Continuing the discussion from Create silk screens on a laser cutter?:
I have been planning to employ my Glowforge to make some silkscreen patterns. This tutorial was a fantastic springboard.
I didn’t use the silkscreen frame. The entire supply list for a one-color design is paint, Mylar, tape, a squeegee, and something to paint. In this case, a t-shirt.
Start with this Mylar:
https://www.amazon.com/Grafix-Clear-Dura-Lar-20-Inch-12-Feet/dp/B0092MJ7J2
Design a t-shirt.
For my own part, I figure that when swearing, you should use correct grammar and sentence structure; but this is for a friend whose 8-year old just relapsed with leukemia. She likes the meme, she’ll wear it, and what’s more, it will make her laugh when she needs to.
Mount the clear Mylar to a sheet of paper so the Glowforge can focus. Use magnets to keep the mylar in place. I penciled in the borders of my Mylar to help center.
Engrave, don’t score. For faster processing and faster print time, use a raster file.
Settings: fast and not super hot. Recent settings updates discussed here.
The tutorial suggests building a frame. I will do that for my 5-color design; but I was just doing a proof of concept. I didn’t have a blank t-shirt so I just inked the inside of something in the closet. Didn’t center. My technique was messy and I got ghosting because I was sloppy. Didn’t matter for the test shirt.
Blue painters tape around the edges.
Leave the macaroni and cheese on the table where you are working.
Squish a bit of speedball or your favorite brand of fabric ink/paint along one side
Squeegee. That’s a verb.
The .002 Mylar is thick enough to take taping and untaping. Washed up easier than the silk screen that I have used a few times.
The process is slick and easy.
I am really happy with it and will procure a new t-shirt for the real thing.
I have several more designs in my head. I gotta learn the tools, or I gotta sketch better.
So, there it is, the proof of concept:
materials.