After having many people ask about the screen printing machine, I figured I should do a demo, which turned into a class, and a few members got to learn a lot about screen printing, and how they can use the vinyl cutter to prep screens for printing.

I’ve got a post on my own blog about the demo, but I figured I’d add a photo of some of the results. Above is a shirt printed by one of our members, and below is a poster I printed for our “Wall of Stuff” in the lobby.

If you’re interested in screen printing, just get in touch with me, and I’ll share what I know.

Tuesday meetings often turn into training night at the Makerspace.  So many members come the the weekly meeting that it can be easy to find something new to learn.  Last week was no exception when Pete gave an intro to screen printing.

It seemed like a straight forward process and I would encourage people who want to try making a t-shirt to email Pete to get checked out on the machine.

After walking the class through the basics of preparing the silk with the design. Pete set up an example print and let his small class of makers give it a try.

I’m making progress on my DIY squeegee project. For a little background, I have this 6 foot long piece of rubber, which is the same material used in squeegees for screen printing, but I need wooden handles to put the rubber into. So with the help of of some other members, I’m figuring out how to do it.

Brant helped me determine that the band-saw is a good machine for cutting the rubber. I had previously tried a utility knife, but that didn’t work. Ron and Rich filled me in on how to use a router table, and I was able to cut a groove into a piece of wood I picked up this week. The rubber fits perfectly, so the next step is to drill some holes and put in some t-bolts to hold it all together.

I’d also like to do a bit of sanding and maybe varnish the wood. I figure they might as well look good, right?

I think this project really shows the strength of the Makerspace. I’ve had this rubber for two years, but never got around to making any squeegees. I came up with a few really hacky ideas on how to do it, but now at the space, with the right tools, and the right people, it’s all coming together.

Here are some pictures from the demo.