an expensive paperweight.

The cartridges are still available at the moment, but who knows how long that will be the case. Luckily the "ink" is a dry film so long term storage (hoarding) of cartridges shouldn't be an issue, but I would probably budget at least another $300-500 to stock up if you do opt for an ALPS.

If you do opt for an ALPS another issue is drivers. Many who own ALPS printers have a dedicated obsolete computer to run it. The last ALPS built was the MD5500 and there are drivers available for Windows XP. I believe the older 5000 and 1300 use Windows 95 or 98.

Here is an Epson white injet printer if you have an extra $7000 laying around.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Pro/SeriesStylusProWT7900/Overview.do

Edited by Aaronw
Link to post
Share on other sites

Screen Printing of this sort of nature just isn't practical. I studied printmaking in college (I know, I realize that sounds like such a bullcrap thing to study, but I'm a high school art teacher now so...)

Anyway, like I was saying its just not practical. For one getting two colors to register is hard enough now add the extra TIA of trying to get it on carrier film and you're opening a can of worms. Another thing is you just can't use paint on a silk screen. It dries faster than printing in and ruins your screen rather quickly. If you'd like some more info on the screen printing process feel free to pm me with any questions.

Link to post
Share on other sites

...

Another alternative is to create stencils with Crikut or similar home plotter-cutting machine. Then use the stencil to airbrush the shapes onto decal or directly on model. It's not ideal for extremely small or intricate shapes, but most insignia and large letters can be done well.

I have the Silhouette Portrait. In addition to designing and cutting masks to directly paint, you could also design and cut a white background and place an inkjet- or laser-printed decal atop the white background.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...